“I spent most of my time outdoors with Mylan, so it is no wonder I have grown tan, but truly, freckles are the very least of my problems.” Despite the desperate nature of her situation, Celiese found the criticism of her once creamy white complexion so irrelevant it struck her as being extremely humorous, and she began to giggle uncontrollably. When Olgrethe began to laugh too, they fell into each other’s arms, giving way to their delight in being together again.
Hagen leaned back against his still open door and shook his head reproachfully. “For grown women to act like children is unseemly, especially so in this case.”
“Oh hush, Hagen!” Olgrethe called over her shoulder, cross that he would want to spoil their playful mood. Unconcerned by criticism from her husband’s brother, she cared little that they had displeased him. “It has been many weeks since I’ve seen Celiese, and if she and I wish to laugh together you must not let it disturb your sense of propriety.”
Celiese drew the soft woolen blanket higher upon her breasts as she looked toward the tall man, startled by the familiar ring in his deep voice. Both his tone and words had reminded her so much of Mylan that for an instant she had thought it was he who had spoken. “I am sorry if we seem foolish, Hagen, but do you not have close friends whom you enjoy seeing?” He had greeted Mylan with such enthusiasm the previous day, she thought he should be more understanding of the regard she and Olgrethe felt for each other.
Ignoring her question as unworthy of a response, Hagen straightened up abruptly, stepped into the room, and closed the door. “No one else knows you are here yet, Celiese, and I’d rather you weren’t discovered in my bed before I’ve had time to announce your arrival. I will call one of the women to prepare your bath and help you dress, and then I’ll take you to my parents.”
Celiese was certain she knew all the serving women who might be called and hastened to argue. “I am afraid your household servants will be outraged to see me here again. I’d rather go to Olgrethe’s room and dress there by myself than ask for their help, when they will be most reluctant to extend it.” Reluctant was too mild a term perhaps; if they had their way, she would be lucky to escape a bath without drowning.
“Your lack of popularity with our slaves need no longer concern you now that my brother has set you free,” Hagen commented sarcastically. He had little patience with Celiese’s complaint and wanted only to get the ordeal with his parents over with swiftly.
“What do you mean Mylan has set her free?” Olgrethe looked up at Hagen, then back at Celiese. “You were free from the day you married Mylan,” she insisted emphatically, then continued, “He took you with him to his home. Aren’t you his wife?”
Before Hagen could respond to make her situation painfully clear, Celiese tried to explain truthfully. “We were married for no more than one night in his view, Olgrethe. Since then, Mylan has insisted our marriage was not a valid one because he thought he was marrying you, and he regards the ceremony we went through as no more than a trick of your father’s to gain entrance to this house.”
Blushing with anger, Olgrethe opened her mouth to argue, then thought better of it. “Would he believe me if I told him the truth of what happened that night? You are blameless and…”
Hagen could no longer hold his tongue and stepped forward. “You would only anger him if you mentioned the word marriage to him, Olgrethe. To mention marriage and Celiese’s name in the same breath would incite more wrath than you’d care to see.”
Celiese squeezed her friend’s hands tightly, warning her to be silent for the moment. “Would you please leave us, Hagen? I will be in Olgrethe’s chamber after I bathe and dress, as I’ve no wish to inconvenience you any further.”
“Of course, the sooner you are ready to be presented to my mother the sooner I may take care of my own business once again and leave your care to her.” With that hostile goodbye he left the room, but this time he did not bother to slam the door on his way out.
“Hagen can be the most impossible bully at times,” Olgrethe confided quickly. “You will never know how grateful I am Andrick is the older of the twins and was therefore the one chosen to be my husband.”
The mere mention of the word husband was enough to depress Celiese’s mood to the point where she felt she and Hagen might have much in common. “Let’s not worry over him, since it is Aldred and Thulyn I’ll need to please.”
After wrapping Celiese with a blanket, they went quickly to Olgrethe’s chamber where the bathwater was already heated. Once she was bathed and dressed Celiese felt far more confident to discuss what her relationship with Mylan had been. As she brushed out her glossy curls she found the truth made increasingly difficult to relate, as Olgrethe kept interrupting excitedly. She was certain Mylan was a great fool if he could not trust the affections of a woman so honest and loving as Celiese and said so repeatedly. When the conversation turned quite naturally to her own recent marriage, she began to smile widely as she revealed her secret.
“Not even Andrick knows yet, Celiese, but I am certain I am already carrying his child. Since Mylan is no less of a man than his brother, is it not possible that you will have a child next spring as well?”
No matter how likely that event might seem to Olgrethe, Celiese hastened to deny it. She had never prayed for a child as most young brides did, and she grew pale at the very thought she might have conceived Mylan’s baby. “No, there will be no child for us, I’m certain of it.”
Not understanding her friend’s suddenly subdued mood, Olgrethe teased her again, whispering softly, “It is a possibility that shouldn’t be overlooked. If you were to tell Mylan he would soon become a father, wouldn’t he be so proud he would forgive you anything?”
“I’ll not lie to him,” Celiese insisted vehemently. That Olgrethe could even suggest such an unprincipled trick appalled her. “Besides, there is no reason for him to forgive me anythingâ??I am the one who has been wronged.” She stood up to adjust the fine pleats of her bodice so they fell in a flattering sweep. She thought the linen chemise so pretty she hated to add the soft woolen tunic over it, but she slipped it on quickly and fastened the two bronze brooches to hold the shoulders in place.
Since her marriage, Olgrethe had adopted more conservative dress, but Celiese thought the borrowed gown a most welc
ome change from trousers. The beltless dresses were not only attractive but practical as well, for the soft folds would disguise for several months the changes pregnancy would bring to Olgrethe’s figure.
“I must thank you again for your generosity with your wardrobe. Had you not been willing to share your clothing so readily, I do not know what I would have done.” Celiese was sorry she had spoken so sharply and gave her friend a warm hug. She confided, “I am happy you and Andrick will be parents so soon, but I’ll not hope for a child until I’m wed to a man who is proud to call me his wife.” Lifting her chin with a defiant tilt, she moved toward the door. “Shall we find Hagen, so he may tell his parents I’ve come for a visit?”
“A visit is it?” Olgrethe laughed at that term. “When you have nowhere else to go, is this not your new home?”
Startled by the truth of her question Celiese did not reply, but how could she ever regard the Vandahl family home as her own when Mylan did not reside there as well?
Just as she had expected, Thulyn gave her a mere nod as a welcome, followed by a stern lecture from Aldred. His arm still caused him considerable pain, and, as he saw it, the wound was partly her fault. “I was amazed when Mylan took you home with him, and that he has now sent you back to me is even more appalling. Since you are to be considered a free woman, and the close friend of Andrick’s wife, I will allow you to stay on the condition your behavior is as proper as Olgrethe’s. I will not allow your presence here to disrupt our home in any way. Is that understood?”
Before replying, Celiese glanced at the others in the room, using the time to control the flame of her temper, but she was sorely tempted to respond with a bitter refusal of Aldred’s insulting conditional invitation. Andrick had come in and stood with his bride, and they looked so happy together, standing close with their arms entwined, that she longed to go to them, if for only a fleeting moment to be part of the love that shone so brightly in their eyes.
Erik appeared fascinated, while Hagen’s pose was as unconcerned as his expression. He appeared thoroughly bored. She wondered why he had not gone to attend to the business he had claimed to be so urgent earlier that morning rather than remaining to listen to his parents’ cool welcome. Had she anywhere at all to go she would have left at once, but knowing such an announcement would be foolhardy for the time being, she forced a gracious smile.
“I am grateful you have invited me to share your home, Aldred. I will give you no cause to regret your decision.”
Aldred glanced toward his wife, waiting to see if she had any objection, but when she shook her head slightly he said no more. “It is settled then. As my daughter-in-law’s friend you are welcome here, but had Olgrethe not wanted you to stay, you would already have been sent upon your way.”