The Storm Sister (The Seven Sisters #2) (45 page)

‘I think it is for the best, for both of us,’ Anna replied diplomatically, taking a bite of fish. All she really wanted to do was to turn in early for the night and dream about
Jens.

After coffee in the drawing room, Frøken Olsdatter brought in a decanter of brandy for Herr Bayer and, to Anna’s consternation, also an ice bucket containing a bottle of champagne.
It was far too late for her to consider taking alcohol and she wondered immediately if Herr Bayer was expecting other guests.

‘Shut the door after you,’ he called to Frøken Olsdatter and the housekeeper did as he had asked.

‘Now, Anna, my dear young lady, I have something to say to you.’ Herr Bayer cleared his throat. ‘You must have noticed how my fondness for you has grown over the time you have
lived here with me. And I hope that you appreciate the efforts I have made to guide your career.’

‘Of course I do, Herr Bayer. I cannot thank you enough.’

‘Let us do away with formality. Please, Anna, call me Franz. You know me well enough by now . . .’

Anna watched Herr Bayer as he lapsed into silence. For the first time since she’d known him, he seemed lost for words. Eventually, he recovered himself and continued.

‘You see, Anna, I have done all this not only to nurture your talent but also because . . . because I find myself in love with you. Of course, being a gentleman, whilst you were promised
to another, I could not speak out, but now you are free, well . . . I realised the depth of my feelings for you clearly this summer when we were parted. And I also know that I must leave you here
alone again to return to my mother’s bedside, with little idea of how long I will be gone. So, I thought it best that I express my intentions now.’ He paused for a second and took a
deep breath. ‘Anna, would you do me the honour of marrying me?’

She looked at him in silent shock, unable to prevent her horror from painting itself on her face.

Noticing her expression immediately, he cleared his throat again. ‘I understand that this proposal may have come as a surprise to you. But Anna, can’t you see what we could be
together? I have served you well in your career so far, and you have already reached the heights here in Christiania. But Norway is a very small country, too small to hold your talent. I have
already written to several musical directors and programming committees in Denmark, Germany and Paris, telling them of your gift. And no doubt, after last night, they will hear of you for
themselves. If we married, I could travel with you to Europe as you appear at the great concert halls. I could protect you, look after you . . . I have waited many years to find a talent like
yours. And of course,’ he added quickly, ‘you have also stolen my heart.’

‘I see.’ Anna gulped, knowing she must respond.

‘Surely you are fond of me?’

‘Yes, and I am . . . grateful.’

‘I believe that we form a good partnership, both on and off the stage. After all, you have lived under my roof for almost a year and know all my bad habits,’ he chuckled. ‘And,
I hope, some of my good ones too. Therefore our marriage would not be as big a leap as it might seem to you – much in our lives would remain the same as it is now.’

Anna shuddered inwardly, knowing of all
sorts
of ways in which Herr Bayer would expect it to be different.

‘You are silent, my dear Anna. I can see that I have surprised you. Whilst I have envisaged this as the natural progression for the two of us, you have perhaps not dared to think of
it.’

You’re certainly right about that
, Anna thought. ‘No,’ she said out loud.

‘The champagne was perhaps a little presumptuous on my part. I see now I must give you some time to consider my offer. Will you think about it, Anna?’

‘Of course, Herr Bayer . . . Franz. I am honoured by your proposal,’ she managed to mumble.

‘I will be away for at least two weeks, probably for longer, and perhaps that will give you an opportunity to mull the idea over. I can only hope and pray that your answer will be in the
affirmative. Having you stay here with me has made me realise how lonely I’ve been since my wife’s passing.’

He looked so dreadfully sad then that Anna wanted to comfort him, just as she would wish to comfort her own father. She shook off the thought and rose to her feet, feeling there was nothing left
to say. ‘I will give deep consideration to what you have asked me. You will have an answer when you return. Goodnight . . . Franz.’

Anna had to force herself not to run from the drawing room, but quickened her footsteps once she was outside in the corridor. When she reached her bedroom, she closed the door and locked it with
the key. Sitting down heavily on her bed, she put her head in her hands, still unable to take in what had just occurred. She racked her brain to think of any way she had unwittingly led Herr Bayer
to believe she would ever marry him. She was certain she had behaved appropriately on all occasions. Never once could she remember flirting with him or ‘giving him the eye’, as the
chorus girls of
Peer Gynt
called it.

However, Anna admitted, her parents had agreed she should live under his roof and let him feed her, clothe her and provide her with opportunities she could never have dreamt of. Not to mention
the sum of money he had paid her father. Why shouldn’t he assume, after all he had done for her, that his reward for his efforts lay in their permanent union?

‘Oh Lord, I can hardly bear it . . .’ she moaned.

The potential ramifications of Herr Bayer’s proposal were huge. If she rejected his proposal, she knew it would be impossible to continue living under his roof. And then where would she
go?

Anna realised then how reliant she was on him. And how many a young girl, or even an older woman such as Frøken Olsdatter perhaps, would jump at the chance to be his wife. He was rich,
cultured and accepted in the highest echelons of Christiania society. He was also kind and respectful. But he must be almost three times her age.

And more to the point . . . Anna remembered the vow she had made to herself. She did not love Herr Bayer. She loved Jens Halvorsen.

After the performance the following evening, which felt flat and uninspired compared to the opening night, she found Jens waiting for her outside the stage door.

‘What are you doing here?’ she hissed. She saw the carriage waiting for her and began to hurry towards it. ‘Someone might see us.’

‘Have no fear, Anna, I’m not intending to compromise your reputation. I only wished to tell you myself how wonderful you were on the first night. And also, to ask you if you are
quite well today?’

At this, she stopped and turned towards him. ‘What do you mean?’

‘As I was watching you tonight, it seemed that you were not yourself. No one else would have noticed, I promise. Your performance was excellent.’

‘How could you know what I was feeling?’ she asked, as tears sprang to her eyes in relief that he somehow
did
.

‘Then I was right,’ he said, as they reached the carriage and the driver opened the door to usher her inside. ‘Can I help?’

‘I . . . don’t know . . . I must go home.’

‘I understand, but please, we should talk – alone,’ he said, lowering his voice so that the driver would not overhear. ‘At least take my address.’ He pressed a
piece of paper into her small hand. ‘Otto, my landlord, will go to the house of one of his private pupils tomorrow. I will be alone at the apartment between the hours of four and
five.’

‘I . . . will have to see,’ she murmured, then turned from him and mounted the steps of the carriage. The driver closed the door and Anna sank onto the seat inside. She saw Jens
wave, then craned her neck to watch him through the window of the carriage as he walked across the road in the direction of Engebret. As the carriage moved off, she sat back, her heart pounding.
She knew perfectly well how improper it was for her to visit a man alone in his apartment, but she also knew she must speak to someone about what had occurred with Herr Bayer last night.

‘I will attend the theatre at four o’clock this afternoon,’ Anna told Frøken Olsdatter over breakfast the next morning. ‘Herr Josephson has
called a rehearsal, as he’s unhappy with a scene in Act Two.’

‘Will you be back for supper?’

‘I would hope so, yes. I cannot imagine it taking longer than two hours.’

Perhaps it was Anna’s imagination, but Frøken Olsdatter gave her the kind of look that her own mother would when she knew her daughter was lying.

‘Very well. Do you wish for a carriage to collect you afterwards?’

‘No, the trams will still be running and I can easily find my way home.’ Anna rose and walked as calmly as she could from the breakfast table.

When she left the apartment later, she wasn’t nearly as calm.

As she boarded the tram, her heart was thumping so loudly she was surprised her neighbour couldn’t hear it. She disembarked at the next stop and walked swiftly towards the address Jens had
given her. She tried to justify her imminent action by telling herself that this was her one friend in Christiania and the only person she could trust.

‘You came,’ Jens said with a smile as he opened the door to the apartment. ‘Please, come in.’

‘Thank you.’ Anna followed him inside and along the corridor to a spacious drawing room, elegantly furnished and not dissimilar to Herr Bayer’s.

‘Would you like some tea? Though I’m warning you, I must make it myself because the maid left at three o’clock.’

‘No, thank you. I had tea before I left, and the journey here was not far.’

‘Please,’ he said, gesturing towards a chair, ‘will you sit down?’

‘Thank you.’ She did so, grateful that the chair was near the stove, for she was shivering with cold and anxiety. Jens sat down opposite her. ‘This apartment seems very
comfortable,’ she ventured.

‘If you had seen where I was living before . . .’ Jens shook his head and chuckled. ‘Well, let us say that I am happy to have found alternative accommodation. But let us not
waste time on idle small talk. Anna, what is wrong? Can you bring yourself to speak about it?’

‘Oh Lord!’ Anna put a hand to her brow. ‘It is . . . complicated.’

‘Problems normally are.’

‘The problem is that Herr Bayer has asked for my hand in marriage.’

‘I see.’ Jens nodded, outwardly calm, but his hands had balled into fists. ‘And how have you answered him?’

‘He left for Drøbak early yesterday morning; his mother is dying and he is at her bedside. I must give him an answer when he returns.’

‘When will that be?’

‘When his mother dies, I suppose.’

‘Answer me this truthfully: how did you feel when he asked you?’

‘I was horrified. And guilty too. You must understand how kind Herr Bayer has been. He has given me so much.’

‘Anna, it is your talent that has given you everything you have now.’

‘Yes, but he has nurtured me and given me opportunities that I could never have foreseen when I was living in Heddal.’

‘Then you are equals.’

‘It doesn’t feel like that,’ Anna persisted. ‘And when I refuse him, where am I to go?’

‘So you wish to refuse him?’

‘Of course! It would be like marrying my own grandfather! He must be well over fifty years old. But I will have to move out of the apartment, and I will surely make an enemy.’

‘I have lots of enemies, Anna,’ Jens sighed. ‘Granted, they are mostly of my own making. But Herr Bayer is less powerful in Christiania than either you or he
believes.’

‘Perhaps, but Jens, where would I go?’

There was a silence then as they both thought about what had been said. And also, what remained unsaid. It was Jens who spoke first.

‘Anna, it is very hard for me to say anything about your future. Before the summer, I could have offered you everything that Herr Bayer can, and I accept that you are a woman, and that
life has far more boundaries for you. However, you must remember that you are now successful in your own right – the current star in the Christiania firmament. You need Herr Bayer less than
you imagine.’

‘Well, I will not know how much I need him until after I have made the decision, will I?’

‘No.’ Jens smiled at Anna’s pragmatism. ‘You know how I feel about you, Anna, but even though my heart wishes to offer you everything, I have no idea what my material
circumstances will be in the future. However, you must believe I would be the most miserable man in Christiania if you went ahead and married Herr Bayer. And it is not just for my own selfish
reasons, but for you too, because I know you don’t love him.’

Anna realised then how dreadful this must all sound to Jens, who’d confessed his love to her freely when she had yet to do the same to him. Agitated, she stood up and made to leave.
‘Forgive me, Jens, I shouldn’t have come. It’s completely’ – she searched for the word that Herr Bayer would use – ‘inappropriate.’

‘I admit, I find it hard to hear that another man has told you he loves you. Although most of Christiania would applaud your acceptance of his hand in marriage.’

‘Yes, I’m sure.’ She turned away from him and walked towards the door. ‘I’m truly sorry, but I really must go.’