The Storm Sister (The Seven Sisters #2) (53 page)

‘Frau Halvorsen, rest assured it has been a pleasure,’ he said as he took his leave.

As Herr Hougaard left for Baden-Baden, Anna also noticed a change in Jens. He wasn’t home as usual for supper and when he did arrive, he was jumpy, like a cat on hot bricks. When he made
love to her, she felt a new distance.

‘What is it?’ she asked him one night. ‘I know something is wrong.’

‘Nothing,’ he said sharply as he pulled out of her arms and rolled over. ‘I’m just tired, that’s all.’

‘Jens,
min eskelde
, I know you. Please tell me what it is.’

He didn’t move for a while, then rolled back to face her. ‘All right, I have a dilemma and I don’t know what to do.’

‘Then for heaven’s sake, tell me what it is. Maybe I can help.’

‘The problem is, you won’t like it at all.’

‘I see. Then you had better tell me.’

‘Well, you remember the woman who you saw me having lunch with?’

‘The baroness. How could I forget?’ said Anna, bristling at the mention of her.

‘She has asked me to go with her to Paris for the summer, where she and her husband have a château near the Palace of Versailles. She holds weekly musical soirées for the
great and the good of the arts world and she wishes me to premiere my new compositions there. Of course, it is the most wonderful opportunity for my work to be heard. Baroness von Gottfried knows
everyone and, as I told you, she is a great champion of young composers. She tells me that even Herr Grieg has played at one of her events.’

‘Well then, of course we must go. I don’t understand why this should be a dilemma for you.’

This elicited a groan from Jens. ‘Anna, that is why I have not told you. The problem is, I cannot take you with me.’

‘Oh. May I ask why not?’

‘Because . . .’ Jens sighed. ‘Baroness von Gottfried doesn’t know about you. I have never mentioned that I am married. To be truthful, I thought it might prejudice her
good favour towards me if I did. At the time I met her, things between you and I were . . . difficult, and we were living as little more than brother and sister, or as friends. So there we are. She
has no knowledge of your existence.’

‘Then why do you not tell her now that I
do
exist?’ Anna’s voice was low and cold as she digested the underlying meaning of what her husband was saying.

‘Because . . . I am frightened. Yes, Anna, your Jens is frightened of the fact that the baroness will no longer wish me to accompany her to Paris if she does know.’

‘You wish for the baroness to believe you are available, so she will help you in your career?’

‘Yes, Anna. Oh Lord, what an ass I am . . .’

‘Yes, you are.’ Anna watched dispassionately as Jens pulled the pillow over his head and buried himself beneath it like a naughty child being chastised by his mother.

‘Forgive me, Anna, I truly hate myself. But at least I’ve given you the full facts.’

‘How long does she want you to go for?’

‘Just for the summer,’ said Jens, emerging from underneath the pillow. ‘You must understand that I am doing this all for us, to further my career and earn money so you can move
from this room and one day have a proper home, as you truly deserve.’

And so you can taste the fame you believe you deserve
, she thought harshly. ‘Then you must go.’

‘Really?’ Jens looked suspicious. ‘Why on earth would you let me?’

‘Simply because you have put me in an untenable position. If I forbid it, you will sulk here the entire summer and blame me for your misfortune. And despite others’ persuasion to the
contrary’ – Anna took a deep breath – ‘I trust you.’

‘You do?’ He looked amazed. ‘Then you truly are a goddess amongst women!’

‘Jens, you are my husband. What is the point of this marriage if I cannot?’ she replied grimly.

‘Thank you. Thank you, my darling wife.’

Jens departed a few days later, leaving Anna with enough money to see her comfortably through the next few weeks until he returned. His overwhelming gratitude for her
generosity had been enough to convince her that she’d made the right decision. Every night before he left, she’d lain in bed with him, and seen him staring at her in wonder.

‘I love you, Anna, I love you . . .’ he’d said over and over again. And then, on the morning of his departure, he’d held her to him as if he couldn’t bear to let
her go.

‘Promise you’ll wait for me, my darling wife, whatever happens?’

‘Of course, Jens. You are my husband.’

Anna got through the stifling Leipzig summer on sheer determination. With the windows thrown open to let in any breath of wind that reached the narrow street between the
houses, she lay naked on the bed at night, perspiring from the heat. She finished Goethe’s
Faust
and sweated through any other book she could borrow from the town library to improve
her German vocabulary. She also purchased fabric from the market and took her sewing to the park, sitting underneath a shady tree as she laboriously fashioned herself a dress out of fustian, along
with a warmer cloak for the winter to come. As she measured herself for the clothes, she fretted at the fact that she was not yet twenty, but her waistline was already expanding, as other
women’s seemed to do once they were wed. She visited the Thomaskirche every other day, both for spiritual and physical succour, finding the cool interior of the church the only place she
could escape from the heat.

She wrote regularly to Jens at the address he’d given to her before he left for Paris, but received only two brief notes in return, which said that he was well and busy meeting many of
Baroness von Gottfried’s important contacts. He said his composition had gone down well at the recital, and that he was working on something new in his spare time.

The château is inspiring my best work yet! How could one not feel creative in such a beautiful place as this?

As the summer dragged on interminably, Anna refused to succumb to the dark thoughts that wormed their way into her mind about Jens’ rich and powerful female sponsor. He
would return to her soon enough, she told herself firmly, and they could continue their married life together.

Jens had never given her an exact date for his return, but as Anna was eating breakfast one morning in early September, her landlady, Frau Schneider, asked pointedly if her husband was due back
in Leipzig today, in time for the start of the new term at the Conservatory tomorrow.

‘I’m sure he will be, yes,’ Anna replied evenly, determined not to show her surprise. She made her way up the stairs immediately to comb her hair and change into her new dress.
She stared at her reflection in the small looking glass she kept on top of the chest, and thought she looked well. There was no doubt her cheeks had filled out since Jens had left and she hoped he
would approve – he, like her family, had often teased her that she was too thin.

Anna didn’t leave the stuffy room for the rest of the day, nervous and excited at the thought of her husband’s return.

But as dusk began to fall, so did her spirits. Surely, she thought, Jens would not miss the first day of the new term at his beloved Conservatory? Yet as midnight struck and the bells from the
churches chimed in a new day, Anna removed her dress and lay down on the bed in her petticoat. She knew there would be no more trains into Leipzig station tonight.

Three days on, and Anna was frantic with worry. She walked to the Conservatory and waited until the students poured out of its doors, smoking and chatting. Recognising Frederick, the young man
with whom they’d spent last Christmas Eve, she walked up to him shyly.

‘Excuse me for disturbing you, Herr Frederick,’ said Anna, unaware of his surname, ‘but have you seen Jens at school this week?’

Frederick stared at her, taking a moment to recognise who she was. And then glanced at his friends as something passed between them. ‘No, Frau Halvorsen, I’m afraid I have not. Has
anybody else?’ he asked the group around him. They shook their heads, their eyes averted in embarrassment.

‘I am concerned that something has happened to him in Paris, for I have not heard from him in over a month now and he was due back for the start of term.’ Anna twisted the wedding
ring around her finger in agitation. ‘Is there anyone else here at the Conservatory who might know of his whereabouts?’

‘I can ask Herr Halvorsen’s tutor if he has heard anything. But I must be honest with you, Frau Halvorsen, I was under the impression that his plan was to settle in Paris. He told me
he only had enough money to fund one year’s tuition here. Although, of course, the school may have offered him a scholarship to stay on. Did they?’ he enquired.

‘I . . .’ Anna felt the world spin about her and she staggered slightly. Frederick caught her arm and steadied her.

‘Frau Halvorsen, you are obviously unwell.’

‘No, no, I am very well indeed,’ she said, pulling out of his grasp, pride squaring her chin. ‘
Danke
, Herr Frederick.’ She nodded her thanks and walked away with
her head held as high as she could manage.

‘Oh my dear Lord, oh my Lord,’ she muttered as she struggled home through the busy streets, still breathless and dizzy.

Collapsing onto the bed, Anna reached for the glass of water beside it and drank deeply to ease her faintness and her thirst.

‘It cannot be true. It
cannot
be true. If he intends to stay in Paris, why has he not sent for me?’ The bare walls of the room could not give her the answer she needed.
‘He would not abandon me, no, he would not,’ she convinced herself. ‘He loves me, I am his wife . . .’

After a sleepless night, during which Anna thought she might go mad with the thoughts battering her mind, she staggered down to breakfast to find Frau Schneider standing in the hallway reading a
letter.

‘Good morning, Frau Halvorsen. I have just received very sad news. It seems your friend, Herr Hougaard, died of a heart attack two weeks ago. His family wish me to pack up his belongings
and they’ll send a cart to collect them.’

Anna’s hand flew to her mouth. ‘Oh no, please, no.’ And at this point, the world went black.

She woke to find herself in Frau Schneider’s private sitting room, lying on the sofa with a cool cloth on her head.