friends had even remarked how boring she was and that she should let herself go more, have a drink and ‘stop being so uptight’. She had been insulted at the time but now she knew they were right.
Their topic of conversation turned to superstition. Emma shared with them that Britt-Marie had almost panicked when Emma had put the back door key on the kitchen table earlier that day.
“Yes, I would never put keys on the table, that’s for sure”, Erik’s father said. “But there are some stupid superstitions out there. The worst one I have heard was a man who refused to leave his house without wearing a specific hat. The funny thing was that the hat was actually more of a woman’s hat, with flowers and all. But even so, he refused to leave the house without it… I suppose that may have been more craziness than superstition” he added as an afterthought. “No actually I’m sure it was mainly superstition, he seemed like a normal guy…except for the hat.” They all laughed.
“Dad, you make it sound like this place is full of mad people. That’s not true, although I suppose there is the odd exception, like in any other place in the world”. Erik seemed genuinely concerned not to give Emma the impression that Sweden was full of weird people.
Emma chuckled: “Well, you should see Covent Garden at weekends, no actually every night. It’s crammed full of eccentrics, showing off their strange skills.
Except for the fact that Mrs Stenbock had occupied Paul all evening, Emma had a lovely time. The food was excellent and the company outstanding. She thanked everyone before going upstairs to bed. She was surprised to see that it was nearly midnight. As she walked up the stairs she felt dizzy. She had had too much wine. She could hear footsteps behind her. It was Paul rushing to catch up with her. At the top of the stairs he grabbed her shoulder and turned her around, carefully pushing her a bit further away from the stairs. She could see in his eyes that he too had had a lot to drink and that he was probably not feeling his normal self.
“I’m sorry for having ignored you all evening”, he said with a strange slurry voice which she didn’t recognise. “I knew that if I had kept looking at you in your pretty blue dress, I wouldn’t have been able to contain myself. As you know, I also had to do my duty and entertain Mrs Stenbock”.
“But you are looking at me now”, Emma said as she moved towards him. Paul thrust his body against hers and kissed her much more deeply than he had earlier that day in the woods. After only a brief moment, Emma heard someone coming up the stairs and this brought her out of the daze. She gently pushed Paul away and started to walk in the direction of her room. He seemed a bit surprised and disappointed at first but when he saw Mrs Stenbock coming up the stairs he looked at Emma and winked. Not sure what he had meant by the wink, Emma went into her bedroom and locked the door. She wondered whether he would knock on the door later. Part of her almost hoped that he would but her sensible portion knew that him staying away would be preferable. Why complicate things unnecessarily.
After half an hour she realised he wasn’t going to come. This was probably a good thing as lying on the bed she felt light headed. At one point she was almost afraid she would be sick. She walked over to the window and opened it to get some fresh air. Although the sun had gone down fully, it still left a smidgen of light. Her bedroom window on the second floor was on the side of old Torpa. In her precarious state she noted that the enormous old white stone building looked majestic in the pale light of the moon, still mirrored in the dark lake behind it. It came across almost magical with its grand entrance but also a bit frightening with three or four floors of rows of dark windows, potentially hiding something within its walls. As Emma stood there looking out over the eerie courtyard and old walls she
Their topic of conversation turned to superstition. Emma shared with them that Britt-Marie had almost panicked when Emma had put the back door key on the kitchen table earlier that day.
“Yes, I would never put keys on the table, that’s for sure”, Erik’s father said. “But there are some stupid superstitions out there. The worst one I have heard was a man who refused to leave his house without wearing a specific hat. The funny thing was that the hat was actually more of a woman’s hat, with flowers and all. But even so, he refused to leave the house without it… I suppose that may have been more craziness than superstition” he added as an afterthought. “No actually I’m sure it was mainly superstition, he seemed like a normal guy…except for the hat.” They all laughed.
“Dad, you make it sound like this place is full of mad people. That’s not true, although I suppose there is the odd exception, like in any other place in the world”. Erik seemed genuinely concerned not to give Emma the impression that Sweden was full of weird people.
Emma chuckled: “Well, you should see Covent Garden at weekends, no actually every night. It’s crammed full of eccentrics, showing off their strange skills.
Except for the fact that Mrs Stenbock had occupied Paul all evening, Emma had a lovely time. The food was excellent and the company outstanding. She thanked everyone before going upstairs to bed. She was surprised to see that it was nearly midnight. As she walked up the stairs she felt dizzy. She had had too much wine. She could hear footsteps behind her. It was Paul rushing to catch up with her. At the top of the stairs he grabbed her shoulder and turned her around, carefully pushing her a bit further away from the stairs. She could see in his eyes that he too had had a lot to drink and that he was probably not feeling his normal self.
“I’m sorry for having ignored you all evening”, he said with a strange slurry voice which she didn’t recognise. “I knew that if I had kept looking at you in your pretty blue dress, I wouldn’t have been able to contain myself. As you know, I also had to do my duty and entertain Mrs Stenbock”.
“But you are looking at me now”, Emma said as she moved towards him. Paul thrust his body against hers and kissed her much more deeply than he had earlier that day in the woods. After only a brief moment, Emma heard someone coming up the stairs and this brought her out of the daze. She gently pushed Paul away and started to walk in the direction of her room. He seemed a bit surprised and disappointed at first but when he saw Mrs Stenbock coming up the stairs he looked at Emma and winked. Not sure what he had meant by the wink, Emma went into her bedroom and locked the door. She wondered whether he would knock on the door later. Part of her almost hoped that he would but her sensible portion knew that him staying away would be preferable. Why complicate things unnecessarily.
After half an hour she realised he wasn’t going to come. This was probably a good thing as lying on the bed she felt light headed. At one point she was almost afraid she would be sick. She walked over to the window and opened it to get some fresh air. Although the sun had gone down fully, it still left a smidgen of light. Her bedroom window on the second floor was on the side of old Torpa. In her precarious state she noted that the enormous old white stone building looked majestic in the pale light of the moon, still mirrored in the dark lake behind it. It came across almost magical with its grand entrance but also a bit frightening with three or four floors of rows of dark windows, potentially hiding something within its walls. As Emma stood there looking out over the eerie courtyard and old walls she
Similar Books
