stay.”
“Miss Kling, wouldn’t you like to stay?”
“No,” Katri answered.
Then Anna smiled, and without a trace of her usual confusion, she said, “Do you know, Miss Kling, you’re a very unusual person. I’ve never met anyone so terribly – and I use the word in the sense of frightening – so terribly honest. I want you to listen, now, because I think what I have to say is important. You’re young, and perhaps you don’t yet know so much about life, but believe me, almost everyone tries to play a part, to be what they’re not.” Anna thought for a moment. “Not Madame Nygård, but that’s another matter… You know, I notice much more than people realize. Don’t misunderstand me – of course they mean well. I’ve met nothing but kindness my whole life. Nevertheless… you, Miss Kling, are always yourself, and that feels somehow…” she hesitated, “…different. I trust you.”
Katri looked at Anna, who, entirely in passing, in friendly earnest, had given the go-ahead for an authorized conquest of the rabbit house.
Anna continued. “Now don’t take this the wrong way, Miss Kling, but I find your way of never saying what a person expects you to say, I find it somehow appealing. In you there’s no, if you’ll pardon my saying so, no trace of what people call politeness… And politeness can sometimes be almost a kind of deceit, can it not? Do you know what I mean?”
“Yes,” said Katri. “I do.”
* * *
Katri walked on out towards the point with the dog. The snow had a crust hard enough to walk on. Spring was coming, a spring that belonged to Katri Kling, Katri Kling who in open and honourable play had finally won a round, who had everything she wanted to achieve within reach. A new strength coursed through her. She ran straight out on the snowdrifts at the beach, broke through the crust, stopped, up to her knees in snow, raised her arms and laughed. The dog, back on the lighthouse road, growled, a low, warning growl deep in his throat. “Quiet,” said Katri. “Heel.” She was giving orders to herself. Now it was only a question of self-control and concentration. The game could continue, and now she could fight with her own weapons. Which she believed were pure.
Chapter Eight
“H ERE ARE SOME POSTAL ORDERS I’ve signed and witnessed, but you should have a look at them, Miss Aemelin. And here’s the money Liljeberg picked up last time.”
“How kind of you,” Anna said, shoving the envelope full of money into her desk.
“But aren’t you going to count it?”
“Why?”
“To make sure it’s right.”
“My dear Miss Kling,” said Anna, “I am certain that it’s right. Is he still skiing into town?”
“Yes, he is.” Katri paused for a moment. “Miss Aemelin, there is something I want to speak to you about. Liljeberg overcharged you for shovelling and fixing the drain – both labour and materials. I mentioned it to him and he returned the difference. Here it is.”
“But you can’t do that,” Anna exclaimed. “That just isn’t done… And how can you be sure?”
“I checked the going price and asked him how much he’d charged. It was simple.”
“I don’t believe it,” Anna said. “Absolutely not. All the Liljebergs like me, I know they do…”
“Believe me, Miss Aemelin, people like you a little less when they can cheat you.”
Anna shook her head. “How awkward,” she said. “And just when it’s snowing in through the attic window…”
“Believe me,” Katri said again. “It’s not awkward. Liljeberg will come and fix the window whenever you say, and he’ll do it with new respect and at a good price.”
But Anna couldn’t let it go. She insisted that the whole business was tedious and unnecessary, and that she and Liljeberg could never again treat each other naturally. Moreover, money didn’t always matter as much as people seemed to think.
“It may well be that the marks and the pennies are not so important,”
“Miss Kling, wouldn’t you like to stay?”
“No,” Katri answered.
Then Anna smiled, and without a trace of her usual confusion, she said, “Do you know, Miss Kling, you’re a very unusual person. I’ve never met anyone so terribly – and I use the word in the sense of frightening – so terribly honest. I want you to listen, now, because I think what I have to say is important. You’re young, and perhaps you don’t yet know so much about life, but believe me, almost everyone tries to play a part, to be what they’re not.” Anna thought for a moment. “Not Madame Nygård, but that’s another matter… You know, I notice much more than people realize. Don’t misunderstand me – of course they mean well. I’ve met nothing but kindness my whole life. Nevertheless… you, Miss Kling, are always yourself, and that feels somehow…” she hesitated, “…different. I trust you.”
Katri looked at Anna, who, entirely in passing, in friendly earnest, had given the go-ahead for an authorized conquest of the rabbit house.
Anna continued. “Now don’t take this the wrong way, Miss Kling, but I find your way of never saying what a person expects you to say, I find it somehow appealing. In you there’s no, if you’ll pardon my saying so, no trace of what people call politeness… And politeness can sometimes be almost a kind of deceit, can it not? Do you know what I mean?”
“Yes,” said Katri. “I do.”
* * *
Katri walked on out towards the point with the dog. The snow had a crust hard enough to walk on. Spring was coming, a spring that belonged to Katri Kling, Katri Kling who in open and honourable play had finally won a round, who had everything she wanted to achieve within reach. A new strength coursed through her. She ran straight out on the snowdrifts at the beach, broke through the crust, stopped, up to her knees in snow, raised her arms and laughed. The dog, back on the lighthouse road, growled, a low, warning growl deep in his throat. “Quiet,” said Katri. “Heel.” She was giving orders to herself. Now it was only a question of self-control and concentration. The game could continue, and now she could fight with her own weapons. Which she believed were pure.
Chapter Eight
“H ERE ARE SOME POSTAL ORDERS I’ve signed and witnessed, but you should have a look at them, Miss Aemelin. And here’s the money Liljeberg picked up last time.”
“How kind of you,” Anna said, shoving the envelope full of money into her desk.
“But aren’t you going to count it?”
“Why?”
“To make sure it’s right.”
“My dear Miss Kling,” said Anna, “I am certain that it’s right. Is he still skiing into town?”
“Yes, he is.” Katri paused for a moment. “Miss Aemelin, there is something I want to speak to you about. Liljeberg overcharged you for shovelling and fixing the drain – both labour and materials. I mentioned it to him and he returned the difference. Here it is.”
“But you can’t do that,” Anna exclaimed. “That just isn’t done… And how can you be sure?”
“I checked the going price and asked him how much he’d charged. It was simple.”
“I don’t believe it,” Anna said. “Absolutely not. All the Liljebergs like me, I know they do…”
“Believe me, Miss Aemelin, people like you a little less when they can cheat you.”
Anna shook her head. “How awkward,” she said. “And just when it’s snowing in through the attic window…”
“Believe me,” Katri said again. “It’s not awkward. Liljeberg will come and fix the window whenever you say, and he’ll do it with new respect and at a good price.”
But Anna couldn’t let it go. She insisted that the whole business was tedious and unnecessary, and that she and Liljeberg could never again treat each other naturally. Moreover, money didn’t always matter as much as people seemed to think.
“It may well be that the marks and the pennies are not so important,”
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