guess I’ve kept my distance. Until now. But have a seat, by all means.’
He pointed at the kitchen table as if he owned the place.
‘I want to know more about this cottage,’ she said once they had sat down. ‘Do you know who owns it, and why it’s always empty?’
‘An old lady owns it. She comes in the summer. That’s all I know.’
‘There’s something special about it. Like, I was drawn here.’
‘It’s in a funny spot. In the middle of the woods.’
They didn’t speak for a moment as they looked at each other. A lone ray of sunlight cut through the gap in the curtains and set fire to the dust, which whirled up to the ceiling like a tiny tornado. There was so much life in his eyes. When she gazed into them she felt a pleasant sort of rush, a stream of warmth trickling through her body.
‘Don’t they miss you when you disappear?’
‘Nah, an hour here and there doesn’t matter. It’s so chaotic down on the first floor.’
‘I have to run to catch the ferry.’
‘When are you coming back?’
‘I have no idea, but it will be soon — I’m going to work in the library.’
‘I know that too. Rumours spread fast in our little group. Can’t you take the morning ferry instead? I know every nook and cranny of this island; I can show you around and —’
‘Not today. But maybe when I come back.’
She glanced at her watch. It was almost four-thirty.
‘Shit! I have to hurry!’ she said, dashing through the front door.
She ran into the woods and toward the heath, but she turned around one last time before she disappeared into the trees.
He was standing on the lawn and gazing after her.
Benjamin Frisk, she thought. Another reason to come back.
She pedalled frantically all the way to the village.
The sun glittered off everything: the asphalt, the bike, the sea, and the cliffs.
We search for the book and find the cape instead.
We sit in the hot, stuffy attic, poring through books that smell like sun-warmed dust and mothballs. Sometimes they fall apart when we pick them up.
‘What are we looking for?’ she asks.
‘A book of family history. It’s supposed to be bound in leather and I’m sure it’s handwritten.’
‘How do you know it’s here?’
‘Mom saw it once. When she was cleaning. She put it up here with the other books.’
She is impatient. She gets up and starts snooping through the attic, getting farther and farther away from me.
Then I hear her voice, far off in the darkness.
‘Fredrik, look at this!’
At first I can’t see her, so I have to stop looking through the books to get up. The interruption infuriates me, but then I see what she’s holding up. A hanger with a big, black velvet cape, hood and all. I recognize it immediately.
‘That belonged to the Countess! The one who killed herself,’ I say.
‘How do you know that?’
‘I saw it in a picture. She’s on a horse, wearing it.’
‘Oh my god, it’s beautiful!’ she says.
‘Put it on!’ I order her.
‘What?’
‘I said, put it on. But take off your clothes first. You have to be naked underneath.’
‘No way. Why?’
‘Just do as I say!’
She obeys, pulling off her skirt and sweater. I shoot a meaningful look at her panties, so she takes those off too. She stands there naked on the attic floor, grinning. Then she sweeps the cape around herself with a dramatic flourish.
Her hair falls across the black velvet like gold.
‘Open the cape and show yourself,’ I say.
She does as I order. The effect is magnificent.
‘Awesome! You have to wear it tonight in the barn,’ I say.
Her only response is a nod, but I can tell that she likes the thought.
I take in the vision of her again. And that’s when the idea comes to me.
Like a lightning bolt out of the blue.
‘And your cell phone, laptop, tablet, and anything else like that.’
‘Are you joking?’
‘Do I look like I’m joking?’
No, Bosse — in charge of personnel, as he had introduced himself — didn’t look like he was joking in the least. Like most of the staff, he was young, and he had a blond crew cut and eyes that were so intensely blue that they looked unreal. His presence suggested that he was used to being in charge.
When she stepped into his office, he had looked at her with mild distaste, like she was vermin or an animal that had to be tamed. She immediately found him irritating and put up a mental wall between them, so he would see that he didn’t have any power over her. No sir.
‘Sofia, you’ll have your own locker here. Your belongings will be safe, and of course you can use them on your time off. It’s just that it doesn’t look good when our staff run around with cell phones and tablets. A crucial part of our program is helping our guests free themselves from the need for gadgets. There’s a computer in the staff dining room where you can email your family and friends, or surf the web on your time off.’
Sofia reluctantly placed her iPhone on the desk in front of him. She thought of her laptop, which was in one of her suitcases, but she quickly decided it was none of his business.
‘Computer?’
‘No, I left it at home.’
‘Good choice. You can keep your watch, of course. It’s important to be on time around here.’
