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Anna looked at the watery expanse in front of them. It was much narrower than the one they had crossed two days ago, but still she was afraid of getting seasick again.
Joana, her new maid, and chaperone stood beside her and talked about how exciting everything was. She had no idea that she was not to speak unless she was spoken to. Anna would have to teach her about etiquette if she were to remain her maid, but she also found it refreshing that the girl simply spoke.
“Look at this, your ladyship,” Joana said and ran over to an anchor that had been hauled ashore. It was clear that someone was working on fixing it. It was as tall as Joana. “Isn’t it incredible that it can hold an entire ship?” Joana asked and looked at Anna with a smile.
Anna nodded and smiled as she walked on along the harbor. She spotted Lord Rosenkranz standing further down the harbor talking to a man. Anna supposed that he was arranging their crossing the next day for them. Anna looked out over the water again. She did not like to be as sick as she had been before.
Lord Rosenkranz saw them, said goodbye to the man and came over to them. The bruises on his face had already lost some of the color, even though it was still evident that he had been in a fight.
“That’s the man that’s going to take us across tomorrow,” he said and pointed. Anna nodded. They walked slowly along the harbor, while Joana followed behind them. She often came with enthusiastic exclamations about what she saw.
“I have to say, that I’m a bit nervous about having to cross the water again,” Anna said.
Lord Rosenkranz looked out over the water.
“Nonsense, the water here is much calmer than the larger one and the trip across it will take much less time. You won’t even have time to get seasick,” he looked at her and smiled.
Anna smiled back. She appreciated that they had had to share the carriage yesterday. She had gotten to know him a little better. It felt nice, since he was one of Jonathan’s best friends. Today he had been able to ride though, and she had had the carriage to herself, which she preferred. It felt strange sitting that close to someone that she did not know well.
“What are your plans for the evening?” Lord Rosenkranz asked.
Anna shrugged.
“Nothing really. Do you have any plans?” she said with surprise.
She had thought that they would eat together, like they had done the two previous nights. She had not realized until now, that she liked sitting across from him talking about nothing in particular – or not talking at all. But it kept her mind off her father and made it easier for her to go to sleep at night.
“I’m going to visit an old friend of mine, Walter Hansen, he is the commander of the city. We trained as soldiers together. It’s been a while since I’ve seen him,” Lord Rosenkranz explained.
He was walking with his hands on his back and was clearly trying to walk slowly for the two of them to be able to follow each other. He was at least a head taller than her and would naturally walk much faster than her if he walked in his normal pace.
Anna had not thought about the fact that Lord Rosenkranz of course knew people across the country just the same as she did. Of course, he knew people. He was an earl and an important advisor to Jonathan. Even though he was aloof and difficult to get to know, there had to be people that knew him well. Anna wondered how that happened.
“I’m sure that you’re welcome, if you want to join me,” Lord Rosenkranz said and interrupted her thoughts. “I just assumed that you wanted to go to bed early. I’m sorry about that, I should have asked you of course.”
Anna smiled at him. It seemed to be the longest sentence that he had said all day.
“It’s fine, don’t worry about it,” she said and looked down. “I’ll be fine on my own. I don’t want to impose on you and your friend.”
“I’m going to his house. He has a wife and four children, there will be nothing improper about it,” Lord Rosenkranz assured her enthusiastically.
Anna nodded as if he had convinced her when in fact, she had wanted to go from the moment that he had told her. She was curious to know the type of person that Lord Rosenkranz would call a friend.
“Okay, that sounds lovely,” she said.
***
Walter Hansen’s house was one of the greatest on the central square. A large half-timbered, three-story tall house with a thatched roof. It had been painted bright yellow and there were beautiful decorations around the green door. It was clear that he was one of the most prominent men in the city.
Anna could feel that she was starting to get nervous. She had been living in solitude in the convent for about two years and suddenly felt anxious having to converse with people for an entire evening. She had been known for her lively demeanor and cheeky comments before, but that young girl seemed to have died along with Valdemar.
Lord Rosenkranz went ahead up the stairs and knocked on the door. A male servant opened, and they were led into the best room of the house that was just as beautiful as the outside had been with paintings and tapestry on the walls and beautifully carved furniture.
A man and a woman were waiting there, both well dressed. The man in a dark green tunic and brown tights, the woman in a lavender colored dress. Anna felt a pang of jealousy. She had been wearing grey for so long at the convent and now she had no idea where her dresses were. At Haraldsborg castle probably. She only had a few dresses with her and was right now wearing her finest, which was a light grey color.
“Wulfric!” the man said and stepped forward. He had dark brown hair and a dark brown beard that made him look several years older than Lord Rosenkranz.
“Hey, it’s Lord Rosenkranz to you, thank you very much,” Lord Rosenkranz said in a joking voice.
Anna remembered that his older brother had died a couple of years ago, making him the earl. The two men had probably not seen each since then, she gathered.
“Then I’d better,” the man said and bowed from his hips. Lord Rosenkranz bowed only his head to signal the difference in rank.
“It’s been too long,” the man said, and to Anna’s surprise he hugged Lord Rosenkranz.
“Careful,” Lord Rosenkranz said even though he was reciprocating the hug. “I’m a bit bruised.”
“Yes, I can see that,” the man said and let go of him. “What happened?”
“Lewinus,” was all that Lord Rosenkranz said.
“Oh, that ass with ears...” the man said with a dark look on his face that convinced Anna that the man had dealt thoroughly with Nicholas Lewinus.
“Walter!” His wife said and slapped his arm. “You can’t say such a thing in front of a lady...”
“Well, in my humble opinion I think you’re absolutely right about him,” Anna said.
Both the man and woman looked astonished at her. Lord Rosenkranz quickly interceded.
“This is Lady Anna Harold,” Lord Rosenkranz then presented her. “This is commander Walter Hansen and his wife Esther.”
Anna curtsied slightly, while Esther Hansen curtsied deeper, and Walter Hansen bowed again.
“I’m escorting Lady Harold back to her estate,” Lord Rosenkranz went on.
“I’m so sorry to hear about your loss, your ladyship,” Walter Hansen said. “I met your father a couple of times, and he really was a great man.”
“Thank you,” Anna said and could feel her throat contract. She looked around the room, that felt homey, despite its size and nice interior, to distract herself.
“Please, your ladyship, if you would care to join me over here, then we can let the men catch up,” Esther Hansen gestured towards a bench and a couple of chairs standing around a large table. All of it was made from fine wood. Anna smiled at her and sat down in one of the chairs.
She watched as Lord Rosenkranz and Walter Hansen walked to one of the windows that overlooked the square. They were already deep in conversation about the defense of the city.
“You have four children, Lord Rosenkranz told me,” Anna said and looked at Esther Hansen.
The woman had to be a couple of years older than her, but not much. She was wearing a light purple headscarf to cover her hair, but some lose strands of hair revealed that she was a brunette. It was the only good thing about not being married, Anna thought. That she did not have to wear the headscarf. She was almost shocked that she was able to think so and barely listened as Esther Hansen answered her question:
“Yes, indeed, we’ve been blessed to have four of our children survive infancy. The eldest will be seven soon.”
Anna tried to smile. She and Valdemar could have had a four-year old by now, if she had been able to conceive right away. She almost sighed. It had pained them both that they had not had a child during their one and a half year long marriage. She had hoped beyond hope when Valdemar had died, that she might have conceived. That way she would be able to keep just a little piece of him. A small black-haired boy with blue eyes.
Her eyes started to burn, a clear sign that she was about to cry, and she quickly blinked. Perhaps it was too early that she had gone into society. She had just recently lost her father, and no one would have thought anything of it, if she just stayed in her room at the inn. Then she remembered the loneliness. No, this was better. It was better to be here, and it was interesting to see who Lord Rosenkranz’ friends were.
She asked another question about the children and stole a glance at him. He was still standing by the window talking to the commander. For a moment he turned his head and they looked into each other’s eyes. He had dark brown eyes. She had noticed that before, hadn’t she?
He smiled slightly and turned his attention back to the square in front of the window. Anna turned to Esther Hansen and smiled almost apologetically. They kept conversing about the children and how their journey had been, until the food was served, and the men joined them. It was clear that the Hansens had spared no expense on this meal.
“I hope the food is to your ladyship’s taste?” Esther Hansen asked her.
“It’s truly delicious,” Anna said and took another bite, even though she did not feel that great an appetite. She could see that Lord Rosenkranz as always was eating enthusiastically, like he had not eaten in several days.
“How did you and Lord Rosenkranz actually meet?” Anna asked Walter Hansen.
“We met as soldiers,” Walter Hansen said and cut a bite of his meat.
“But that was not how the two of you became friends,” Esther Hansen said with a knowing smile.
“No,” Walter Hansen agreed. “For the first few years we hardly spoke to each other. Your ladyship must have noticed that it can be rather difficult to get a word out of this guy from time to time?”
Anna nodded and smiled.
“Well, like the rest of us, I thought that he was a bit strange, since he mostly kept to himself and hardly ever spoke. But he was a good soldier and I respected him for that,” Walter Hansen looked at Lord Rosenkranz and smiled. Lord Rosenkranz smiled back for a moment, then looked down at his plate and concentrated on his food again.
“Then one night we were put on night watch together. I would always dread night watches with this guy since it was much harder to stay awake when you were not talking.”
“If I may remind you, our captain preferred us not to speak on our watch, since he believed that it made us less aware...” Lord Rosenkranz interrupted him.
“Yes, and you were the only one that stuck by those rules,” Walter Hansen said. Anna could not help but smile, and she could hear Esther Hansen giggle.
“But that night, I was determined to make him talk. We had a bucket of water that we drank from, and I had gotten a bottle of schnapps. I made sure that the bucket stood next to me as far away from him as possible. Each time he asked me for something to drink, I’d add some schnapps to it. In the beginning just a little, but then more and more as he started to get drunk. By midnight, we were singing and telling stories, and we’ve been friends ever since,” Walter Hansen said with a smile.
“You’re forgetting the best part,” Esther Hansen said, smiling broadly.
“No, I think the story is over now,” Lord Rosenkranz said quickly.
“No, tell me,” Anna urged Walter Hansen. It was clear that Lord Rosenkranz did not want that part of the story told.
Walter Hansen chuckled.
“We had gotten so drunk that we fell asleep on our watch. When our captain found us the next morning, we were both whipped,” Walter Hansen said with a hearty smile.
“No,” Anna said horrified while both Esther and Walter Hansen laughed. Lord Rosenkranz looked down at his plate and seemed to find it embarrassing.
“Don’t worry, they’re soldiers, they’re used to being beaten,” Esther Hansen said.
Anna thought that it was an odd way to start a friendship, but perhaps that was how one got to know Wulfric Rosenkranz. By getting him drunk.
“Any way, that’s not the best part,” Esther Hansen said and nudged her husband with an elbow.
He sent her a quizzical look.
“There’s the story about the girl,” his wife said in a mock-whisper.
“I don’t think this is the time,” Walter Hansen said. “We have to give the man the right to at least some of his secrets.”
He smiled jovially at Anna. His wife opened her mouth to object but closed it again when she looked at Lord Rosenkranz. Anna turned her head to look at him but could not make out his facial expression since she only saw him in profile. He seemed to be able to feel that she was looking at him and quickly started eating again.
“I’m truly impressed by how you stood by our king and queen, your ladyship. Even when things looked most dire,” Walter Hansen said clearly in an attempt to change the subject and became more serious.
“Thank you,” Anna said.
“I can’t believe how it must have been to be put in the dungeons for weeks. It must have been horrible,” Esther Hansen said.
“It was,” Anna said, not knowing what else to say.
She remembered how she had been lying in her bed for most of the time. Maria had done everything to make amends, but Anna had blamed her for Valdemar’s death. She looked down at her plate, she could feel the tears pressing against her eyes. Her father’s death had left her just as hypersensitive as she had been when Valdemar died. Unable to hide her emotions.
“How are the children?” Lord Rosenkranz asked and changed the subject.
“They’re excellent,” Walter Hansen said.
Esther Hansen started to go on about her children again, which gave Anna time to compose herself. When she was ready, she looked up. Lord Rosenkranz was listening attentively to Esther Hansen, as he took his glass of wine, he quickly glanced at Anna with a concerned look. She smiled briefly.