Author's Note: Thanks to KuumaPeruna for following, and a big thank you to AliceMina and mrsbenson32605 for leaving a review.
THE CASTLE IN THE SWAMP
Chapter 4
A century is a long time. Even if nothing happened in Altena Castle under the swamp, life continued at its normal pace in the village and on the two remaining farms, just as it did further afield. The world didn't stop while Michael waited for the last hundred years to end.
In Ashton-Upon-Usk, a city several days travel away from Altena, Martin, a young merchant, married his childhood sweetheart, Elizaveta. The early years of their marriage were a struggle financially, but eventually, though they didn't become rich, they did well enough. Their first child was born just when Martin's luck started to change. When the midwife told him he had become the father of a baby girl he wanted to call her Felicity because of the luck she seemed to have brought with her. He entered the bedroom, and approached his wife. She was not asleep, but smiled at him.
"Hello darling," she said. "Meet your firstborn, Yuliya."
"Yuliya? Unusual name."
"It's not unusual in my family."
"Yuliya it is then."
"Are you disappointed she's not a boy?" Elizaveta asked.
"Of course not. We have time enough to have more children. We'll have a boy one day."
"And we'll name him Martin, like you and your father."
"If you say so, Elizaveta. You can name all our children, my dear."
They had to wait three years before their second child was born, another girl they named Irina. Annushka was born the following year. Martin and Elizaveta had now three daughters, and they loved the girls dearly, but they still hoped the next child would be a boy.
Five years after the birth of the youngest girl Martin's wife finally became pregnant again. Unfortunately she died with her fourth child, the longed-for heir to the merchant's business.
Before she died Elizaveta told her husband, "Martin, you will meet a woman who will be a good mother for the girls and a good wife for you. Marry her. Don't remain alone because of me."
With tears in his eyes Martin protested he could not remarry because he loved his wife. She kept insisting however, and in the end he promised.
"If ever the right woman appears I'll marry her."
In the last month of Elizaveta's pregnancy her oldest daughter Yuliya, then nine, had quietly taken over her mother's responsibilities. She did her best to look after her younger sisters, Irina and Annushka. The task however was too big for the little girl. As soon as the first paralysing grief had eased a bit, Martin realised this and he decided to hire a governess.
Several letters arrived in answer to his advertisement. One in particular caught his attention. Miss Danes came highly recommended and had good credentials. She and a younger sister had been teachers in her oldest sister's private boarding school. When the sisters had found husbands and the school had closed down, she had become a governess. Martin was sure that a woman with such experience and such glowing references would be the right person to teach his girls.
Miss Danes was invited to present herself. She arrived exactly at the appointed time, which Martin liked. He asked her about her experience as a teacher and a governess.
"As well as the girls at my sister's school I have so far guided the girls of two important families from childhood to young womanhood," she said with evident pride.
Martin studied her surreptitiously while she was talking. He knew she was late forties, and she certainly looked it. She was a tall woman, perhaps even taller than he was, and rather too thin for his taste. She seemed to be rather serious, but that could be nerves. Her experience and apparent knowledge made him think she was the right person, a gem of a governess.
They agreed on wages, her free time, and other details of the job, and of course Martin showed her the rooms she would have at her disposal. Not just the schoolroom and playroom for the children but also the sitting room and bedroom for her private use.
Miss Danes was as satisfied with the position as Martin was with Miss Danes, and the contract was signed. Then Martin introduced the new governess to his daughters. Yuliya looked at the woman for a long time. Miss Danes didn't like it, but she thought she could make a good impression on the father by showing she could discipline the children.
"It's rude to stare at people like that," she said to Yuliya.
"I'm very sorry, Miss. I didn't mean to be rude," the girl answered.
That evening when the girls said goodnight to their father, Yuliya asked if she could have a word with him in private.
"Of course you can," Martin said. "I'll always have time for my children. What did you want to say?"
"I think there's something wrong with our governess, Father. She looks strange to me."
"What do you mean, Yuliya? She looks perfectly normal to me."
"She …" Yuliya didn't know how to say it, then blurted out "She looks like a snake."
"Yuliya, that is silly. You know people can't look like snakes."
"I know but … she does … sometimes. I'm scared of her."
"I won't have you making up ridiculous stories like that. You were very good when your mother … you were very good, but you're too young. You need a governess."
"I know, but not this one, Father."
"I'm disappointed in you, Yuliya. Clearly you don't like Miss Danes for some unfounded reason. I'll hear no more of this. Understood?"
Yuliya saw that her father meant it.
"Yes, Father. Good night," she said and went to bed.
ooOOoo
Miss Danes seemed to be an ideal person – at least to the merchant. The children were always quiet and never complained. When Martin came home late they were already asleep, or so their governess told him. She then brought him a coffee, and made sure he could relax. He felt very comfortable having a woman around.
One day he came home earlier than normal, and saw his two youngest daughters dressed in torn and filthy dresses. He asked Miss Danes why this was.
"They are always doing this, Sir. Those dresses were new yesterday. I told them to be careful and not play like savages and moments later they looked like this. I made them wear the dresses today as a punishment for being naughty. I'm sure they won't do it again."
"Have you two been such naughty children?" Martin asked his youngest daughters.
They gave the governess a quick sideways glance. Then with heads hanging down they whispered, "Yes, Father."
"You will listen to your governess in future?"
Heads even lower, their "Yes, Father" was barely audible.
When he asked why Yuliya wasn't there, Miss Danes said; "She is writing lines. I had to punish her for being rude and talking back."
Because he was at home Irina and Annushka were allowed to say goodnight to their father. They were even quieter than earlier when they came into his office with their governess. Yuliya wasn't with them. She was still doing her lines.
"Send her to me when she's finished, whatever the time," Martin said.
It was close to midnight when Yuliya entered her father's office. He had nearly forgotten he'd asked for his daughter to be sent to him. He saw the girl was tired, and decided that sternness at such a time might make a deeper impression on his daughter.
"I'm very disappointed in you, Yuliya. I had hoped you would be a good example to Irina and Annushka, but it seems that your dislike of Miss Danes results in bad behaviour. Now I hear Irina and Annushka are naughty as well. I hope you didn't encourage them, because I won't have it, Yuliya, and I will punish you if this continues. You can go to bed now," he said in a stern voice and didn't offer his cheek for the normal goodnight kiss.
"Father, please believe me. Miss Danes is not looking after Irina and Annushka. I don't know what she does with their clothes, but she dresses them in rags and makes them sit on a stool all day long. They're not allowed to speak or play and she doesn't teach them anything either. And I have to write lines every day because I dare tell her that it isn't right. Please, Father, we don't mind having a governess, just not this one."
The plea of his daughter touched Martin. He had never caught her lying before. Determined to know the truth he left early the next day, seemingly to go to his business but he only went out of sight of the house and returned secretly to learn what happened. When he went around the back of the house in order to enter via the trade entrance he saw a pedlar's wagon standing there. Somebody inside the house handed something to the man standing just outside. Even from a distance he recognised Miss Danes, and saw she was selling children's dresses. He waited until the transaction was finished, the door was closed, and the pedlar was coming down the road.
Martin hailed the man and pretended to be a father looking for a present for his daughter.
"I've forgotten her birthday," he said. "And my wife won't forgive me if I don't bring something."
The pedlar said that he understood and started showing all sorts of toys while Martin kept shaking his head.
"She's a real little miss, my daughter, even if it's only her sixth birthday. I don't think a toy will do. Thank you for showing these, but I'll have to look elsewhere."
"Wait a moment. I may have what you're looking for."
Out of the back the man brought out two dresses that Martin recognised as the gifts he'd brought for his little girls only a week earlier. The pedlar began to praise the quality, the workmanship, and the distant lands it came from.
"I know exactly where they came from. These are my daughters' dresses, and unless you tell me instantly who sold them to you and how much you paid for them, I'll take you to the magistrate."
The man panicked and pushed the dresses in Martin's hands.
"I didn't know," he protested. "She said the girl had grown out of them. How was I to know she was lying?"
"Have you bought more dresses from the woman?"
"Yes, I have. She told me she was the lady of the house, and I had no reason to doubt her. She looked so respectable, and then there was the way she talked to the servant girl who opened the door."
"I'm afraid you've been lied to. How much did you pay?"
The man said he didn't want the money, but eventually said how much the dresses had cost him, and Martin paid without hesitation.
The man put the money away and said, "I can't return the other dresses she sold me. They are gone already. I don't get such good merchandise every day."
"I understand," Martin said. "Go now, and be more careful in future when you buy your merchandise."
The pedlar hurried away and Martin walked to his home. He slipped in through the kitchen, and couldn't help notice that the staff there looked pleased to see him home unexpectedly. He went up to the children's schoolroom. Even from a distance he heard Miss Danes shrieking.
"How dare you question my methods? Your sisters have to learn to sit still. And you, I'll tell your father just how badly behaved you are."
"Annushka needs to go to the bathroom. She'll wet herself. Can't you see?"
"All I see is a naughty child that won't sit still. And she'd better not wet herself. She knows how I punish children who deliberately wet themselves."
Her tone of voice was nasty, unfeeling, threatening. It promised dire consequences.
"She doesn't do it deliberate. Please, let her go to the bathroom."
Martin heard Yuliya pleading with the woman. Annushka was sobbing. What Miss Danes said next shocked him completely.
"I'm going to teach the three of you to obey, and when I marry your father – which won't be long believe me – then you'll be sent to a boarding school, and I know one that will beat the rebellious spirit out of you."
Martin had heard enough. He pushed the door to the children's playroom open and sacked the governess on the spot. She tried to protest, but when Martin told her he knew about her trade with the pedlar she went quietly, and didn't even dare ask for a reference.
ooOOoo
New governesses followed in quick succession. Martin would introduce the new candidate and Yuliya would look at her and shake her head. Sure enough, the woman proved to be either nowhere near as good as her references promised, or determined to lure the widower into marriage, or both. In the end, after a year of failures, Anna, a young girl of twenty, found favour in the girl's eyes. With the help of Yuliya the new governess settled in quickly and the merchant had to admit that his daughter had made the right choice.
For four years Anna was governess to the three girls. Then Yuliya asked her father for a private word again.
"Is something wrong, Yuliya?" Martin asked his daughter.
The girl came right to the point.
"I think you should marry Anna, Father. She would be a good wife to you and we all love her very much."
"Yuliya, I think you're a bit young for this. Men and women don't get married just like that. I loved your mother very much and she loved me. That is the kind of marriage I want."
Then a thought struck him.
"Did Anna ask you to tell me this?"
"Of course not," Yuliya answered. "Anna wouldn't do that." And after a short hesitation she added, "But why can't you marry Anna? You love her, don't you? And she loves you."
"What? Who told you that?"
Martin was dumbfounded that somebody had discovered his secret feelings for the governess. He was also annoyed that it was talked about in his daughter's hearing and was prepared to bring the culprit to task. What he was not prepared for was Yuliya's answer.
"Nobody told me, Father. I can see it. You glow when you talk to each other."
Martin looked at his daughter not knowing what to think. He had noticed before that Yuliya had something of a sixth sense with people. There had of course been the rejected governesses Yuliya had been right about. There had also been an incident with a theft when his daughter had found the thief and asked to pardon him saying he wouldn't do it again, which he hadn't. Strangest of all had been the case with a certain business partner. The man had come to a dinner party, and as usual Martin had introduced his girls to the guests before sending them to bed. Afterwards Yuliya had told him not to trust the man. He had listened to his daughter, mainly because of his own misgivings, and had avoided a crippling loss of money. One thing was true though, Yuliya's observations had always been right.
"You don't think I'm too old for Anna? I'm twelve years older, you know."
Yuliya shook her head. "Of course not."
"You would like her for a new mother?" was the merchant's next question.
"Yes, Father. Irina and Annushka love her as well. We would be a real family again," Yuliya answered.
Martin suddenly felt uncomfortable. He was talking about some very intimate things with his daughter, a young girl. It didn't feel right, so he ended the conversation.
"I'll think about it, Yuliya. This is serious business, not something for girls your age."
"Yes, Father," the girl said and left, smiling because her father clearly forgot she was fifteen already, and not a child like her siblings.
The conversation with his daughter set the merchant thinking. He knew that being his girls' mother would be better for Anna as well as his daughters. He knew he loved the young woman and according to Yuliya she loved him. After a week of pondering he made up his mind and sent for Anna.
"You called for me, Sir?" she asked as soon as she entered his office.
"I have, Miss Anna. Please sit down."
She sat down on the edge of a chair, waiting for the merchant to speak. Instead Martin paced up and down the room. Anna started to wonder if he wanted to dismiss her. Perhaps he wanted another governess now the girls were growing up, not such a young one. Perhaps he felt she had been good when his daughters needed more play than learning but now he wanted somebody with more experience. All Anna's thoughts centred around one thing; she would have to leave and she'd never see the girls or their father again. She had been warned about the pain of leaving cherished pupils, but this was far worse. She would have to leave the man she loved. Anna decided she could not wait any longer. Knowing was preferable to this endless uncertainty.
"Sir, did you perhaps want to give me my notice? "
The question stopped Martin's pacing immediately.
"Why would I want to give you your notice, Miss Anna? In fact the girls like you so much that they want you to stay here permanently. Miss Anna, I'm asking you to become the girls' mother."
Anna didn't know what to say. This was a grand offer and she knew it. This meant security for the future, a home, being with the girls she'd come to care for so much, being HIS wife. But that was the problem; all he'd talked about was the girls and their need for her. What about his need? Did he need her or would she be his wife in name only?
"You don't answer, Miss Anna. Did I upset you with my question?"
Anna decided to be truthful.
"I admit, Sir, that I am surprised at your question. My head tells me to take this opportunity but my heart warns me about a marriage for the wrong reasons."
His heart sank when he heard her words. Yuliya had been wrong about Miss Anna's feelings. But the young woman hadn't finished talking.
"I'll be totally honest with you, Sir. You ask me to be a mother for your daughters but if that is your only reason for asking me I have to say 'no'. I love the girls, but they are not the only ones who have stolen my heart. Being your wife would make me the happiest woman alive if you wanted me because you cared for me. My love is the only dowry I have and I could not live with the idea that it was not wanted. I could not be your wife if all that meant was being the lady of the house and being the mother of your children. The coldness of such a marriage would kill me. Sir, I love you and that's why I can't marry you."
No sooner had Martin heard these last words or he sank down on his knees in front of Anna and took her hands in his. The joy he felt could be heard in his words.
"Dear Miss Anna, forgive me my clumsy proposal. I'll be honest with you as you were with me. When my wife died I thought my heart had died with her, but your presence in the house made me realise it was still very much alive. I mentioned my daughters because I thought you would accept my proposal for them. The truth is that I want you to be my wife because I love you too. That my daughters like you and will be overjoyed to have you for a mother is only an added bonus; something to make our happiness complete. My dearest Miss Anna, make me the happiest and luckiest man alive and say you'll be my wife."
And all Anna could say was, "Yes, I will."
The wedding took place as soon as it could be arranged. Anna's dress was very simple. Its only decoration was the lace bodice. More would have distracted from the beautiful handmade lace veil that trailed behind her. Yuliya, Irina and Annushka acted as bridesmaids. Martin thought his daughters really looked like fairies, Yuliya in light pistachio green, Irina in pale ice blue, and Annushka in delicate soft pink. Of course some people said it was not right to marry the governess, especially one who was so young; surely too young to be a mother to his girls. But people who cared saw a happy family and wished them luck.
ooOOoo
AN: In case you wonder, I haven't forgotten Michael. He will be back.
