Cowering, she turned her back on him. “No, no, no,” she whimpered. He was here to hurt her. Talons touched her and she recoiled.
"Breathe," he said.
Breathe what? Was the air poisoned? Was it brimstone she would smell? No, she didn't want to breathe. He came closer and she screamed. With firm hands, he picked her up. The floor fell away and she was truly lost. She had lost her grip on the world and it was fleeting from her.
"No!" she screamed as he carried her out into the burning sun. The world had fallen away too, lost its consistency, and all she saw was color in the wildest patterns one could imagine. Did this mean she was dead? Was this death? "You will not get me. I will never concede."
Whispers around her, and she saw the scenes, the villagers moving, talking, laughing. Behind was a rushing sound as if she was standing inside a waterfall. They were in the house.
The blankets on her bed enveloped her, grabbing her, they refused to release her. What did this mean? She heard him walk, his steps on the floorboards and he sat down in the chair. She felt hate emanating from him. There were no features on his face, they had just melted away. He was just a shape over in the corner of the room.
The curtains of her bed appeared to be moving, pulsing like they had their own heartbeat. With cloying fear, her eyes darted between them and the figure of the devil, who hadn’t moved from the chair across the room, not saying anything.
She tried to speak, but her throat was too constricted.
"Stop," she called, her hands to her ears, trying to block out all the whispers. All she wanted to do was run, but she couldn't. Her body refused to obey her. But luckily, the devil in the chair didn't come closer. At least there was that.
All she could do was to stare at the shifting colors on the ceiling. She couldn't move, couldn't think. There was no escaping.
Over time, the worst of the panic subsided a little. The pressing whispers were a little further removed, and she got more used to the idea that the world was not as it should be. It moved, shifted, undulated, tearing itself apart and putting itself back together in all sorts of strange ways.
Then she saw Heinrich appear above her. He was worried and the skin on his cheeks seemed to move as if he wasn't quite solid—liquid almost. A warm hand was comforting on her forehead. "Try to sleep," he said and she closed her eyes, but that only unleashed a complete lack of reality. It was better to keep her eyes open, even if the world was strange. It still had some familiarity.
Looking at the chair, the devil was gone. She tried to say something, but the words didn't come out. A moment later, Doctor Hagen was there, looking at her. She didn't like him—didn't trust him and she really didn't want him touching her.
He looked worried, kept calling her name, while she hoped he would go away if she ignored him. She certainly wasn't going to take any pills he wanted to shove down her throat. Perhaps he understood because he didn't give her any.
Her head ached, pounded relentlessly, but she refused to close her eyes. The craziness was less if she kept them open. Slowly, her body started to listen to her commands more. Although the touch of her own fingers to her face felt alien.
Heinrich returned into view once the doctor had gone. He urged her to drink something and cool wetness met her dry throat. But it didn't alleviate the deep tiredness she felt in both her body and mind. It was as if she had exhausted her reserve of fear and terror. Now she was only happy that the world was slowly becoming more stable.
"You should sleep," he said and she turned to her side. "The doctor thinks you have become affected by something."
She'd been affected by something almost from the day she'd arrived here. This was just its new strategy, and it was horrifying. This curse was becoming infinitely worse. The power of these witches meant they could infect her very life. This wasn't just dreams, but then it had been more than just dreams before, but nothing like this. It was as if they were releasing their full power. And she was an ant in a tempest, had no power whatsoever to combat them. How wrong she had been thinking she'd had victory over them. This she could not defeat, so was there any point in continuing? They had defeated her utterly.
Aldine couldn't answer. Her mind was too tired to even think about what he'd just said. Eventually, she couldn't stop herself from sleeping, where strange and wild dreams evolved around her. There seemed to be no message, just endless strangeness.
Even in her sleep, she knew she wanted to be away from this house. All the bad things were in this house, because she was here. All the hope they'd had on their honeymoon, away from everything. It had been sweet and sedate. Now all she had was fear and terror—and Heinrich. Their relationship was stronger, but at what cost? If she stayed here, they were going to kill her.
Chapter 28
SLUGGISH WAS PERHAPS the best way to explain how Aldine felt. The craziness had gone, but her head hurt and her stomach felt unsettled.
"How are you today?" Heinrich asked as he dressed.
"Better. Whatever attack it was, it has gone."
"You should stay in bed and recuperate. Doctor Hagen will be by later."
Trying to hide her dismay, she smiled weakly. The previous day had been the scariest experience of her life, and she still didn't know what to make of it. The world had literally gone to pieces. Then again, if Doctor Hagen stated that he thought she should go somewhere to recover, she would struggle to disagree. Being away from here had a strong appeal. It was difficult to say so to Heinrich, though. Part of her wanted to pack up and go home, but another part wanted to be with her husband. It was just this house. There was evil in this house.
"I better go. Take it easy today."
She nodded weakly.
They didn't speak of exactly what had happened. It was as if it was ignored and swept under the carpet. Truth was that Aldine had no idea what to do, how to stop this. Even now, she felt panic creeping up on her. The worst was that it had happened during the day, so there was no safe time. Before she had believed that she was at risk only at night time, but apparently, she was at risk at all times.
"She is insane," she heard a voice coming from below her window. It as Ludwig. She could tell by the voice.
"She had ingested something. Doctor Hagen said so," Heinrich said. He was defending her. Slowly, she moved closer to the window.
"She needs to be sent away. Who knows what she's capable of doing? You're not doing her a favor by keeping her here. She needs treatment by professionals."
"Can't you see that something is going on?" Heinrich shot back.
"Yes, we have a mentally unstable woman living in our house."
"My wife, you mean. And this is my house. If you don't like it, you can find somewhere else to go."
"You always were too sentimental and weak. And her obsession with fire. She will burn this house to the ground."
Frankly, it sounded like a good idea to Aldine. Maybe all of their problems would be solved if the house was destroyed.
"I am not sending her away. She was given something. Doctor Hagen—"
"That man is a quack, and he is only trying to please you so you keep paying him."
"I am not sending Aldine away. Something is happening in this house."
"She has infected you with her madness."
"This is enough of this talk. I will not hear of it. You are welcome to leave anytime you wish."
It warmed her heart that her husband defended her, that he believed her when she said something was very wrong here.
The brothers went their separate ways, neither of them happy. She could tell by his expression that Heinrich wasn't, but she suspected Ludwig was not done with his accusations. He believed that she was the source of all the problems in this house. Perhaps it was him that was her greatest enemy. He was certainly set against her, and increasingly so. If he had his way, she would be sent away to a madhouse and they would all continue as before—before she had come to the house. It did suggest that her presence had brought this all on, but that wasn'
t true. Josefina had experienced these things too. Although she could get little information about what the previous wife had gone through, suggestions were that nothing like Aldine had just experienced had ever happened to her.
*
As it got close to lunchtime, she dressed and went downstairs. The house was very quiet. Wilhelmina and Elke were there, but the men were gone, going about their usual business.
As expected her arrival was a muted affair, neither Wilhelmina nor Elke quite knew how to deal with her. Soup was served—onion and vegetables. Aldine was actually grateful it wasn't a rich flavor.
"I say this as a friend," Elke said, breaking the silence of the room, "but perhaps Ludwig is right and you would be much happier being tended to by professionals who know how to deal with this kind of hysteria."
Aldine didn't know how to respond. Neither did Wilhelmina apparently, who made disapproving noises at the direct statement.
"I don't suffer from hysteria," Aldine said quietly and Elke raised her eyebrows as if dealing with someone completely delusional.
"Of course you don't," she said lightly and patted Aldine's hand. "It's just that you seem very unhappy here. It's just an option you should consider. Doctor Hagan will likely say something similar when he comes. I understand he is arriving shortly. But never mind. I thought we all needed a bit cheering after all the dramatics. I asked the cook to prepare a strudel for us this afternoon. It always picks me up when I am feeling things pressing on me. I know you said you missed the patisseries in Manheim. Sugar is good for shock, they say. Puts everything to right, you'll see."
That was very kind and Aldine smiled at the consideration.
Doctor Hagen arrived shortly after lunch and he tended to her in the salon. Wilhelmina and Elke were both present.
"How do you feel?" he asked.
"Better. A headache, but my stomach feels better after eating."
"Good, good," he said absently. "No more hallucinations?"
"No, everything is fine today."
He proceeded to check her eyes, her tongue and even the sides of her neck. "I worry that you ingested something that didn't agree with you."
Listening, Aldine tried to think what it would be. "I didn't eat or drink anything that the others did not." Thinking back, that was true. There was nothing she had eaten uniquely.
"Well, different people have different reactions to things. One can suffer from allergies very strongly while the next person feels nothing."
"So that is what you think it was?" Wilhelmina asked. "An allergic reaction?"
Doctor Hagen looked at her carefully. "It could be." He turned his attention back to Aldine. "You have not taken anything that someone has given to you, like that women in Gelling Forest?"
Wolfgang must have revealed that she had seen her.
"No, she gave me nothing."
"Then why would you go see someone like that?" Wilhelmina demanded, clearly distressed by this revelation.
Aldine didn't know what to say for a moment. She couldn't very well reveal in front of Doctor Hagen that she had gone to gather information about breaking witch curses. He would cart her off to a madhouse immediately. "I just thought I would find out about medicinal herbs, but she didn't give me any, and I haven't taken any."
Doctor Hagen did not look convinced. "There are things in nature that can be very dangerous. They are not to be toyed with."
"I understand," Aldine said, knowing it sounded as though she had accidentally done this to herself.
With that, the doctor stood up and prepared to leave. "Just be very careful," he said and she nodded, knowing he was admonishing her and assuming that because she had gone to see Mrs. Tober, she was doing something she shouldn't.
The disapproval emanating from Wilhelmina was even worse now than Aldine had thought possible.
"Time for strudel," Elke said brightly and got up to go speak to Weber.
Wilhelmina remained utterly silent and refused to look at her. There was no point explaining to the woman that this was not her doing, that she had not done this to herself. It wouldn’t be believed.
Elke returned holding a pot of tea.
"I might pass," Aldine said. "In case it is the mint tea that affects me."
"Mint has never interfered with anyone, but if you insist," she said, pouring herself a cup and taking a sip. "Would you like some, Wilhelmina?"
"No, thank you."
"Wilhelmina does not like strong flavors. Ah, and here comes the strudel," she said as Weber came into the room, carrying a tray. "I will serve," she said as he put it down and reached for the knife to cut into the crisp pastry with icing sugar sprinkled on top. The smell of apples filled the room. "I do love raisins, they always remind me of childhood. All good things have raisins, don't they?"
Portions were positioned on plates and Elke handed them out. "I would say I am surprised that Wolfgang took you to see that woman, but it really isn’t a surprise, is it? Trust him to consort with a woman like that.”
“He didn’t—” Aldine started.
“He hates women, you know. Always has. Even his mother. Blames her for his misfortune and reduced circumstances in life. Was quite awful to her from what I hear.”
Perhaps Aldine was finally hearing Elke’s objection to the man. Wilhelmina snorted dismissively, but Aldine didn’t know if that was in agreement with his despicable character or that Elke was mentioning it.
“He’ll never marry, of course. Who would want to marry him? Has no prospects other than his brother’s generosity. What woman would hitch their wagon to that? No one is more jealous of the title. Being the oldest, he firmly believes it should be his. You should hear him speak once he’s had a few drinks. The things he says in the village would shock you. I’ve told Ludwig again and again, but he is completely blinded. Wolfgang positively toys with their loyalty, plays with their guilt.”
“Guilt?” Wilhelmina shot in. “Guilt for what? Always was a sniveling little gutter rat,” Wilhelmina continued, revealing a harsh resentment beyond anything she had mentioned before. “Always trying to push into the family, wanting attention for the smallest little thing.”
That seemed a bit harsh. “He was a child.”
“Well, a child should know his place,” the older woman bit back.
Elke sighed. “Always leads to trouble when someone has ambition beyond their means. It is cruel of his brothers to encourage him, but they will not listen to us, will they, Wilhelmina? They will learn one day, mark my words. That man engages in every vice there is. Positively hated Luise, didn’t he, Wilhelmina?”
“Yes,” the woman replied. “Didn’t much care for her.”
“Didn’t think much better of Josefina either, who was a lovely girl. Oh, and who wants vanilla sauce? I ordered some vanilla and it finally arrived. I simply adore the taste. Aldine?"
"Please," she said and Elke poured the pale yellow sauce across her portion of strudel, the little specs of vanilla visible.
"One must have one’s little luxuries every now and then. Wilhelmina?"
"No, thank you," the woman said, accepting her plate.
Pouring a little on her own plate, Elke took it and cut into the strudel. The taste exploded in Aldine's mouth. It did remind her of home. They had some lovely patisseries where one could take some coffee and a slice of cake during an afternoon, particularly in summer. The taste of strudel and vanilla brought back so many memories. This was a lovely addition to the day, even if these revelations about Wolfgang were disturbing.
Chapter 29
"IT IS A BIT STIFLING IN the house," Elke said as she walked outside. "Wilhelmina is in a mood. I don't think you are her favorite."
"No," Aldine agreed. From the start, she had never been Wilhelmina's favorite, and even less so now. With a sigh, Aldine wrapped her shawl more tightly around her and kept walking.
"Come autumn, the harvest season starts. It's the busiest time of the year," Elke went on. "I know this meadow where there are wild roses. I
know you like to draw flowers. It's not far. The most iridescent pink. I'm not sure you will be able to depict them as they are. It must be an impossible color to achieve with paint."
"I can always try." It would be nice to get back to drawing, to the person she had been before all this worry had claimed her. The truth was that she didn't know what to do and was feeling a little as if she was losing herself. During the day, she had wondered about asking Heinrich if she could go visit her family. It was highly unusual so early in a marriage, but with all these developments, she could use a respite and a chance to regain herself.
"Some flowers on the wall would certainly be nicer than those awful paintings that are there now. They just refuse to change things around the house. Why is that, do you think?"
"I don't know." It wasn't something that had occurred to her.
"It's so old-fashioned. We should really tear the house down and build something modern—but they won't hear of it. They hold onto the past."
The family didn't really talk about the past or the role they had played in it other than that they were an old, established family in the district.
They quickly walked along a path Aldine hadn't seen before. It was a direction she had never taken before now. The weather was perfect for a walk, cool, but not cold. The sun shone, creating patterns on the ground through the leaves. The birds chirped.
"Your father would never approve of such an old building," Elke continued.
"Well, he does appreciate architecture from all eras. They represent the values of the time—functional versus decorative. They are virtues that shift over time." She was starting to sound like one of her father's lectures and a pang of longing for her old life hit her—a life devoid of uncertainty and fear. Now she seemed to live with both—unsure what people thought of her and that they would turn on her. What she truly feared was that Heinrich would turn on her, but he had shown himself steadfast. That was worth fighting for.
"I do like modern architecture—light and airy, instead of just dark and somber. It could not have been fun living in those times. Don't you think?"
The Cursed Bride Page 14
