“Look at her, sleeping again,” a small group of gossipers were saying.
They had been indulging in various topics of discussion, but always seemed to circle back to Erna Dniester. The Grand Duchess had been entertaining the Heine family children for most of the day and was now sitting in a chair, toy still in hand and eyes closed.
“It’s not been that long since she last disgraced herself at the theatre. If I was her, I would be so embarrassed.”
“What on earth was she doing last night, to so brazenly fall asleep during the day.”
“Oh I know, right, I think I can guess though.”
The quiet words of mockery fell away as they drifted out into the bright summer sun. When the Duchess Heine appeared, the chittering whispers fell silent as a matter of course. Despite her deep disapproval of the Grand Duchess, she still needed to maintain a facade of cordiality.
“The Grand Duchess seems to be very tired,” Louise said, as she saw the Grand Duchess slumped in the chair. “She is weak with worry, I should imagine.”
Louise tried to stifle her laughter as those around her watched in anticipation. She was fully aware of the eager curiosity that everyone harboured about the ongoing feud between the Grand Duchess and the Royal Princess, but Louise was resolute in not showing her opinions on the matter.
The conversation faltered, people ran out of things to say and so the conversation drifted toward other topics. Louise added a few measured words here and there, but she was waiting for the right moment to approach Erna.
“Grand Duche…”
“Erna”
Bjorn came in from finishing off a cigar and saw his sister at Erna’s side. He came up with her and called her name too, softly. Erna’s eyes snapped open and the wooden doll she had been holding fell to the ground.
“Come on, wake up, let’s go,” Bjorn said.
He helped Erna up to her feet, as she groggily looked about the room. Bjorn led Erna away from the shaded canopy where the other guests were gathered and toward a grove of Sycamore trees, where servants had prepared a picnic blanket and a mound of cushions. Bjorn lowered Erna onto the blanket and sat opposite her.
“Bjorn, should we be alone like this? We have guests,” Erna said.
She cast a worried glance back to where Louise sat with her entourage of natters. Erna could not relax, thinking about what those ladies would be saying about her.
“What does it matter?” Bjorn said nonchalantly. He closed his eyes and got comfortable, as if settling in for a nap.
Erna hesitated for a moment, but gradually she felt herself begin to calm down again. Seeing Bjorn with his eyes closed made her feel sleepy again, the weight of her eyelids proved to be too much and she was overcome.
For a brief moment, Erna’s world vanished into a spiral of shame. When she regained consciousness, she was looking up at the sky just in time to see a kingfisher flit by. She realised she was lying next to Bjorn, they were side by side.
As she looked about the amazing scenery, reaffirming her grip on reality, her eyes met Bjorn’s. He chuckled, as he rolled onto his side and delicately placed a hand on her tummy. It was one of his genuine laughs, not the faux presentation he often used to be polite, perfectly polite, but lacking in sincerity.
Bjorn brushed a hand through her windswept hair and overwhelmed with a sense of relief, Erna found herself unable to resist the drowsiness once more and before she knew it, her eyes were already closed again.
Erna knew she shouldn’t be giving into her drowsiness, but her body simply wouldn’t obey her will. She felt content knowing that she was able to spend the day at Bjorn’s side, the handsome prince who had come to save her.
Despite her best efforts to keep her eyes open, to take in Bjorn’s genuine smile once more, she found herself succumbing to lethargy almost like an illness.
“Rest, Erna,” Bjorn’s voice came through to her softly.
The whisper of his voice tickled her ears and she nodded sleepily. She fell into another dreamless sleep.
Bjorn lay on her side, stroking Erna’s hair, his own head propped up in his palm. He found it difficult to think of what to do with this woman who lay beside him. He wondered why Erna, who was so self-conscious of what others thought of her, would allow herself to succumb to this drowsiness. Is she sick?
The sudden ominous thought crossed his mind and stuck. Bjorn took a deep breath as he studied his wife’s complexion. He noticed that she was looking a little emaciated, despite her cheeks still being full and radiant. Her skin was its normal pale shade and smooth. None of these things seemed like the usual characteristics of a sick person.
Bjorn touched his hand to Erna’s forehead and his eyes narrowed in concern. Just then, a servant approached them.
“Shh,” Bjorn mimed by putting a finger to his lips.
Cautiously, Bjorn sat up and with a subtle wink, he motioned for the end of the mat. The servant quickly brought over a thin blanket and with it, Bjorn covered Erna and left her there to rest.
He decided to take lead the servant past the meadow of violets, until he reached the edge of the stream, far away from the shade of the tree where Erna lay.
“Your Highness, attorney Byle asked to see you, about the Hardy family matter? He said he will wait for you at the pergola, down by the river.”
*.·:·.✧.·:·.*
Erna slowly opened her eyes and realised she was alone. The sudden emptiness left by Bjorn’s absence felt immense, causing her to feel like a lost child in a strange and unfamiliar world.
She slowly sat up and meticulously folded the blanket that had covered her. Her gaze wandered to the deep, dark parts of the forest she had laid on the edge of and as she sat against a trunk, eating a piece of candy to soothe her stomach, she kept looking into the dark depth of the forest.
In the distance, she could hear the muffled laughter of mingled voices. Erna knew she should be getting back to the party, but she wanted to sit and wait for her husband. She couldn’t bear going back to their judgemental stares without him.
Another wave of nausea washed over her and so she popped another piece of candy into her mouth.
She hated being without Bjorn. Without him by her side, she felt a sense of unease and discomfort, even the sweet taste of the candy couldn’t sooth her. Her mind was filled with anxiety.
Stupid Erna. She muttered to herself
She stood up as if she was possessed. The sound of her hasty steps cut across the grass, disturbing the warm sunlit day. She couldn’t help but feel like a child, both laughing at herself and yearning to see Bjorn at the same time.
As she approached the sheltered area where the men were lounging around and smoking cigars, she suddenly stopped herself. What if they were talking about Bjorn and she overheard them? She contemplated turning around and just as she was about to walk away, she heard a familiar voice.
“This season is so dull, last year was much better because we had the wonderful Miss Hardy around.”
Erna paused to listen.
“Even if Bjorn wanted to bet again, it would only be for another baby deer.” The voice belonged to Peter Bergen, Erna realised.
She also recognised the chittering and laughing voices of Bjorn’s other associates and that’s when she remembered that this time last year, they were all trying to court her and showered her with gifts.
Erna hid under the shade of a tree and listened to their vulgar jokes. They hadn’t noticed her presence and she sat, watching the every growing wall of cigar smoke.
I must go back. Although her consciousness urged her to move, she found that her legs refused to act.
“It’s not surprising, if you think about it. Prince Bjorn, one of the most powerful men in the world, taking his second wife at a poker game. After clearing out all the bets, sweeping up all the prizes and then taking the woman as his trophy.” Peter joked and the others laughed.
“If you think about it, he must have planned it all out. He swooped in, like some shining knight on a white horse, appearing to rescue the damsel in distress. Let’s not forget how handsome he is, how could any woman resist? I can see why Miss Hardy fell for him, or should I say, the Grand Duchess.”
“It’s quite impressive, no?” Peter replied. “Even with all his money and good looks, he put so much effort in winning the stake. There’s a certain charm about someone who values something so deeply, even if it’s just for money, but let’s be real, in the end, he did marry Miss Hardy and spent more money than was ever in the pot. I think he lost, really, he lost big time.”
“You make it sound like Miss Hardy bankrupted him. Do you really think Bjorn Dniester even knows the meaning of deficit? He turned a bet for fun, into winning the most beautiful socialite, winning the stakes on that beauty and eventually even winning his second wife.”
“Ah, but Bjorn Dniester isn’t the only person to lose money.”
Erna was taken aback by the casual words of slander. The cigar smoke caught in her throat and she tried to stifle the cough. Covering her mouth with both hands and feeling her heart beat faster, her whole body started to tremble.
She missed Bjorn.
Erna looked around more earnestly than ever. She knew that her vision was constantly blurring from the tears, but she felt no emotion. She wanted Bjorn to come.
Erna, are you okay? With those few words, from him, she would be.
“Oh, over here, our Prince has finally come back to join us.”
Before the evening’s rowing event got under way, the names of the ladies the boars were being named after were called out, accompanied with playful cheers and booing. Erna ignored them all and found the shade of a tree to sit under. That was when Bjorn approached her, her saviour, appearing at the gathering with a warm smile.
The young men chatted excitedly and started placing their bets. Bjorn sat down on a ramshackle chair, not at all interested in joining in the childish endeavours, smoking a cigar casually.
“Hey there trophy hunter, fancy rubbing some of your luck off on me?” Peter said.
Bjorn exhaled the cigar smoke with a chuckle.
“What, why are you ignoring me? Do you think I can’t win or something?”
Bjorn continued to chuckle, not taking much notice of their jokes and jests.
“Hey, leave the Grand Duke alone, his luck will be of no use to you. Not even a blind lady would willingly go with your ugly mug.” Leonard jibbed.
“Crazy bastards,” Bjorn mumbled, the group rumbled with laughter.
Erna covered her mouth to stop her pitiful sobs from breaking free. She looked out to the dark forest through teary eyes. Once their merry laughter faded away to the distance, Erna let out a sigh and the wail she had been holding for a long time.
Amidst the gasps and sobs, echoes of retching permeated the air, mingling with the sounds of a wounded beast. Above, the sky remained unblemished and the frightened birds scattered in disarray at the sounds of a woman’s cries.