Page 39

Back in my bedroom, I removed Lilja’s shoes, untied her shawl, then managed to get her out of her coat. My hands trembled as I worked. The wound on my arm, which I had forgotten about until now, stung.

When she was in only her dress, I placed her head on the pillow. Most of her pins had fallen out, and her damp hair spread like dark rivers over the blue-and-white striped cotton. I picked up her hand and held my fingers to her wrist. Her heartbeat was strong. I laid my palm against her chest next. It rose and fell steadily. She was all right, it seemed—just exhausted and in shock. Her skin was like ice, and I tugged the blankets around her. She needed rest and warmth.

I left, closing the door behind me. In the kitchen, I filled the kettle to the brim. Embers still glowed in the oven, and I threw on some wood shavings, then added a log, then stood staring out the window as I waited for the water to boil. The snow was whirling so densely that I could see nothing but white on the other side of the glass. I was still shaking.

That wolf. There had been something uncanny about it. Granted, I had never seen a wolf close before, but all animals had a… well, beast-like quality. But this wolf… There had seemed something else behind those luminous eyes.

I pulled up my sleeve. The blood made it stick to my skin, but the injury wasn’t as serious as I had feared, just four shallow gashes. I dabbed away the blood with a wet towel, then flexed my hand. It didn’t hurt very badly, and it didn’t start to bleed again. I didn’t need binding, and neither would it keep me from my work.

When the water was boiling, I filled a metal bottle, then another, sealing both tightly with the lids. Lilja was still asleep. I checked her pulse again. Her heartbeat was strong. One bottle I placed at her feet, the other at her side, before I pulled the blankets over her again.

In the kitchen, I put coffee in the filter, then poured the rest of the water into the pot. I was shivering, and a hot drink was surely what I needed. Sitting at the table, I took the first scolding sip. It did calm me a little, warming me from the inside.

I startled when the door opened. Alma and Helena stepped inside, shaking snow off their sleeves and skirts. Alma took one look at me and said, “What happened? You look like a ghost.”

“We were attacked by a wolf.” My voice shook. Helena’s arm was around my shoulders in an instant. Alma sat down next to me and took my hand, wrapping her fingers around mine. I told them what had happened. “It was like it came out of nowhere. I hadn’t even heard its footsteps on the snow.”

“It must have been desperate,” Alma said. “Starving, perhaps.”

“It looked healthy.”

Helena frowned. “Wolves are scared of people. If they attack, it’s always in a pack.”

“That’s what’s so strange,” I said. I hadn’t mentioned the strange language Lilja had spoken because… well, I wasn’t sure why other than I didn’t know what to make of it myself. And perhaps a little bit because I didn’t want Alma and Helena to find Lilja even more odd than they already did.

Helena cut me a slice of bread and spread it with butter and raspberry jam while Alma poured me another cup of coffee. “Lilja could’ve run but she didn’t,” I said as they put both in front of me. “She saved me.”

“She’s a sweet one,” Helena said, “but I wouldn’t have taken her for brave.”

“Honestly, I wouldn’t either, but she was so decisive. She didn’t hesitate a moment before she swung the axe.”

I took a bite of my bread, and Alma said, “I’m going down to the bakery. It’s as far as I can get in this weather, but I want to tell Mrs. Viksten to let everyone who comes in know to be careful when they go out into the woods.”

Helena set to cleaning up, and I finished eating. After, I returned to my room. Lilja was asleep, and when I touched her cheek, she was warm. She looked peaceful.

That moment in the forest between us… Had she wanted me to kiss her? Or had I understood her completely wrong? She was a mystery, but in that instant, when she looked up at me, I had seen her very clearly. At least I felt I had.

Her dress lay across the foot of the bed. She had been awake then. The hem was ripped in more than one place. Her brand new dress. I slung it over my arm and tiptoed back out, closing the door behind me.

I found Helena in the parlor, warming her hands by the oven. The cold of the storm seeped through the walls, creeping in through every little crack.

“Can you try to repair this?” I asked, holding up the dress.

“I’ll do my best.”

From the workshop, she fetched thread, a needle, and the little silver scissors Alma had given her. I sat in the armchair and watched her stitch.

“How did you know Alma wanted to… well, wanted to be more than friends?” I asked.

“When she kissed me.”

“But then how do you think she knew you wanted her to kiss you?”

Helena shrugged. “I guess she just felt the connection. We both did.” She pulled the needle through the wool and looked across at me. “You’re talking about Lilja?”

“There was a moment out in the woods where I thought maybe she wanted me to kiss her.”

“Maybe she did. You could ask her.”