The House by the Fjord (33 page)

‘I live here,' she answered blithely, taking the seat. ‘Surely you have guessed why? I'm married to Jacques. I found that I could not settle back in Canada when I was so in love with him. So after Arvid and I were divorced, I came to Paris. I let Arvid have custody of Tom, whom I used to see whenever I went back to visit my parents. He is a geologist working somewhere in the wilds of South America and so I haven't seen him for ages.'

‘And Arvid?' Vanessa asked. ‘What has happened to him?'

‘He married again and has a family. He is now chairman on the board of a very successful commercial airline.' She gave an airy wave of her hand. ‘That's all I know, so don't ask me any more questions about him. I've told you about myself and now I want to hear all about every one of you.'

Anna thought to herself that Sally was just as self-centred as ever, but she did seem to be genuinely pleased to see them all again. There followed plenty of chatter.

Before they left the café, Sally invited them all to dine with her that evening at Jacques's restaurant. ‘It's one of the highest-rated in Paris. My late father financed it for him, which gave Jacques the chance he had always wanted – to own his own place and show the world what a master chef he has become.'

Anna had been pleased to know there had been a happy ending for Arvid, although she wondered if, in the depths of his heart, he had ever managed to erase his memories of Sally, with her beauty and maddening selfishness and thoughtless disregard for the feelings of others, for he had loved her so much.

Jacques's restaurant proved to be extremely plush with glittering chandeliers, crimson drapery and gilt-framed mirrors reflecting the snow-white linen and sparkling wine glasses, and orchids on every table. An orchestra was playing soft music on a raised dais. Sally made her entrance just as the friends were settled at the best table in the extravagantly decorated room. She was wearing a black silk sheath that shrieked money and a diamond necklace and earrings that were even more dazzling than the surroundings.

‘Jacques is coming to greet you,' she said, taking her place at the head of the table. ‘He is overjoyed that you are here.'

He appeared a few minutes later, wearing his chef's attire and waving his arms about in delight at the sight of his guests. He looked older and uglier, as well as having become quite rotund, but Sally gazed at him with still loving eyes.

‘Dear ladies!' he enthused. ‘Welcome to my domain! I remember you all so well. What happy days we shared at Gardermoen! I trust you will enjoy all that is to be served to you this evening, which will be under my personal supervision!'

It was a splendid meal and the wines superb. The friends were all very merry, and when back at the hotel, they said goodnight to one another and went into their own rooms. The weekend was over and friendships had been renewed, although Anna thought it doubtful that Sally would hold to her promise not to lose touch again. She was not very reliable when it came to keeping her word.

In the months that followed, and with the exception of Sally, they all telephoned one another or met up whenever they could, but gradually those who lived farthest apart dwindled in their meetings, until, with some, it became only the exchange of a Christmas card with some snapshots and a short summary of what had happened during the year. These were the times when they saw Norway, which had been so stricken when they had first stepped ashore, become rich and strong with its oil wells discovered offshore and other important business interests. There were also the cruise ships and the coach tours that were bringing a never-ending influx of tourists, who seemed to be responding to an echo of the words of a long ago tractor-dealer, who had said that, in his opinion, Norway was the most beautiful country in the world.

Twenty-one

It was a warm sunny afternoon when Anna went into the garden with a basket and trowel. She found gardening therapeutic and hoped to keep her troubled thoughts at bay for a while. She and Alex had had their ups and downs like every married couple, but nothing had ever come seriously between them or threatened their love for each other until yesterday evening when everything had changed in a single hour.

Now, with retirement looming on the not too distant horizon, Alex had made up his mind that they should move to Spain when the time came and enjoy the rest of their years in a kinder climate. Many of his fellow countrymen and women in their age group had been doing the same for some time. Anna thought that this exodus was comparable on a smaller scale to the wave of emigration of younger folk to the States in Ingrid's time and she had her misgivings about it. Then yesterday evening Alex had produced an architect's plan for a house he wanted to build on the Spanish coast in readiness. It had resulted in the fiercest and most distressful quarrel in their whole marriage.

‘I'll not go!' she declared, her hands clenched. ‘I'll not leave my home and my country.'

He refrained from saying that Norway was only hers by adoption. ‘But you've always enjoyed the holidays we have spent there.'

‘Holidays are entirely different from pulling up roots forever!'

‘You did it once before.'

‘When I came from England, it had not been my intention to stay in Norway, but I met you.'

‘We can always come back for visits, just as we have returned from trips to England and Italy and elsewhere.'

She answered with a fierceness that surprised him. ‘No, this is a different matter altogether. I will not become a visitor in the land where my heart lies!'

‘You sound like Ingrid!' he taunted in exasperation. ‘Is it the old house that is causing a barrier?'

She threw up her hands impatiently. ‘No! You know that I have bequeathed it to Julie in my will and she will always take care of it. If you move to Spain, you go alone.' Then she added bitterly, ‘There will be plenty of widows there to console you in my absence.'

She regretted her words as soon as she had uttered them, for he had turned livid with rage, having always been faithful to her. ‘Yes, there will be! Settling in Spain is what I intend to do, and it will be up to you whether you come with me or stay here on your own.'

Tears clouded her gaze as she knelt down on a mat and began to use her trowel. It would tear Alex apart to leave her behind, but if his mind was set on it, he would go. Norwegians always held to what they believed to be right. She had once said to Alex that if Hitler had studied the Norsk character, he would not have invaded, for he would have known ahead that he could never break their resolve.

‘Mama, there you are!'

Julie had come into the garden, a local newspaper in her hand. She was home from Oslo for a few days, a tall, willowy and lovely-looking girl with honey-fair hair and blue eyes. She had already been twice to the old house from which she had gone walking in the mountains.

‘I think it is time for us to hold a
slekt samling
,' she said, holding up the newspaper to show a photograph of a large family gathering. ‘There were over a hundred people at this one. They came from as far afield as Australia and South America to gather at the original family home on a farm near Trondheim. Those of the younger generations had never been there before, but were so enthusiastic about seeing where their forebears had lived. People born abroad always like to know their roots.' Then she added, ‘It would be just the sort of family occasion that Ingrid would have loved.'

‘I can't argue with you on that point,' Anna agreed thoughtfully, her mind busy as she rose to her feet from her gardening. It would be a project that would require her whole attention and would alleviate the tension between Alex and her. ‘But it would take a great deal of organizing – hotel rooms to be booked, catering for a welcoming banquet and then an evening supper and entertainment too. Just think how many cakes we would need for the coffee and cakes sessions!'

‘We could manage all that!' Julie insisted eagerly. ‘We would give everybody coloured name tags – blue, green, red or whatever – to show which of Ingrid's children they are descended from! Then, the morning after the first grand day, we could have morning coffee and cakes at Ingrid's house, where everybody could look around. I'm sure that would be a highlight of the whole occasion. Afterwards we could give them a farewell buffet lunch here.'

Julie's enthusiasm was infectious and Anna gave a willing nod, already drawn to a decision. ‘The whole occasion would be a tribute to Ingrid and much deserved.'

Before Julie returned to Oslo, she and Anna sat down together to discuss all that would have to be done. Alex had willingly approved the idea. A date for the following summer was settled for the family celebration and a list made of those to be invited. Twice in the past year Anna and Alex had been visited by two different couples that were Ingrid's descendants looking for their roots. Anna knew that by sending open invitations to them, they would gather in all other descendants known to them, for the old family unity that had been instilled into their forebears by Ingrid had come through to successive generations.

To Anna's relief, the situation settled down between Alex and her, but although their love life had resumed, the barrier between them had not gone away. She knew from what he said to their children and others that he still planned the move to Spain. She supposed that he thought she would eventually give in, but her mind was set.

Over the next few months acceptances arrived for the
slekt samling
and increased in number as those abroad located cousins and other more distant relatives. The final total was two hundred and ninety-seven. Everything was falling into place. Anna had begun calling the occasion ‘Ingrid's Day' and everybody else followed suit. David flew home on a break from the oil rig to play his part in the final preparations.

‘What do you want me to do?' he asked Anna when he arrived. He was as tall as his father with tousled fair hair and a well-boned face, his nose straight and his jaw strong. Girls were always phoning to see if he was at home.

‘You can do the name tags,' she said. ‘There is a different colour for each one of Ingrid's children, so that their descendants will know to which group they belong.'

He sat down willingly to do his allotted chore, but he had a better time later when he and his father discussed the wines to be served at the great occasion and did some tasting. Julie arrived home the next day and together she and her brother finished the last of the stack of name tags.

Then suddenly it was the eve of Ingrid's Day. All the guests had arrived at the various hotels, and American voices were heard everywhere in the town, and also two New Zealand tones. On Saturday evening there was to be a welcome party at Molde's largest hotel, hosted by Anna and Alex. She bought a new dress in blue silk to wear, and when she came downstairs to leave for the hotel, Alex was waiting for her in the hall.

‘Perfect!' he said admiringly. ‘You look beautiful.'

She avoided his eyes. Nothing could be perfect or beautiful with a separation hanging over them every passing day. But somehow she smiled and they set off in the car to arrive in good time to greet their guests. Julie and David were already there, seated at a table with the name tags, a list of all the guests together with birth dates, home addresses and as much as the family tree as was known. Soon the guests came flooding in. There was tremendous excitement in the air, everybody already enjoying themselves.

Next morning, on a beautiful blue-sky day, coaches called at each hotel to collect the guests and take them to a privately owned and very large house in the mountains, which could be hired for weddings and other important occasions. There the banquet was set on long tables with flower arrangements stretching down the length of each one and the delicious food accompanied by the best of wines. Alex gave a speech of welcome and later Anna rose to her feet to give a summary of Ingrid's life. She was like many of the other women in wearing her national costume which glowed with Rosa Harvick's beautiful jewellery and accessories. Toasts were drunk and there followed speeches in English and Norwegian from a number of the guests. Afterwards, people mingled eagerly both in the house and garden, firstly getting to know others wearing the same colour name tag and then moving on to another branch of the family. Many had brought old photographs with them and copies were being requested and promised. There were children among the gathering and Julie had arranged for them to have organized games and races and various competitions to keep them amused outside. Judging by the cheerful noise coming from their direction, they were all enjoying themselves.

Anna, moving from guest to guest, could tell already that the occasion was a great success. The descendants who lived elsewhere in Norway had all wanted to help and Anna had told the women to make their most favourite confection for the coffee and cakes session. Without exception, these were brought in beautifully decorated circular wooden cake boxes which were heirlooms that had been handed down. One of these had the name
Ingrid Harvik
in its design and another bore Emma's name.

At the close of the evening, after a buffet supper and dancing to a lively band, during which many of the old traditional dances were included, the coaches took everyone back to their hotels.

The next day dawned as warm and sunny as the previous day, and the guests, after swarming on to the ferry under David's direction, crossed the fjord in still glorious weather to where Alex waited with coaches that were there to take them to the foot of the slope up to Ingrid's house. Anna was already there with Julie, setting out cups and saucers and more cakes on the long table, with the lighted candles of hospitality, where so many family meals had been eaten in Ingrid's day. In the warm breeze, Norway's flag fluttered on the flagpole that had only recently replaced the one that Magnus had installed long ago. All but a few elderly people, who were driven up by car, walked up to the house and gave various exclamations of pleasure as it came into sight. Cameras snapped on all sides. Then the guests were all over the house and jostling good-humouredly to look at the wedding photograph of Ingrid and Magnus, which Anna had always kept in its original place on the bedroom wall. One American was desperate to see the family Bible in which Ingrid would have entered her children's names and those of her forebears. Julie took it from a drawer to hand it to him and he settled down to study it, making notes and with his cup of coffee forgotten.