Eventually this unrest died down, but the result was that the king appointed Ivar Ogmundss?n as lord chancellor in Norway. Erling Vidkunss?n, Stig Haakonss?n, the Haftorss?ns, and all their supporters were threatened with charges of treason. Then they yielded and came to make peace with the king. There was a powerful man from the Uplands whose name was Ulf Sakses?n; he had taken part in the Haftorss?ns’ opposition, and he did not make peace with the king but came instead to Nidaros after Christmas. He spent a good deal of time with Erlend in town, and from him the people of the north heard about the matters, as Ulf perceived them. Kristin had a great dislike for this man; she didn’t know him, but she knew his sister Helga Saksesdatter, who was married to Gyrd Darre of Dyfrin. She was beautiful but exceedingly arrogant, and Simon didn’t care for her either, although Ramborg got along well with her. Soon after the beginning of Lent, letters arrived for the sheriffs stating that Ulf Sakses?n was to be declared an outlaw at the tings, but by that time he had already sailed away from Norway in midwinter.
That spring Erlend and Kristin were staying at their town estate during Easter, and they had brought their youngest son, Munan, with them because there was a sister at the Bakke convent who was so skilled in healing that every sick child she touched regained health, as long it was not God’s wish for the child to die.
One day shortly after Easter, Kristin came home from the convent with the infant. The manservant and maid who had accompanied her came with her into the house. Erlend was alone, lying on one of the benches. After the manservant left, and the women had taken off their cloaks, Kristin sat near the hearth with the child while the maid heated some oil which the nun had given them. Then Erlend asked from his place on the bench what Sister Ragnhild had said about the boy. Kristin replied brusquely to his questions as she unwrapped the swaddling clothes; finally she stopped talking altogether.
“Are things so bad with the boy, Kristin, that you don’t want to tell me?” he asked with some impatience.
“You’ve asked the same things before, Erlend,” replied his wife in a cold voice. “And I’ve answered you many times. But since you care so little about the boy that you can’t remember from one day to the next . . .”
“It has also happened to me, Kristin,” said Erlend as he stood up and went over to her, “that I’ve had to give you the same answer two or three times to some question you’ve asked me because you didn’t bother to remember what I’d said.”
“It was probably not about such important matters as the children’s health,” she said in the same cold voice.
“But it wasn’t about petty things, either, this past winter. They were matters that weighed heavily on my mind.”
“That’s not true, Erlend. It’s been a long time since you talked to me about those things that were most on your mind.”
“Leave us now, Signe,” said Erlend to the maid. His brow was flushed red as he turned to his wife. “I know what you’re referring to. But I won’t speak to you about that as long as your maid might hear me—even though you’re such good friends with her that you think it a small matter for her to be present when you start a quarrel with your husband and say I’m not speaking the truth.”
“One learns least from the people one lives with,” said Kristin curtly.
“It’s not easy to understand what you mean by that. I’ve never spoken unkindly to you in the presence of strangers or forgotten to show you honor and respect in front of our servants.”
Kristin burst into an oddly desolate and quavering laugh.
“You forget so well, Erlend! Ulf Haldorss?n has lived with us all these years. Don’t you remember when you had him and Haftor bring me to you in the bedchamber of Brynhild’s house in Oslo?”
Erlend sank down onto the bench, staring at his wife with his mouth agape.
But she continued, “You never thought it necessary to conceal from your servants all that was improper or disrespectful here at Husaby, or anywhere else—whether it was something shameful for yourself or for your wife.”
Erlend stayed where he was, looking at her aghast.
“Do you remember that first winter of our marriage? I was carrying Naakkve, and as things stood, it seemed likely that it would be difficult for me to demand obedience and respect from my household. Do you remember how you supported me? Do you remember when your foster father visited us with women guests we didn’t know, and his maids and serving men, and our own servants, sat across the table from us? Do you remember how Munan pulled from me every shred of dignity I might use to hide behind, and you sat there meekly and dared not stop his speech?”