During the hay harvest there was a week’s time when Kristin couldn’t get away to see her sister. From the harvesters she heard that a guest was visiting Ramborg at Formo: Jamm?lt Hal vardss?n. Kristin remembered that Simon had mentioned this man; he owned an exceedingly large estate not far from Dyfrin, and he and Simon had been friends since childhood.
A week into the harvest the rains came. Then Kristin rode over to see her sister. Kristin sat talking about the terrible weather and about the hay and then asked how things were going at Formo.
All of a sudden Ramborg said, “Jon will have to manage things here; I’m heading south in a few days, Kristin.”
“Yes, you must be longing for your children, poor dear,” said Kristin.
Ramborg stood up and paced the floor.
“I’m going to tell you something that will surprise you,” the young woman said after a moment. “You and your sons will soon be invited to a betrothal feast at Dyfrin. I said yes to Jamm?lt before he left here, and Gyrd will hold the wedding.”
Kristin sat without saying a word. Her sister stood staring at her, pale and dark-eyed.
Finally the older sister spoke, “I see that you won’t be left a widow for very long after Simon’s death. I thought you mourned him so grievously. But you can make your own decisions now.”
Ramborg did not reply. After a moment Kristin asked, “Does Gyrd Darre know that you intend to marry again so soon?”
“Yes.” Ramborg began pacing again. “Helga advises me to do so. Jamm?lt is rich.” She laughed. “And Gyrd is such a clever man that he must have seen long ago that our life was so wretched together, Simon’s and mine.”
“What are you saying! No one else has ever noticed that your life together was wretched,” Kristin said after a pause. “I don’t think anyone has ever seen anything but friendship and goodwill between the two of you. Simon indulged you in every way, gave you everything you wished for, always kept in mind your youth, and took care that you should enjoy it and be spared toil and travail. He loved his children and showed you every day that he was grateful to you for giving birth to the two of them.”
Ramborg smiled scornfully.
Kristin continued fiercely, “If you have any cause to think that your life wasn’t good together, then surely Simon is not to blame.”
“No,” said Ramborg. “I will bear the blame—if you do not dare.”
Kristin sat there, dumbfounded.
“I don’t think you know what you’re saying, sister,” she replied at last.
“Yes, I do,” said Ramborg. “But I can believe that you might not know. You’ve had so little thought for Simon that I’m convinced this may be new to you. You considered him good enough to turn to whenever you needed a helper who would gladly have carried red-hot iron for your sake. But never did you give any thought to Simon Andress?n or ask what it might have cost him. I was allowed to enjoy my youth, yes. With joy and gentleness Simon would lift me up into the saddle and send me off to feasts and merriment; with equal joy and gentleness he would welcome me when I came back home. He would pat me the way he patted his dog or his horse. He never missed me while I was gone.”
Kristin was on her feet; she stood quietly next to the table. Ramborg was wringing her hands so the knuckles cracked, pacing back and forth in the room.
“Jamm?lt . . .” she said in a calmer voice. I’ve known for years how he thought of me. I saw it even while his wife was still alive. Not that he ever gave himself away in word or deed—you mustn’t think that! He grieved for Simon too and came to me often to console me—that much is true. It was Helga who said to both of us that now it would be fitting if we . . .
“And I don’t know what I should wait for. I will never find more consolation or any less than I feel right now. I want to try living with a man who has been silently thinking of me for years on end. I know all too well what it feels like to live with a man who is silently thinking about someone else.”
Kristin didn’t move. Ramborg stopped in front of her, with her eyes flashing. “You know what I say is true!”
Kristin left the room without a word, her head bowed. As she stood in the rain outside in the courtyard, waiting for the servant to bring her horse, Ramborg appeared in the doorway. She stared at her sister with dark and hateful eyes.
Not until the next day did Kristin remember what she had promised Simon if Ramborg should marry again. She rode back to Formo. This was not an easy thing for her to do. And the worst of it was that she knew there was nothing she could say that would give her sister any help or solace. This marriage to Jamm?lt of ?lin seemed to her a rash decision when Ramborg was in such a state of mind. But Kristin realized that it would do no good for her to object.