Mark now—if Inger Gyldenlöve’s fame belie her not, I warrant
she will not let her guests lack for either meat or drink.
JENS BIELKE.
Ay, to turn us aside from our errand! And what wild whim was
that of yours to have me leave my horsemen half a league
from the castle? Had we come in force——
NILS LYKKE.
She had made us none the less welcome for _that_. But mark
well that then our coming had made a stir. The peasants
round about had held it for an outrage against Lady Inger;
she had risen high in their favour once more—and with that,
look you, we were ill served.
JENS BIELKE.
May be so. But what am I to do now? Count Sture is in
Östråt, you say. Ay, but how does that profit me? Be sure
Lady Inger Gyldenlöve has as many hiding-places as the fox,
and more than one outlet to them. You and I, alone, may go
snuffing about here as long as we please. I would the devil
had the whole affair!
NILS LYKKE.
Well, then, my friend—if you like not the turn your errand
has taken, you have but to leave the field to me.
JENS BIELKE.
To you? What will you do?
NILS LYKKE.
Caution and cunning may in this matter prove of more avail
than force of arms.—And to say truth, Captain Jens
Bielke—something of the sort has been in my mind ever since
we met in Trondhiem yesterday.
JENS BIELKE.
Was that why you persuaded me to leave the men-at-arms?
NILS LYKKE.
Both your purpose at Östråt and mine could best be served
without them; and so——
JENS BIELKE.
The foul fiend seize you—I had almost said! And me to boot!
Might I not have known that there is guile in all your
dealings?
NILS LYKKE.
Be sure I shall need all my guile here, if I am to face my
foe with even weapons. And let me tell you, ’tis of the
utmost moment to me that I acquit me of my mission secretly
and well. You must know that when I set forth I was scarce
in favour with my lord the King. He held me in suspicion;
though I dare swear I have served him as well as any man
could, in more than one ticklish charge.
JENS BIELKE.
That you may safely boast. God and all men know you for the
craftiest devil in all the three kingdoms.
NILS LYKKE.
I thank you! Though, after all, ’tis not much to say. But
this present errand I count as indeed a crowning test of my
powers; for here I have to outwit a woman——
JENS BIELKE.
Ha-ha-ha! In _that_ art you have long since given crowning
proofs of your skill, dear brother. Think you we in Sweden
know not the song— Fair maidens a-many they sigh and they
pine: “Ah God, that Nils Lykke were mine, mine, mine!”
NILS LYKKE.
Alas, ’tis women of twenty and thereabouts that ditty
speaks of. Lady Inger Gyldenlöve is nigh on fifty, and
wily to boot beyond all women. ’Twill be no light matter
to overmatch her. But it _must_ be done—at any cost.
Should I contrive to win certain advantages over her that
the King has long desired, I can reckon on the embassy to
France next spring. You know that I spent three years at
the University in Paris? My whole soul is set on coming
thither again, most of all if I can appear in lofty place,
a king’s ambassador.—Well, then—is it agreed—do you leave
Lady Inger to me? Remember—when you were last at Court in
Copenhagen, I made way for you with more than one fair
lady——
JENS BIELKE.
Nay, truly now—that generosity cost you little; one and all
of them were at your beck and call. But let that pass; now
that I have begun amiss in this matter, I had as lief that
you should take it on your shoulders. Yet _one_ thing you
must promise—if the young Count Sture be in Östråt, you will
deliver him into my hands, dead or alive!
NILS LYKKE.
You shall have him all alive. I, at any rate, mean not to
kill him. But now you must ride back and join your people.
Keep guard on the road. Should I mark aught that mislikes
me, you shall know it forthwith.
JENS BIELKE.
Good, good. But how am I to get out——?
NILS LYKKE.
The fellow that brought us in will show the way. But go
quietly——
JENS BIELKE.
Of course, of course. Well—good fortune to you!
NILS LYKKE.
Fortune has never failed me in a war with women. Haste you
now!
[JENS BIELKE _goes out to the right._
NILS LYKKE.
[_Stands still for a while; then walks about the room,
looking round him; then he says softly:_] At last, then, I
am at Östråt—the ancient hall whereof a child, two years
ago, told me so much.
Lucia. Ay, two years ago she was still a child. And now—now
she is dead. [_Hums with a half-smile._] “Blossoms plucked
are blossoms withered——”
[_Looks round him again._
Östråt. ’Tis as though I had seen it all before; as though I
were at home here.—In there is the Banquet Hall. And
underneath is—the grave-vault. It must be there that Lucia
lies.
[_In a lower voice, half seriously, half with forced
gaiety._
Were I timorous, I might well find myself fancying that when
I set foot within Östråt gate she turned about in her
coffin; as I crossed the courtyard she lifted the lid; and
when I named her name but now, ’twas as though a voice
summoned her forth from the grave-vault.—Maybe she is even
now groping her way up the stairs. The face-cloth blinds
her, but she gropes on and on in spite of it.
Now she has reached the Banquet Hall! She stands watching me
from behind the door!
[_Turns his head backwards over one shoulder, nods,
and says aloud:_
Come nearer, Lucia! Talk to me a little! Your mother keeps
me waiting. ’Tis tedious waiting—and you have helped me to
while away many a tedious hour——
[_Passes his hand over his forehead, and takes one
or two turns up and down._
Ah, there!—Right, right; there is the deep curtained window.
’Tis there that Inger Gyldenlöve is wont to stand gazing out
over the road, as though looking for one that never comes.
In there—[_looks towards the door on the left_]—somewhere in
there is Sister Elina’s chamber. Elina? Ay, Elina is her
name.
Can it be that she is so rare a being—so wise and so brave
as Lucia fancied her? Fair, too, they say. But for a wedded
wife—? I should not have written so plainly.——
[_Lost in thought, he is on the point of sitting
down by the table, but stands up again._
How will Lady Inger receive me?—She will scarce burn the
castle over our heads, or slip me through a trap-door. A
stab from behind—? No, not that way either——
[_Listens towards the hall._
Aha!
[LADY INGER GYLDENLÖVE _enters from the hall._
LADY INGER.
[_Coldly._] My greeting to you, Sir Councillor——
NILS LYKKE.
[_Bows deeply._] Ah—the Lady of Östråt!
LADY INGER.
——and my thanks that you have forewarned me of your visit.
NILS LYKKE.
I could do no less. I had reason to think that my coming
might surprise you——
LADY INGER.
Truly, Sir Councillor, therein you judged aright. Nils Lykke
was indeed the last guest I looked to see at Östråt.
NILS LYKKE.
And still less, mayhap, did you think to see him come as a
friend?
LADY INGER.
As a friend? You add mockery to all the shame and sorrow you
have heaped upon my house? After bringing my child to the
grave, you still dare——
NILS LYKKE.
With your leave, Lady Inger Gyldenlöve—on that matter we
should scarce agree; for you count as nothing what _I_ lost
by that same unhappy chance. I purposed nought but in
honour. I was tired of my unbridled life; my thirtieth year
was already past; I longed to mate me with a good and gentle
wife. Add to all this the hope of becoming your son-in-law——
LADY INGER.
Beware, Sir Councillor! I have done all in my power to hide
my child’s unhappy fate. But because it is out of sight,
think not it is out of mind. There may yet come a time——
NILS LYKKE.
You threaten me, Lady Inger? I have offered you my hand in
amity; you refuse to take it. Henceforth, then, it is to be
open war between us?
LADY INGER.
I knew not there had ever been aught else?
NILS LYKKE.
Not on _your_ side, mayhap. _I_ have never been your
enemy,—though, as a subject of the King of Denmark, I lacked
not good cause.
LADY INGER.
I understand you. I have not been pliant enough. It has not
proved so easy as some of you hoped to lure me over into
your camp.—Yet methinks you have nought to complain of. My
daughter Merete’s husband is your countryman—further I
cannot go. My position is no easy one, Nils Lykke!
NILS LYKKE.
That I can well believe. Both nobles and people here in
Norway think they have an ancient claim on you—a claim, ’tis
said, you have but half fulfilled.
LADY INGER.
Your pardon, Sir Councillor,—I account for my doings to none
but God and myself. If it please you, then, let me
understand what brings you hither.
NILS LYKKE.
Gladly, Lady Inger! The purpose of my mission to this
country can scarce be unknown to you——?
LADY INGER.
I know the mission that report assigns you. Our King would
fain know how the Norwegian nobles stand affected towards
him.
NILS LYKKE.
Assuredly.
LADY INGER.
Then that is why you visit Östråt?
NILS LYKKE.
In part. But it is far from my purpose to demand any
profession of loyalty from you——
LADY INGER.
What then?
NILS LYKKE.
Hearken to me, Lady Inger! You said yourself but now that
your position is no easy one. You stand half way between two
hostile camps, whereof neither dares trust you fully. Your
own interest must needs bind you to _us_. On the other hand,
you are bound to the disaffected by the bond of nationality,
and—who knows?—mayhap by some secret tie as well.
LADY INGER.
[_To herself._] A secret tie! Oh God, can he——?
NILS LYKKE.
[_Notices her emotion, but makes no sign, and continues
without change of manner._] You cannot but see that such a
position must ere long become impossible.—Suppose, now, it
lay in my power to free you from these embarrassments
which——
LADY INGER.
In your power, you say?
NILS LYKKE.
First of all, Lady Inger, I would beg you to lay no stress
on any careless words I may have used concerning that which
lies between us two. Think not that I have forgotten for a
moment the wrong I have done you. Suppose, now, I had long
purposed to make atonement, as far as might be, where I had
sinned. Suppose it were for that reason I had contrived to
have this mission assigned me.
LADY INGER.
Speak your meaning more clearly, Sir Councillor;—I cannot
follow you.
NILS LYKKE.
I can scarce be mistaken in thinking that you, as well as I,
know of the threatened troubles in Sweden. You know, or at
least you can guess, that this rising is of far wider aim
than is commonly supposed, and you understand therefore that
our King cannot look on quietly and let things take their
course. Am I not right?
LADY INGER.
Go on.
NILS LYKKE.
[_Searchingly, after a short pause._] There is _one_
possible chance that might endanger Gustav Vasa’s throne——
LADY INGER.
[_To herself._] Whither is he tending?
NILS LYKKE.
——the chance, namely, that there should exist in Sweden a
man entitled by his birth to claim election to the kingship.
LADY INGER.
[_Evasively._] The Swedish nobles have been even as bloodily
hewn down as our own, Sir Councillor. Where would you seek
for——?
NILS LYKKE.
[_With a smile._] Seek? The man is found already——
LADY INGER.
[_Starts violently._] Ah! He is found?
NILS LYKKE.
——and he is too closely akin to you, Lady Inger, to be far
from your thoughts at this moment. [_Looks fixedly at her._
The last Count Sture left a son——
LADY INGER.
[_With a cry._] Holy Saviour, how know you——?
NILS LYKKE.
[_Surprised._] Be calm, Madam, and let me finish.—This young
man has till now lived quietly with his mother, Sten Sture’s
widow.
LADY INGER.
[_Breathes more freely._] With—? Ah, yes—true, true!
NILS LYKKE.
But now he has come forward openly. He has shown himself in
the Dales as leader of the peasants; their numbers are
growing day by day; and—as mayhap you know—they are finding
friends among the peasants on this side of the border-hills.
LADY INGER.
[_Who has in the meantime regained her composure._]
Sir Councillor,—you speak of all these matters as though
they must of necessity be known to me. What ground have I
given you to believe so? I know, and wish to know, nothing.
All my care is to live quietly within my own domain; I give
no countenance to disturbers of the peace; but neither must
you reckon on me if it be your purpose to suppress them.
NILS LYKKE.
[_In a low voice._] Would you still be inactive, were it my
purpose to come to their aid?
LADY INGER.
How am I to understand you?
NILS LYKKE.
Have you not seen, then, whither I have been aiming all this
time?—Well, I will tell you all, frankly and openly. Know,
then, that the King and his Council see clearly that we can
have no sure footing in Norway so long as the nobles and the
people continue, as now, to think themselves wronged and
oppressed. We understand to the full that willing allies are
better than sullen subjects; and we have therefore no
heartier wish than to loosen the bonds that hamper us, in
effect, even as straitly as you. But you will scarce deny
that the temper of Norway towards us makes such a step too
dangerous—so long as we have no sure support behind us.
LADY INGER.
And this support——?
NILS LYKKE.
Should naturally come from Sweden. But, mark well, not so
long as Gustav Vasa holds the helm; his reckoning with
Denmark is not yet settled, and mayhap never will be. But a
new king of Sweden, who had the people with him, and who
owed his throne to the help of Denmark——. Well, you begin to
understand me? _Then_ we could safely say to you Norwegians:
“Take back your old ancestral rights; choose you a ruler
after your own mind; be our friends in need, as we will be
yours!”—Mark you well, Lady Inger, herein is our generosity
less than it may seem; for you must see that, far from
weakening, ’twill rather strengthen us.
And now that I have opened my heart to you so fully,
do you too cast away all mistrust. And therefore
[_confidently_]—the knight from Sweden, who came
hither an hour before me——
LADY INGER.
Then you already know of his coming?
NILS LYKKE.
Most certainly. ’Tis he whom I seek.
LADY INGER.
[_To herself._] Strange! Then it must be as Olaf Skaktavl
said. [_To_ NILS LYKKE.] I pray you wait here, Sir
Councillor! I will go bring him to you.
[_Goes out through the Banquet Hall._
NILS LYKKE.
[_Looks after her a while in exultant astonishment._] She is
bringing him! Ay, truly—she is bringing him! The battle is
half won. I little thought it would go so smoothly.—
She is deep in the counsels of the rebels; she started in
terror when I named Sten Sture’s son.—
And now? H’m! Since Lady Inger has been simple enough to
walk into the snare, Nils Sture will not make many
difficulties. A hot-blooded boy, thoughtless and rash——.
With my promise of help he will set forth at once—unhappily
Jens Bielke will snap him up by the way—and the whole rising
will be nipped in the bud.
And then? Then one further point to our advantage. It is
spread abroad that the young Count Sture has been at
Östråt,—that a Danish envoy has had audience of Lady
Inger—that thereupon the young Count Nils has been snapped
up by King Gustav’s men-at-arms a mile from the castle.——Let
Inger Gyldenlöve’s name among the people stand never so
high—’twill scarce recover from such a blow. [_Starts up in
sudden uneasiness._
By all the devils—! What if she has scented mischief! It may
be he is even now slipping through our fingers—[_Listens
towards the hall, and says with relief._] Ah, there is no
fear. Here they come.
[LADY INGER GYLDENLÖVE _enters from the hall,
accompanied by_ OLAF SKAKTAVI.
LADY INGER.
[_To_ NILS LYKKE.] Here is the man you seek.
NILS LYKKE.
[_Aside._] Powers of hell—what means this?
LADY INGER.
I have told this knight your name and all that you have
imparted to me——
NILS LYKKE.
[_Irresolutely._] Ay? Have you so? Well——
LADY INGER.
——and I will not hide from you that his faith in your help
is none of the strongest.
NILS LYKKE.
Is it not?
LADY INGER.
Can you marvel at that? Surely you know both his way of
thinking and his bitter fate——
NILS LYKKE.
This man’s—? Ah—yes, truly——
OLAF SKAKTAVL.
[_To_ NILS LYKKE.] But seeing ’tis Peter Kanzler himself
that has appointed us this meeting——
NILS LYKKE.
Peter Kanzler—? [_Recovers himself quickly._] Ay, right,—I
have a mission from Peter Kanzler——
OLAF SKAKTAVL.
He must know best whom he can trust. So why should I trouble
my head with pondering how——
NILS LYKKE.
Ay, you are right, noble Sir; why waste time over that?
OLAF SKAKTAVL.
Rather let us come straight to the matter.
NILS LYKKE.
Straight to the point; no beating about the bush—’tis ever
my fashion.
OLAF SKAKTAVL.
Then will you tell me your errand here?
NILS LYKKE.
Methinks you can partly guess my errand——
OLAF SKAKTAVL.
Peter Kanzler said something of papers that——
NILS LYKKE.
Papers? Ay, true, the papers!
OLAF SKAKTAVL.
Doubtless you have them with you?
NILS LYKKE.
Of course; safely bestowed; so safely that I cannot at
once——
[_Appears to search the inner pockets of his
doublet; says to himself:_
Who the devil is he? What pretext can I make? I may be on
the brink of great discoveries——
[_Notices that the_ SERVANTS _are laying the table
and lighting the lamps in the Banquet Hall, and
says to_ OLAF SKAKTAVL:
Ah, I see Lady Inger has taken order for the evening meal.
Mayhap we could better talk of our affairs at table.
OLAF SKAKTAVL.
Good; as you will.
NILS LYKKE.
[_Aside._] Time gained—all gained!
[_To_ LADY INGER _with a show of great
friendliness:_
And meanwhile we might learn what part Lady Inger Gyldenlöve
purposes to take in our design?
LADY INGER.
I?—None.
NILS LYKKE AND OLAF SKAKTAVL.
None!
LADY INGER.
Can ye marvel, noble Sirs, that I venture not on a game
wherein loss would mean loss of all? And that, too, when
none of my allies dare trust me fully.
NILS LYKKE.
That reproach touches not me. I trust you blindly; I pray
you be assured of that.
OLAF SKAKTAVL.
Who should believe in you, if not your countrymen?
LADY INGER.
Truly,—this confidence rejoices me.
[_Goes to a cupboard in the back wall and fills two
goblets with wine._
NILS LYKKE.
[_Aside._] Curse her, will she slip out of the noose?
LADY INGER.
[_Hands a goblet to each._] And since so it is, I offer you
a cup of welcome to Östråt. Drink, noble knights! Pledge me
to the last drop!
[_Looks from one to the other after they have drunk,
and says gravely_:
But now I must tell you—one goblet held a welcome for my
friend; the other—death for my enemy!
NILS LYKKE.
[_Throws down the goblet._] Ah, I am poisoned!
OLAF SKAKTAVL.
[_At the same time, clutches his sword._] Death and hell,
have you murdered me?
LADY INGER.
[_To_ OLAF SKAKTAVL, _pointing to_ NILS LYKKE.] You see the
Danes’ confidence in Inger Gyldenlöve——
[_To_ NILS LYKKE, _pointing to_ OLAF SKAKTAVL.] ——and
likewise my countrymen’s faith in me! [_To both of them._
Yet you would have me place myself in your power? Gently,
noble Sirs—gently! The Lady of Östråt is not yet in her
dotage.
[ELINA GYLDENLÖVE _enters by the door on the left._
ELINA.
I heard loud voices—. What is amiss?
LADY INGER.
[_To_ NILS LYKKE.] My daughter Elina.
NILS LYKKE.
[_Softly._] Elina! I had not pictured her thus.
[ELINA _catches sight of_ NILS LYKKE, _and stands
still, as in surprise, gazing at him._
LADY INGER.
[_Touches her arm._] My child—this knight is——
ELINA.
[_Motions her mother back with her hand, still looking
intently at him, and says:_] There is no need! I see who he
is. He is Nils Lykke.
NILS LYKKE.
[_Aside, to_ LADY INGER.] How? Does she know me? Can Lucia
have—? Can she know——?
LADY INGER.
Hush! She knows nothing.
ELINA.
[_To herself._] I knew it;—even so must Nils Lykke appear.
NILS LYKKE.
[_Approaches her._] Yes, Elina Gyldenlöve,—you have guessed
aright. And as it seems that, in some sense, you know
me,—and, moreover, as I am your mother’s guest,——you will
not deny me the flower-spray you wear in your bosom. So long
as it is fresh and fragrant, I shall have in it an image of
yourself.
ELINA.
[_Proudly, but still gazing at him._] Pardon me, Sir
Knight——’twas plucked in my own chamber, and _there_ can
grow no flower for you.
NILS LYKKE.
[_Loosening a spray of flowers that he wears in the front of
his doublet._] At least you will not disdain this humble
gift. ’Twas a farewell token from a courtly dame when I set
forth from Trondhiem this morning.——But mark me, noble
maiden,——were I to offer you a gift that were fully worthy
of you, it could be nought less than a princely crown.
ELINA.
[_Who has taken the flowers passively._] And were it the
royal crown of Denmark you held forth to me——before I shared
it with _you_, I would crush it to pieces between my hands,
and cast the fragments at your feet!
[_Throws down the flowers at his feet, and goes into
the Banquet Hall._
OLAF SKAKTAVL.
[_Mutters to himself._] Bold——as Inger Ottisdaughter by Knut
Alfson’s bier!
LADY INGER.
[_Softly, after looking alternately at_ ELINA _and_ NILS
LYKKE.] The wolf _can_ be tamed. Now to forge the fetters.
NILS LYKKE.
[_Picks up the flowers and gazes in rapture after_ ELINA.]
God’s holy blood, but she is proud and fair!
-----
ACT THIRD
_The Banquet Hall. A high bow-window in the background; a
smaller window in front on the left. Several doors on
each side. The ceiling is supported by massive wooden
pillars, on which, as well as on the walls, are hung all
sorts of weapons. Pictures of saints, knights, and
ladies hang in long rows. Pendent from the ceiling a
large many-branched lamp, alight. In front, on the
right, an ancient carven high-seat. In the middle of the
hall, a table with the remnants of the evening meal._
ELINA GYLDENLÖVE _enters from the left, slowly and in deep
thought. Her expression shows that she is going over
again in her mind the scene with_ NILS LYKKE. _At last
she repeats the motion with which she flung away the
flowers, and says in a low voice:_
ELINA.
——And then he gathered up the fragments of the crown of
Denmark—no, ’twas the flowers—and: “God’s holy blood, but
she is proud and fair!”
Had he whispered the words in the most secret spot, long
leagues from Östråt,—still had I heard them!
How I hate him! How I have always hated him,—this Nils
Lykke!—There lives not another man like him, ’tis said. He
plays with women—and treads them under his feet.
And ’twas to _him_ my mother thought to offer me!—How I hate
him!
They say Nils Lykke is unlike all other men. It is not true!
There is nothing strange in him. There are many, many like
him! When Biörn used to tell me his tales, all the princes
looked as Nils Lykke looks. When I sat lonely here in the
hall and dreamed my histories, and my knights came and
went,—they were one and all even as he.
How strange and how good it is to hate! Never have I known
how sweet it can be—till to-night. Ah—not to live a thousand
years would I sell the moments I have lived since I saw
him!—
“God’s holy blood, but she is proud——”
[_Goes slowly towards the back, opens the window and
looks out._ NILS LYKKE _comes in by the first
door on the right._
NILS LYKKE.
[_To himself._] “Sleep well at Östråt, Sir Knight,” said
Inger Gyldenlöve as she left me. Sleep well? Ay, ’tis easily
said, but——Out there, sky and sea in tumult; below, in the
grave-vault, a young girl on her bier; the fate of two
kingdoms in my hand;—and in my breast a withered flower that
a woman has flung at my feet. Truly, I fear me sleep will be
slow of coming.
[_Notices_ ELINA, _who has left the window, and is
going out on the left._
There she is. Her haughty eyes seem veiled with thought.—Ah,
if I but dared—. [_Aloud._] Mistress Elina!
ELINA.
[_Stops at the door._] What will you? Why do you pursue me?
NILS LYKKE.
You err; I pursue you not$1 $2am myself pursued.
ELINA.
You?
NILS LYKKE.
By a multitude of thoughts. Therefore ’tis with sleep as
with you:—it flees me.
ELINA.
Go to the window, and there you will find pastime;—a
storm-tossed sea——
NILS LYKKE.
[_Smiles._] A storm-tossed sea? That may I find in you as
well.
ELINA.
In me?
NILS LYKKE.
Ay, of that our first meeting has assured me.
ELINA.
And that offends you?
NILS LYKKE.
Nay, in nowise; yet I could wish to see you of milder mood.
ELINA.
[_Proudly._] Think you that you will ever have your wish?
NILS LYKKE.
I am sure of it. I have a welcome word to say to you.
ELINA.
What is it?
NILS LYKKE.
Farewell.
ELINA.
[_Comes a step nearer him._] Farewell? You are leaving
Östråt—so soon?
NILS LYKKE.
This very night.
ELINA..
[_Seems to hesitate for a moment; then says coldly._] Then
take my greeting, Sir Knight!
[_Bows and is about to go._
NILS LYKKE.
Elina Gyldenlöve,—I have no right to keep you here; but
’twill be unlike your nobleness if you refuse to hear what I
have to say to you.
ELINA.
I hear you, Sir Knight.
NILS LYKKE.
I know you hate me.
ELINA.
You are keen-sighted, I perceive.
NILS LYKKE.