Chapter IV: Part 4

Then ’twould seem you are not so blind after all; for I am
the more deceived if you be not right. Marked you not at the
supper-board how eagerly he listened to the least word I let
fall concerning Elina?

OLAF SKAKTAVL.

He forgot both food and drink.

LADY INGER.

And our secret affairs as well.

OLAF SKAKTAVL.

Ay, and what is more—the papers from Peter Kanzler.

LADY INGER.

And from all this you conclude——?

OLAF SKAKTAVL.

From all this I chiefly conclude that, as you know Nils
Lykke and the name he bears, especially in all that touches
women——

LADY INGER.

——I should be right glad to know him outside my gates?

OLAF SKAKTAVL.

Ay; and that as soon as may be.

LADY INGER.

[_Smiling._] Nay—the case is just the contrary, Olaf
Skaktavl!

OLAF SKAKTAVL.

How mean you?

LADY INGER.

If things be as we both think, Nils Lykke must in nowise
depart from Östråt yet awhile.

OLAF SKAKTAVL.

[_Looks at her with disapproval._] Are you again embarked on
crooked courses, Lady Inger? What guile are you now
devising? Something that may increase your own power at the
cost of our——

LADY INGER.

Oh this blindness, that makes you all do me such wrong! I
see well you think I purpose to make Nils Lykke my
daughter’s husband. Were such a thought in my mind, why had
I refused to take part in what is afoot in Sweden, when Nils
Lykke and all the Danish crew seem willing to support it?

OLAF SKAKTAVL.

Then if it be not your wish to win him and bind him to
you—what would you with him?

LADY INGER.

I will tell you in few words. In a letter to me, Nils Lykke
has spoken of the high fortune it were to be allied to our
house; and I do not say but, for a moment, I let myself
think of the matter.

OLAF SKAKTAVL.

Ay, see you!

LADY INGER.

To wed Nils Lykke to one of my house were doubtless a great
step toward stanching many discords in our land.

OLAF SKAKTAVL.

Meseems your daughter Merete’s marriage with Vinzents Lunge
might have taught you what comes of such a step. Scarce had
my lord gained firm footing among us, when he began to make
free with both our goods and our rights——

LADY INGER.

I know it even too well, Olaf Skaktavl! But times there be
when my thoughts are manifold and strange. I cannot impart
them fully either to you or to any one else. Often I know
not the right course to choose. And yet—a second time to
make a Danish lord my son-in-law,—nought but the uttermost
need could drive me to that resource; and heaven be
praised—things have not yet come to _that_!

OLAF SKAKTAVL.

I am no wiser than before, Lady Inger;—why would you keep
Nils Lykke at Östråt?

LADY INGER.

[_In a low voice._] Because I owe him an undying hate. Nils
Lykke has done me deadlier wrong than any other man. I
cannot tell you wherein it lies; but never shall I rest till
I am avenged on him. See you not now? Say that Nils Lykke
were to love my daughter—as meseems were like enough. I will
persuade him to tarry here; he shall learn to know Elina
well. She is both fair and wise.—Ah, if he should one day
come before me, with hot love in his heart, to beg for her
hand! Then—to chase him away like a dog; to drive him off
with jibes and scorn; to make it known over all the land
that Nils Lykke had come a-wooing to Östråt in vain—! I tell
you I would give ten years of my life but to see that day!

OLAF SKAKTAVL.

In faith and truth, Inger Gyldenlöve—is _this_ your purpose
towards him?

LADY INGER.

This and nought else, as sure as God lives! Trust me, Olaf
Skaktavl, I mean honestly by my countrymen; but I am in
nowise my own mistress. Things there be that must be kept
hidden, or ’twere my death-blow. But let me once be secure
on _that_ side, and you shall see if I have forgotten the
oath I swore by Knut Alfson’s bier.

OLAF SKAKTAVL.

[_Shakes her by the hand._] Thanks for those words! I am
loath indeed to think evil of you.—Yet, touching your design
towards this knight, methinks ’tis a venturesome game you
would play. What if you had misreckoned? What if your
daughter—? ’Tis said no woman can stand against this subtle
devil.

LADY INGER.

My daughter? Think you that she—? Nay, have no fear of that;
I know Elina better. All she has heard of his renown has but
made her hate him the more. You saw with your own eyes——

OLAF SKAKTAVL.

Ay, but—a woman’s mind is shifting ground to build on.
’Twere best you looked well before you.

LADY INGER.

That will I, be sure; I will watch them narrowly. But even
were he to succeed in luring her into his toils, I have but
to whisper two words in her ear, and——

OLAF SKAKTAVL.

What then?

LADY INGER.

——She will shrink from him as though he came straight from
the foul Tempter himself.

Hist, Olaf Skaktavl! Here he comes. Now be cautious.

[NILS LYKKE _enters by the foremost door on the right._

NILS LYKKE.

[_Approaches_ LADY INGER _courteously._] My noble hostess
has summoned me.

LADY INGER.

I have learned through my daughter that you are minded to
leave us to-night.

NILS LYKKE.

Even so, to my sorrow;—since my business at Östråt is over.

OLAF SKAKTAVL.

Not before I have the papers.

NILS LYKKE.

True, true. I had well-nigh forgot the weightiest part of my
errand. ’Twas the fault of our noble hostess. With such
gracious skill did she keep her guests in talk at table——

LADY INGER.

That you no longer remembered what had brought you hither? I
rejoice to hear it; for that was my design. Methought that
if my guest, Nils Lykke, were to feel at his ease in Östråt,
he must forget——

NILS LYKKE.

What, lady?

LADY INGER.

——First of all his errand—and then all that had gone before
it.

NILS LYKKE.

[_To_ OLAF SKAKTAVL, _as he takes out the packet and hands
it to him._] The papers from Peter Kanzler. You will find in
them a full account of our partizans in Sweden.

OLAF SKAKTAVL.

It is well.

[_Sits down by the table on the left, where he opens
the packet and examines its contents._

NILS LYKKE.

And now, Lady Inger Gyldenlöve,—I know not that there is
aught else for me to do here.

LADY INGER.

Had it been things of state alone that brought us together,
you might be right. But I should be loath to think so.

NILS LYKKE.

You would say——?

LADY INGER.

I would say that ’twas not alone as a Danish Councillor or
as the ally of Peter Kanzler that Nils Lykke came to be my
guest.—Do I err in fancying that somewhat you may have heard
down in Denmark may have made you curious to know more of
the Lady of Östråt.

NILS LYKKE.

Far be it from me to deny——

OLAF SKAKTAVL.

[_Turning over the papers._] Strange. No letter.

NILS LYKKE.

——Lady Inger Gyldenlöve’s fame is all too widely spread that
I should not long have been eager to see her face to face.

LADY INGER.

So I thought. But what, then, is an hour’s jesting talk at
the supper-table? Let us try to sweep away all that has till
now lain between us; it may well come to pass that the Nils
Lykke I know may wipe out the grudge I bore the one I knew
not. Prolong your stay here but a few days, Sir Councillor!
I dare not persuade Olaf Skaktavl thereto, since his secret
charge in Sweden calls him hence. But as for you, doubtless
your sagacity has placed all things beforehand in such train
that your presence can scarce be needed. Trust me, your time
shall not pass tediously with us; at least you will find
both me and my daughter heartily disposed to do all in our
power to pleasure you.

NILS LYKKE.

I doubt neither your goodwill towards me nor your
daughter’s; of that I have had ample proof. And I trust you
will not doubt that my presence elsewhere must be vitally
needful, since, despite of all, I must declare my longer
stay at Östråt impossible.

LADY INGER.

Is it even so!—Know you, Sir Councillor, were I evilly
minded, I might fancy you had come to Östråt to try a fall
with me, and that, having lost, you cared not to linger on
the battlefield among the witnesses of your defeat.

NILS LYKKE.

[_Smiling._] There might be some show of reason for such a
reading of the case; but sure it is that as yet _I_ hold not
the battle lost.

LADY INGER.

However that may be, it might at any rate be retrieved, if
you would tarry some days with us. You see yourself, I am
still halting and wavering at the parting of the
ways,—persuading my redoubtable assailant not to quit the
field.—Well, to speak plainly, the thing is this: your
alliance with the disaffected in Sweden still seems to me
somewhat—how shall I call it?—somewhat miraculous, Sir
Councillor! I tell you this frankly, dear Sir! The thought
that has moved the King’s Council to this secret step is in
truth most politic; but ’tis strangely at variance with the
deeds of certain of your countrymen in bygone years. Be not
offended, then, if my trust in your fair promises needs to
be somewhat strengthened ere I can place my whole welfare in
your hands.

NILS LYKKE.

A longer stay at Östråt would scarce help towards that end;
since I purpose not to make any further effort to shake your
resolve.

LADY INGER.

Then must I pity you from my heart. Ay, Sir Councillor—’tis
true I stand here an unfriended widow; yet may you trust my
word when I foretell that this visit to Östråt will strew
your future path with thorns.

NILS LYKKE.

[_With a smile._] Is that your forecast, Lady Inger?

LADY INGER.

Truly it is! What can one say, dear Sir? ’Tis an age of
tattling tongues. Many a scurril knave will make jeering
rhymes at your expense. Ere half a year is out, you will be
all men’s fable; people will stop and gaze after you on the
high roads; ’twill be: “Look, look; there rides Sir Nils
Lykke, that fared north to Östråt to trap Inger Gyldenlöve,
and was caught in his own nets.”—Softly, softly, Sir Knight,
why so impatient! ’Tis not that _I_ think so; I do but
forecast the thoughts of the malicious and evil-minded; and
of them, alas! there are many.— Ay, ’tis shame; but so it
is—you will reap nought but mockery—mockery, because a woman
was craftier than you. “Like a cunning fox,” men will say,
“he crept into Östråt; like a beaten hound he slunk
away.”—And one thing more: think you not that Peter Kanzler
and his friends will forswear your alliance, when ’tis known
that _I_ venture not to fight under a standard borne by you?

NILS LYKKE.

You speak wisely, lady! Wherefore to secure me from
mockery—and not to endanger the alliance with all our dear
friends in Sweden—I must needs——

LADY INGER.

[_Hastily._] ——prolong your stay at Östråt.

OLAF SKAKTAVL.

[_Who has been listening._] He is in the trap!

NILS LYKKE.

No, my noble lady;—I must needs bring you to terms within
this hour.

LADY INGER.

But what if you should fail?

NILS LYKKE.

I shall _not_ fail.

LADY INGER.

You lack not confidence, it seems.

NILS LYKKE.

What shall be the wager that you make not common cause with
myself and Peter Kanzler?

LADY INGER.

Östråt Castle against your knee-buckles!

NILS LYKKE.

[_Slaps his breast and cries:_] Olaf Skaktavl—here stands
the master of Östråt!

LADY INGER.

Sir Councillor——!

OLAF SKAKTAVL.

[_Rises from the table._] What now?

NILS LYKKE.

[_To_ LADY INGER.] I accept not the wager; for in a moment
you will gladly give Östråt Castle, and more to boot, to be
freed from the snare wherein not I but you are tangled.

LADY INGER.

Your jest, Sir, grows a vastly merry one.

NILS LYKKE.

’Twill be merrier yet—at least for me. You boast that you
have overreached me. You threaten to heap on me all men’s
scorn and mockery. Ah, beware that you stir not up my
vengefulness; for with two words I can bring you to your
knees at my feet.

LADY INGER.

Ha-ha——!

[_Stops suddenly, as if struck by a foreboding._

And these two words, Nils Lykke?—these two words——?

NILS LYKKE.

——The secret of Sten Sture’s son and yours.

LADY INGER.

[_With a shriek._] Oh, God in heaven——!

OLAF SKAKTAVL.

Inger Gyldenlöve’s son! What say you?

LADY INGER.

[_Half kneeling to_ NILS LYKKE.] Mercy! oh, be merciful——!

NILS LYKKE.

[_Raises her up._] Collect yourself, and let us talk
together calmly.

LADY INGER.

[_In a low voice, as though bewildered._] Did you hear it,
Olaf Skaktavl? Or was it but a dream? Heard you what he
said?

NILS LYKKE.

It was no dream, Lady Inger!

LADY INGER.

[_Clasping her hands._] And you know it! You,—you!—Where is
he then? Where have you got him? What would you do with him?
[_Screams._] Do not kill him, Nils Lykke! Give him back to
me! Do not kill my child!

OLAF SKAKTAVL.

Ah, I begin to understand——

LADY INGER.

And this fear—this torturing dread! Through all these weary
years it has been ever with me——and then all fails at last,
and I must bear this agony!—Oh Lord my God, is it right of
thee? Was it for this thou gavest him to me?

[_Controls herself and says with forced composure:_

Nils Lykke—tell me _one_ thing. Where have you got him?
Where is he?

NILS LYKKE.

With his foster-father.

LADY INGER.

Still with his foster-father. Oh, that merciless man—! For
ever to deny me—. But it _must_ not go on thus! Help me,
Olaf Skaktavl!

OLAF SKAKTAVL.

I?

NILS LYKKE.

There will be no need, if only you——

LADY INGER.

Hearken, Sir Councillor! What you know you shall know
thoroughly. And you too, my old and faithful friend!

Listen then. To-night you bade me call to mind that fatal
day when Knut Alfson was slain at Oslo. You bade me remember
the promise I made as I stood by his corpse amid the bravest
men in Norway. I was scarce full-grown then; but I felt
God’s strength in me, and methought, as many have thought
since, that the Lord himself had set his mark on me and
chosen me to fight in the forefront for my country’s cause.

Was it pride of heart? Or was it a calling from on high?
That I have never clearly known. But woe to whoso is charged
with a mighty task.

For seven years I fear not to say that I kept my promise
faithfully. I stood by my countrymen in all their sufferings
and their need. Playmates of mine, all over the land, were
wives and mothers now. I alone could give ear to no
wooer—not to one. That you know best, Olaf Skaktavl!

Then I saw Sten Sture for the first time. Fairer man had
never met my sight.

NILS LYKKE.

Ah, now it grows clear to me! Sten Sture was then in Norway
on a secret errand. We Danes were not to know that he wished
your friends well.

LADY INGER.

In the guise of a mean serving-man he lived a whole winter
under one roof with me.

That winter I thought less and less of the country’s
weal.——So fair a man had I never seen—and I had lived
well-nigh five-and-twenty years.

Next autumn Sten Sture came once more; and when he departed
again he took with him, in all secrecy, a little child.
’Twas not folk’s evil tongues I feared; but our cause would
have suffered had it got abroad that Sten Sture stood so
near to me.

The child was given to Peter Kanzler to rear. I waited for
better times, that were soon to come. They never came. Sten
Sture took a wife two years later in Sweden, and, when he
died, he left a widow——

OLAF SKAKTAVL.

——And with her a lawful heir to his name and rights.

LADY INGER.

Time after time I wrote to Peter Kanzler beseeching him to
give me back my child. But he was ever deaf to my prayers.
“Cast in your lot with us once for all,” he said, “and I
send your son back to Norway; not before.” But ’twas even
that I dared not do. We of the disaffected party were then
ill regarded by many timorous folk in the land. Had these
learnt how things stood—oh, I know it!—to cripple the mother
they had gladly meted to the child the fate that would have
been King Christiern’s had he not saved himself by
flight.[20]

But, besides that, the Danes, too, were active. They spared
neither threats nor promises to force me to join them.

OLAF SKAKTAVL.

’Twas but reason. The eyes of all men were fixed on you as
on the vane that should show them how to shape their course.

LADY INGER.

Then came Herlof Hyttefad’s rising. Do you remember that
time, Olaf Skaktavl? Was it not as though a new spring had
dawned over the whole land! Mighty voices summoned me to
come forth;—yet I dared not. I stood doubting—far from the
strife—in my lonely castle. At times it seemed as though the
Lord God himself were calling me; but then would come the
killing dread again to benumb my will. “Who will
win?”—_that_ was the question that was ever ringing in my
ears.

’Twas but a short spring that had come to Norway. Herlof
Hyttefad, and many more with him, were broken on the wheel
during the months that followed. None could call me to
account; yet there lacked not covert threats from Denmark.
What if they knew the secret? At last methought they _must_
know; I knew not how else to understand their words.

’Twas even in that time of agony that Gyldenlöve, the High
Steward, came hither and sought me in marriage. Let any
mother anguished for her child think herself in my place!—A
month after, I was the High Steward’s wife—and homeless in
the hearts of my countrymen.

Then came the quiet years. No one raised his head any more.
Our masters might grind us down even as heavily as they
listed. There were times when I loathed myself; for what had
I to do? Nought but to endure terror and scorn and bring
forth daughters into the world. My daughters! God must
forgive me if I have had no mother’s heart towards them. My
wifely duties were as serfdom to me; how then could I love
my daughters? Oh, how different with my son! _He_ was the
child of my very soul. He was the one thing that brought to
mind the time when I was a woman and nought but a woman.—And
him they had taken from me! He was growing up among
strangers, who might, mayhap, be sowing in him the seed of
corruption! Olaf Skaktavl—had I wandered, like you, on the
lonely hills, hunted and forsaken, in winter and storm—if I
had but held my child in my arms,—trust me, I had not
sorrowed and wept so sore as I have sorrowed and wept for
him from his birth even to this hour!

OLAF SKAKTAVL.

There is my hand. I have judged you too hardly, Lady Inger!
Command me even as before; I will obey.—Ay, by all the
saints, I know what it is to sorrow for a child.

LADY INGER.

Yours was slain by men of blood. But what is death to the
restless terror of all these long years?

NILS LYKKE.

Mark, then—’tis in your power to end this terror. You have
but to make peace between the jarring factions, and neither
will think of seizing on your child as a pledge of your
faith.

LADY INGER.

[_To herself._] This is the vengeance of Heaven. [_Looks at
him._] In one word, what do you demand?

NILS LYKKE.

I demand first that you shall call the people of the
northern districts to arms, in support of the disaffected in
Sweden.

LADY INGER.

And next——?

NILS LYKKE.

——that you do your best to advance young Count Sture’s
ancestral claim to the throne of Sweden.

LADY INGER.

His? You demand that I——

OLAF SKAKTAVL.

[_Softly._] It is the wish of many Swedes, and ’twould serve
our turn too.

NILS LYKKE.

You hesitate, lady? You tremble for your son’s safety. What
better can you wish than to see his half-brother on the
throne?

LADY INGER.

[_In thought._] True—true——

NILS LYKKE.

[_Looks at her sharply._] Unless there be other plans
afoot——

LADY INGER.

What mean you?

NILS LYKKE.

Inger Gyldenlöve might have a mind to be—a king’s mother.

LADY INGER.

No, no! Give me back my child, and let who will have the
crowns.

But know you so surely that Count Sture is willing——?

NILS LYKKE.

Of that he will himself assure you.

LADY INGER.

Himself? And when?

NILS LYKKE.

Even now.

OLAF SKAKTAVL.

How now?

LADY INGER.

What say you?

NILS LYKKE.

In one word, Count Sture is in Östråt.

OLAF SKAKTAVL.

Here?

NILS LYKKE.

[_To_ Lady Inger.] You have doubtless heard that another
rode through the gate along with me? The Count was my
attendant.

LADY INGER.

[_Softly._] I am in his power. I have no longer any choice.

[_Looks at him and says:_

’Tis well, Sir Councillor—you shall have full assurance of
my support.

NILS LYKKE.

In writing?

LADY INGER.

As you will.

[_Goes to the table on the left, sits down, and
takes writing materials from the drawer._

NILS LYKKE.

[_Aside, standing by the table on the right._] At last,
then, I win!

LADY INGER.

[_After a moment’s thought, turns suddenly in her chair to_
OLAF SKAKTAVL _and whispers._] Olaf Skaktavl—I am certain of
it now—Nils Lykke is a traitor!

OLAF SKAKTAVL.

[_Softly._] What? You think——?

LADY INGER.

He has treachery in his heart.

[_Lays the paper before her and dips the pen in the
ink._

OLAF SKAKTAVL.

And yet you would give him a written promise that may be
your ruin?

LADY INGER.

Hush; leave me to act. Nay, wait and listen first——[_Talks
with him in a whisper._

NILS LYKKE.

[_Softly, watching them._] Ah, take counsel together as much
as ye list! All danger is over now. With her written consent
in my pocket, I can denounce her whenever I please. A secret
message to Jens Bielke this very night—. I tell him but the
truth—that the young Count Sture is not at Östråt. And then
to-morrow, when the road is open—to Trondhiem with my young
friend, and thence by ship to Copenhagen with him as my
prisoner. Once we have him safe in the castle-tower, we can
dictate to Lady Inger what terms we will. And I—? After
this, methinks, the King will scarce place the French
mission in other hands than mine.

LADY INGER.

[_Still whispering to_ OLAF SKAKTAVL.] Well, you understand
me?

OLAF SKAKTAVL.

Ay, fully. Let us make the venture, even as you will. [_Goes
out by the back, to the right._

[NILS STENSSON _comes in by the first door on the
right, unseen by_ LADY INGER, _who has begun to
write._

NILS STENSSON.

[_In a low voice._] Sir Knight,—Sir Knight!

NILS LYKKE.

[_Moves towards him._] Rash boy! What would you here? Said I
not you should wait within until I called you?

NILS STENSSON.

How could I? Now you have told me that Inger Gyldenlöve is
my mother, I thirst more than ever to see her face to face——

Oh, it is she! How proud and high her mien! Even thus did I
ever picture her. Fear not, dear Sir,—I shall do nought
rashly. Since I have learnt this secret, I feel, as it were,
older and wiser. I will no longer be wild and heedless; I
will be even as other well-born youths.—Tell me,—knows she
that I am here? Surely you have prepared her?

NILS LYKKE.

Ay, sure enough; but——

NILS STENSSON.

Well?

NILS LYKKE.

——She will not own you for her son.

NILS STENSSON.

Will not own me? But she is my mother.—Oh, if it be that she
doubts _that_—[_takes out a ring which he wears on a cord
round his neck_]—show her this ring. I have worn it since my
earliest childhood; she must surely know its history.

NILS LYKKE.

Hide the ring, man! Hide it, I say!

You mistake me. Lady Inger doubts not at all that you are
her child; but—ay, look about you; look at all this wealth;
look at these mighty forefathers and kinsmen whose pictures
deck the walls both high and low; look lastly at herself,
the haughty dame, used to bear sway as the first noblewoman
in the kingdom. Think you it can be to her mind to take a
poor ignorant youth by the hand before all men’s eyes and
say: Behold my son!

NILS STENSSON.

Ay, doubtless you are right. I am poor and ignorant. I have
nought to offer her in return for what I crave. Oh, never
have I felt my poverty weigh on me till this hour! But tell
me—what think you I should do to win her favour? Tell me,
dear Sir; sure you must know!

NILS LYKKE.

You must win your father’s kingdom. But until that may be,
look well that you wound not her ears by hinting at kinship
or the like. She will bear her as though she believed you to
be the real Count Sture, until you have made yourself worthy
to be called her son.

NILS STENSSON.

Oh, but tell me——!

NILS LYKKE.

Hush; hush!

LADY INGER.

[_Rises and hands him a paper._] Sir Knight—here is my
promise.

NILS LYKKE.

I thank you.

LADY INGER.

[_Notices_ NILS STENSSON.] Ah,—this young man is——?

NILS LYKKE.

Ay, Lady Inger, he is Count Sture.

LADY INGER.

[_Aside, looks at him stealthily._] Feature for feature;—ay,
by God,—it is Sten Sture’s son!

[_Approaches him and says with cold courtesy:_

I bid you welcome under my roof, Count! It rests with you
whether or not we shall bless this meeting a year hence.

NILS STENSSON.

With me? Oh, do but tell me what I must do! Trust me, I have
both courage and will——

NILS LYKKE.

[_Listens uneasily._] What is this noise and uproar, Lady
Inger? There are people pressing hitherward. What does this
mean?

LADY INGER.

[_In a loud voice._] ’Tis the spirits awaking!

[OLAF SKAKTAVL, EINAR HUK, BIÖRN, FINN, _and a
number of_ PEASANTS _and_ RETAINERS _come in
from the back, on the right._

THE PEASANTS AND RETAINERS.

Hail to Lady Inger Gyldenlöve!

LADY INGER.

[_To_ OLAF SKAKTAVL.] Have you told them what is afoot?

OLAF SKAKTAVL.

I have told them all they need to know.

LADY INGER.

[_To the_ CROWD.] Ay, now, my faithful house-folk and
peasants, now must ye arm you as best you can and will. That
which earlier to-night I forbade you, ye have now my fullest
leave to do. And here I present to you the young Count
Sture, the coming ruler of Sweden—and Norway too, if God
will it so.

THE WHOLE CROWD.

Hail to him! Hail to Count Sture!

[_General excitement. The_ PEASANTS _and_ RETAINERS
_choose out weapons and put on breastplates and
helmets, amid great noise_.

NILS LYKKE.

[_Softly and uneasily._] The spirits awaking, she said? I
but feigned to conjure up the devil of revolt—’twere a
cursed spite if he got the upper hand of us.

LADY INGER.

[_To_ NILS STENSSON.] Here I give you the first earnest of
our service—thirty mounted men, to follow you as a
bodyguard. Trust me—ere you reach the frontier many hundreds
will have ranged themselves under my banner and yours. Go,
then, and God be with you!

NILS STENSSON.

Thanks,—Inger Gyldenlöve! Thanks—and be sure you shall never
have cause to shame you for—for Count Sture! If you see me
again, I shall have won my father’s kingdom.

NILS LYKKE.

[_To himself._] Ay, _if_ she see you again!

OLAF SKAKTAVL.

The horses wait, good fellows! Are ye ready——?

THE PEASANTS.

Ay, ay, ay!

NILS LYKKE.

[_Uneasily_, to LADY INGER.] What?, You mean not to-night,
even now——?

LADY INGER.

This very moment, Sir Knight!

NILS LYKKE.

Nay, nay, impossible!

LADY INGER.

I have said it.

NILS LYKKE.

[_Softly, to_ NILS STENSSON.] Obey her not!

NILS STENSSON.

How can I do aught else? I _will_; I _must_!

NILS LYKKE.

But ’tis your certain ruin——

NILS STENSSON.

What then! _Her_ must I obey in all things——

NILS LYKKE.

[_With authority._] And _me_?

NILS STENSSON.

I shall keep my word; be sure of that. The secret shall not
pass my lips till you yourself release me. But she is my
mother!

NILS LYKKE.

[_Aside._] And Jens Bielke in wait on the road! Damnation!
He will snatch the prize out of my fingers——

[_To_ LADY INGER.

Wait till to-morrow!

LADY INGER.

[_To_ NILS STENSSON.] Count Sture—do you obey me or not?

NILS STENSSON.

To horse!

[_Goes up towards the background._

NILS LYKKE.

[_Aside._] Unhappy boy! He knows not what he does.

[_To_ LADY INGER.

Well, since so it must be,—farewell!

[_Bows hastily, and begins to move away._

Lady Inger.

[_Detains him._] Nay, stay! Not so, Sir Knight,—not so!

NILS LYKKE.

What mean you?

LADY INGER.

[_In a low voice._] Nils Lykke—you are a traitor! Hush! Let
no one see there is discord in the camp of the leaders. You
have won Peter Kanzler’s trust by some devilish wile that as
yet is dark to me. You have forced me to rebellious acts—not
to help our cause, but to further your own plots, whatever
they may be. I can draw back no more. But think not
therefore that you have conquered! I shall know how to make
you harmless——

NILS LYKKE.

[_Lays his hand involuntarily on his sword._]

Lady Inger!

LADY INGER.

Be calm, Sir Councillor! Your life is safe. But you come not
outside the gates of Östråt before victory is ours.

NILS LYKKE.

Death and destruction!

LADY INGER.

It boots not to resist. You come not from this place. So
rest you quiet; ’tis your wisest course.

NILS LYKKE.

[_To himself._] Ah,—I am overreached. She has been craftier
than I. [_A thought strikes him._] But if I yet——?

LADY INGER.

[_To_ OLAF SKAKTAVL.] Ride with Count Sture’s troops to the
frontier; then without pause to Peter Kanzler, and bring me
back my child. Now has he no longer any plea for keeping
from me what is my own.

[_Adds, as_ OLAF SKAKTAVL _is going:_

Wait; a token—. He that wears Sten Sture’s ring, he is my
son.

OLAF SKAKTAVL.

By all the saints, you shall have him!

LADY INGER.

Thanks,—thanks, my faithful friend!

NILS LYKKE.

[_To_ FINN, _whom he has beckoned to him unobserved, and
with whom he has been whispering._] Good—now contrive to
slip out. Let none see you. The Swedes are in ambush half a
league hence. Tell the commander that Count Sture is dead.
The young man you see there must on no account be touched.
Tell the commander so. Tell him the boy’s life is worth
thousands to me.

FINN.

It shall be done.

LADY INGER.

[_Who has meanwhile been watching_ NILS LYKKE.] And now go,
all of you, and God be with you! [_Points to_ NILS LYKKE.]
This noble knight cannot find it in his heart to leave his
friends at Östråt so hastily. He will abide here with me
till the tidings of your victory arrive.

NILS LYKKE.

[_To himself._] Devil!

NILS STENSSON.

[_Seizes his hand._] Trust me—you shall not have long to
wait!

NILS LYKKE.

It is well; it is well! [_Aside._] All may yet be saved. If
only my message reach Jens Bielke in time——

LADY INGER.

[_To_ EINAR HUK, _the bailiff, pointing to_ FINN.] And let
_that_ man be placed under close guard in the castle
dungeon.

FINN.

Me?

THE BAILIFF AND THE SERVANTS.

Finn!

NILS LYKKE.

[_Aside._] My last anchor gone!

LADY INGER.

[_Imperatively._] To the dungeon with him!

[EINAR HUK, BIÖRN, _and a couple of the
house-servants lead_ FINN _out to the left_.

ALL THE REST.

[_Except_ NILS LYKKE, _rushing out to the right._] Away! To
horse,—to horse! Hail to Lady Inger Gyldenlöve!

LADY INGER.

[_Passing close to_ NILS LYKKE _as she goes out after the
others._] Who wins?

NILS LYKKE.

[_Remains alone._] Who? Ay, woe to you;—your victory will
cost you dear. _I_ wash my hands of it. ’Tis not _I_ that am
murdering him.

But my prey is escaping me none the less; and the revolt
will grow and spread!—Ah, ’tis a foolhardy, a frantic game I
have here taken in hand!

[_Listens at the window._.

There they ride clattering out through the gateway.—Now ’tis
closed after them—and I am left here a prisoner.

No way of escape! Within half-an-hour the Swedes will be
upon him. He has thirty well-armed horsemen with him. ’Twill
be life or death.

But if, after all, they should take him alive?—Were I but
free, I could overtake the Swedes ere they reach the
frontier, and make them deliver him up. [_Goes towards the
window in the background and looks out._] Damnation! Guards
outside on every hand. Can there be no way of escape?

[_Comes quickly forward again; suddenly stops and
listens._

What is that? Music and singing. It seems to come from
Elina’s chamber. Ay, ’tis she that is singing. Then she is
still awake——

[_A thought seems to strike him._

Elina!—Ah, if _that_ could be! Were it possible to—And why
should I not? Am I not still myself? Says not the song:—

Fair maidens a-many they sigh and they pine:
“Ah God, that Nils Lykke were mine, mine, mine.”

And she—? ——Elina Gyldenlöve shall set me free!

[_Goes quickly but stealthily towards the first door
on the left._

ACT FIFTH

_The Banquet Hall. It is still night. The hall is but dimly
lighted by a branch-candlestick on the table, in front,
on the right._

LADY INGER _is sitting by the table, deep in thought._

LADY INGER.

[_After a pause._] They call me keen-witted beyond all
others in the land. I believe they are right. The
keenest-witted—No one knows how I became so. For more than
twenty years I have fought to save my child. _That_ is the
key to the riddle. Ay, that sharpens the wits!

My wits? Where have they flown to-night? What has become of
my forethought? There is a ringing and rushing in my ears. I
see shapes before me, so lifelike that methinks I could lay
hold on them.

[_Springs up._

Lord Jesus—what is this? Am I no longer mistress of my
reason? Is it to come to that——?

[_Presses her clasped hands over her head; sits down
again, and says more calmly:_

Nay, ’tis nought. ’Twill pass. There is no fear;—it will
pass.

How peaceful it is in the hall to-night! No threatening
looks from forefathers or kinsfolk. No need to turn their
faces to the wall.

[_Rises again._

Ay, ’twas well that I took heart at last. We shall
conquer;—and then am I at the goal of all my longings. I
shall have my child again.

[_Takes up the light as if to go, but stops and says
musingly:_

At the goal? The goal? To have him back? Is that all?—is
there nought further?

[_Sets the light down on the table._

That heedless word that Nils Lykke threw forth at random—.
How could he see my unborn thought?

[_More softly._

A king’s mother? A king’s mother, he said—And why not? Have
not my fathers before me ruled as kings, even though they
bore not the kingly name? Has not _my_ son as good a title
as the other to the rights of the house of Sture? In the
sight of God he has—if so be there is justice in Heaven.

And in an hour of terror I have signed away his rights. I
have recklessly squandered them, as a ransom for his
freedom.

If they could be recovered?—Would Heaven be angered, if I—?
Would it call down fresh troubles on my head if I were to—?
Who knows;—who knows! It may be safest to refrain. [_Takes
up the light again._] I shall have my child again. _That_
must content me. I will try to rest. All these desperate
thoughts,—I will sleep them away.

[_Goes towards the back, but stops in the middle of
the hall, and says broodingly:_

A king’s mother!

[_Goes slowly out at the back, to the left._

[_After a short pause, NILS LYKKE and ELINA
GYLDENLÖVE enter noiselessly by the first door
on the left. NILS LYKKE has a small lantern in
his hand._

NILS LYKKE.

[_Throws the light from his lantern around, so as to search
the room._] All is still. I must begone.

ELINA.

Oh, let me look but once more into your eyes, before you
leave me.

NILS LYKKE.

[_Embraces her._] Elina!

ELINA.

[_After a short pause._] Will you come nevermore to Östråt?

NILS LYKKE.

How can you doubt that I will come? Are you not henceforth
my betrothed?—But will _you_ be true to _me_, Elina? Will
you not forget me ere we meet again?

ELINA.

Do you ask if I _will_ be true? Have I any will left then?
Have I power to be untrue to you, even if I would?—You came
by night; you knocked upon my door;—and I opened to you. You
spoke to me. What was it you said? You gazed in my eyes.
What was the mystic might that turned my brain, and lured me
as into a magic net? [_Hides her face on his shoulder._] Oh,
look not on me, Nils Lykke! You must not look upon me after
this—True, say you? Do you not own me? I am yours;—I _must_
be yours—to all eternity.

NILS LYKKE.

Now, by my knightly honour, ere the year be past, you shall
sit as my wife in the hall of my fathers!

ELINA.

No vows, Nils Lykke! No oaths to me.

NILS LYKKE.

What ails you? Why do you shake your head so mournfully?

ELINA.

Because I know that the same soft words wherewith you turned
my brain, you have whispered to so many a one before. Nay,
nay, be not angry, my beloved! In nowise do I reproach you,
as I did while yet I knew you not. Now I understand how high
above all others is your goal. How can love be aught to
_you_ but a pastime, or woman but a toy?

NILS LYKKE.

Elina,—hear me!

ELINA.

As I grew up, your name was ever in my ears. I hated the
name, for meseemed that all women were dishonoured by your
life. And yet,—how strange!—when I built up in my dreams the
life that should be mine, you were ever my hero, though I
knew it not. Now I understand it all. What was it that I
felt? It was a foreboding, a mysterious longing for you, you
only one—for you that were one day to come and reveal to me
all the glory of life.

NILS LYKKE.

[_Aside, putting down the lantern on the table._] How is it
with me? This dizzy fascination—. If this it be to love,
then have I never known it till this hour.—Is there not yet
time—? Oh horror—Lucia! [_Sinks into the chair._

ELINA.

What is amiss with you? So heavy a sigh——

NILS LYKKE.

O, ’tis nought,—nought!

Elina,—now will I confess all to you. I have beguiled many
with both words and glances; I have said to many a one what
I whispered to you this night. But trust me——

ELINA.

Hush! No more of that. My love is no exchange for that you
give me. No, no; I love you because your every glance
commands it like a king’s decree. [_Lies down at his feet._
Oh, let me once more stamp that kingly mandate deep into my
soul, though well I know it stands imprinted there for all
time and eternity.

Dear God—how little I have known myself! ’Twas but to-night
I said to my mother: “My pride is my life.” And what is now
my pride? Is it to know my countrymen free, or my house held
in honour throughout many lands? Oh, no, no! My love is my
pride. The little dog is proud when he may sit by his
master’s feet and eat bread-crumbs from his hand. Even so am
I proud, so long as I may sit at your feet, while your looks
and your words nourish me with the bread of life. See,
therefore, I say to you, even as I said but now to my
mother: “My love is my life;” for therein lies all my pride,
now and evermore.

NILS LYKKE.

[_Raises her up on his lap._] Nay, nay—not at my feet, but
at my side is your place,—how high soever fate may exalt me.
Ay, Elina—you have led me into a better path; and should it
one day be granted me to atone by a deed of fame for the
sins of my reckless youth, then shall the honour be yours
and mine together.

ELINA.

Ah, you speak as though I were still that Elina who but this
evening flung down the flowers at your feet.

I have read in my books of the many-coloured life in far-off
lands. To the winding of horns, the knight rides forth into
the greenwood, with his falcon on his wrist. Even so do you
go your way through life;—your name rings out before you
whithersoever you fare.—All that _I_ desire of the glory, is
to rest like the falcon on your arm. Like him was I, too,
blind to light and life, till you loosed the hood from my
eyes and set me soaring high over the tree-tops.—But trust
me—bold as my flight may be, yet shall I ever turn back to
my cage.

NILS LYKKE.

[_Rises._] Then will I bid defiance to the past! See
now;—take this ring, and be _mine_ before God and
men—_mine_,—ay, though it should trouble the dreams of the
dead.

ELINA.

You make me tremble. What is it that——?

NILS LYKKE.

’Tis nought. Come, let me place the ring on your
finger.—Even so—now are you my betrothed!

ELINA.

_I_ Nils Lykke’s bride! It seems but a dream, all that has
befallen this night. Oh, but so fair a dream! My breast is
so light. No longer is there bitterness and hatred in my
soul. I will atone to all whom I have wronged. I have been
unloving to my mother. To-morrow will I go to her; she must
forgive me where I have erred.

NILS LYKKE.

And give her consent to our bond.

ELINA.

That will she. Oh, I am sure she will. My mother is kind;
all the world is kind;—I can no longer feel hatred for any
living soul—save _one_.

NILS LYKKE.

Save _one_?

ELINA.

Ah, ’tis a mournful history. I had a sister——

NILS LYKKE.

Lucia?

ELINA.

Did you know Lucia?

NILS LYKKE.

No, no; I have but heard her name.

ELINA.

She too gave her heart to a knight. He betrayed her;—now she
is in Heaven.

NILS LYKKE.

And you——

ELINA.

I hate him.

NILS LYKKE.

Hate him not! If there be mercy in your heart, forgive him
his sin. Trust me, he bears his punishment in his own
breast.

ELINA.

Him will I never forgive! I _cannot_, even if I would; for I
have sworn so dear an oath——

[_Listening._

Hush! Can you hear——?

NILS LYKKE.

What? Where?

ELINA.

Without; far off. The noise of many horsemen on the
high-road.

NILS LYKKE.

Ah, ’tis _they_! And I had forgotten—! They are coming
hither. Then is the danger great! I must begone!

ELINA.

But whither? Oh, Nils Lykke, what are you hiding——?

NILS LYKKE.

Tomorrow, Elina—; for as God lives, I will return
tomorrow.—Quickly now—where is the secret passage whereof
you told me?

ELINA.

Through the grave-vault. See,—here is the trap-door——

NILS LYKKE.

The grave-vault! [_To himself._] No matter, he _must_ be
saved!

ELINA.

[_By the window._] The horsemen have reached the gate——
[_Hands him the lantern._

NILS LYKKE.

Oh, then—— [_Begins to descend._

ELINA.

Go forward along the passage till you reach the coffin with
the death’s-head and the black cross; it is Lucia’s——

NILS LYKKE.

[_Climbs back hastily and shuts the trapdoor._] Lucia’s!
Pah——!

ELINA.

What said you?

NILS LYKKE.

Nay, nothing. ’Twas the air of the graves that made me
dizzy.

ELINA.

Hark; they are hammering at the gate!

NILS LYKKE.

[_Lets the lantern fall._] Ah! too late——!

[BIÖRN _enters hurriedly from the right, carrying a
light._

ELINA.

[_Goes towards him._] What is amiss, Biörn? What is it?

BIÖRN.

An ambuscade! Count Sture——

ELINA.

Count Sture? What of him?

NILS LYKKE.

Have they killed him?

BIÖRN.

[_To Elina._] Where is your mother?

TWO RETAINERS.

[_Rushing in from the right._] Lady Inger! Lady Inger!

[LADY INGER GYLDENLÖVE _enters by the furthest back
door on the left, with a branch-candlestick,
lighted, in her hand, and says quickly:_

LADY INGER.

I know all. Down with you to the courtyard! Keep the gate
open for our friends, but closed against all others!

[_Puts down the candlestick on the table to the
left._ BIÖRN _and the two_ RETAINERS _go out
again to the right._

LADY INGER.

[_To_ NILS LYKKE.] So _that_ was the trap, Sir Councillor!

NILS LYKKE.

Inger Gyldenlöve, believe me——!

LADY INGER.

An ambuscade that was to snap him up as soon as you had
secured the promise that should destroy me!

NILS LYKKE.

[_Takes out the paper and tears it to pieces._] There is
your promise. I keep nothing that can bear witness against
you.

LADY INGER.

What is this?

NILS LYKKE.

From this hour will I put your thoughts of me to shame. If I
have sinned against you,—by Heaven I will strive to repair
my crime. But now I _must_ out, if I have to hew my way
through the gate!—Elina—tell your mother all!—And you, Lady
Inger, let our reckoning be forgotten! Be generous—and
silent! Trust me, ere dawn of day you shall owe me a life’s
gratitude. [_Goes out quickly to the right._

LADY INGER.

[_Looks after him with exultation._] ’Tis well! I understand
him.

[_Turns to_ ELINA.

Nils Lykke—? Well——?

ELINA.

He knocked upon my door, and set this ring upon my finger.

LADY INGER.

And from his soul he holds you dear?

ELINA.

He has said so, and I believe him.

LADY INGER.

Bravely done, Elina! Ha-ha, Sir Knight, now is it my turn!

ELINA.

My mother—you are so strange. Ah, yes—I know—’tis my
unloving ways that have angered you.

LADY INGER.

Not so, dear Elina! You are an obedient child. You have
opened your door to him; you have hearkened to his soft
words. I know full well what it must have cost you; for I
know your hatred——

ELINA.

But, my mother——

LADY INGER.

Hush! We have played into each other’s hands. What wiles did
you use, my subtle daughter? I saw the love shine out of his
eyes. Hold him fast now! Draw the net closer and closer
about him; and then—Ah, Elina, if we could but rend asunder
his perjured heart within his breast!

ELINA.

Woe is me—what is it you say?

LADY INGER.

Let not your courage fail you. Hearken to me. I know a word
that will keep you firm. Know then— [_Listening._] They are
fighting before the gate. Courage! Now comes the pinch!
[_Turns again to_ ELINA.] Know then: Nils Lykke was the man
that brought your sister to her grave.

ELINA.

[_With a shriek._] Lucia!

LADY INGER.

He it was, as truly as there is an Avenger above us!

ELINA.

Then Heaven be with me!

LADY INGER.

[_Appalled._] Elina——?!

ELINA.

I am his bride in the sight of God.

LADY INGER.

Unhappy child,—what have you done?

ELINA.

[_In a toneless voice._] Made shipwreck of my
soul.—Good-night, my mother!

[_She goes out to the left._

LADY INGER.

Ha-ha-ha! It goes down-hill apace with Inger Gyldenlöve’s
house. _There_ went the last of my daughters.

Why could I not keep silence? Had she known nought, it may
be she had been happy—after a kind.

It _was_ to be so. It is written up yonder in the stars that
I am to break off one green branch after another till the
trunk stand leafless at last.

’Tis well, ’tis well! I shall have my son again. Of the
others, of my daughters, I will not think.

My reckoning? To face my reckoning?—It falls not due till
the last great day of wrath.—_That_ comes not yet awhile.

NILS STENSSON.

[_Calling from outside on the right._] Ho—shut the gate!

LADY INGER.

Count Sture’s voice——!

NILS STENSSON.

[_Rushes in, unarmed, and with his clothes torn, and shouts
with a laugh of desperation._] Well met again, Inger
Gyldenlöve!

LADY INGER.

What have you lost?

NILS STENSSON.

My kingdom and my life!

LADY INGER.

And the peasants? My servants?—where are they?

NILS STENSSON.

You will find the carcasses along the highway. Who has the
rest, I cannot tell you.

OLAF SKAKTAVL.

[_Outside on the right._] Count Sture! Where are you?

NILS STENSSON.

Here, here!

[OLAF SKAKTAVL _comes in with his right hand wrapped
in a clout._

LADY INGER.

Alas, Olaf Skaktavl, you too——!

OLAF SKAKTAVL.

’Twas impossible to break through.

LADY INGER.

You are wounded, I see!

OLAF SKAKTAVL.

A finger the less; that is all.

NILS STENSSON.

Where are the Swedes?

OLAF SKAKTAVL.

At our heels. They are breaking open the gate——

NILS STENSSON.

Oh, God! No, no! I _cannot_—I _will_ not die.

OLAF SKAKTAVL.

A hiding-place, Lady Inger! Is there no corner where we can
hide him?

LADY INGER.

But if they search the castle——?

NILS STENSSON.

Ay, ay; they will find me! And then to be dragged away to
prison, or be strung up——! No, no, Inger Gyldenlöve,—I know
full well,—you will never suffer that to be!

OLAF SKAKTAVL.

[_Listening._] There burst the lock.

LADY INGER.

[_At the window._] Many men rush in at the gateway.

NILS STENSSON.

And to lose my life _now_! Now, when my true life was but
beginning! Now, when I have so lately learnt that I have
aught to live for. No, no, no!—Think not I am a coward,
Inger Gyldenlöve! Might I but have time to show——

LADY INGER.

I hear them now in the hall below.

[_Firmly to_ OLAF SKAKTAVL.

He _must_ be saved—cost what it will!

NILS STENSSON.

[_Seizes her hand._] Oh, I knew it;—you are noble and good!

OLAF SKAKTAVL.

But how? Since we cannot hide him——

NILS STENSSON.

Ah, I have it! I have it! The secret——!

LADY INGER.

The secret?

NILS STENSSON.

Even so; yours and mine!

LADY INGER.

Merciful Heaven—you know it?

NILS STENSSON.

From first to last. And now when ’tis life or death—Where is
Nils Lykke?

LADY INGER.

Fled.

NILS STENSSON.

Fled? Then God help me; for he alone can unseal my lips.—But
what is a promise against a life! When the Swedish captain
comes——

LADY INGER.

What then? What will you do?

NILS STENSSON.

Purchase life and freedom;—tell him all.

LADY INGER.

Oh no, no;—be merciful!

NILS STENSSON.

Nought else can save me. When I have told him what I know——

LADY INGER.

[_Looks at him with suppressed agitation._] You will be
safe?

NILS STENSSON.

Ay, safe! Nils Lykke will speak for me. You see, ’tis the
last resource.

LADY INGER.

[_Composedly, with emphasis._] The last resource? Right,
right—the last resource all are free to try. [_Points to the
left._] See, meanwhile you can hide in there.

NILS STENSSON.

[_In a low voice._] Trust me—you will never repent of this.

LADY INGER.

[_Half to herself._] God grant that you speak the truth!

[NILS STENSSON _goes out hastily by the furthest
door on the left._ OLAF SKAKTAVL _is following;
but Lady Inger detains him._

LADY INGER.

Did you understand his meaning?

OLAF SKAKTAVL.

The dastard! He would betray your secret. He would sacrifice
your son to save himself.

LADY INGER.

When life is at stake, he said, we must try the last
resource.—’Tis well, Olaf Skaktavl,—let it be as he has
said!

OLAF SKAKTAVL.

What mean you?

LADY INGER.

Life against life! One of them must perish.

OLAF SKAKTAVL.

Ah—you would——?

LADY INGER.

If we close not the lips of him that is within ere he come
to speech with the Swedish captain, then is my son lost to
me. But if, on the other hand, he be swept from my path,
when the time comes I can claim all his rights for my own
child. Then shall you see that Inger Ottis’ daughter has
metal in her yet. Of this be assured—you shall not have long
to wait for the vengeance you have thirsted after for twenty
years.—Hark! They are coming up the stairs! Olaf
Skaktavl,—it lies with you whether tomorrow I shall be no
more than a childless woman, or ——

OLAF SKAKTAVL.

So be it! I have yet one sound hand left.

[_Gives her his hand._] Inger Gyldenlöve—your name shall not
die out through me.

_Follows_ NILS STENSSON _into the inner room._

LADY INGER.

[_Pale and trembling._] But dare I——?

[_A noise is heard in the room; she rushes with a
scream towards the door._

No, no,—it must not be!

[_A heavy fall is heard within; she covers her ears
with her hands and hurries back across the hall
with a wild look. After a pause she takes her
hands cautiously away, listens again, and says
softly:_

Now it is over. All is still within——