" Was it not enough? Was he to make more of it than
there was already? Oh, but there were times when it looked serious
indeed; there were the men of Law, black-robed and dangerous, easy
enough for them, it seemed, just with a word or so, to turn the whole
thing as they pleased, and have him sentenced. But they were kindly
folk after all, and did not try to bring him to destruction. Also, as
it happened, there were powerful influences at work trying to save
Barbro, and it was all to his advantage as well.
Then what on earth was there for him to trouble about?
Barbro herself would hardly try to make things look worse than need be
for her former master and lover; he knew terrible things about this
and an earlier affair of the same sort; she could not be such a fool.
No, Barbro was clever enough; she said a good word for Axel, and
declared that he had known nothing of her having borne a child till
after it was all over. He was different in some ways, perhaps, from
other men, and they did not always get on well together, but a quiet
man, and a good man in every way.
Pages:
505
506
507
508
509
510
511
512
513
514
515
516
517
518
519
520
521
522
523
524
525
526
527
528
529