Wildwood Dancing (16 page)

I wonder what he wants
.

Gogu’s suspicions mirrored my own. I was uncomfortable with Cezar in the role of benefactor. His good deeds were seldom performed without some expectation of gain for himself.

“Oh, Cezar, how lovely!” Iulia’s cheeks were flushed with pleasure. I noticed Rǎzvan staring at her in what appeared to be admiration. When she leaned forward to examine the basket’s contents, he was taking in the view down the front of her day dress. I frowned at my sister, but she did not seem to notice.

It was clear that Tati wasn’t going to say anything. Daniel was seated opposite her. She sipped her tea and stared through him.

“Thank you, Cezar,” I made myself say. “I’m sure I speak for all of us when I tell you how welcome these small luxuries are.” I noticed that he was wearing his father’s gold chain again, the one with the miniature hunting horn—perhaps he wore it all the time now.

“Jena?” The little voice was Stela’s.

“What is it, Stela?”

“Is Father dying? Is that what it means,
severely debil—debili
—”

“
Debilitated
just means tired and weak.” Paula spoke firmly. “Father needs more rest, that’s all. He’ll be home in springtime.”

We sat awhile over our feast. Cezar did most of the talking. I had several questions in my mind, questions I could not ask. It seemed to me impossible that Gabriel would have opened my private letters; my father’s secretary was the soul of propriety. Yet, if he had not, how could he have shielded Father from learning of Uncle Nicolae’s death? Evidently Gabriel himself had been given the sad news. Had Cezar had a hand in censoring my correspondence? Gabriel had said,
if you write to your father—if
, not
when
. Was it possible that my letters had never reached Father in Constanţa? And who had decided that we didn’t need Dorin back? An able-bodied young man to help Petru would be worth his weight in gold right now.

I waited for an opportunity to ask Cezar about this, but he was holding forth on the perils of the wildwood, one of his pet subjects, and I couldn’t get a word in edgewise. Nobody was arguing—today, none of us sisters had the energy or the heart to challenge him. After a while my attention drifted, my thoughts going over the events of last night: the look in Tadeusz’s eyes, the honey in his voice, the things he had told me. I could not think why I was the one he had singled out, nor what he hoped to gain by it. In the ancient tales of Transylvania, Night People were not known for doing people favors.

“You’d do well to let me deal with the lower reaches of the Piscul Dracului forest as well, Jena,” my cousin was saying. “Since I’ll be hiring men to fell the trees around my own house,
they may as well be put to work on Uncle Teodor’s land straight afterward. We could have the immediate area fully cleared by the end of spring. And the timber would fetch you a tidy profit.”

“What?” I must have sounded stupid. I had only just realized what he was talking about.

“My project Jena.” Cezar’s tone held exaggerated patience. “Rendering my property, and Uncle Teodor’s, safe from the malign presences that haunt these woods.”

Your cousin wants a hand in everything. He wants control
.

“You can’t do that, Cezar. Folk may be afraid of the beings that dwell in the wildwood, but I doubt very much that the people of the valley would support what you suggest.” I glanced at Florica; she had gone extremely pale. “Felling the trees over a wide area would only anger those presences. It could bring down retaliation on everyone in our community.” Then, seeing the way Cezar was looking at me: “At least, that’s what most folk will believe. As Florica said once, if you give respect, you get respect back. If you offend, you get … retribution. Nobody will be prepared to work for you on this. Anyway, you can’t do anything here at Piscul Dracului without Father’s permission.”

Cezar’s mouth went thin, his eyes turned cold. “It offends me to hear such sentiments issuing from your lips, Jena. I will do you the favor of putting it down to your innocence.”

He means ignorance
.

“Since you speak of offense and of retribution,” my cousin went on, “I must point out to you that there could hardly be a
greater offense than robbing a boy of a beloved brother. I’ve waited years to dispense due punishment for that. The trees are only the first step. As for workers, a man whose family is starving cannot afford to refuse employment on the basis of superstitious fear. Besides, it’s easy enough to bring in labor from farther afield: men who don’t know the peculiarities of this particular forest.”

The atmosphere in the kitchen had turned decidedly chilly. Nobody else was saying a thing, though I could see that Paula was bursting to speak. I gave her a warning glance. We were all tired and upset; this was the time not for challenges, but for wise silence. Cezar’s friends had the grace to look a little embarrassed as they applied themselves to the food.

“Enough of this,” Cezar said abruptly. “Jena, I want to look over the accounts while I’m here. I trust that your sisters can keep my friends entertained?”

“Of course,” said Iulia, who had seated herself between Rǎzvan and Daniel. Now that she had had her treat, she was in the best of tempers and making the most of her position—smiling shyly, batting her eyelashes, and plying the young men with cakes. I did not like this new behavior at all; I preferred her childish bursts of giggling. Even Cezar was stealing glimpses at her.

“Well,” I said, rising to my feet, “let’s get on with it. I don’t imagine Daniel and Rǎzvan will be wanting to stay too long. Florica, perhaps you could make more tea for our guests? Paula, please come with Cezar and me. Bring a book.”

“Oh, by the way,” Cezar said as the three of us made our way up the narrow stairs to Father’s workroom, “I noticed on
the ride here that you’ve had all the fencing repaired up by the top pastures. I imagine you’ll be needing some funds to pay your workers. Who helped Petru with the job? It’s been expertly done—Jena? Is something wrong?”

“Oh—oh, no, nothing.” My head was in a whirl, my stomach churned. The fencing all done between last night and this morning? It was not possible. Petru had been working in the barn when I left on my walk. He had still been there when I returned. Besides, even with two or three men, the fencing job would have taken several days. Grigori? No, I had asked him not to risk his safety, and I knew he would not act against my wishes. My heart sank. Tadeusz. It was the only explanation. But I had never asked for his help. I had not accepted his offer. In the back of my mind, I heard his deep, dark voice:
If you require proof of my good intentions, I will give it, Jena
. “I don’t need funds, Cezar. Some travelers came by and offered to do it for food. I’m glad it was a good job; I haven’t had the opportunity to go up and check it yet.”

Once in the workroom, Paula seated herself at Gabriel’s desk in the corner, while Cezar and I took opposite sides of the table.

“What is it you want to see?” I asked him, reaching for the current folder of receipts and payments. My hands were shaking. I thought of Tadeusz and his pallid crew up on our fields, walking in our world, setting their elegant hands to straightening withes and tying up fencing twine on our very own land, a stone’s throw from where I and my sisters were sleeping. I thought of them prowling around our sheepfolds. What if someone had seen them?

“Are you sure you’re quite well, Jena?” Cezar was regarding me closely. “You look very pale.”

“I’m fine. There’s no need for this, Cezar. The ledgers are up-to-date and everything balances. There’s absolutely no reason for you to check on me. Especially now you’ve taken away the funds. There will be nothing for me to record until you give control of them back to me.”

He smiled indulgently, as if I were a precocious infant. Then, as quickly, he was serious again. “I have something to tell you, Jena,” he said. “It concerns the priest’s visits to this house. I imagine you can guess what it is.”

He had my full attention now. “What have you done?” I asked him, and heard the frost in my own voice. I could not look at Paula.

“I took action, as I advised you I would. I had a word with Father Sandu’s superior. Were you aware that these lessons were never officially approved by the priory? That your father made a private arrangement with this priest to tutor young Paula? Even you must have been aware of how unconventional such behavior was.”

“What do you mean,
behavior
?” Paula was on her feet, shaking with rage. “Father Sandu tutors the sons of many families in the district, you know that. How dare you imply there’s something illicit about this? All he does is treat me the way he’d treat a boy student.”

Cezar gave a patronizing smile. His eyes were cold. “Exactly,” he said.

Arrogant fool
.

“Tell us!” I was holding on to my temper by a thread, and willing the frog to keep his thoughts to himself. “What did you do?” In my mind I saw the closed shutters of Father Sandu’s little house.

“I have not done as you seem to believe. I did not request that the priest cease his visits to Piscul Dracului. All I did was let his superior know what was going on.”

“You must have realized that would have the same result,” I said.

Now the little smile was turned on me. “Well, yes, in fact, the good Father will not be coming here any longer.” Cezar’s tone was rich with self-satisfaction. “A decision was made to recall him to the priory near Sibiu. It happens sometimes: a priest working alone—in a remote corner of the country, out of touch with his brethren—can lose his way a little. I believe they’re sending a replacement to the district as a matter of urgency.”

Paula got up and, clutching her book to her chest, walked out of the room in total silence. Her face was sheet-white, her jaw clenched tight. If she planned to shed tears, it would not be in our cousin’s presence.

“How dare you!” My rage burst out of me. “You don’t even realize what you’ve done, do you? This isn’t just about Paula, Cezar. Father Sandu’s been here far longer than we have. He’s married people and baptized their babies and buried their dead in this community for years and years. People trust him. They rely on him. You’ve done this without even thinking about what it will mean for the valley!”

“The valley is better off without folk who disregard rules and conventions set up for their own protection. Besides, it was not I who relieved this priest of his position.”

“Of course it was! Cezar, your father was deeply respected here. Folk looked up to him as a leader of the community. That’s what the master of Vǎrful cu Negurǎ is supposed to be. You’re walking in Uncle Nicolae’s shoes now. You must go and visit this Church authority straightaway and ask him to bring Father Sandu back. And speak to Judge Rinaldo while you’re about it. Your father would never have dreamed of robbing our community of its beloved priest.”

“I’ve upset you.” For a moment, I heard genuine contrition in his voice.

“Promise me you’ll make them reverse this, Cezar. Show what you’re made of—do what’s right.” And, when he scowled at me, I added, “At least promise me you’ll think about it.”

The scowl changed to an expression I could not read. “There might be room for some negotiation,” he said. I heard, in the back of my mind, a different voice saying,
Nothing comes without a price
. “You seem tired, Jena.”

“I didn’t sleep very well. Now, what is it you need to see in these accounts?”

We spent some time going through the latest ledger, which balanced perfectly and was entirely up-to-date. I kept waiting for Cezar to find fault, but he simply perused the figures in silence, asking an occasional question. Once or twice his hand brushed mine on the table and I withdrew my fingers. Once or twice he gave me a particular kind of look that made me wish Paula had not departed so abruptly.

Just as we were nearing the last entries in the ledger, Cezar seized my hand in his, turned bright red, and began, “Jena—”

Uh-oh
.

“I’ve been meaning to ask you something,” I said hastily, jumping to my feet. “Have you been opening my letters to Father, Cezar? How would Gabriel know to shield Father from what was in them otherwise?”

Cezar dropped my hand like a hot coal.

Nice work, Jena
.

“Of course not! What do you take me for?” The flush faded. He put up a good show of looking bitterly offended.

A man who wants what he can’t have
.

I drew a deep breath. “I thought I knew you,” I said. “There was a time when you used to listen to me. But the boy who was once my friend seems to be disappearing fast. In his place there’s an autocratic bully, deaf to any opinion but his own. I know that’s impolite, but it would be worse to lie to you. All you want is control. You shouldn’t seek to rule over what isn’t yours, Cezar.”

There was a silence. Cezar’s mouth was clamped into a tight line. He closed the ledger and passed it to me, and I replaced it on its shelf. He held the door open; I went through. As we made our way down the narrow stairs, Cezar said quietly, “It must run in the family.”

“What?” I was desperate to be back with the others and for him to go away.

“You said all I want is control. That sounds more like you, Jena. A woman who seeks to have her hands on the reins day and night has a lonely future ahead of her.”

Wretch. Mongrel
.

“You misunderstood me,” I said, pausing on the step below him. I was surprised at how hurt I felt—I had thought nothing he could say would touch me. “Being in control is good if one is running a business or a household. It’s seeking to extend that control where it’s neither needed nor wanted that offends me.”

“Are you saying I offend you, Jena?”

Finally he gets the message
.

“I don’t like your hate and your anger. It’s time to let all that go—to relinquish the past. I don’t like what you’re doing at Piscul Dracului. Taking over. Trying to show we can’t cope. You should at least allow us the chance to prove ourselves.” I went on down the steps.

“Ah,” came his voice behind me, “but you’ve had that chance. It’s not been so very long since your father left, but in that time I’ve seen your funds squandered, your elder sister failing utterly to support you, Paula spouting dangerous nonsense, and Iulia making a spectacle of herself like a cheap flirt—”