The Scent of Almonds: A Novella Read Online Free PDF

take his money.’
    ‘Bernard …’ pleaded Lisette, but her cousin paid no attention.
    ‘He gave you that flat in the city when you started at the university. What was it worth? Three million? Four?’
    ‘I never asked for anything!’ retorted Matte, glaring at Bernard. ‘Unlike the rest of you, I wasn’t constantly begging him for money. The flat belonged to Grandpa, and I was allowed to live there while I studied, but as soon as I graduated, I would have to make it on my own. That was the agreement. And I didn’t want it any other way. Grandpa knew that.’
    Again he used his shirtsleeve to dry his tears. Then he turned to look out of the window, clearly embarrassed that they’d seen him crying.
    ‘Matte, we know how close you were to Grandpa. And all of us are sad. We’re just a little … shocked … as Uncle Gustav said.’ Britten perched on the armrest of Matte’s chair and gently stroked his arm. He didn’t push her away, but he kept his gaze fixed on the winter darkness.
    ‘Well, maybe we should all turn in for the night,’ said Harald, standing up. ‘Before we say anything that we’ll regret tomorrow.’
    The others murmured their agreement, and the library quickly emptied. Only Vivi stayed behind.
    ‘Our room is upstairs,’ said Lisette as she took Martin’s arm. ‘Why don’t you fetch your bag? I’ve already put mine in the room.’
    He did as she said and then followed her up the stairs.
    Even though the beds were marvellously comfortable, Martin lay awake for a long time, listening to Lisette breathing next to him. Outside, the blizzard raged, worse than ever. He wondered what the morning would bring.
    It was a habit she’d had ever since childhood. Whenever she was nervous, she would play with the pearl necklace that had been a gift from her mother. And she’d certainly resorted to that nervous habit many times over the years. ‘Viveca is very high-strung,’ she’d heard her mother say so often when she was growing up, until in the end it had become a self-fulfilling prophecy. At first she’d thought it was merely something the grown-ups said to explain the normal emotional outbursts of a child, and later a teenager. But gradually the statement had settled over her like a dingy veil. People treated her as if she had delicate nerves, and she found it simpler to live up to their expectations. By now she was afraid of everything. In addition to normal fears – spiders and snakes and the greenhouse effect and the proliferation of nuclear weapons – she was frightened by more subtle and ordinary things: the look someone gave her when they met, hidden meanings in what they said to her, unintentional insults and unanticipated attacks. Eventually, the whole world had become a threatening place, and she caught herself constantly playing with her necklace. But now it was gone. Hundreds of tiny pearls had scattered across the floor in the dining room. Kerstin had tried to console her, saying that she would gather up every one of them and have them restrung for a new necklace. And no doubt she would. But it wouldn’t be the same. Something new could not become something old. Something that had been destroyed could never be whole again.
    For a moment Vivi pictured in her mind Ruben’s accusatory eyes. That expression she thought she always saw whenever he looked at her. Reproachful and filled with contempt for her weakness.
    Oh, how she wished that she’d had just one-hundredth of the strength that seemed to radiate from him. Not to mention that she wished Gustav had inherited at least a small part of his father’s self-confidence. But together she and Gustav seemed even weaker than they did individually. If they hadn’t joined forces against the threat that Ruben represented, which had held them together like glue all these years, Vivi knew they never would have survived. With a vacant expression she stared at the smouldering fire as she sensed disaster approaching like a speeding train.