in saints. I do wonder what he wonders. It is a wonder if Jens learns anything at the seminary in that city.”
“I would cast his horoscope if you like, my lady.”
“I would not like, but thank you sir. I would thank you not to cast Jens to the planets.”
“Or to the stars, lady? The stars may be luckier.”
“Nay, the stars are fire. They are unlucky. Thou shouldst traffic in law, Soren. Did you not study the law?”
“Indeed, lady. I did.”
“Well, then. The law is neither hot nor cold and surely it can harm none. Jens studies for the priesthood. There is a law unto that as well.”
“I know this, lady.”
She cocked her head to one side, a lark in the field, listening.
“Is my lord Christian about?”
“I saw him just now, greeting the queen.”
Vibeke smiled, head still tilted, her eyes looking far beyond me.
“I shall see him at supper, I think. My father will be most surprised.”
“Lord Ulfeldt did not send for you?”
“Nay. It was Christian called me forth. I must go anon to find my rooms and dress for the feast. I shall look my best for my lord.”
“Ah.”
“Ah, indeed, sir. Ah.” Vibeke squeezed my hand. “My lord Christian doth desire my company in so cold and dark a place as this. The queen will not be pleased.”
Indeed, Kirsten would find it most distasteful if what Vibeke implied was true, that the prince had begun some kind of romance with her. Ulfeldt’s family was of noble blood, but Kirsten had made it known that any woman whose father did not wear a crown was below Prince Christian’s station. Christian was beyond Vibeke’s star and I hoped the prince was not dallying with the poor, addled maid. I resolved to ask him when I could.
“The queen,” I said. “No, she will not be pleased. You must say nothing of this to her.”
“I am no foolish child, sir.” Vibeke released my hand and curtsied. “I must away, Soren. Welcome to Elsinore.”
“My thanks, lady.” I bowed and she drifted off, the bearskin slipping from one shoulder and her head still cocked to one side, very like a little bird. I could not remember if she was eighteen or nineteen, but Vibeke had grown into a pretty enough woman and had already been pursued by a few men that I knew of, Straslund among them for a month or so. Vibeke was an Aries, and so was ruled by Mars. Mars is a fiery planet that drove Vibeke to be busy in the daytime, and gave her an appetite for liking people and enjoyment. Mars also prompted her to make up her mind with little deliberation. She had a great memory for facts, but as an Aries she could put little order to those facts. Her suitors grew discouraged when they saw how curious and strange a wife Vibeke would make, a poor match for any man of high estate. This made it doubly strange that the prince would send for her if he was seeking a bride.
I would not find any answers while tarrying in the entryway, and with the great doors standing open it had grown cold in the hall. I could see my breath as well as the breath of the harried servants. It was as if the atmosphere was all around us filled with spirits briefly glimpsed, who then faded back into their own realm. I shivered and walked down the southern hallway to Sir Tristram’s small library. I had been told of it by the priest who sat next to me during the banquet. The library was located near the stairwell to the Trumpeter’s Tower and I knew it by the portrait of Saint Jerome painted on the door.
The lock was undone and the handle turned. I opened the door an inch but could not push it any farther. The whispering of two voices, maybe more, came to me and then the door slammed shut against me.
“Hello?” I knocked and pushed against the door, but I was once more forced back. “Is this not the library?”
The lock clicked. Whoever was within had turned the key. I pressed my ear against the panel and could make out voices, indistinct and angry, fading rapidly as the speakers moved away from the door.
I was most vexed, having brought no decent books with me from Copenhagen. Supper was hours away and there were no duties to be performed, there was no one with whom I wished to speak, and there was nothing to