ACT FIFTH

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 toOlaf 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 Stenssoncomes in by the first door on the right, unseen byLady 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 doubtsthat—[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.

[NoticesNils 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 ofPeasantsandRetainerscome in from the back, on the right.

The Peasants and Retainers.

Hail to Lady Inger Gyldenlöve!

Lady Inger.

[ToOlaf Skaktavl.] Have you told them what is afoot?

Olaf Skaktavl.

I have told them all they need to know.

Lady Inger.

[To theCrowd.] 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. ThePeasantsandRetainerschoose 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.

[ToNils 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,ifshe see you again!

Olaf Skaktavl.

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

The Peasants.

Ay, ay, ay!

Nils Lykke.

[Uneasily, toLady 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, toNils Stensson.] Obey her not!

Nils Stensson.

How can I do aught else? Iwill; Imust!

Nils Lykke.

But ’tis your certain ruin——

Nils Stensson.

What then!Hermust I obey in all things——

Nils Lykke.

[With authority.] Andme?

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 theroad! Damnation! He will snatch the prize out of my fingers——

[ToLady Inger.

Wait till to-morrow!

Lady Inger.

[ToNils 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.

[ToLady 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 torebellious 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.

[ToOlaf 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, asOlaf Skaktavlis 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.

[ToFinn,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 watchingNils Lykke.] And now go, all of you, and God be with you! [Points toNils 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.

[ToEinar Huk,the bailiff, pointing toFinn.] And letthatman 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 leadFinnout to the left.

All the Rest.

[ExceptNils Lykke,rushing out to the right.] Away! To horse,—to horse! Hail to Lady Inger Gyldenlöve!

Lady Inger.

[Passing close toNils Lykkeas she goes out after the others.] Who wins?

Nils Lykke.

[Remains alone.] Who? Ay, woe to you;—your victory will cost you dear.Iwash my hands of it. ’Tis notIthat 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, ifthatcould 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.”

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 Ingeris 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.Thatis 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! Nothreatening 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 notmyson 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.Thatmust 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 LykkeandElina Gyldenlöveenter noiselessly by the first door on the left.Nils Lykkehas 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 willyoube true tome, Elina? Will you not forget me ere we meet again?

Elina.

Do you ask if Iwillbe true? Have I any will left then? Have I power to be untrue toyou, 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;—Imustbe 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 toyoubut 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, withhis falcon on his wrist. Even so do you go your way through life;—your name rings out before you whithersoever you fare.—All thatIdesire 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 beminebefore 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.

INils 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—saveone.

Nils Lykke.

Saveone?

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! Icannot, 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, ’tisthey! 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, hemustbe 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——!

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