Suddenly he tripped and stumbled against the banister.
“You’re not even capable of supporting the burden of your own body,” said Kuno contemptuously, “never mind burdening me.”
“Oh, yes?” Daniel grinned. “Aren’t you burdened enough with your worm-eaten Gerhard Morart? Ooooh, poor Gerhard, poor, poor Gerhard. Fell off the scaffolding. What bad luck. And you’re to blame.” He staggered over to Kuno and stood in front of him, swaying. “That’s not the only thing you’re to blame for. You’re to blame for everything. You really want to know who’s next on the list? Go to the old warehouse.”
“What are you talking about, you beer-swilling Overstolz sot?”
“Hah!” Daniel made a theatrical gesture, almost losing his balance in the process. “I ought to kill you for that, on the spot. But then you wouldn’t suffer anymore. Yes, my dear, tenderhearted friend, Urquhart has taken a young thing away from her nearest and dearest. Now he’s got them all where he wants them, the Fox, the dean—”
“The dean? Who’s that?”
“No, no, Kunikins, you don’t have to know everything. Just enough to get your arse in a lather.”
“You’ve no idea what you’re talking about.”
“A lovely girl, so I heard. Urquhart told Matthias she’s the niece of the dean the Fox holed up with—”
“What fox?”
“The one who saw how your beloved master Gerhard learned to fly, the one—”
“Yes? Go on.”
Daniel’s eyes focused. All at once he seemed almost sober. “What are you after, Kuno?” he asked, emphasizing each single word.
“What am I after?”
“There’s something wrong. Why are you suddenly all ears?”
“Just listening to you, my friend.”
“Get out, you loathsome—”
“You can save your breath,” said Kuno calmly, “I’m going.” He turned on his heel and hurried out of the house into Rheingasse.
“—loathsome worm, slimy beast, excrescence on the backside of humanity—” Daniel screamed as he left.
Kuno ignored him completely. At last he knew what he must do.
Daniel leaned against the newel post, breathing heavily, as the door closed behind Kuno. Above him the door to Johann’s study “What’s all the noise about, Daniel?”
He looked up and shrugged his shoulders. “Nothing. Kuno was being insolent, that’s all.”
Johann looked down at him angrily. “Kuno may be a fool and a danger, but never insolent.”
“Father—”
“No! I don’t want to hear your shouting here. Do it in your own home, where your wife’s been waiting far too long for you, but not here. Understood?”
Daniel ground his teeth. “Understood.”
“I didn’t hear. Louder.”
“All right! Understood. Understood!”
Daniel gave a howl of fury, strode unsteadily across the hall, and flung the door open. Outside the rain was splattering on the mud.
That was a mistake, he thought. You should have kept your mouth shut.
You’d better sort it out.
SEVERINSTRAßE
“We can’t stay here,” Jacob declared.
They had laid Rolof on the bench and closed his eyes. They couldn’t do any more for him at the moment. Jaspar’s usual affability had given way to seething anger. Despite being pursued himself, he had so far treated the affair with a kind of academic interest. Now he was directly involved. His house had been broken into, his family put under threat, his servant brutally murdered. And there was another change in him. Beneath his quivering fury was uncertainty. For the first time he seemed to feel fear.
That did not stop him from kneeling down beside Rolof ’s body and accompanying him on his journey to a better world with silent prayers. Jacob stood there, not sure what he could say to the Lord. He hardly knew any prayers, so he asked Him to look mercifully on Rolof ’s soul, repeated the request several times, and then felt enough was enough.
“We’ve got to go,” he said urgently.
Jaspar continued to pray.
“Do you understand?”
“Why?” Jaspar growled.
“Why? God, they know everything about us.”
“So what?”
“Are we going to wait for them to come back and send us to join Rolof?”
“In the first place,” said Jaspar irritatedly, as he got up, “I presume it wasn’t a them but a him, that is, Gerhard’s murderer. In the second place, why should he come back? He’s got a hostage. He doesn’t need to bother with us anymore. None of us is going to say a blind word.”
“Are you absolutely sure?” asked Jacob uncertainly.
Jaspar was silent. Somehow his silence seemed to last too long.
“All right.” Jacob sat down on one of the stools. “I’m sorry I came to your house. I blame myself for what’s happened to Richmodis and I’m sad about Rolof. And I feel terrible that something might happen to you or Goddert. I’m very sorry, dammit! But it’s happened now and I can’t do anything to change it. It was your decision to help me. If you want, I’ll go and try to find Richmodis. If you never want to set eyes on me again, I can understand that. Only, however much I have to be grateful to you for, don’t blame me because you decided to help me.”
Jaspar frowned. “When did I ever blame you for anything?”
“Not out loud, Jaspar, but you thought it. You see me as responsible for all this. In a way I am. But you had a free choice. Nobody forced you. Don’t think I’m being ungrateful, I just want you to be open with me. Throw me out, if you like, but don’t pretend you want to help me, while inside you’re beginning to hate me.”
“Who’s saying I hate you?”
“No one is. But at the moment you’re thinking, if I hadn’t met this goddamn good-for-nothing—or, if you like, if I hadn’t helped him—Rolof would still be alive and no one would be in danger. You’re weighing my life against those of Rolof and Richmodis, and I come off worse. You don’t have to tell me, I know. But I also know this may be your last opportunity to decide, and I don’t want you deceiving yourself and me. I can live—and die—with anything, apart from the contempt of a Good Samaritan who’s standing by me, not for my sake, but for his own self-respect.” He lowered his voice. “I don’t need anyone to tell me my life is worth less than that of others. Send me away, if you want. But leave me my pride.”
Jaspar put his head on one side and squinted at Jacob. “You think this is the right moment to tell me all this?”
“Yes.”
“Hmmm.” He sat down facing Jacob and massaged the bridge of his nose. For a while all that could be heard was the drumming of the raindrops on the shutters.
“You’re right, I did see you as responsible. I was thinking, what right has he to live, when my servant had to die for his sake and Richmodis is God-knows-where, assuming she’s still alive. He should be feeling so guilty he wished the earth would open and swallow him up. And he has the cheek to ask whether I’m sure my suspicions are correct. He doesn’t deserve to live! How can God allow worthwhile people to suffer because of a piece of scum?”
He paused.
“But I had forgotten, just for a moment, that no life is worthless. What is worse, I was trying to wriggle out of the responsibility. It’s easier to condemn you than to admit I’m responsible for everything myself.”
Jaspar hesitated. Then he raised his head and looked Jacob in the eye. “I thank you for the lesson, Fox-cub. Will you continue to accept my help?”
Jacob looked at him and suddenly couldn’t repress a laugh.
“What now?” asked Jaspar indignantly.
“Nothing. It’s just that—you have an unusual expression when you apologize.”