Free Sundown Crossing by Lynne Wilding Page A

Stenmark walked to his desk and sat behind it. Rolfe went to sit too, until his father growled at him, ‘You will stand.’
    For at least a minute Carl’s blue eyes subjected his younger son to a baleful stare and, it was clear that he was mentally preparing what he wanted to say. That fact was emphasised by the intermittent drumming of the fingertips of his right hand on the embossed leather-topped desk. Rolfe felt a sense of relief when his father finally broke the tense silence.
    ‘It is painful for a father to have a son he is ashamed of, who has let the family down. That’s how I feel about you, Rolfe. Ashamed. More than ashamed of your behaviour.’ Carl attacked straight away. ‘How could you? You were in a position of trust. I trusted you, Kurt trusted you and you betrayed us.’
    Rolfe knew what his father was talking about but, suddenly afraid of the anger he saw building, he shrugged and acted dumb. ‘I don’t know what you mean, Papa.’
    ‘Don’t insult my intelligence,’ Carl thundered. ‘Marta. I am talking about what you did to Marta the night of the storm.’ His upper lip curled with disgust. ‘You seduced her, made love to her in your cottage. And, if I were ten years younger I’d thrash the living daylights out of you for having done what you did.’
    Retreating from Papa’s anger Rolfe took half a step backwards, but then, recalling how it had been, he tried to defend himself. ‘That’s not quite right, Papa, I did not seduce Marta. I don’t know what has been said but Marta, she actually…’
    ‘Don’t! Mein Gott im Himmel! Be man enough to own up to what you’ve done instead of cowardly trying to shift the blame onto an innocent young woman. Kurt and Marta have talked.’ He cleared his throat noisily, more than moderately embarrassed. ‘I have talked to her. Marta says you seduced her after she’d taken off her wet clothes and while she was sitting by the fire with a blanket around her, trying to get warm. Disgusting behaviour.’ His head of grey hair shook with reproach. ‘Your brother’s fiancée. For God’s sake, man, what were you thinking?’
    Rolfe swallowed another lump in his throat before it choked him. He could hardly believe that Marta had said he’d seduced her but then, it was possible that she had been coerced by Kurt intomaking a false confession. He knew there had been no seduction and, in fact, she had encouraged him to…to…
    ‘It was no seduction, Papa,’ he repeated quietly.
    ‘Is that so? You are calling Marta a liar then?’ a third male voice said from behind.
    He turned to look at his brother. Kurt had slipped quietly into the room and stood with his back against the closed door. Their eyes met then both glanced away. ‘Kurt, I apologise for hurting you, your feelings. For…the way things happened but not for what happened. I love Marta.’ Kurt took a step towards him, his fist half raised in anger then stopped as Rolfe continued. ‘I am sorry it happened this way. I…I want to marry Marta, if she will have me.’
    ‘Pah,’ Kurt spat at him. ‘Not only are you a liar, you’re also a fool. Marta is mine, she is going to marry me.’
    ‘Rolfe,’ Papa spoke again. ‘You don’t deny the charge? You did um…make love to Marta?’
    ‘Yes.’ He stood up straight and stared into those older, questioning blue eyes. And, under pressure said as firmly as his taut throat muscles would allow. ‘Made love, yes; seduced, no.’
    Carl shook his head. ‘I cannot believe a son of mine has behaved so…abominably.’
    ‘He did it because he is jealous of me, Papa, of what’s mine. Everyone knows Rolfe has always envied me. Being firstborn, the right to inherit. He seduced Marta out of spite because he’llnever be able to get anyone as beautiful as her.’ Kurt spat the accusation at Rolfe, and as he did he moved around Rolfe to the side of Papa’s desk so that he was facing his brother.
    ‘None of that is true, and I did not seduce her,’