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raising her voice, as was necessary now if he were to hear
her; for he had become quite deaf, and besides he was wont
to protect his bald head with a skull-cap with long earlaps,
which did not improve his hearing.
It was no fault of Sören’s that Palle Dyre, too, did not
learn the true state of affairs; for in the violence of his
youthful passion, he did not stick at visiting Marie even when
the master was at home. At dusk, or whenever he saw his
chance, he would seek her in the manor-house itself, and
on more than one occasion it was only the fortunate
location of the stairway that saved him from discovery.
His sentiment for Marie was not always the same, for
once in awhile he would be seized with the idea that she was
proud and must despise him. Then he would become
capricious, tyrannical, and unreasonable, and treated her much
more harshly and brutally than he really meant, simply in
order to have her sweetness and submissiveness chase away
his doubts. Usually, however, he was gentle and easily led,
so long as Marie was careful not to complain too much
of her husband and her father, or picture herself as too
much abused; for then he would wax furious and swear that
he would blow out Palle Dyre’s brains and put his hands
around Erik Grubbe’s thin neck, and he would be so intent
on carrying out his threat that she had to use prayers and
tears to calm him.
The most serious element of disturbance in their relation
was the persistent baiting of the other servants. They
were, of course, highly incensed at the lovemaking between
mistress and coachman, which put their fellow-servant in
a favored position, and—especially in the absence of the
master—gave him an influence to which he had no more
rightful claim than they. So they harassed and tortured poor
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