They Were Divided - Miklos Banffy [117]
They had planned a visit to the mountains long before, but every time they had talked of it, it had been as of some unrealizable dream, some bliss that the unknown future might hold for them; for until recently they could find no way of arranging it without news of their tryst in the mountains being everywhere noised abroad. Now, at the beginning of summer, an opportunity had suddenly and unexpectedly presented itself.
Since Margit Miloth had married Adam Alvinczy and moved to a small manor house her father owned at Magyar–Tohat, she had begun to poke her sharp little beak of a nose into the running of her father’s estates. Old ‘Rattle’ Miloth, as he did about everything, complained loudly, shouting to all and sundry that he was being robbed by his own daughter; but Margit took no notice and arranged for her husband to look over all her father’s holding explaining that Adam must have some occupation and that this was as useful as any. As a result she had discovered that Count Miloth owned some forestland high in the Upper Aranyos, not much, a mere 900 acres, mostly of apparently unprofitable mixed beech forest. Of course Adam had to go and inspect it and it proved to be quite a nice little forest with a lot of handsome beech-trees, which had little value up there, but there was also a smallish stand of pine, most of it young, for the local peasants had long ago taken to stealing any timber worth felling. This, Margit decided, must be changed and the Miloth forests properly guarded. It was, she declared, a wicked waste to abandon their property like that, and if not properly guarded the next thing would be that the young saplings would be stolen for sale as Christmas trees. A forest lodge was built on her orders and an experienced forest guard was engaged and installed there.
All this had happened the previous year.
At the beginning of May Margit’s small son developed whooping-cough and the doctor recommended that as soon as he was well enough he should be taken to the mountains for a change of air.
Margit had seen no reason to go to some expensive resort miles away when they had their own little lodge at Albak which, at an altitude of twelve hundred metres, was certainly high enough. The little house there was clean and new, and it had a marvellous view. They would be able to stay there for two or three weeks, which would cost them nothing, breathing in mountain air that was as clean and fresh as any in the high Alps.
And so it turned out that at the end of June Margit and her son, together with the maid, who was also the child’s nurse, and the cook, moved to the lodge for two or three weeks. The forest guard went to sleep in the stable, and a summer oven was built close to the house. The lodge only had two rooms and a little kitchen, but it was quite enough for the three women and the child.
It was Margit’s visit to the mountains which had made it possible at long last for Balint and Adrienne to make their dream come true. Adrienne would go up to visit her sister for a few days and then, saying that she wanted to go on directly to Almasko, which would take her by way of the Beles and Banffy-Hunyad, she could easily slip over to meet Balint on the Ursoia which was near the source of the Beles and only some three hours’ walk from the Upper Aranyos. There she would be able to sleep in Balint’s tent, and the following day walk down through the Valko woods to the government mill on the Szamos river where the carriage from Almasko would be waiting for her.
They had just worked it all out when news came that wolves had been seen on the Ursoia. This delighted Balint as it gave him a perfect reason to go up the mountains and to go alone … for it was still important that Adrienne’s name should be protected from common gossip.
It was quite a distance to the high ridge of the Kaliniassa. They had to go up the valley of the Szamos and through the Valko estate lands, and even then there was another ridge to pass. It was dusk before Balint’s little group arrived on the Ursoia and darkness