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Ted had bent down to Mette and took her hand, leading her over to
the blocks of ice so that she could run her hand over them to feel the icy coldness beneath her fingertips. Aksel looked about to follow, and Flora caught his sleeve.
‘She can do that by herself, Aksel. Ted’s looking after her.’
‘I know, but...’ His forehead creased into a frown. ‘I’m crowding her, aren’t I?’
‘You’re spending time with her, so that you can make a relationship. That’s great.’ Aksel shot her an unconvinced look. ‘And, yes, you are crowding her a bit. She’s learning how to explore her world.’
‘And this is what the therapists at the clinic are teaching her.’ He looked over at Mette thoughtfully.
‘That’s our job, all of us. We may have specific roles, but we all have the same aim.’ Everyone who worked here on the estate was a part of that. Ted took the children on nature walks during the summer, and Mrs Renwick, the cook at the castle, held regular cookery classes for both adults and children.
‘All the same, Mette’s far more important than this...’
‘Yes, she is. She’s important to all of us, and she’s just starting to feel at home at the clinic. She has a play date this afternoon, and she’s going to have a great time. You can either interfere with that, or you can stay here and make her something nice.’
He narrowed his eyes. ‘Are you just saying that because you know I want to stay?’
‘I’m saying this because staying’s okay. Mette has other things to do this afternoon.’
Aksel was frowning, now. ‘I was rather hoping that she’d learn to need me.’
Flora puffed out an exasperated breath. ‘She does need you, Aksel. She needs you to be her father, which means you’re always there for her. It doesn’t mean that you have to follow her around all the time. The whole point of her being here is to learn to be independent.’
Most people would have hummed and hawed about it a bit. But Aksel had the information he needed, and it was typical of him to make his decision and act on it.
‘You’re killing me. You know that.’ He turned on his heel, walking over to Mette.
‘Ted says that I can make an ice sculpture. Would you like me to make one for you this afternoon, while Tante Flora takes you back to the castle to play?’
‘Yes, Papa!’ Mette obviously thought that was a good idea, too.
‘Okay. What would you like me to make, then?’
Flora winced. Maybe it would have been better to give Mette some suggestions, rather than allow a child’s imagination to run rampant.
‘A reindeer. Mama took me to see the reindeer.’
‘A reindeer?’ Ted chuckled, removing his flat cap to scratch his head. ‘That’ll be interesting. What do you think, Aksel?’
Aksel shrugged. ‘If she wants a reindeer, then... I can do a reindeer.’
‘Would you like me to bring Mette back here after I’ve finished work?’ Flora reckoned that Aksel might need a bit of extra time to work out how to sculpt four legs and a pair of antlers.
‘Um... Yes. That would be great, thank you.’
‘Right.’ Flora took Mette’s hand. ‘Shall we stay and watch Papa get started on your reindeer, Mette, and then we’ll go back to the castle.’
Mette nodded, following Flora to a safe distance, while Ted gave Aksel the gloves and a pair of safety glasses. Running him through a few safety rules was probably unnecessary, but Ted was nothing if not thorough, and Aksel listened carefully. Then he turned towards the block of ice that Ted had indicated, standing back for a moment to contemplate his first move, before starting up the chainsaw.
Mette tugged her hat down over her ears in response to the noise. ‘What’s Papa doing?’
‘He’s cutting some ice off the top. To make the reindeer’s back.’
Aksel had clearly decided to start with the easy part, and was making an incision on one side of the block of ice that ran half way along its length. Then he made a similar incision from the top, freeing a large piece of ice, which he lifted down onto the ground. He switched off the chainsaw, engaging the safety mechanism, and beckoned to Flora and Mette.
‘See this big block he’s sawn off. It’s almost as big as you are.’ She kept hold of Mette’s hand, letting her feel the size of the block. ‘I can’t wait to see what it’ll be like when we get back.’
