Toward the end of summer, Marta received a letter from Elise. Surprised and pleased, Marta tore it open immediately rather than wait for a quiet moment alone.
“What’s wrong?” Warner was slicing veal. “You look ill.”
“My sister needs me.” She shoved the letter into her skirt pocket. “I have to go.”
She raced into her small bedroom and threw a few things into her shoulder bag. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“Go tomorrow.” Warner blocked her way. “I need you here.”
“Elise needs me more, and you have Della and Arlene.”
“I could dismiss you!”
“Go ahead! That would give me the excuse I need to go to Montreux! Now, get out of my way!”
He caught her by the shoulders when she tried to push past him. “It won’t be the last time your sister needs you. When your mother is gone, you’ll be the one she leans on…”
“I have to go.”
With a sigh, Warner released her.
Marta raced up the stairs and out of the hotel, boarding a hired coach to Thun.
After asking directions, she found her way to the huge chalet at the end of a street on the edge of town. A man trimming roses in the front garden straightened as she approached. “Can I help you, Fraulein?”
“I’ve come to see my sister, Elise Schneider.”
“Go around back to the kitchen. Frau Hoffman will help you.”
An old woman with a crown of white braids answered the door. Marta quickly introduced herself and stated her business. The woman looked relieved. “Come in, Fraulein. I’ll fetch Elise for you.”
The kitchen smelled of baking bread. Apples, nuts, raisins, and oats had been set out on the worktable. The floors looked freshly washed, the copper pots polished, the counter surfaces clean. Marta paced, agitated.
Elisa flew through the kitchen door. “Marta!” She threw herself into Marta’s startled embrace and burst into tears. “You came. I was so afraid you wouldn’t…”
Marta could feel how thin she was. “Don’t they feed you?”
“She’s been too upset to eat.” The cook closed the door behind her and went to the worktable.
Marta saw a purple bruise on her sister’s cheek. Heat surged through her body. “Who struck you?”
Elise gulped sobs, leaving Frau Hoffman to answer grimly. “Frau Meyer.” The cook picked up another apple and sliced through it cleanly. “And she’s not the only one in this family who’s done harm to your poor sister.”
Marta’s body went cold. She pressed Elise away, holding her by the arms. “Tell me what’s been going on, Elise.” She spoke gently, but her sister cried harder, her mouth opening and closing like a dying fish. She seemed incapable of uttering even a single distinguishable word.
Frau Hoffman cut an apple into four pieces and began removing the core from each section with quick gouges. “A father has no business putting a pretty young girl like Elise in this house. Not with the young man and his father. I could’ve told him!”
Marta stared at her, stomach turning over.
Frau Hoffman sliced apple into the bowl. “I risk losing my job if I say more.” She gave Elise a pitying glance before returning to her work. “But you should get her out of this house now if you don’t want more harm to come to her.”
Marta tipped Elise’s chin. “We’ll go as soon as we collect your things and what salary is owed you.”
“Well, good luck trying, Fraulein.” Frau Hoffman snorted. “The mistress hasn’t paid anyone since the beginning of summer. She never does until the last day, and seldom the full amount.”
Tears streamed down Elise’s white cheeks, making the purple bruise stand out even more. “Can’t we go now, Marta?” Her body trembled violently. “Please.”
Frau Hoffman tossed the paring knife into the bowl and grabbed a towel. “I’ll get your sister’s things. You two wait here.”
Marta tried to calm Elise. “Tell me what happened,
“I want to die.” Elise covered her face, shoulders shaking. When she swayed, Marta made her sit. Sobbing, Elise pulled her apron up over her head and rocked back and forth. Marta held her tightly, her cheek against the top of her sister’s head. Anger grew inside her until she didn’t know who shook more. “We’ll leave soon, Elise. Here’s Frau Hoffman now.”
“I got everything.”
“In the parlor, but she won’t speak to you.”
“You sit right here.” She stood.
“Where are you going?” Elise grabbed Marta’s skirt. “Don’t leave me!”
She cupped Elise’s face. “Stay here in the kitchen with Frau Hoffman. I’ll be back in a few minutes and we’ll go home. Now, let go so I can get your wages.”
“I wouldn’t go, Fraulein.”
“They’re not getting away with it!” Marta banged the kitchen door open, strode through the dining room and across the hall. As she entered the parlor, she saw a heavyset woman in a green day dress half-reclined on a settee near the windows overlooking the garden. Startled, the woman dropped her delicate china cup, shattering it on the saucer. Tea splashed down the front of her. Gasping, she rose and brushed frantically at the stain. “I don’t know you! What are you doing in my house?”
“I’m Elise’s older sister, Marta.” She didn’t stop in the door. “And I’ve come to collect her wages.”
“Eginhardt!” Frau Meyer cried out angrily. “I’ll have you thrown out! How dare you come in here demanding anything!” When Marta kept coming, the woman’s pale blue eyes widened, and she moved quickly behind a wide table strewn with books.
“Call the constable! I’d like to tell him how you cheat your staff! I wonder how many shop owners are waiting to be paid?”
Paling, Frau Meyer pointed. “Stand over there by the door and I’ll get her wages!”
“I’ll stand right here!”
Frau Meyer stepped cautiously around the table and hurried to a desk on the other side of the room. Fuming as she sorted through keys she had taken from her pocket, she finally managed to find the one to unlock the desk drawer. She removed some francs and locked the drawer before holding them out. “Take them!” She tossed the coins on the desk. “Take them and get that worthless girl out of my house!”
Marta gathered the coins and counted them. Raising her head, she glared. “Elise has been here three months. This barely covers two.”
Frau Meyer’s face turned red. She unlocked the drawer, yanked it open, and removed more francs, locking the drawer again. “Here’s the money! Now, get out!” She tossed the coins in Marta’s direction.
Pride made Marta want to storm out without the money, but fury over the abuse Elise had suffered kept her in the room, collecting each coin, and counting them. Frau Meyer shouted for Eginhardt again. Marta straightened and sneered. “Perhaps your Eginhardt doesn’t come because you haven’t paid him either.”
Stiffening, Frau Meyer lifted her chin, eyes flashing. “Your sister is a worthless slut.”
Marta dropped the coins into the pocket of her skirt and came around the desk. “One more thing I need before we leave, Frau Meyer.” Marta slapped the woman hard across the face. “That’s for the mark you left on my sister.” Gasping, Frau Meyer backed into the drapes. Marta slapped her across the other cheek. “And that’s for insulting her.” When she raised her fist, Frau Meyer shrank from her. “One more word against my sister, and I’ll let every
