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Kurt was the second of
Helmuth’s sons. He was long and tall, blond and blue
eyed. He helped take care
of his older brother, who was slow, and he
accepted Emma as his mother. He was proud of both of his
sisters, and tolerant of his younger brother, Wolfgang, though
he knew he sloughed off from his work.
Sloughing off from work
was not Kurt’s way. He worked hard and took pride in it. He
appreciated Otto as Gutsherr, knowing others around them were
not as fortunate. He worked hard with the horses, and the other
tasks of the land, and kept his work clothes neat and tidy for
Otto. He was pleased that Otto repaid him by promoting him and
depending on him in many ways despite his youth.
His sister, Cosima,
took after him, and to a lesser extent so did young Ursula.
Cosima saw him when she went out with Luise, but he only saw
Ursula at his first breakfast each morning.
He took on Ulf Ritter
when he showed up looking for work, despite his father’s
warnings not to mess with the Ritters. He was pleased for Otto
to permit it, saying that the little boy was to sleep in the hay
since he’d been disowned and had to be fed and dressed. Kurt
enjoyed having the little boy there, playing with him when he
was idle waiting for Luise, and seeing him grow in his ways with
the horses.
Emma took the small boy
on, making sure he was dressed and fed, and scolding Kurt for
playing with him. She considered it appalling that Rolf Ritter
treated him the way he did, as did Luise. To her, a father not
providing for his family was shocking in a way it wasn’t for the
adults, and she did as much to help the family as the adults
would allow her to.
After Kurt’s experiences in his childhood, he could not turn
Quappe away. He concentrated on making his life as good as he
could, and in getting things to the family that the adults
allowed. After losing his mother and sisters and living with
Slow Markus, he couldn’t imagine what would have happened to
him, his brother and father if Emma hadn’t come into their
lives, so he showed what he could to Quappe. |
