Never had the heavens been so blue or the sunshine so bright,--never
had the hemlocks filled the air with such exquisite fragrance as upon
this blissful day, when Paul lightly trod the forest-path towards
Castle Reifenstein. A shepherd-boy upon a distant mountain jodelled
down to him, and Paul could not refrain from jodelling back a full
clear note, that echoed far over the sunny valleys.
He could have embraced the world. He had suddenly been transported from
the black depths of despair to the heights of hope. A future, with
Hilda by his side, beckoned him. Where were all the gloomy reveries of
the last few weeks? As he walked briskly up the steep ascent, he
thought with horror of the dark temptation to self-destruction that had
once assailed him. Yes, Leo was right when he declared that only a
coward would ever seek such a solution of the problem of life,--that a
true man should possess a 'heart for any fate.' When he had nearly
reached the castle he heard well-known voices near him, and could not
forbear giving another genuine Tyrolean jodel.
"That is Delmar's voice!" Leo exclaimed.
"Oh, no; it is long since Herr Delmar has shouted so gayly," Hilda
replied.
A second louder and gayer jodel was Paul's reply, as he turned in the
direction whence the voices came, and passing through a short stretch
of woodland, reached a small rocky plateau, whither Hilda had brought
her guests because it afforded them the best view down into the fearful
chasm in the rocks.
"You were wrong, lovely fairy," said Paul, as he joined the small
party, taking Hilda's offered hand as he spoke; "no man upon earth can
shout as gayly as I can when inspired by the hope of seeing you."
'Lovely fairy!' Paul had never bestowed this title upon Hilda since the
first day of their meeting; since then he had always addressed her
ceremoniously as 'Fraeulein von Heydeck,' and only rarely, in eager
conversation, as 'Fraeulein Hilda.' Hilda heard therefore in surprise,
and, blushing at the remembrance of that first day, looked up at him.
How changed he seemed since yesterday! His dark eyes sparkled with
gayety, a happy smile played about his lips,--he was the same frank,
light-hearted man whom she had so liked at their first interview, and
yet--no, not the same; he had become far handsomer and more attractive;
she had never liked him half so well as now.
Leo also noticed the change which the few hours since he had last seen
his friend had effected in him. "What good news do you bring us?" he
asked. "I have hardly ever seen you look so gay."
"Have you found that out already?" Paul asked in his turn, with a
laugh. "I revere your powers of observation, and will reward them with
a share of the treasures to be found in my pockets. But good children
should restrain their curiosity and wait patiently until it is
satisfied. If you love me, do me the kindness to act as guide to
Fraeulein Eva and our betrothed couple on their way to the castle
garden, and resign your former guide, the lovely fairy of the castle,
to me for a few minutes. I trust she will grant me a hearing for that
short space of time."
This request had so strange a sound that Hilda grew confused, and
looked uncertain whether to grant it, but when Delmar added, in a low,
eager tone, "It is my first request; can you refuse me?" she shyly
placed her hand within his offered arm and lingered with him behind the
others, whom Leo, as Delmar had asked him to do, conducted to the
castle garden.
Paul walked along slowly at Hilda's side, preserving an entire silence
until their friends were out of hearing. Then he turned to his
companion and said, "I owe you an explanation of much that must have
struck you strangely in my manner and behaviour during these last few
weeks. Will you hear me, Hilda? Will you let me be frank with you?"
It was the first time that Delmar had called the girl by her first
name,--that he had spoken to her in so earnest and yet so confidential
a tone. She divined what he wished to say, but she did not refuse to
listen. Her low-whispered 'yes' enchanted him; it told him that he did
not hope in vain.
Paul continued: "That little 'yes,' dearest Hilda, makes me
inexpressibly happy; it tells me that you trust me, and I would have
you trust me, now and forever, freely and unconditionally. You must
have seen that from the first moment when I met you, my lovely fairy,
in the labyrinth of rocks, my heart has been yours. I revelled in the
hope of one day winning your heart and your hand also. I was happy,
exquisitely happy! But my dream of bliss lasted but two short days. I
was suddenly and rudely awakened from it by the startling and as I
thought absolute certainty that your father never would bestow upon me
your hand, and that therefore I must not even try to win your heart. I
can never, my dear Hilda, tell you what created in me this belief. Here
you must trust me implicitly. You must never know the dark mystery that
interposed between us, nor the cause I thought there was for the utter
despair to which I was a prey. Life lost all value in my eyes; the
reckless gayety which sometimes distressed you, as well as the morbid
melancholy that assailed me when I was alone, was the result of the
terrible conviction that possessed me that you never could be my
own,--that I could never be more to you than a faithful friend and
brother.
"But to-day I have learned, to my unspeakable joy, that all my fears
were but idle baseless visions,--that I was deceived, and that I
deceived myself,--that I may in all honour tell you how passionately I
love you, and may hope, if you will but let me try to win your love in
return, that your father will consent to give you to me. Will you, can
you love me, Hilda? Will you come with me to your father and hear me
pray him to give me this dear hand for my very own?"
Hilda looked up into his face with a happy smile, and he needed no
reply in words; indeed she could have given him none, for in an instant
his arms were about her, and his kisses sealed her lips.
She extricated herself from his embrace, and her pleading eyes
restrained his passionate outburst. He still however clasped in his the
little hand, which he kissed repeatedly, saying, "Come, come to your
father, lovely fairy! This moment must confirm the happiness of my
future life."
Hilda conducted him across the castle court-yard to her father's study,
whither Herr von Heydeck had withdrawn from the presence of his
daughter's guests.
He was so absorbed in his work that he did not hear the door open; only
when Paul and Hilda stood close beside him did he look up from his
books, and as his gaze rested upon Delmar the same look of horror with
which he had greeted his first appearance passed into his face. Again
he put up his hand, as if to ward off some attack, while he seemed
incapable of speech.
Paul was no whit daunted however. "Do not repulse me, Herr von
Heydeck," he said, in a gentle voice. "I come not as your enemy, not to
demand, but to entreat. I pray you to receive me as your son in
granting me your daughter's hand."
The simple words fairly overwhelmed the old man. He had started forward
in his arm-chair; he now sank back into it helplessly. "You--you ask to
be my son? You sue for Hilda's hand,--and you know?----"
It was only with great difficulty that he gasped forth these broken
sentences.
"I know everything," Paul replied calmly. "I come from Dr. Putzer's
death-bed; he gave me these papers, which I now hand over to you. I
pray you to destroy them; forget the past as I have forgotten it.
Receive me as a son, who never will forget the respect he owes to the
father of his dearest Hilda."
Herr von Heydeck clutched with a trembling hand the papers which Paul
held out to him. He glanced at their contents, and his face was
illumined by an expression of intense joy. The next instant he had torn
the dreaded documents into countless shreds, after which he buried his
head in his hands and burst into a convulsive fit of sobbing.
Paul did not disturb him, but whispering low reassuring words of
tenderness to the astonished and frightened Hilda, he waited calmly
until Herr von Heydeck had regained his composure. Only when the old
man lifted his head and looked from his daughter to her lover with
tear-dimmed eyes did Paul repeat his entreaty, adding, "Hilda has given
me her heart,--you will not refuse my suit, Herr von Heydeck?"
"No, no; you shall be my son!" Herr von Heydeck exclaimed. "God grants
me thus an opportunity of repairing the grievous wrong I did you. My
Hilda will atone for my sin. She will be to you the angel of light
which her sainted mother was to me!"
Again he was overcome by mingled emotions of joy and sorrow. His
conscience had been burdened with the consciousness of his guilt; he
had trembled at the thoughts of discovery for years, and he could not
bear the sudden joy of this moment. Again he sobbed convulsively, only
stammering, in broken accents, "Leave me now, my children. I must be
alone. God bless you!"
Paul drew Hilda away from the room, knowing how greatly the old man
must stand in need of repose, and the girl, not venturing to oppose her
father's request, went with him willingly.
When however the study-door was closed behind them she paused. "What is
the matter with my father? What wrong can he have done? Why should he
be so overcome?" she asked, with an appealing look into her lover's
eyes.
Paul clasped her tenderly in his arms. "Do you not believe, dearest,
that I love you infinitely more than life?" he asked.
"Yes; I trust you implicitly."
"Then promise me, in this supreme moment, that you will never again ask
me what your father's words meant. It is not my secret but his, and I
could not in honour betray it even to you. But I swear solemnly that it
is the only secret that shall ever be between us,--no thought of my
heart shall be concealed from you. Will you not trust me? Believe me, I
but obey the dictates of honour when I beg you to forget what you have
heard. Will you promise me never to question either myself or your
father upon the subject?"
"This kiss shall seal the promise that you ask!"
Leo had conducted the guests to the garden, there to await Paul and
Hilda; he tried to engage them in pleasant talk, but he could not
fairly succeed, for his thoughts would wander. They were with his
friend, the change in whom he could easily interpret, for he knew that
Paul had just had an interview with Dr. Putzer; and that the result had
been a happy one for Hilda's lover, was plainly to be seen in his
sparkling eyes and gay mood. And Paul had also had an interview with
Bertram, which must have been satisfactory, or he would hardly have
uttered the laughing remark about the treasures in his pockets. What
did he mean? He had glanced so meaningly as he spoke, first at Eva and
then at Leo. Heydeck was restless and impatient,--he guessed that one
short hour might decide his fate, and yet he could not understand how
the decision could be fortunate for him. He could conceive but of one
happy future, and that seemed unattainable. He loved Eva with a
passionate devotion which the familiar intercourse of the past few
weeks had deepened tenfold. He knew that his love was returned,
although no word that could betray his devotion to her had ever passed
his lips. He had never transgressed the bounds of friendship, nor had
she ever given him the slightest right to do so.
The consciousness that she was not indifferent towards him enchanted
him, but at the same time it filled him with a despair that would often
wellnigh overcome him when he was alone in his room standing in rapt
contemplation of the picture,--the work not of his hand but of his
heart. Eva's dark eyes gazed at him from the canvas with a look that
seemed to promise the fulfilment of his boldest hopes, and in gazing he
was sometimes beguiled into delicious dreams, from which he was
startled by the consciousness of reality, and a stern voice within him
crying, "Lost, lost forever!"
He knew that Paul could force Bertram to resign all pretensions to
Eva's hand, but even if Eva should be free she was still lost to him.
Could he, a poor artist, whose future life must be one of hard labour,
aspire to the hand of the millionaire heiress? He had sacrificed to his
principles a brilliant military career, his entire future, and even his
father's affections. Could he be untrue to himself now? Honour forbade
his ever addressing a word of love to Eva Schommer,--she was too rich!
When he wandered beside her through the lovely scenes among which their
daily excursions were made, and she talked frankly and unrestrainedly
with him, he could not but resign himself to the spell of her presence,
but when he was once more alone those two words, 'too rich,'
annihilated every hope within him. And now, while he awaited Paul's
return, they destroyed all his anticipations of pleasure,--there could
be no happiness for him whatever might be the result of Delmar's
interview with Bertram; this was the verdict of his reason, but
nevertheless his heart rebelled against so cold a sentence, and
throbbed impatiently at the thought of his friend's return.
It was not long before Paul and Hilda made their appearance beneath the
archway of the garden gate, arm in arm, their happiness so plainly to
be seen in the countenance of each, that Leo knew, and Eva, Herwarth,
and Aline suspected, what had happened, and hastened to meet them.
Paul received them with a laugh. "I see," he said, giving his hand to
Leo, "you guess what I have to tell you, but nevertheless I am not
going to be defrauded of the pleasure of presenting to you my lovely
betrothed, Hilda von Heydeck. The betrothal has duly taken place, and I
beseech your congratulations."
They were given in fullest measure. As Leo grasped his hand, Kuno
reminded him of how, four weeks before, he had exclaimed, "Number One!"
and had declared that he would purchase such bliss, not only with a
miserable foot, but with his head.
"Exactly, I said so, and I repeat it," Paul replied, with a gayety
which had its root however in deep earnestness. "Only fortunately,
noble knight, the sacrifice of my head, which was nearer to being
consummated than you dream of, was not required. I said 'Number One'
then, never thinking that this lovely fairy would make me the happy
'Number Two.' Now we must find a 'Number Three,' that the trefoil may
be perfect."
Then turning to Eva, he whispered, so as to be heard by her alone, "Is
there do hope, Fraeulein Schommer, of your aid in making a happy 'Number
Three'?"
Eva did not reply, save by a blush and a reproving glance, which
assured Delmar he was understood, as she turned to Hilda and warmly
wished her every happiness. Her reproving look, however, glanced
harmlessly aside from Paul's armour of gayety, he only nodded and
laughed, as he continued aloud, "Number Two is proud and happy to
return thanks to his friends for their kind congratulations, which he
receives as the result of his share of the treasures which he brought
with him to Castle Reifenstein. It was due to my position as confirmed
egotist to provide for my own welfare first; now I am at liberty to
fulfil other duties which I have undertaken. I have certain interesting
communications to make to Fraeulein Schommer. Will she kindly grant me
an audience of a few minutes?"
Eva looked up at him, confused and in doubt, but he suddenly dropped
his jesting tone and continued very gravely, "You owe the interview I
request both to me and to yourself. Pray add your entreaty, Hilda, to
mine."
Hilda smiled; she knew what Paul wished to say to Eva; he had briefly
informed her on their way to the garden, and she eagerly seconded his
request, and proposed that she herself should conduct Leo, Aline, and
Herwarth through one wing of the castle, while Delmar showed Eva
through the other, and that they should then all meet in the large
hall. As she made this proposal she exchanged a glance of secret
understanding with Paul.
Eva still hesitated, but Paul would take no refusal. He offered her his
arm and led her through the garden across the courtyard and up the
grand staircase to the wing in which were Leo's apartments. On the way
he pointed out to her everything of interest in the interior decoration
and architecture of the ancient pile, calling especial attention to the
massive antique furniture of some of the rooms. At any other time all
this would have been especially interesting to Eva, but to-day she
scarcely looked at all the rare antiquities, and even at last ventured
to interrupt the flow of Delmar's antiquarian enthusiasm, saying, "You
certainly had something else to say to me, Herr Delmar, when you asked
me for this _tete-a-tete_."
"You are right, Fraeulein Eva," Paul replied, hastening along the dim
corridor, at the end of which was Leo's studio. "I will no longer
excite your curiosity, since we have reached the room which I think the
most appropriate place in which to tell you what I have to say."
He opened the door of a room which Eva entered. "Have you any idea of
where we are?" Paul asked. The girl looked about her at the comfortable
arrangements of the room, and her glance suddenly fell upon the easel,
from which a face which she could not but recognize, regarded her with
a gentle smile. The tears rushed to her eyes,--she knew well where she
was, and with a burning blush she turned instantly to leave the room.
"You are unkind. I have not deserved this," she said, in a tone of soft
reproach, as she laid her hand upon the door-latch.
Delmar, however, prevented her from opening the door; he took her hand
and gently led her to the easel. "You must not, Fraeulein Eva," he said
earnestly, "at such a moment as this give any consideration to mere
conventionalities. This is a turning-point in your existence. Look at
this picture. You know who has painted it, and you know that Leo's hand
never could have executed so true a presentment of yourself if your
image did not fill his heart and soul,--if you were not present at all
moments to his mental vision. Far more convincingly than in words must
this picture tell you of his entire devotion to you, and it is for this
that I have brought you here."
"You are cruel!" was Eva's only reply. She had withdrawn her hand from
Paul's, but she no longer thought of fleeing from the room. With
sensations both of rapture and of pain she contemplated the picture.
Yes, Delmar was right. The hand that had executed so true, so lifelike
a resemblance must have been guided by the heart.
"I do not deserve your reproach," Delmar continued. "My only desire in
bringing you here is to make you happy; you must see for yourself the
truth of what I once told you of Leo. And now since there can be no
doubt in your mind of the intensity of his affection for you, I may
give you the letter which Herr von Bertram sends you through me."
He handed Eva Bertram's letter and watched her narrowly as she took it,
half in surprise and half in terror, and read its contents.
He hoped to see her lovely features illumined by joy at her release,
and gratitude to the messenger of freedom, but he was bitterly
disappointed. Eva's face, so far from beaming with joy, expressed only
profound sorrow, and a tear fell upon the paper as she read. When she
had finished, her hands dropped at her sides and she gazed at Delmar
with eyes filled with grief and regret.
"I thank you, Herr Delmar," she said gently. "I will preserve this
letter as my most precious treasure. Although every line is a reproach
to me for the weakness which at present prevents me from appreciating
the happiness it should bring me, in time I shall conquer this
weakness. I will read the noble words again and again, and they shall
strengthen me if I should ever falter in the path which duty clearly
points out for me to pursue. I will leave Tausens this evening. I dare
not see Herr von Heydeck again. I pray you conduct me immediately to
the inn; tell your friends how it grieves me to part from them, but
that I now know my duty and cannot act differently."
Paul's astonishment and dismay at Eva's words are hard to describe; he
had imagined all this so differently; he had anticipated with such
certainty her thanks to him for her release, and now---- "I cannot
understand you," he cried, in great agitation. "You wish to go to
Tausens,--to leave without seeing Leo again? What reasons under the sun
can you have for such a course? That letter releases you!"
"You are mistaken, Herr Delmar," Eva replied with dignity. "I am less
free now than ever before. I have to atone for grievous wrong done to
my betrothed." It was the first time that she had ever thus designated
Bertram. "He was a victim of the wretched mistrust of every one from
which my soul has so long suffered as from some disease. I believed
that he loved, not myself, but my wealth, and therefore I treated him
with cold severity,--yes, even with insulting harshness. I did not know
the nobility of his character. I have learned it from the lofty
self-renunciation of this letter. My eyes are at last opened. He has
already sacrificed his future to me, and now for my sake renounces his
last hope. To make me happy he gives me back my promise; but I will not
accept this sacrifice at his hands. I know my duty and will fulfil it!"
"Good God, what nonsense! This is sheer madness!" Delmar cried, almost
beside himself. "Is not that letter my----" He stopped short. He could
not possibly tell Eva how he had occupied himself with her affairs of
late, and that he had dictated Bertram's epistle in the hope of sparing
her feelings. What was to be done in view of Eva's inconceivable
resolve he could not see; he paced the room to and fro, racking his
brains for some way out of the dilemma which was of his own
fabrication.
"Herr Delmar, let me pray you to conduct me back to Tausens," Eva said,
at last.
"No, Fraeulein Eva; you must not leave the castle without seeing Leo.
You are mistaken about Bertram; you do not know your own heart. I will
not let you act so hastily."
"I know my duty, and nothing that you can say will hinder me from its
performance."
"Madness, sheer madness! my brain fairly reels at such insanity! What
is to be done with these conscientious people who, from a pure sense of
duty, sacrifice themselves and their dearest friends to confer
happiness upon blockheads and scoundrels? You know your duty! Do you
owe no duty then to yourself and to Leo, who loves you passionately and
will be unutterably wretched if you run after that scoundrel?"
"Herr Delmar! I will permit no such expressions with regard to my
betrothed, whose noble heart I have learned to know, alas, too late. If
you will not conduct me to Tausens I must find the way thither myself,
for I must not and will not see Herr von Heydeck again!"
Eva could not however fulfil this intention in spite of her firm
resolve to do so, for scarcely had she spoken when hasty steps were
heard in the corridor, the door opened, and Hilda entered with Leo,
Aline, and Herwarth, and followed also by Eva's servant, honest
Wilhelm, his sheepish face quite crimson with hurry and agitation.
"Forgive us, Eva dear, for coming for you so soon," said Hilda, "we
could not help it, for your servant was anxious to see you instantly;
he brings very extraordinary tidings from Tausens."
"Do not be frightened, my darling," Aline whispered, putting her arm
around her friend. "Be sure that whatever has happened, although it may
cause you momentary pain, will conduce to your happiness."
"But what has happened? Do not keep me in suspense, Aline!" Eva
exclaimed.
Aline beckoned to Wilhelm, who came forward and told, as well as he
could, all that Uncle Balthasar had commissioned him to say. The story
was confused enough; the fellow was so agitated and embarrassed that he
hardly knew what he was saying, but from his rambling tale his hearers
gathered that Herr von Bertram had run off with pretty Nanette, who had
stolen Aunt Minni's purse full of money out of her bureau, and that
Uncle Balthasar was afraid they had taken the ebony casket besides.
"Impossible!" Eva exclaimed indignantly; "the man who could write this
letter is incapable of such baseness. I appeal to you, Herr Delmar, to
vindicate Herr von Bertram."
"I could not if I would," said Delmar, whose good humour had been
entirely restored by Wilhelm's tale, and who had even laughed when
Wilhelm mentioned Uncle Balthasar's fears lest Bertram and Nanette
together had stolen the ebony casket.
"You must, Herr Delmar! You yourself brought me Bertram's letter, and
you know its contents."
"Only too well, and that is just why I cannot undertake the writer's
defence. But even I agree that we should not condemn the fugitives
without proof positive of their guilt. We must instantly return to the
village and learn the truth. You, Leo, will of course accompany us. My
darling," he whispered to Hilda, "you must come too,--we must all be
together to celebrate Number Three's betrothal."
"Did you succeed?" Hilda whispered.
"Not yet," Delmar replied, in as low a tone. "I have been a terrible
blockhead, but, fortunately, this Bertram is a worse rogue, and his
roguery will stand us in as good stead as my wisdom could have done."
Paul's proposal to go instantly to Tausens was of course put into
immediate execution. Naturally, on the way thither the lovers walked
together, and there was nothing for Eva to do but to accept Leo's
escort. She walked at his side in extreme confusion, not daring to lift
her eyes to his.
"Are you offended, Fraeulein Schommer?" Leo asked, after they had gone
on for some time in silence.
"What right have I to be offended?"
"You certainly have a right if you think that I permitted Paul to take
you to my room to show you the picture which you never should have
seen. I swear to you that I had not the faintest idea of my friend's
intention, or I should not have allowed him to fulfil it. He has
offended you, and me through you, in permitting you to see what was
utterly unworthy to be shown to any one, and I shall certainly take him
to task for so doing."
"I am not offended," Eva replied in a faltering voice.
"You must be, Fraeulein Eva! It must vex you that I should have dared,
without your permission, to paint your picture from memory, but I give
you my honour that Delmar saw it only by accident, that I never would
voluntarily have shown it to him, and that you never ought to have
known of its existence."
Eva did not reply, and the rest of the way to Tausens was passed in
perfect silence.
When the party arrived at the inn, they found the wildest confusion and
excitement prevailing there. The postmistress and Dr. Atzinger, with
the men and maids of the house and several peasants, were standing in a
group before the door talking eagerly. They parted and made way for the
newcomers to enter the inn.
"This is a most unfortunate day!" Dr. Atzinger whispered to Delmar,
detaining him as he would have passed him. "Dr. Putzer, who seemed so
wonderfully well this morning, is dead. He wished to rest after his
conversation with you, and when I went to his room half an hour
afterwards, I found him dead in his bed. I hastened hither to let you
know of it, and have just heard what has happened here. These are
strange occurrences!"
The intelligence of the doctor's death did not surprise Delmar,--he
could not pause now to reflect upon its suddenness. As briefly as
possible he instructed Dr. Atzinger to make arrangements for a suitable
funeral, and then hurried after his friends up the stairs to the hall
into which the various apartments for the guests opened.
Here they found Uncle Balthasar and Hansel pacing to and fro in eager
conversation, discussing the various discoveries that had been made in
Bertram's and Aunt Minni's apartments. From time to time Uncle
Balthasar stepped into his room, the door of which stood open, that he
might administer a few words of consolation to his wife, who lay
moaning on her sofa, returning shortly to continue his consultation
with the postmaster as to what had best be done,--a consultation in
which neither had arrived at any conclusion.
The good old man was awaiting his niece's arrival with the greatest
impatience, and from Herr Delmar, in whom he had implicit confidence,
he looked for instant advice. He had constantly assured his Minni that
Delmar would know exactly how to compel the waiting-maid to relinquish
her booty. His heart was lightened of its load when the party from the
castle made their appearance. "Thank God, my dear, that you are come!"
he exclaimed, cordially embracing his niece. "What to think of this
confounded affair I'm sure I can't tell!"
And Uncle Balthasar went on to tell as well as he could what there was
to be told; his good heart rebelled at the thought of the possibility
that his dear Guido had run off with a thief, but proof seemed too
strong for him; he had with difficulty prevented the postmaster from
sending a couple of men on horseback in pursuit of the fugitives; he
would not resort to so extreme a measure without consulting his niece
and Herr Delmar.
Neither, until this moment, had Eva believed in Bertram's guilt, but
now, when the postmaster showed her into Bertram's room where the floor
was strewed with linen and articles of clothing, and held up to her the
two gilt handles which she recognized as those belonging to her casket;
when he related to her and to all that he had found Bertram's door
locked, and had opened it with a master-key; that Nanette had driven
off in the carriage with Bertram; that he had helped him lift his
portmanteau into the vehicle, and had wondered at its weight; that the
box, if it were stolen, must have been packed into the portmanteau, or
it would have been seen,--all these revelations wellnigh destroyed
Eva's confidence.
And there was other ground for suspicion of the fugitives. Nanette had
been in Aunt Minni's room just before her departure, and Aunt Minni had
left the key in the drawer where she kept her purse. The purse was now
gone.
Uncle Balthasar had first suspected from the finding of the metal
handles in Bertram's room that the waiting-maid had stolen Eva's
casket; he could not believe in Bertram's guilt. What lover would steal
his betrothed's money and jewels! Still it was strange that the handles
should be found in Bertram's room where his clothes were scattered
about. Hansel besides maintained that the box could have left the inn
only in Bertram's portmanteau.
There was still however a doubt as to whether the ebony casket were
really gone. The door leading from the hall into Eva's room was locked,
and Hansel had found, upon trying to open it with his master-key, that
it was also bolted inside. He had tried to enter the room from
Bertram's apartment, but his key was constructed only for the doors
opening upon the hall, and they had not yet been able to inspect the
interior of Eva's room.
Neither Hansel nor Uncle Balthasar had thought of sending for the
locksmith to force the lock; this simple expedient was now suggested by
Delmar, and the village locksmith opened the door without difficulty.
The casket was missing, and there was no longer any room for doubt as
to who had stolen it; even Uncle Balthasar declared indignantly that
his dear Guido was neither more nor less than a common thief.
"Did the casket contain articles of value?" Delmar asked.
"All my jewels and my dear father's last gift to me, with a sum of
money, the amount of which I do not precisely know."
"But I can tell you, my pet, that it must have been four thousand
thalers, at least," said Uncle Balthasar.
"The scoundrel shall not escape with his booty!" Paul exclaimed. "Herr
Postmaster, have your two fleetest horses saddled. Leo, you and I will
pursue the rascal, and if we cannot catch him we'll send a telegram
after him."
The postmaster would have obeyed, but Eva prevented him. "You must not
think of any pursuit, Herr Delmar," she said pleadingly. "Even although
Herr von Bertram should be guilty, I would not for the world have him
apprehended as a thief. And I cannot believe in his guilt; his
letter----"
Paul laughed. "That magnificent letter again! There is nothing left for
me but to make a clean breast of my sins; only to you however, and to
my dear Hilda, from whom I have promised never to have a secret. Will
you come out on the balcony with Hilda and me and listen to me for a
few moments?"
With a blush Eva acquiesced. She put her hand within Hilda's arm and
went out upon the balcony. Delmar followed them, whispering to Kuno as
he passed him, "Pray be ready, my noble knight. As soon as I call bring
every one out upon the balcony. I make you responsible for Leo; bring
him, by fair means or foul, living or dead; only bring him."
"What are you about now?"
"Number Three! Some people must have happiness thrust upon them. Bring
me Leo!"
"You shall have him," Kuno smilingly assured him, in a low tone; and to
make sure, after a few whispered words to Aline, he took Leo's arm and
walked to and fro in the hall with him, consulting as to the best means
for the recovery of Fraeulein Eva's casket.
Meanwhile, Paul had joined Eva and Hilda upon the balcony. He had
promised to make a full confession of his sins, and he did so, telling
Eva with entire frankness how he had known for a long time of Bertram's
utter worthlessness. He did not conceal the fact that he had not
intended at first to open her eyes to the true character of her
betrothed, and that his determination to do so had been the result of
the more intimate acquaintance with her which had reversed his former
harsh judgment of her, and of the knowledge that Leo loved her and was
perhaps loved in return.
As frankly he explained to her that he had delayed unmasking Bertram
until Leo and herself should have had time to learn to know each other,
and until Leo's affection should have grown so intense as to break down
the stubborn pride that forbade his passion for the heiress. Paul
concluded by confessing that he had that very morning forced Bertram to
write the 'lofty-minded' letter, every word of which he had dictated
himself, and that he had thus driven the desperate man to shameless
robbery.
One fact however Delmar suppressed: he said no word of the sum he had
paid Bertram as the price of the letter. "My tale is ended," Paul
concluded, "and is, after all, only a continuation of our conversation
in Leo's room at the castle. You then said, in conclusion, 'I must not
and will not see Herr von Heydeck again.' Tell me frankly, Fraeulein
Eva, will you not reverse that decree?"
While Delmar spoke, Eva had listened with her mind and heart in an
uproar of conflicting emotions. She felt indignation and disgust at
Bertram's baseness, and she was covered with shame that she should ever
have had the slightest confidence in him or given him a right to claim
her hand. At the same time she was conscious of an ecstatic sense that
she was saved from infinite peril; that she was free from the
disgraceful fetters that had bound her, and that she might aspire to
the fulfilment of her wildest dreams of happiness. She looked
gratefully into Paul's eyes as he put this last question to her, and
said frankly and honestly, "Yes!"
For which Hilda threw her arms around her and embraced her tenderly,
while Paul called out, "All's well that ends well! Come all of
you,--Kuno, Leo, Uncle Balthasar!"----
And they came: Herwarth laughing as he conducted Leo, Uncle Balthasar
wondering where there was any cause for merriment, and Aline hastening
to embrace her friend.
"Come here, Fortune's favourite that you are!" Paul called out to the
astonished Leo. "By the right which I possess, as your elder and wiser
friend, and which I have won over the lovely Eva by former service, I
herewith place her dear hand in yours, and proclaim you the happy
Number Three!" Then turning to the rest he said, "Dear friends, I ask
your congratulations for the newly-betrothed pair, Eva Schommer and Leo
von Heydeck. May all the good the gods provide for happy lovers be
theirs!"
"Amen!" said Kuno; and Uncle Balthasar added his voice, although he did
not yet understand what it was all about.
Leo heard the words spoken, uncertain whether he were awake or
dreaming; he held Eva's hand in his,--she did not withdraw it, and when
he looked into her blushing face her eyes met his own. A happy smile
was upon her lips. She certainly did not resent Delmar's words, however
surprised she might be. He pressed her hand, and felt a gentle pressure
in return.
Was Paul jesting? Leo asked himself. In Eva's beaming eyes he read what
destroyed in an instant the foolish prejudice that had separated him
from his love. He forgot the pride that would have held him aloof from
her; he forgot the miserable words 'too rich!' Love conquered; he bent
above Eva, and said in low intense tones, "You do not repulse me? You
are then my own forever?"
And as he heard her whispered 'yes' he forgot everything but his great
happiness, and imprinted his first kiss upon her lips.