On the appointed day the Duke, with the Duchess and a numerous suite,
arrived at Furstenstein, and the life full of splendor which had been
led in former times began again in the wide, beautiful hunting grounds
of the Wald.
The present sovereign was no ardent huntsman, and the hunting lodge of
his ancestors had stood deserted for years, or was occupied only at
long intervals for a brief visit. Now, when a prolonged stay was
anticipated, the spacious castle scarce afforded room enough for the
guests; a part of them were quartered in neighboring Waldhofen, which
made the little town, as well as the entire vicinity, very festive in
joyful excitement.
The owners of the neighboring castles and villas, who, like Prince
Adelsberg, belonged to the best families of the land, were induced by
the arrival of the Court to take up their fall quarters there, too.
Nearly everybody had brought numerous guests, and so an unusual life
and bustle developed in the silent Wald, the centre of which activity
being, of course, Furstenstein.
The castle shone to-night in fullest splendor; every window of the
upper floor was lighted, and in the court torches threw their red light
upon the walls and towers gray with age.
It was the occasion of the first large fete since the arrival of the
princely family, to which were asked all the nobility of the
neighborhood, the higher officials of the district, and, in short,
everybody who had any claim upon their sovereign's notice.
The castle, which was built in a grand style, contained a number of
gorgeous rooms of state, which, with their old-fashioned but costly
furnishings, and the brilliant company moving through them, afforded a
decidedly splendid spectacle.
The young wife of the Prussian Ambassador was a new star among the
ladies present. Mourning for her father, who had died shortly after her
marriage, had kept her from all festivities, and she entered to-day for
the first time this brilliant circle, where the position of her husband
assured her a prominent place, and where she was being treated by the
Duke and Duchess with noticeable distinction.
The rising of this new star was noticed by the ladies, of course, with
some displeasure. They found Frau von Wallmoden very haughty in her
cool composure, and that she had very little occasion for such bearing;
for, of course, they all knew that she was a born burgher, who did not
properly belong in this circle, even if her father's wealth and his
prominent position with the industries of the country gave her a
certain distinction. Nevertheless, she moved upon the foreign soil with
a strange ease--the husband must have schooled her well for this first
appearance.
The gentlemen were of a different opinion. They found that His
Excellency the Ambassador had proved his talent most strikingly in his
own cause. He who already stood upon the border of old age had
understood how to gain, with the hand of this young, beautiful wife, a
fortune extensive enough in itself, but magnified by rumor into the
immeasurable. For this he was envied on all sides.
Wallmoden did not seem at all surprised at the impression which the
beauty and stateliness of his wife too apparently caused, but accepted
it as something natural. He had expected nothing else; the contrary
would have surprised him in the highest degree.
At present he was standing in a window recess with his brother-in-law,
the Chief Forester, and after exchanging a few indifferent remarks
about the fete and the guests, he asked casually: "What sort of person
is that whom Prince Adelsberg has introduced? Do you know him?"
"You mean the young Roumanian?" said Schonan. "No; I see him to-day for
the first time, but have heard of him before. He is the bosom friend of
the Prince, whom he accompanied upon his Eastern travels, and a young
man handsome as a picture--his eyes positively sparkle with fire."
"He impresses me as an adventurer," remarked Wallmoden coldly. "How
does he happen to have an invitation? Has he been presented to the
Duke?"
"Yes, at Rodeck, if I am not mistaken; the Duke was there recently.
Prince Adelsberg loves to throw etiquette aside as much as possible.
But this invitation to-day signifies no acceptance, since everybody has
been asked."
The Ambassador shrugged his shoulders.
"Nevertheless, one should hesitate about bringing such elements near
one before they come well recommended."
"Everything must be certified to with letter and seal with you
diplomats," laughed the Chief. "This Rojanow has certainly something
aristocratic about him, and one is never so strict, anyway, with a
foreigner. I can well understand that our sovereigns like to hear and
see something different from the usual court circle, which presents the
same old tiresome face from year to year. The Duke appears to be quite
captivated already with the Roumanian."
"Yes, it seems so," muttered Wallmoden, upon whose brow a cloud
gathered.
"But why should this concern us?" remarked Schonan. "I will go now and
look for Toni, who has to appear now everywhere without her betrothed.
That was another notion of Regine's. She departed from us with her son
like a skyrocket. Your sister cannot be detained as soon as the beloved
Burgsdorf is brought into question. If she had only left Willy with us!
Everybody wonders that my future son-in-law should take his departure
before the fete. I cannot understand it at all."
"A stroke of good fortune that they are gone," thought Wallmoden, as
his brother-in-law left him. "If Willibald had met his former friend
and playmate here unexpectedly another scene similar to that upon the
Hochberg might have occurred. But who would have thought that Hartmut
would carry his defiance so far as to appear in a circle where he was
sure to meet the Ambassador?"
Prince Adelsberg, who held in this circle one of the highest positions
through his name and relationship to the reigning house, had, indeed,
succeeded with the presentation of his friend, and the Duke seemed to
have had a very favorable opinion of him from the first meeting at
Rodeck, for he now himself presented this young stranger to the
Duchess.
This Rojanow, with the captivating charm of his personality and the
foreign air which surrounded him, was, indeed, an extraordinary person,
who had only to appear to cause general observation.
To-day he displayed lavishly all the brilliant attributes which were at
his command. His conversation sparkled with life and spirit, his fiery
temperament, which betrayed itself involuntarily, gave to everything he
said and did a peculiar charm, while he proved himself in every respect
master of society forms and customs. In short, the prophecy of the
Prince was fulfilled.
Hartmut knew how to conquer everybody here by storm, and had hardly put
his foot upon the soil when he reigned there by the power of his
magnetism.
This could not pass unnoticed by the Ambassador, even if he did not
come into direct contact with the Roumanian. It was not difficult to
evade each other in the throng of guests, and a meeting was not desired
on either side.
Wallmoden walked through a side room, where the Duke's sister, the
Princess Sophie, had gathered a large circle around her.
The Princess, who had married the younger son of a princely house, had
very early become a widow, and had lived since then at the court of her
brother, where she was not in the least popular. While the Duchess
charmed everybody who came into her presence by her grace and kindness,
the older sister was considered haughty and _intriguante_. Everybody
stood in fear of the lady's sharp tongue, which had a habit of saying
something disagreeable to each and every one.
Herr von Wallmoden did not escape this fate. He was graciously beckoned
to and received flatteries on the beauty of his wife, which was not to
be denied.
"I offer you my congratulations, Your Excellency. I was quite surprised
when your young wife was presented to me, for I had naturally expected
to see an elderly lady."
The "naturally" sounded very malicious, for Princess Sophie had known
for months that the wife of the Prussian Ambassador was only nineteen
years old, but he smiled in the most amiable way as he replied: "Your
Highness is very gracious. I can only be grateful that my wife has had
the good fortune to make a favorable impression upon you."
"Oh, you cannot doubt it. The Duke and Duchess are quite of my opinion.
Frau von Wallmoden is really a beauty--Prince Adelsberg seems to think
so, too. Perhaps you have not observed as yet how very much he admires
your wife?"
"Yes, Your Highness, I have observed it."
"Really? And what do you say to it?"
"I?" inquired Wallmoden with perfect tranquillity. "It rests solely
with my wife as to whether she will permit the admiration of the
Prince. If she finds pleasure in it---- I do not give her any rules in
this respect."
"An enviable confidence which our young gentlemen ought to pattern
after," said the Princess, vexed that the arrow had missed its aim. "It
is surely very agreeable to a young wife if the husband is not jealous.
Ah, there is Frau von Wallmoden herself, with her cavalier, of course,
at her side. My dear Baroness, we were just speaking of you."