Dr. Fabian and Fraeulein Margaret Frank sat in the steward's parlour
with an open book before them. The French studies had really begun;
but, as the master showed himself earnest and conscientious, so, in
proportion, did the pupil prove volatile and unreliable. On the
occasion of the first lesson, which had been given some days
previously, she had amused herself by putting all sorts of questions to
the Doctor, questions as to his past life, his former tutorship to Herr
Nordeck, the doings at Altenhof, and other kindred subjects. Today she
insisted upon knowing what he really was studying, and drove the
unfortunate scholar, who would on no account own to his 'History of
Teutonism,' hopelessly into a corner with her persistent inquiries.
"Had we not better begin to read, Fraeulein?" said he, beseechingly. "At
this rate we shall get nothing done today. You are speaking German all
the time."
"Oh, who can think of French now!" cried Gretchen, impatiently turning
over the leaves. "My head is full of other things. Life at Wilicza is
so exciting."
"Is it? I should not have thought so," said the Doctor, patiently going
back through the pages to find the place at which they left off.
The young lady scrutinised him with the gaze of an inquisitor. "No,
Doctor? Yet you are at the best source for knowing all that has been
going on at the Castle--you, Herr Nordeck's friend and confidant!
Something has happened, that is certain, for there is a perfect
whirlwind abroad now since the young master went. Messengers are flying
continually between Wilicza and Rakowicz. First, Count Morynski comes
here, then Prince Baratowski rushes over there; and when one catches a
glimpse of our sovereign lady the Princess's awe-inspiring mien, she
looks as though the world were coming to an end without further notice.
And then, what are all these doings in the park of an evening, which
the inspector has been telling me of? They are busy bringing things, or
carrying things away. Your windows look out just on that side."
She was speaking German persistently, and the Doctor was so far led
away as to answer her in that language.
"I know nothing of it, absolutely nothing," he asserted, fidgetting
uneasily on his chair.
"That is exactly what papa says when I ask him," pouted Gretchen. "I
can't understand my father at all in this business. He snubbed the
inspector when he came in with the news, and gave him explicit orders
not to concern himself with the park any further--'Herr Nordeck did not
wish it.' Papa cannot possibly be in the plot; but I must say it looks
very like it. Don't you think so?"
"But, Fraeulein, the object of my coming here will not be attained, if
your thoughts are so taken up with such things as these. I have been
here half an hour, and we have only read a page. Let us go on, pray,"
entreated the Doctor.
He pushed the book before her for the sixth time at least. She took it
at last with an air of resignation.
"Well, never mind. I see I am not to be let into the secrets; but
I shall very well find them out by myself. I can keep silence
too--implicit silence, I assure you!" Thereupon she began to read a
French poem with every appearance of great vexation, and with so
purposely false an emphasis that her teacher was driven to the verge of
distraction.
Before she had got through the second strophe, a carriage rattled into
the courtyard. It was empty; but the coachman seemed to feel himself
quite at home, for he at once set about unharnessing the horses. Next
minute one of the maids came in with the announcement that Herr Hubert
would shortly do himself the pleasure of calling at the manor-farm--he
had stayed down in the village, where he had business with the mayor,
and sent on his carriage with an inquiry as to whether he might once
again trespass on Herr Frank's hospitality.
There was nothing remarkable in this. Taking advantage of the friendly
footing on which he stood with the Frank family, the Assessor was wont
to pass the night under their roof whenever his official duties brought
him into the neighbourhood of Wilicza, and he took care that this
should happen pretty often. The steward was absent, it is true. He had
driven out on a long excursion into the country, but was expected home
in the evening; so his daughter gave orders that the carriage and
coachman should be accommodated, and sent the maid to see that all was
in readiness in the spare room.
"If the Assessor comes, there's an end to our reading," said Gretchen
to the Doctor, rather petulantly; "but he shall not stay to disturb us
long. Before five minutes are over, I shall let a hint drop of the
secret goings-on in the park. He will be sure to hurry over there at
once, and go hiding behind some tree to watch--and we shall be quit of
him."
"For Heaven's sake, do no such thing!" cried Fabian, in a tone of great
alarm; "do not send him over there! On the contrary, try and keep him
away, at any cost."
Gretchen gave a start. "Oh, Doctor, I thought you knew nothing,
absolutely nothing! What puts you in such a fright all in a moment?"
The Doctor sat with downcast eyes like a detected criminal, and sought
in vain for a loophole through which to escape. At length he looked up
frankly at the young girl--
"I am a man of peace, Fraeulein, and never intrude on the secrets of
others," said he. "I do not, in truth, know what is going on at the
Castle, but that something is astir there I have been forced to remark
during the last few days. Herr Nordeck has only given me some hints of
the matter; but there can be no doubt that danger is involved in it."
"Well, it involves no danger to us," remarked Gretchen, with great
equanimity. "What if the Assessor does spring a mine under their feet?
Herr Nordeck is away, so he can't seize him; besides, he will take good
care not to meddle with your friend again, after that story of the
arrest. You are beyond suspicion; and as to the Princess and Prince
Leo ..."
"They are Waldemar's mother and brother," interposed the Doctor,
greatly agitated. "Do you not see that any blow directed against them
must strike him as well? He is the master of the Castle. He will be
held responsible for all that takes place in it."
"And quite right too," cried Gretchen, growing warm. "Why does he start
off on a journey and leave the door open to all their plots and
intrigues? Why does he aid and abet his relations?"
"He does not," asseverated Fabian; "on the contrary, he opposes their
proceedings in the most decided manner. His journey has no other
object---- But pray do not force me to speak of things which I ought
not to disclose, I am afraid, even to you. This I do know, that
Waldemar is most anxious to spare his mother and brother in every way.
On leaving, he made me promise to see and hear nothing of what was
passing at the Castle, and he has given your father similar
instructions. I heard him say to Herr Frank, 'I shall hold you
responsible for the Princess's remaining unmolested in the mean time. I
take all upon myself.' But now he is away, Herr Frank is away, and an
unlucky accident brings this Assessor Hubert over just at this time--a
man who has set his heart on making discoveries, and who will make some
if he is not hindered. I really don't know what to do!"
"This comes of concealing things from _me_," said Gretchen, reprovingly.
"If _I_ had been taken into your counsels, I should have quarrelled
with the Assessor just at the right moment, and then he would not have
come over again at present. Now I must reflect."
"Yes, do please," begged the Doctor. "You have great influence with the
Assessor. Keep him away; he must not go within a certain distance of
the Castle today."
Fraeulein Margaret shook her head thoughtfully. "You don't know Hubert.
No one will be able to keep him away, if once he gets scent of the
truth; and get scent of it he will if he remains at Wilicza, for he
questions the inspector regularly each time he comes. He certainly
cannot stay here---- I know a way. I will let him make me an offer--he
begins whenever he sees me; but I never let him go on--and then I will
send him about his business. He will be in such a rage that he will
rush off back to L---- as fast as his horse can take him."
"No, I cannot allow that on any account," protested the Doctor. "Come
what may, your happiness must not be sacrificed."
"Do you imagine that my happiness depends on Herr Assessor Hubert?"
asked Gretchen, with a contemptuous curl of the lip.
Fabian imagined it, certainly. He knew from Hubert's own mouth that
that gentleman 'felt sure he could count on her consent,' but a very
natural shyness withheld him from touching further on this delicate
theme.
"One should never trifle with these things," said he, reproachfully.
"The Assessor would learn the true state of the case sooner or later,
and it would wound him deeply, perhaps alienate him for ever. No, that
shall never be."
Gretchen looked rather disconcerted. She did not understand how any one
could view the matter in so serious a light, and cared nothing at all
about alienating the Assessor for ever--but the reproach stung her
conscience, nevertheless.
"Well, there is nothing for it then but to lead him away from the right
track, and set him on a false one," she declared when she had
deliberated awhile. "But, Doctor, do you know we are taking a heavy
responsibility on ourselves! Everybody is conspiring here at Wilicza,
so I don't see why we two should not conspire in our turn; but,
strictly speaking, we shall be plotting against our own Government, if
we prevent its representative from doing his duty."
"The Assessor is not commissioned to do this," cried the Doctor, who
had suddenly risen to a pitch of heroism. "He is only following out his
own ambitious designs in coming searching about this place. Fraeulein, I
give you my word that all these secret intrigues have had their day. A
stop is now to be put to them once for all. I have it from Waldemar's
own lips, and he is a man who keeps his word. We shall be doing our
countrymen no wrong by trying to prevent a most useless catastrophe,
which would be brought about by the over-zealous efforts of an official
enjoying, perhaps, not too great favour even at L----."
"Very well, we will have our plot then," said Gretchen, resolutely.
"The Assessor must go, and that before a quarter of an hour is over, or
he will be off as usual, on the hunt for conspirators. There he is
coming across the courtyard. Leave all to me, only agree with
everything I say. Now we will get the book out again."
Assessor Hubert, coming in a few minutes later, overheard the third
strophe of the French poem, and was much pleased to find that Dr.
Fabian had kept his word, and that the consort-elect of the future
Counsellor was practising those higher accomplishments which would be
indispensable to her position. He greeted the pair politely, inquired
for his excellent friend the steward, and then took the seat offered
him and began to relate the latest news from L----.
"Your old pupil had prepared a great surprise for us the other day,"
said he to Fabian, affably. "Did you hear that Herr Nordeck, as he
passed through our town, drove to the President's house, and made him
what appeared to be quite an official visit?"
"Yes, I did hear it spoken of," replied the Doctor.
"His Excellency was much gratified. To be candid, all hopes of any
overtures from that quarter had been given up. Herr Nordeck made
himself very agreeable, I believe. He even solicited from the President
a promise to be present at the next hunt held at Wilicza, and alluded
to some other invitations which will excite no less surprise."
"Did the President accept?" inquired Gretchen.
"Assuredly. His Excellency is of opinion that Heir Nordeck's
proceedings on this occasion almost amounted to a demonstration, and he
felt it his duty to give him his support. Really, Doctor, you would
greatly oblige us if you would give us a key to your friend's true
position with regard to ..."
"You will learn nothing from Dr. Fabian. He is closer than the young
master himself," put in Gretchen, who felt bound to go to her
accomplice's aid, for she saw at a glance that he was ill at ease in
his new role. He was, indeed, almost crushed by the consciousness of
guilt--not even the pureness of his intentions could reconcile him to
the thought that the Assessor was to be cheated, and that he was
helping to cheat him. Fraeulein Margaret, however, took the matter much
more lightly. She went straight to her aim.
"Shall we have your company at supper, Herr Assessor?" she asked in an
easy tone. "You have business over at Janowo, no doubt."
"Not that I know of. Why there in particular?" replied Hubert.
"Well, I only thought--we have heard so many queer things of late,
especially within the last few days--I thought you had perhaps been
appointed to investigate matters out yonder."
The Assessor became attentive. "What is it you have heard? Pray,
Fraeulein, conceal nothing from me. Janowo is one of the places we have
constantly to keep an eye upon. What do you know of it?"
The Doctor gave his chair a little imperceptible push farther off. He
appeared to himself the blackest of traitors. Gretchen, on the other
hand, showed a really alarming talent for intrigue. She related
nothing, but she allowed herself to be questioned and cross-questioned,
reporting by degrees and with the most innocent face in the world all
that had been noticed during the last few days, with this difference
alone that she transferred the scene of action to Janowo, the great
neighbouring estate which lay on the confines of Wilicza. Her plan
succeeded beyond all expectation. The Assessor took the bait as eagerly
as could be wished. He fairly hung on the girl's lips, working himself
into a state of feverish excitement, and finally sprang up from his
seat.
"Excuse me if I do not wait for Herr Frank's return, Fraeulein Margaret.
I must go back as far as E---- at once, without delay ..."
"But not on foot. It is quite a mile and a half there."
"Above all no _eclat_, I entreat you!" whispered Hubert, mysteriously.
"I will leave my carriage behind. It is better I should be supposed to
be here. Pray do not expect me to supper. Good-bye, Fraeulein," and with
a short and hasty salutation, he hurried out and immediately afterwards
re-crossed the courtyard.
"Now he is off to E---- to fetch the two gendarmes stationed there,"
said Gretchen to the Doctor, triumphantly; "then he will rush straight
over to Janowo, and all three of them will go prowling about the place
until far on into the night. Wilicza is safe from them."
She was not mistaken in her suppositions. It was late at night when the
Assessor returned from his expedition, which had, as she had guessed,
been undertaken in the company of the two gendarmes, and had, naturally
enough, been productive of no result. He was much out of temper and
very depressed, to say nothing of a violent cold which he had caught by
the unaccustomed exposure to the night air. Next day he was so unwell
that even Gretchen was roused to a sense of humanity. In a fit of
repentance she made tea for him, and nursed him with such care that
Hubert forgot all the discomfort he had endured. Unfortunately this
behaviour on her part confirmed him in his conviction--unalterable from
this time forth--that he was beloved beyond all telling. Dr. Fabian,
too, came over in the course of the day to see how the patient was
progressing, and showed so much anxious sympathy, such deep regret at
his indisposition, that the Assessor was touched and completely
comforted. He little knew that he owed all this attention to the
remorse of the two confederates in league against him. So he set out at
last, burdened with his cold, but with spirits much revived, on his way
back to L----.
If on that evening the Wilicza park and its environs still remained
free from all inopportune vigilance, the dwellers at the Castle had
naturally no notion to whom their thanks for such immunity were due.
About the time that Dr. Fabian and Fraeulein Margaret were engaged in
concocting their plot, a family meeting had taken place in the Princess
Baratowska's apartments. Count Morynski and Leo were equipped for
travelling; their cloaks lay in the ante-room, and the carriage, which
half an hour before had brought the Count and his daughter over, still
stood in the courtyard, ready to start again. Leo and Wanda had
withdrawn into the deep recess of the centre window, and were talking
eagerly, but in a low voice, while the Princess was also carrying on a
conversation in an undertone with her brother.
"In the present state of affairs I look upon it as fortunate that
circumstances require your hasty departure," she said. "On Leo's
account it is desirable, for he would never endure to stay on at
Wilicza, if Waldemar begins to play the master. He is not capable of
controlling himself. I saw by the way in which he received my
disclosures that I should certainly be provoking a catastrophe, if I
were to insist on his remaining longer with his brother. As it is, they
will not meet for the present, and that is best."
"And you yourself will really be able to hold out here, Hedwiga?" asked
the Count.
"I must," she answered. "It is all I can do for you now. I have yielded
to the reasoning by which you describe open war with Waldemar as
useless and full of peril. We have given up Wilicza as our centre of
operations--for the time being, that is; but for you and Leo it is
still the place where messages can be sent, and whence news can be
transmitted to you in return. So much liberty, at least, I shall be
able to maintain. At the worst the Castle will still be your refuge,
should you be obliged to re-cross the frontier. Peace will not be
disturbed on this side, at all events for some time to come. When do
you think of going over?"
"Probably to-night. We shall wait at the last forester's station to
find out how and where it will be possible to cross. This evening the
last transport of arms will be sent after us; it will be left
provisionally in the forester's charge. I consider this precaution to
be urgently necessary. Who knows whether your son may not take it into
his head to search through the whole Castle on his return the day after
to-morrow?"
"He will find it clear"--the Princess clenched her hand in repressed
rage, and her lips twitched strangely--"clear as he commanded it should
be; but I swear to you, Bronislaus, he shall pay for that command and
for his tyranny towards us. I hold the means of retaliation and a
bridle wherewith to hold him in check, should he attempt to go still
greater lengths."
"You hinted something of the sort before," said the Count; "but I
really do not understand by what means you still hope to tame such a
nature. Judging by Wanda's description of the scene between you and
Waldemar, I place no faith in the power of any bridle to restrain him."
The Princess said nothing; she evidently had no wish to answer him, and
was freed from the necessity of so doing by the two young people at
that moment leaving the window recess and coming up to them.
"It is impossible to make Wanda change her mind," said Leo to his
mother. "She decidedly refuses to come to Wilicza--she will not leave
Rakowicz."
The Princess turned to her niece with an expression of great severity.
"This is folly, Wanda. It has been arranged for months that you should
come to me when your father's long-foreseen absence should occur. You
cannot, ought not to stay at Rakowicz alone. I am your natural
protector, and you will put yourself under my charge."
"Excuse me, dear aunt, I shall do nothing of the sort," replied the
young Countess. "I will not be the guest of a house whose master
conducts himself towards us in this hostile spirit. I can bear it no
better than Leo."
"Do you think it will be easy for your aunt to hold her ground here?"
asked the Count, reproachfully. "She makes the sacrifice for us,
because she wishes to keep Wilicza open as a refuge for us in case of
need, because it must not permanently be given up, and were she to go,
it would be lost to us for ever. I may well ask for equal self-denial
from you."
"But why is my presence here so necessary, so indispensable?" cried
Wanda, hardly attempting now to control her vehemence. "The
considerations which weigh with my aunt do not exist for me. Let me
stay at home, papa."
"Give way, Wanda," entreated Leo; "stay with my mother. Wilicza lies so
much nearer the frontier, we can keep up some communication far more
easily. Perhaps I may make it possible to see you once. Certainly I
hate Waldemar as bitterly as you do, now that he has openly declared
himself our enemy; but, for my sake, put a constraint on yourself and
endure him."
He had seized her hand. Wanda drew it away almost violently. "Let me
be, Leo; if you knew _why_ your mother wishes to have me with her, you
would be the first to oppose it."
The Princess knitted her brow, and quickly interfering to cut short her
niece's speech, she said, turning to the Count--
"Show your authority as her father at last, Bronislaus, and command her
to remain. She must stay at Wilicza."
The young Countess started angrily at these words, which were spoken
with great harshness. Her exasperation drove her beyond bounds.
"Well, then, if you compel me to speak out, my father and Leo shall hear
my reason. I did not at the time understand the ambiguous words you
spoke to me a little while ago, but now I know their meaning. You think
I am the only person Waldemar will not offer up, the only one who can
restrain his hand. I do not think so, for I know him better than you;
but no matter which of us is right--I will not put it to the test."
"And I would never, never endure that such an experiment should be
made," blazed out Leo. "If that was the motive, Wanda shall remain at
Rakowicz, and never set foot in Wilicza. I believed that Waldemar's old
attachment had long ago died out and was forgotten. If it is not
so--and it cannot be, or the plan would never have been imagined--I
will not leave you near him for a day."
"Make your mind easy," said Wanda, her own voice, however, sounding
anything but tranquil; "I shall not again allow myself to be used as a
mere tool, as I was in the old days at C----. I have played with this
man and with his love once, but I will not do it a second time. He has
let me feel his contempt, and I know the weight of it; yet there was
nothing worse then to arouse his scorn than the caprice of a
thoughtless child. If he were to discover a scheme, a calculation, and
I were one day to read that in his eyes--I would rather die than bear
it!"
She had allowed herself to be so carried away by her vehemence that she
forgot all those around her. Erect, with glowing cheeks and flashing
eyes, she delivered this protest with such passionate intensity of
feeling that the Count gazed at her in astonishment, and the Princess
in consternation; but Leo, who had been standing by her side, drew back
from her. He had turned very pale, and in his eyes, as he fixed them on
her steadily, enquiringly, there was more than astonishment or
consternation.
"Rather die!" he repeated. "Do you set such store by Waldemar's esteem?
Do you know so well how to read in his eyes? That is strange."
A hot flush overspread Wanda's face. She must herself have been
unconscious of this, for she cast a look of unfeigned indignation at
the young Prince, and would have answered him, but her father
interfered.
"Let us have no jealous scenes now, Leo," he said gravely. "Do you wish
to disturb our parting, and to offend Wanda just when you are about to
leave her? As you now insist upon it, she shall remain at Rakowicz. My
sister will yield to you on this point, but do not again wound Wanda by
any such suspicions. Time presses, we must say farewell."
He drew his daughter to him, and now in the moment of separation all
the tenderness which this grave, melancholy man cherished in his heart
towards his only child, broke forth. He clasped her to him with
profound and painful emotion. But the Princess waited in vain for her
son to approach her. He stood with a dark frown on his overcast face,
looking down at the ground, and biting his lips until they bled.
"Well, Leo," remonstrated his mother, at last, "will you not say
good-bye to me?"
The words startled him from his brooding. "Not now, mother. I will
follow my uncle later. He will not want me at first; I shall stay here
a few days longer."
"Leo!" cried the Count angrily, while Wanda, raising herself from his
arms, looked up in indignant surprise. These marks of reprobation only
served, however, to harden the young Prince in his rebellion.
"I shall stay," he persisted. "Two or three days cannot possibly make
any difference. I will take Wanda back to Rakowicz before I leave, and
make myself sure that she will remain there; above all, I will wait for
Waldemar's return, and have the matter cleared up in the shortest way.
I will challenge him with his feelings towards my affianced wife. I
will ..."
"Prince Leo Baratowski will do what duty bids him, and nothing else,"
interrupted the Princess, her cold clear voice ringing out in sharpest
contrast to her son's wild agitated tones. "He will follow his uncle,
as has been agreed, and will never stir one minute from his side."
"I cannot," cried Leo, impetuously. "I cannot leave with this suspicion
at my heart. You have promised me Wanda's hand, and yet I have never
been able to assert my right to it. She herself has always sided coldly
and inexorably with you. She has always wished to be the prize which I
must fight for and win in the struggle we are now entering on. But now
I demand that she shall be publicly and solemnly betrothed to me
beforehand, here in Waldemar's presence, before his eyes. Then I will
go; but until this is done, I will not stir from the Castle. Waldemar
has proclaimed himself master and lawgiver here in such a surprising
manner--no one ever expected it of him--he may just as suddenly
transform himself into an ardent adorer."
"No, Leo," said Wanda, with angry disdain; "but at the beginning of a
struggle your brother would not refuse to follow where duty leads, even
though it should cost him his love and his happiness."
They were the most unfortunate words she could have spoken; they robbed
the young Prince of all self-control. He laughed out bitterly.
"Oh, _his_ risk would be small; but it might easily cost _me_ both if I
were to go away and leave you to your unbounded admiration of him and
his sense of duty. Uncle, I ask permission to put off my journey, only
for three days, and if you refuse me, I shall take it. I know that
nothing decisive will be done at the first, and I shall be there in
time enough for all the preparatory movements."
The Princess would have interposed, but the Count held her back. He
stepped up to his nephew with an air of authority.
"That is for me to decide, and not for you. Our departure has been
fixed for today. I consider it necessary, and with that all is said. If
I have to submit each of my orders to your approval, or to make them
subservient to your jealous caprices, it will be better that you should
not go with me at all. I exact from you the obedience you have sworn to
your leader. You will either follow me this very hour or, take my word
for it, I will exclude you from every post where I have power to
command. You have the choice."
"He will follow you, Bronislaus," said the Princess, with sombre
earnest. "He will follow you, or he will cease to be my son. Decide,
Leo. Your uncle will keep his word."
Leo stood battling with himself. His uncle's words, his mother's
imperious looks, would probably have remained powerless in presence of
his jealousy, now so violently aroused; but he saw that Wanda shrank
from him. He knew that by staying he should incur her contempt, and
that thought turned the scale. He rushed to her, and took her hand.
"I will go," he gasped; "but promise me that you will avoid Wilicza
during my absence, and only see my mother at Rakowicz--above all, that
you will keep at a distance from Waldemar."
"I should have done that without any promise," replied Wanda, more
gently. "You forget that it was my refusal to remain at Wilicza which
led to this outburst of most groundless jealousy on your part."
Leo drew a breath of relief at the thought. Yes, it was true. She had
refused, peremptorily refused to remain under the same roof with his
brother.
"You should have spoken more convincingly," he said, in a calmer tone.
"Perhaps I may one day apologise for having wounded you--I cannot now,
Wanda"--he pressed her hand convulsively in his. "I do not believe you
could ever be guilty of such treason to me, to us all, as to love this
Waldemar, our foe, our oppressor; but you ought not to feel any of this
esteem, this admiration for him. It is bad enough that he should love
you, and that I should know you to be within his reach."
"You will have some trouble with that hot-headed boy," said the
Princess to her brother in a low voice. "He cannot comprehend the word
'discipline.'"
"He will learn it," replied the Count with quiet firmness; "and now
good-bye, Hedwiga. We must be gone."
The leave-taking was short and less hearty than it would have been
under other circumstances. The dissonance of feeling called forth by
the foregoing scene prevailed to the last. Wanda suffered Leo to take
her in his arms in silence; but she did not return his embrace, though
she threw herself once again with passionate tenderness on her father's
breast. The same jarring note disturbed the adieux of mother and son.
The Princess whispered a remonstrance, a warning so grave and earnest
that Leo withdrew himself from her arms more hastily than was his wont.
Then the Count once more held out his hand to his sister, and went,
accompanied by his nephew. They put on their cloaks outside in the
ante-room; and going down, entered the carriage which was waiting for
them below. One more wave of the hand to the windows above, then the
horses moved on, and soon the roll of the carriage wheels was lost in
the distance.
The two ladies were left alone. Wanda had thrown herself on the sofa,
and hidden her face in her hands. The Princess still stood at the
window, and looked long after the carriage which was bearing her
darling away to the strife and to danger. When at length she turned
round and came back into the room, traces might be seen even in her
proud face of what the parting had cost her--only by an effort could
she maintain her accustomed outward calm.
"It was unpardonable of you, Wanda, to arouse Leo's jealousy at such a
moment in order to carry your point," said she, with bitter reproach.
"You ought to be sufficiently aware of this weakness of his."
The young Countess raised her head. Her cheeks were wet with recent
tears.
"You yourself compelled me to do it, aunt. I had no other resource;
besides, I could not divine that Leo would turn upon me in his jealous
anger, that he would insult me by such a suspicion."
The Princess stood before her, looking down scrutinisingly into her
face.
"Was the suspicion really an insulting one? Well, I hope so."
"What do you mean?" cried Wanda, startled.
"My dear," replied the Princess, in an icy tone, "you know that I have
never taken Leo's part when he has tormented you with his jealousy;
to-day I do feel he has cause for anxiety, though to him I would not
admit it, not wishing to excite him further. The tone in which you
delivered that 'rather would I die!' made my blood boil within me, and
your dread of Waldemar's contempt was very significant, so significant
that I now willingly give up all idea of keeping you at Wilicza. When I
conceived the plan, I thought I could be absolutely sure of you; now I
really could not be responsible for the issue to Leo, and I perfectly
agree with you that--it would not do to put it to the test."
Wanda had risen. Pale as death, mute with dismay, she stared at the
speaker, feeling as though an abyss were yawning open at her feet.
Giddy with the sudden shock, she leaned for support against the sofa.
The Princess kept her eyes steadily fixed on her niece's face. "I know
you do not suspect it yourself, and that is why I give you this hint.
Sleep-walkers should be roused before they reach a perilous height. If
the awakening comes too suddenly, a fall is inevitable. You have
ever set energy, an iron will, above all else in your estimate of a
man--that alone has constrained you to admiration. I know that, in
spite of his many brilliant advantages, this one quality Leo unhappily
does not possess, and I will no longer deny that Waldemar has it; so
beware of yourself with your--hatred of him, which might one day reveal
itself in a new light. I open your eyes now while it is yet time, and I
think you will be grateful to me for it."
"Yes," replied Wanda, in a voice which was scarcely audible. "I thank
you."
"Well, we will let the matter rest then; there can be no danger in it
yet, I hope. To-morrow I will myself take you back to Rakowicz; now I
must see that all necessary caution is observed again this evening, so
that no disaster may befall us on the last day. I will give Pawlick my
orders, and superintend all the arrangements myself."
So saying, the Princess left the room, firmly persuaded that she had
only done her duty, and had prevented a future catastrophe, in that,
energetic and unsparing as ever, she had torn away the veil which hid
from the young Countess the state of her own heart. Had she seen how,
on being left alone, Wanda sank down stunned and crushed, she would
perhaps have perceived that the perilous height had already been
reached at which a cry of warning may be fatal. It could avail neither
to admonish nor to rescue. The awakening came too late.