As soon as Kuno was established upon the balcony and commended to the kind attention of the ladies, Delmar rapidly ascended the narrow, precipitous path by which he had reached the castle on the previous day. He did not heed the heat which had begun to be intense; he accorded not a look to the magnificent landscape, nor had he any care for the dangers of the way. What he desired was to reach the castle as quickly as possible.
His brain was in a chaos of confusion; he was in a labyrinth of puzzles, out of which he could find no clue. Nevertheless he passed on his perilous way in perfect security, and soon reached the garden of the castle.
Here he looked around him, hoping to encounter his friend, but Leo was nowhere to be seen. In the midst of a thick growth of shrubbery, however, he saw the flutter of a light dress, and in a moment Hilda appeared. She must have seen him coming, for she advanced directly towards him, holding out her hand in greeting, and speaking before he had time to address her. "You have done wrong, Herr Delmar," she said reproachfully. "You come from the rocks by the rock-path; I am really angry with you for not keeping your promise."
Was she really angry? Why then should she have received Paul with so enchanting a smile? Her words betokened a care for his safety that delighted him. He thought her far lovelier than upon the previous day, and far more like an angel, with her wealth of hair framing in so girlish and beautiful a face. When he had seen her before her straw hat had concealed its masses; now her head shone in the sunshine like pure gold.
When he took her hand he felt an intense longing to press it to his lips, but he remembered her reproof of the day previous and forbore, contenting himself with a slight pressure, which he rejoiced to fancy was in some measure returned. "You must not come to the castle by that path up the rocks," Hilda continued, when Paul did not reply to her first remonstrance. "You must give me your word not to take it again, or I shall always be anxious if you come at all late when you have promised a visit to Leo."
"Would you really be anxious on my account?" Paul asked, never thinking how low and gentle was the voice in which he put the question, or how Kuno would have laughed at him if he had heard it.
But Hilda did not laugh; she answered gravely and frankly, "Yes, Herr Delmar; I have deeply repented my thoughtlessness in showing you that path, and I should never forgive myself if you were to meet with any accident there. I have already been anxious about you this morning; you were so long in coming, when Leo thought you would be here directly after breakfast. Will you not make me the promise I ask?"
"Any promise that you ask is already made, lovely fairy. Delightful as is that scramble up the rocks, the path will not exist for me in future. You have forbidden me to use it, and I, as your obedient slave, venture no opposition to your command, but obey!"
"Then as a reward I will instantly conduct you to Leo, who is anxiously expecting you. He would have gone to Tausens himself this morning to see after his friend Herr von Herwarth, but he was kept here by the intelligence that a wealthy and well-known family from K---- had arrived at the Post."
"Then Leo already knows who they are?"
"Yes; the maid from the Post came up to the castle last evening to beg for some fowls. She reported that a very grand family from K---- had arrived in two four-horse carriages and were to spend some time in Tausens. She mentioned their names too as my housekeeper told me. The name of Schommer was familiar to me,--I met a charming girl, a Fräulein Schommer, in Vienna,--and so I asked Leo this morning if he knew these people."
"And he said?----"
"He said yes. But he seemed to me not very well pleased that they should have come to stay at Tausens. When he told me that he should not go to the Post this morning because he wished if possible to avoid any personal encounter with these strangers, I said nothing further, although I should like to know more of them."
"Perhaps I can gratify this desire, Fräulein von Heydeck. I have the honour of knowing Fräulein Schommer."
"Ah, how glad I am! I should so like to know whether she is the lovely Eva Schommer whom I saw nearly two years ago in Vienna, and who so charmed me that I never left her side for an entire evening. Unfortunately I could not pursue the acquaintance, for she left Vienna the next day, and we never met again. Yes, she said her home was in K----. What a pleasure it would be to see her again here in Tausens!"
"That pleasure you can easily enjoy. Fräulein Schommer spoke to me last evening of her pleasant remembrance of you in Vienna."
"Oh, delightful!" Hilda exclaimed. "I have thought of that lovely Eva so often! I will go this very day to Tausens to see her. We must be together constantly!" She spoke impulsively, but suddenly she paused. "I forgot," she said sadly, "that Leo wishes to avoid meeting these people. Does he know this lovely girl? He cannot wish not to see her. But no, do not answer my question, Herr Delmar. I had no right to ask it. If Leo had wished me to know his reasons for not wishing to meet these people he would have told me them himself. I would rather have you say nothing to me about it."
"I thank you, Fräulein von Heydeck. It would have been hard to refuse any request of yours, and yet I have no right to speak of Leo's position with regard to Fräulein Schommer's family without his express permission. Of one thing however I can assure you: Leo can make, and can have, no possible objection to your renewing your acquaintance with Fräulein Schommer."
"Are you sure of this?"
"Perfectly sure; promise me that you will pay Fräulein Schommer a visit this afternoon, and I will answer for it that Leo shall accompany you."
"You will greatly oblige me by doing so, for I could not of course seek out the lady if our guest wished to avoid her."
As they talked, Hilda had conducted Paul into the castle and through the rooms to the corridor, at the end of which were Leo's apartments. "You cannot go astray now," she said. "Leo's room lies just before you. You will find him at his easel. He would not go out for fear of missing you. When I called him to breakfast he had begun a sketch, and was so absorbed in his work that he never left it. I did not see it, but I am hoping to enjoy it when it is finished."
Here Hilda left him, and Delmar went along the corridor to the last door; he knocked twice without receiving any answer, and then opened it and entered the room.
Leo had heard neither the knocking, the opening and shutting of the door, nor his friend's footstep. He was standing lost in thought before his easel, gazing at a sketch of a head, the result of his last few hours' labour.
When he had entered his sitting-room in the early morning, refreshed by his night's rest, and had seen the easel by the window with the canvas upon it ready stretched, he had been irresistibly tempted to take up his crayon and enjoy the delight of which he had been deprived for a week. Yielding to this irrepressible desire, he had made a sketch of the fair face that filled his dreams both sleeping and waking. It was so like that he stood now lost in contemplation of it, quite dead to the outer world, not hearing when Paul entered the room, not noticing the approach of his friend, who stood behind him for some minutes in silent admiration of the sketch upon the easel.
"Bravo, Leo! You have outdone yourself! 'Tis the most artistic sketch you've ever made!"
Leo started like one awakening from a dream that has held him spell-bound. His first impulse was to snatch the picture from the easel, and from the eyes of his friend, but Delmar stayed his hand.
"Come, come, Leo! let the picture stay! No artist is justified in hiding from sight the fruits of his genius. The picture is wonderful,--a masterpiece. Her eyes had just that deep, dreamy look in them yesterday when she so bitterly lamented your injustice in accusing her of pride of purse. You must know that I have concluded a peace with the fair Eva. I solemnly retract everything derogatory that I ever said or thought about her; indeed, I frankly confess to you that I never in my life fell into so pitiable an error as when I pronounced such hasty, crude, and unjustifiable judgment upon this charming girl. If she would but allow me, I would beg her pardon on my knees."
Leo regarded Paul with amazement, looking in vain for the sneer that was wont to play about his lips when he wanted to tease his friend.
Delmar had been steadily contemplating the picture as he spoke in a tone of honest conviction. Now he turned to Leo, and remarking his amazement, he continued, with a smile: "You look at me as if you hardly believed me, and, remembering my folly with regard to Fräulein Schommer, I cannot blame you. The age of miracles however is not yet over; the most hardened of sinners may be converted by the logic of lovely lips, and I am a convert. With a few simple, frank words she has reversed my ridiculous judgment of her. I wish you could have heard her yesterday when she so sadly bewailed her misfortune in being 'too rich.' You, too, would have changed your opinion of her, and no longer have hated her, as you apparently do at present. Only intense hatred or intense--affection could have stamped her features so deeply upon your memory as to enable you to reproduce them in this wondrous way. And as you assuredly do not love Eva, you of course hate her. And yet how admirably you have managed to show no trace of this dislike in your drawing!"
"Paul, do not torture me!"
This simple sentence disarmed Delmar; he grew grave instantly. "I will not tease you," he said, "although you deserve it for never giving the confidence you owe a friend to one so devoted to you as I am. Have I not a right to be angry with you that accident alone--the sight of this picture--has told me your secret? You love Fräulein Schommer, although to me you denied that you did so. It was not true friendship, Leo."
"What else could I do? I hardly knew myself at first whether I loved or hated her; and when I did know, I was ashamed of my hopeless passion."
"Hopeless? It is folly to use such a word. How can a man like yourself, endowed with physical and mental superiority and distinguished both by birth and by position, condescend to utter such a word? You never tried to gain Fräulein Schommer's affection."
"She has repulsed me with proud reserve upon the only occasions when I have been in her society. And even if she had not done so, I should not have paid court to her,--she is too rich!"
"Too rich! There it is! That is the root of the matter!" Paul exclaimed with irritation. "Too rich! It is Fräulein Schommer's misfortune and my own. While the wretches who envy us for our wealth crowd about us to gather up servilely the golden crumbs we may throw them, while they flatter and cringe and worship us as their golden calf, those whom we esteem and love withdraw from our society. We are too rich for those disinterested souls who would love us for our own sakes,--they will not expose themselves to the degrading suspicion of seeking us for the sake of our wealth! How often I have been devoured with rage when you, Leo, my dearest friend, have refused to share with me the enjoyments that wealth can procure! I was 'too rich' for you, and therefore you bestowed but a few meagre hours of your society upon me when I so coveted your companionship; therefore you withdrew from me more and more, and would, I verily believe, have forsaken me utterly if I had not clutched you and refused to let you go. Poor Eva Schommer! She, too, is 'too rich,' and therefore throws herself away upon a heartless vagabond. For the man who would love her disinterestedly for her own sake she is 'too rich'! The devil take wealth! if it robs us of all that is best and noblest in this world,--the love of our friends,--giving us instead only the flattery of fools, ennui, satiety, and disgust of life!"
Leo had never seen his friend thus agitated. His cheeks were flushed and his voice trembled with emotion as he spoke. To Heydeck's friendly remonstrance be made no reply, but, walking to the window, stood gazing for some minutes at the magnificent view. Then, having recovered his self-possession, he turned to Leo, and with a gentleness of manner rare in him, said, "I was cross to you, Leo; forgive me. A sense of the misfortune that dogs my life overcame me for a moment,--it shall not be so again. I know that you, in spite of my millions, are my true, my only friend. Enough of this! we have other matters to discuss. First, let me tell you that Herwarth's sprained ankle will keep him tied to his arm-chair on the balcony at the Post for two weeks; therefore if you wish to see him you must go to him, he cannot come to you."
Leo was annoyed by this intelligence, much as he wished to see his friend. He would have liked to avoid the meeting with Fräulein Schommer and Bertram, that would doubtless take place if he visited Herwarth. He expressed this annoyance to Delmar.
But Delmar would not heed it. "Bertram will hardly dare to put himself in your way; and as for Fräulein Schommer, it is your duty as a man of honour to ask her pardon. It is not enough to see that one has been wrong,--the wrong should be confessed to whomsoever it has injured. But I will not press you. I am sure that you will do what is right, and I hope you will come to Tausens this afternoon with your cousin, who wishes to renew an acquaintance with Fräulein Schommer. And now let us speak of another matter, of the greatest interest and importance to me. You must help me to solve a mystery in which I suddenly find myself involved, and to this end I must tell you in detail all that happened yesterday."
And Paul began his story, first recalling to Leo's remembrance the extraordinary reception accorded him by Herr von Heydeck,--dwelling upon the fact that the old man had mentioned his Christian name, 'Paul,' without hearing it. He then told of his visit to Dr. Putzer and of the doctor's amazement at seeing him; of his first taking him for a Count Menotti,--a name which Paul had certainly heard somewhere lately, he could not remember where; and last he gave an account of the incomprehensible phrases which had escaped the tipsy doctor during his evening visit.
Leo listened with eager attention. As Paul went on he thought involuntarily of the postmaster's information with regard to his uncle's earlier life, connecting with it the strange interest which Herr von Heydeck took in Paul Delmar, the deserted room in the tower, and the old cradle. All this, combined with the tipsy talk of Dr. Putzer, suddenly aroused in Leo a suspicion, which he at first rejected as too wild and incredible, but to which every word of Paul's, as he continued, gave greater probability.
When Delmar ended his recital with, "Now tell me, Leo, what do you think of this strange tale?" Heydeck had no doubt that he had discovered its meaning,--a meaning that brought disgrace to his uncle.
"I will tell you, Paul," he said, "but first answer me one question. Look back to the days of your boyhood, think of your relations with your father, of his last days, and of his will. Did it never occur to you that he must have had a particular reason for the terms in which it was couched? You were his natural heir; why should he have made the express statement that he left you his property, not because you were his son, but because of your love for him, and because you were the founder and preserver of his wealth? What reason could your father have for such a will?"
"I cannot tell. I have often wondered, but never have arrived at any conclusion."
"Did you never think haw your father, during all your early childhood, held himself aloof from you, only according you his parental affection in later years; and that he may have had some reason for this conduct? Would not all these apparent contradictions be explained if you were not his own child, but an adopted son, whose dutiful and filial conduct at last aroused his genuine affection?"
Paul, who had been leaning back in an arm-chair, here started to his feet. "What do you mean?" he exclaimed, in great agitation. "Such an idea never entered my mind; my brain whirls at the thought. But go on; to what does all this lead?"
Leo obeyed, reminding Paul of the postmaster's narrative, of the suspicion awakened years before with regard to Herr von Heydeck,--a suspicion that he had, in connection with Dr. Putzer and his wife, caused the death of his son, to whose estate he had thus become heir. Formerly it had been whispered that Herr von Heydeck was not the child's father, but that the boy was the offspring of Frau von Heydeck and of Count Menotti.
"There is where I heard the name!" Paul exclaimed; "but go on, go on! I am upon the rack of expectation!"
Leo went on to speak of the cries which had been so often heard from the round tower after the child's death, and that no one save Herr von Heydeck himself and his half-idiotic servants had ventured to go near this part of the castle. He then told of his losing his way upon the previous afternoon, of his visit to the deserted room, of the cradle, and of his struggle with Melcher. From all this, taken in connection with his uncle's expressions and the doctor's talk, he drew the conclusion that possibly many years previously his uncle and Dr. Putzer had combined to remove from the world the unfortunate child which his uncle was convinced was not his own, but the son of Count Menotti. This was not effected by murder, of which vulgar gossip had accused them, but by the removal of the child whose little corpse no one but the doctor was allowed to see.
For this purpose the haunted tower had been put to use; there they had kept the boy whose cries, heard in the silent night, had stricken with terror the superstitious villagers. Afterwards, for his perfect security, Herr von Heydeck must himself have removed the child. If this were so, and if the deceased Herr Delmar had been induced to adopt the forsaken boy, the strange provisions of his will were clearly explained, as were also the expressions of Herr von Heydeck and the doctor, who had both instantly recognized the resemblance of Delmar to Count Menotti, and were doubtless convinced that he had come to Tausens to lay claim to his inheritance and to the name and title of a Herr von Heydeck.
"If my suspicion be correct," Leo concluded, "and the more I reflect upon the matter the more convinced I am that it is so, you are the boy, the lawful possessor of this castle, whom my uncle has deprived of his estate and of his name. According to law you are my uncle's son,--Hilda's brother."
"Hilda's brother!" Paul almost shouted. "Would you drive me mad? Is it not enough to take from me everything to which I have hitherto clung,--even the father whom I loved and in whom I had full faith? I, Hilda's brother! Never I never! I cannot believe it! And yet can I help believing it?" he continued, after a short pause. "Have you not succeeded in discovering an explanation for all which I thought inexplicable? Heydeck, who stole from me my estate and thrust me forth into the world because he knew that I was not his son, recognizes me by my likeness to the man who dishonoured him. There is not in my veins one drop of your worthless uncle's blood, and yet the law makes me Hilda's brother,--and the worst of criminals, should I ever dare to entertain for her in my heart one sentiment save that of a brother for a sister!"
As he spoke, Paul was pacing the room to and fro in the greatest agitation; his olive cheek was deeply flushed; and such unmistakable despair was painted in his face, that Leo, who had had no idea of the depth and strength of the 'love at first sight' that had taken possession of Paul for Hilda, could have no doubt as to the sentiments that filled his soul. He was utterly amazed. Paul, with his critical sneer, his ridicule of all sentimentality, his constant insistance that the intellect should always maintain its dominion over the affections, had suddenly lost his heart,--lost it irretrievably to a young girl whom he had known only for a few hours, and who, in Leo's opinion, was to be sure very charming and amiable, but not at all the one to inspire such a man as Delmar with this sudden overmastering passion.
Yet although this love was a riddle to Leo, none the less did his friend's despair excite his compassion, and he repented having so pitilessly pronounced the sentence 'according to law you are Hilda's brother,' without dreaming of the effect it might produce upon his friend.
"Calm yourself, Paul," he said gently; "do not forget that all I have said is only hypothetical. I have no facts to substantiate my supposition, no way of proving even the possibility of its correctness."
"Who want proof?" Delmar angrily exclaimed. "Did I come here to lay any claim to the wretched inheritance which that woman, whom I will not call mother, left her son? You know well enough that I am too rich now. Or can you suppose that I aspire to the honour of the name of von Heydeck? I love the name for your sake, Leo; you have ennobled it, and it is that borne by your cousin, else I should hate it. Proofs! If I possessed proofs clear as sunlight that this castle belonged to me, and that I had a legal right to the name of Heydeck, I would consign them to the flames, that no one upon earth might know that I had a right to be considered your uncle's son."
"Why then, Paul, should the thought of Hilda bring you such misery? If you never lay claim to the right which the law would perhaps accord you, she is not your sister. As you yourself said, no drop of her father's blood flows in your veins."
"Are you so sure of that,--sure that I am not your uncle's son, whom a freak of nature stamped with a resemblance to his mother's friend. Count Menotti? In that case Hilda would really be my sister. I grow giddy at the horrid thought, and yet I must learn to grasp it. I should despise myself if, in view of such a possibility, I ever dared approach Hilda with other than a brother's love. Shall I poison her young life? If she should love me and become my wife, as I, fool that I was, ventured to dream a few hours ago, and should then, by any chance, learn that the law makes her father, mine, how horrible would be her fate! No, Leo; I will never sacrifice her happiness to my insane passion! She shall never suspect it. I will be all to her--faithful friend, true counsellor--that a brother may; but she never shall hear from my lips one syllable betokening a warmer feeling than the love of a brother."
"I know you will remain steadfast in this resolution, Paul. I shall not gainsay it by a single word. Only let me pray you to act calmly and without passion. You have no right to take my conjecture for reality without further confirmation; the facts upon which it is founded may perhaps bear a different interpretation. You must not allow the happiness of your life to be destroyed by an ill-founded suspicion."
"What would you have me do?"
"Investigate the truth concerning your birth. First spare no pains to discover, here in Tausens, whether my uncle's son did not really die here years ago; your wealth will help you to do this. I will do all that I can to assist you, not only here, but also in Germany, where you must search out the former home of Herr Delmar, and succeed, if possible, in establishing proof that you really are his son, and that a chance resemblance has thus befooled us all. You must not lose courage, Paul; you have a sacred duty to fulfil, both to yourself and to Hilda."
"Be it so!" Paul replied, with a firm grasp of his friend's hand. "I will do what you ask; I will investigate this wretched mystery; I will search for proof that I am the son of this scoundrelly Herr von Heydeck, as if in this certainty lay my every hope of happiness instead of my doom to misery; but I am inwardly convinced that your suspicion is only too well grounded. The task I propose will not be a difficult one. I know the hand wherein lies the clue to the secret. That wretch, Dr. Putzer, is your uncle's accomplice. He will do anything for money, as he clearly made known to me yesterday.In vino veritas. If I give him what he asks, and insure him from all risk, he can easily be brought to betray his principal and give me the proof I want. I will not chaffer with him; he may have as much as he asks. I will tell you more, Leo, if you will come to Tausens with your cousin this afternoon. Now I leave you to go to Dr. Putzer. Farewell."
The friends separated with a cordial grasp of hands that told better than in words of their determination to pursue earnestly the task they had undertaken; and then, when Leo had conducted Paul to the head of the grand staircase, he returned sadly to his studio.
As Paul passed through the portal of the castle and saw upon the right the old round tower, a bitter sense of injury possessed him. There was the place where he had been imprisoned as a helpless infant, while the avaricious man who was legally his father annihilated all trace of the existence of the child whom he dared not kill, but would not allow to live.
"If he had only killed me!" Paul sighed; and the thought suddenly occurred to him whether it would not be best to end his misery by a leap from the castle rock. "No! no!" he reflected; "they must not despise me as a coward."
And yet the thought had a positive fascination for him. Could he not contrive that a misstep upon the perilous path up the rocks should cause his death to be considered by his friends the result of chance? They would--Leo would--mourn him truly, and the will by which he had made his friend his heir would smooth Heydeck's future career for him. He would not hesitate then to approach Eva as a lover. The miserable millions would at last bring happiness to their possessor.
But as he was walking through the garden towards the narrow rock-path, oblivious of his promise to Hilda, a prey to dire temptation, a voice was suddenly heard that caused him to pause, startled.
"Where are you going, Herr Delmar?"
He looked up, and Hilda stood before him, with pain and reproach in her eyes.
Her simple question covered Paul with confusion. He now first remembered the promise so frankly given a short time before; a promise he was on his way to break. He might have given an evasive reply. Indeed, Hilda helped him to do so by adding, "Perhaps you hoped to meet me here in the garden. Did you speak with Leo about my visit to Fräulein Schommer?"
But such an evasion seemed unmanly and unworthy of him. "Forgive me, Fräulein Hilda," was his only reply.
Hilda understood him. "Were you really about to return to Tausens by the rock-path in spite of your promise?"
"I had forgotten it. Indeed, you have a right to be angry, but if you knew----"
He hesitated; he could not make Hilda the confidante of his misery.
"What has happened, Herr Delmar? Why do you pause? You are evidently agitated. What can you have learned in the short time since I saw you? Tell me, I pray."
As she spoke she kindly offered him her hand, but he did not take it. He shuddered as he thought of how happy he had been but a few short moments before when he took that little hand, and of the hopes that had then dawned in his soul, hopes that must be crushed forever. Should he press his lips upon it in one farewell kiss? No! not even that. She must not dream how hard it was to part from her; she must think of him as of a stranger, and he looked away, that Hilda might suppose he did not see the hand she held out to him.
But Hilda was not deceived. The interest which she felt in Delmar was too deep and vivid to allow her to remain ignorant of the change he had suddenly undergone. She saw that he intentionally avoided taking her hand, and she was afraid that she had in some manner offended him. Was he vexed at her suspicion that he had meant to break his word? She had not meant to call him to so strict an account. "Are you vexed with me, Herr Delmar?" she said gently; "I did not mean to offend you."
"I know that, Fräulein Hilda," Delmar replied, recovering his composure. "How could you offend me? I confess that I am agitated by the conversation that I have just had with Leo about family matters, of which I am not at liberty to speak. I had forgotten my promise with regard to the Reifenstein rocks, but be assured I will keep faith with you now. Farewell, Fräulein Hilda!"
He bowed formally and walked away through the garden towards the court-yard. In the dim gateway leading into it he turned to look at Hilda once more. She was standing on the spot where he had left her, with amazement and sorrow expressed in her whole air and bearing. His strange manner, his formal farewell, had filled her with vague misgivings.
He waved his hand in token of adieu, and hurried from the castle across the bridge to the well-worn foot-path down the mountain. Again, as he walked on, did that grim temptation to self-destruction assault his soul. He turned aside among the shrubbery that bordered the pathway, and penetrating it, reached the brink of the abyss and gazed down into its misty depths. As he looked his foot slipped upon a loose stone; in an instant the instinct of self-preservation was on the alert. Involuntarily he seized the stout branch of a tree growing beside him and swung himself up to the level ground. As he did so a scornful smile curled his lip at the thought of the exertion he was making to save a life now so worthless in his eyes. But dreary as the future seemed to him, he shrank from the cowardice that would flee from trials and agonies that might be bravely met. He remembered how often he had heard Leo denounce the pusillanimity of those who lacked courage to meet the inevitable shocks of life. And Hilda,--could she ever have even a kindly thought for the memory of a suicide?
One more look he gave to the abyss at his feet, and then turned back into the secure foot-path and walked on slowly, lost in thought, to the village. He was no longer occupied solely with self; his mind reacted healthily and he thought of his friend. What change might not the next few weeks bring about in the life of the man who had been to him more than a brother? Eva and Leo must have opportunities for knowing and understanding each other. With closer knowledge of his friend, Fräulein Schommer could not but return his affection. To this end Paul would exert himself: he would give his life a new purpose; and this resolution exalted and refreshed him. He had almost forgotten the dark shadow brooding over his own existence when he was reminded of it by a sudden glimpse among the trees of the village in the midst of which Dr. Putzer's house was conspicuous.
He remembered that he had promised Leo to attempt to learn from Dr. Putzer more concerning Herr von Heydeck. The result of such an attempt had lost all interest for him, it is true, so convinced was he of the truth of Leo's surmises, but nevertheless he would, as he had promised, do all that he could to drag every fact connected with this mystery to the full light of day.
When Paul at last reached the village street, he did not turn in the direction of the Post, but went directly towards Dr. Putzer's house. On approaching it he noticed several peasants talking in the road in front of the garden. Among them was the postmaster, gesticulating eagerly.
Paul would have passed them and entered the garden, but the postmaster detained him. "If you want to speak to the doctor," said honest Hansel, taking off his cap, "you come upon a vain errand."
"Is he not at home?"
"He is at home, but you cannot speak with him."
Hansel's answer was made in quite a solemn tone; he was evidently burning with desire to tell Delmar what he had repeated already three or four times to the peasants, who listened with eager attention to his every word; but he waited to be questioned by Paul. As soon as this occurred the floodgates of his eloquence were opened.
He told minutely all that he had heard from the doctor's servant. Yesterday evening, when the stable-boy from the Post had taken the doctor home, he had been received very unkindly by his wife, who had called him an irreclaimable drunkard, and more hard names besides than the poorest peasant's wife in the village would have bestowed upon her husband. The doctor only laughed childishly, and, although his wife forbade his speaking before the maid, went maundering on unintelligibly about Herr von Heydeck at the castle, and Herr Delmar, and Count Menotti.
The doctor's wife had grown quite furious when she could not make him hold his tongue, and had dashed a bucketful of cold water over his head to bring him to his senses. She had often done this before, and the doctor also often held his head under the cold stream of water at the brook to make himself sober; but on this evening the cold water did him no good: he grew quite purple in the face, and it was a long time before he came to himself and got to bed.
To-day they had a great quarrel early in the morning; the maid did not know what it was about,--they often quarrelled,--but she heard the name of von Heydeck very often; and towards ten o'clock the doctor took his hat and stick and went to the Post, to pay his visit to the sick gentleman there, and as he walked through the garden the maid had noticed that his face was much redder than usual when he had been intoxicated the day before. He spoke very quietly and was entirely himself; but when he came home again, walking very unsteadily and looking very ill, the doctor's wife flew into a rage, and insisted upon his letting the water at the brook flow over his head. He refused to do it at first, but his wife stormed and insisted, and he yielded at last, as he always did. Scarcely however had he held his head under the stream for a minute when he suddenly fell on the ground and lay like one dead.
His wife's screams brought the neighbours to the spot, and they got the sick man into the house and put him in bed, where he was now lying perfectly unconscious. He was still living, but he could not possibly recover. His wife was no true wife to him, but a worthless, miserable creature. Instead of taking care of her husband, she had left him. As soon as he was got to bed she had ordered a conveyance from the Post; and the postmaster had provided it immediately, for he thought she wanted to send for a doctor. But the wretched woman had never thought of doing so; she had packed up her clothing and various other articles in a hurry, and had driven off no one knew whither. She had told the servant-girl to take care of the doctor and to send for another physician, but that he would certainly not last long. And so the poor man was lying in bed, unconscious, with no one but the servant to attend to him. The postmaster, however, for old acquaintance' sake, had sent another conveyance for Dr. Atzinger. Dr. Atzinger had just left the sick man, and had said that he might get over the stroke this time, but that he never would have the use of his limbs, and that no one must be allowed to see him. All this the postmaster related to Delmar, who thus found himself deprived of any hope of immediate aid from Dr. Putzer in his investigations. This did not trouble him, however, since he had only been interested to fulfil his promise to Leo, and he was rather relieved to feel entirely free to devote himself to his friend's affairs.
Upon his return to the inn, Delmar found the entire Schommer family at dinner with Herwarth upon the balcony. Bertram alone was missing; he had not returned from an expedition to some cascades which he had undertaken that morning; indeed, a messenger had arrived from him saying that he had gone on to Rothwald, whence he should make a mountain-ascent, which would probably detain him there until the following day. Uncle Balthasar told Delmar of this, lamenting that 'dear Guido' could not join their little circle, but he was the only one who regretted his absence; the others all felt relieved in the consciousness that they should not see Bertram for some hours at least.
Kuno had enjoyed himself greatly during Paul's absence. Eva declared with a smile that all the ladies had bestowed upon the invalid their tenderest solicitude, and had succeeded in compelling him to comply with the orders of his physician, although he was at times a most unruly patient, in his determination to prevent them from exerting themselves in his behalf.
These few hours of unconventional intercourse on the balcony had established a degree of friendly intimacy between Kuno and the young ladies which pleased Delmar much. Eva treated him with frank familiarity, jesting with him as with an old acquaintance. Aline was not quite so unconstrained; although not less kind, there was a certain reserve in her manner towards Herwarth. Paul noticed this, and that her eyes, which evidently rested with pleasure upon the lieutenant when he was talking with Eva, were quickly averted if he looked towards herself. It was not difficult for so keen an observer as Delmar to read the secret of these two hearts. The discovery gave him a melancholy pleasure. "Another couple who will and shall be happy!" he thought to himself "It was best that Fräulein Hilda should keep me away from the path down the Reifenstein rock; a ghastly accident would have scattered these happy people, and I may be of use here yet." Filled with this thought, Paul forgot himself and his sorrows. He sat down at the table, and was the life of the little party. He contrived that Aline and Herwarth should have frequent opportunity of conversation, while he entertained Eva, Uncle Balthasar, and even silent Aunt Minni with his gay talk, seeming to all to be even more merry than on the previous day. Eva forgot her usual gravity, and Uncle Balthasar was enchanted; his only sorrow was that 'dear Guido' could not be present to enjoy 'this delightful conversation.' Paul said but little of his visit to the castle; he simply told Eva that in a short conversation with Fräulein von Heydeck he had told her of the guests at the Post. The young girl remembered, with great pleasure, her evening with Fräulein Schommer in Vienna, and would certainly come to the inn with her cousin Leo to renew her acquaintance with her. As he spoke, Delmar watched Eva narrowly, although he was apparently toying indifferently with his wine-glass. When he mentioned Leo's name, and his intention of coming to the inn, he saw the girl's cheek flush; she suddenly raised her eyes, and as quickly dropped them again upon meeting Paul's keen glance. She turned away to hide her confusion, and addressed a few words in an undertone to her aunt, who sat beside her.
"Will it be disagreeable to you, Fräulein Schommer, to have Leo come down to Tausens?"
Eva hastily turned towards him, her cheek still flushed, but all confusion overcome. "Did you arrange this visit of which you now tell me, Herr Delmar?" she asked, not without asperity.
"I may have done so. You expressed a wish yesterday to see again Fräulein Hilda von Heydeck. I could not suppose that you contemplated going up to the castle, and I therefore proposed that Fräulein Hilda should come to you. She only half promised, however, and I am not sure she will be able to fulfil her intent."
"I was not speaking of Fräulein Hilda, but of Herr von Heydeck. I asked whether you had arranged this visit, because I had hoped you would remember what I said yesterday."
"You said yesterday that you were not afraid of meeting my friend."
"And I also said that I thought it desirable that any such meeting should be avoided. It is not fair in you, Herr Delmar, intentionally to expose me to embarrassment of this kind."
While she was speaking Paul regarded her with gentle gravity; her reckless frankness enlisted his sympathy profoundly. As she finished he bent his head, and in a low and gentle tone said, "Your frank, honest reproof shall receive as frank and honest a reply. I might easily deceive you by telling you that Leo must see his friend Herwarth, and that therefore I had arranged this visit; but I will not deceive you. Frankly and honestly, then, I wish Leo to see you again for his own sake and--for yours!"
"Herr Delmar, I must beg----"
"Stay, Fräulein Schommer! I know what you would say. You would accuse me of unjustifiable interference in your affairs which are no concern of mine; but there you are wrong. I take a deeper interest in them than you would probably think permissible, but nothing is so near to me in this world as Leo's happiness. You see I am honest and do not flatter you."
"No, you have shown me that you do not, both yesterday and to-day; yet I really cannot see what interest your affection for Herr von Heydeck can have for me."
"That is not said with your usual ingenuousness, Fräulein Schommer," Delmar said earnestly. "You know well that you take a degree of interest in my friend Leo's destiny, and you ought not to deny it. Leo bitterly regrets having been misled in an unfortunate moment to say words which wounded you."
"That is not so, Herr Delmar."
"Excuse me, it is so; and Leo is all the more sensible of his injustice since he was not true to himself in what he said. Irritated by a certain haughty demeanour, which Fräulein Schommer is apt to display towards those whom she knows but slightly, Leo was induced that day, in answer to his friend Herwarth's badinage, to say what was no sooner uttered than it was deeply repented. He will never be satisfied until he has had an opportunity of entreating your forgiveness,--an opportunity which I am sure you are too magnanimous to deny him."
Eva was much moved by Paul's words. Was he telling the truth, or was what he said the result of the ironical mood that so often possessed him? Had he read her heart? Did he know that she could not bear a grudge to Leo,--that his insulting words had long since been forgiven by her,--that she only mourned he should have been prompted to utter them?
"You do not reply, Fräulein Schommer," Paul continued, so gravely that Eva could no longer suspect him of a sneer. "You hardly seem to trust my words, and therefore you force me to say more than I had intended. Do you remember what you said yesterday,--your bitter lament over the misfortune of being too rich?"
"Yes; why do you ask?"
"You never uttered truer words than those then spoken. Yes, it is your greatest trial, as it is my own, to be 'too rich.' Your wealth has poisoned your soul. Conscious of these wretched riches, you receive all who approach you with haughty disdain, believing them attracted solely by the glitter of your gold. Such was your treatment of Leo, the noblest and most disinterested of men, and the cold contempt of your manner cut him to the quick. And this is not the worst,--an unkind word can be atoned for by kindness,--Leo would not be implacable any more than you will be so, but--you are too rich. He loves you, Fräulein Schommer. Your image is so deeply engraven upon his soul that it stands upon his easel at this moment wrought by his hand, so like you that it almost seems your living, breathing self. He loves you, but you are 'too rich.' Not your cold reserve, but your miserable money, repels his pride. That fortune, which is a bait for the avarice of a--Bertram, is a barrier between yourself and the man in whose affection you might find the deepest bliss attainable in this world. But enough of this. I have presumed incredibly, I know, but I hope not past forgiveness when you consider how profound is that regard for my friend, in which I refuse to believe that you take no 'interest.' Fräulein Aline is looking at us in surprise at our withdrawal from all part in the general conversation, and we must really devote more of our attention to these excellent trout."
Delmar had seized a happy opportunity, when the rest of the circle were variously absorbed, to prepare Eva's mind thus for Leo's visit. He had succeeded; the girl's glowing cheeks, and the dreamy expression of her dark eyes, told him how profound was the impression he had produced. She did not reply, her heart was too full for words.
Beloved by Leo! No, this was no ironical jest of Delmar's; he had spoken in the tone of intense conviction. She could not doubt his words; the consciousness, vague although it was, of being loved by the man whose image she had so cherished in secret, filled her with a sense of blessed content which not even the knowledge that she was separated from him forever could at first disturb.
Separated forever! Yes, she was the betrothed of Bertram. When Delmar had uttered his name she had shrunk involuntarily, as if conscious for the first time of her detestation and contempt for him. But she was his; she must keep the vow that bound her to him. It was a duty which she had voluntarily imposed upon herself, as she now knew, for Leo's sake. She had sacrificed herself that he might escape a threatened danger; the knowledge of this gave her strength to bear the misery that must be her future lot. Her fate was decided, but in the consciousness that she was beloved, she no longer found it so hard to bear.
Paul divined what was passing in her soul; he saw that his words had produced upon her an ineradicable impression, but she must not be left to reflect upon them. He turned away and began a conversation with Uncle Balthasar, in which the rest speedily joined. Never had Paul seemed half so merry and entertaining, how could Eva refuse to bear her part in the general cheerfulness that prevailed? Even Aunt Minni was startled from her usual indolent serenity, and once or twice actually laughed. As Delmar had succeeded in banishing his own brooding fancies, he now prevented Eva from indulging in any such.
Several hours passed thus gayly upon the balcony. Coffee had been served, and still no one arose to leave it. Uncle Balthasar had foregone his usual afternoon nap in view of the agreeable society in which he found himself.
Thus the moments flew by, and no one noticed that Delmar grew slightly restless, casting frequent glances towards that part of the landscape where a small stretch of the road from the village could be seen. In fact he began to be afraid lest his well-devised plan for a reconciliation between Eva and Leo should fail, in view of the latter's great unwillingness to approach one whom he felt he had so deeply offended. He was not however doomed to such a disappointment. The visit he had so desired was at hand.
In the distance he first noticed the flutter of a light dress, and soon recognized Hilda, beside whom walked Leo, engaged in earnest conversation. Paul breathed freely now,--in a few minutes they would reach the inn. Leo's visit could not have occurred at a happier time. Eva had been prepared to see him again; she had forgiven him; she had been told that he loved her, and to this declaration from Delmar's lips she had replied by no word of reproof. Delmar was convinced that a few friendly words from either would suffice to banish the shadow that now lay between them, and then he could make up his mind what to do next. They must have frequent opportunities of meeting, that was certain,--frequent occasion for familiar intercourse. Delmar must see that Bertram did not interfere here.
Although Paul was aware of his friend's love for Fräulein Schommer, he knew nothing of the state of the girl's heart, except for the gentle sympathy for Leo which he had read in her eyes. Her readiness to bestow her hand upon Bertram was inconsistent Paul thought with the existence of an affection for any one else. And yet this uncertainty did not deter Delmar from the pursuance of his schemes. He was convinced that Leo could succeed in winning Eva's heart if only time and opportunity were given him. She must admire his brilliant talents and respect his lofty enthusiasm; love would surely follow, and then would come the time to dissolve her engagement with Bertram, and the end for which Delmar was now living would be attained.
"There come our friends Fräulein Hilda and Leo von Heydeck!" he turned to say to Eva, who was talking with Aline, and as he spoke he pointed towards the road. For a moment Eva lost her self-possession: her cheek paled and her lips trembled.
"Courage, Eva dear!" Aline whispered. "You must summon all your self-control."
Aline's efforts to calm her friend were seconded by the extraordinary surprise which Uncle Balthasar displayed at Paul's information, a surprise which greatly amused every one.
"Oh, Holy Apostles! Herr von Heydeck!" the old man exclaimed in the broadest Saxon, with such positive horror imprinted upon his broad, good-humoured face as only some fearful intelligence should have provoked. He had not much time to recover from his fright, for a few moments later Hilda appeared upon the balcony followed by Leo.
Herwarth's and Delmar's laughter at Uncle Balthasar's exclamation of dismay had restored Eva's composure, and when Hilda hastened up to her, expressing in her fresh girlish way the delight that it was to her to meet Fräulein Schommer once more, every trace of embarrassment on Eva's part disappeared. She returned Hilda's kiss with equal cordiality, and then presented her to her uncle and aunt as the "charming Fräulein von Heydeck whom she had met in Vienna, and of whom she had so often spoken to them." She acknowledged Leo's profound bow most courteously; she could not be perfectly easy and unconstrained while doing so; the blood rushed to her cheek as she felt that Delmar was watching her the while.
In spite however of the cordial meeting between Hilda and Eva, all the members of the little circle, with the exception of Hilda and Paul, suffered under a certain constraint. They could not but remember the past, and it was not easy to enter into general conversation. Uncle Balthasar cast timid side-glances at Leo, who, to conceal his embarrassment, was making minute, inquiries after Herwarth's health. Aline was anxiously watching Eva, who was exerting all her self-control to appear at ease, and even Aunt Minni, usually so perfectly unimpressionable, seemed aware of the general disturbance, and sat in her arm-chair with her fat red face studiously turned away from the terrible Herr von Heydeck.
Paul was quite unembarrassed and much amused by the evident efforts of every one to appear at ease, the sarcastic smile which his friends knew so well hovered upon his lips; he was master of the situation which he himself had contrived, and which was to aid his schemes. He managed with a jest directed towards Uncle Balthasar to relieve the good old man from constraint, and then skilfully drew him into conversation with Leo and Herwarth, so that Eva, Aline, and Hilda were left to talk together. Aunt Minni always preferring to be left to herself.
It was Paul's fashion in pursuit of any aim to act with great recklessness, and now, determined to reconcile Leo with Uncle Balthasar, instead of avoiding all allusion to the scene at Büchner's and the affront offered to Eva by Leo, he led the conversation directly to the subject, and thus gave his friend an opportunity to express his regret to Uncle Balthasar for what had occurred. Leo did this in so frank and manly a way that the placable old man was entirely satisfied, and no longer remembered the dismay with which he had received the announcement of Herr von Heydeck's visit.
For a while Paul left the young girls to themselves; then by appealing to Eva upon some opinion just expressed by Leo, he drew them also into the conversation, which thus became general. To his great satisfaction he noticed that Eva replied willingly and pleasantly to the few remarks which Leo addressed to her.
But a first visit should not be too prolonged. At the end of an hour Hilda rose to take leave, after having arranged that Aline, Eva, and herself should meet frequently, Hilda promising to act as their cicerone to all the points of interest in the country round.
"If you will allow me, Fräulein Hilda, I will walk some distance with you and Leo on your way back." Paul said to Hilda; and then turning to Eva he added, "Will not you, Fräulein Schommer and Fräulein von Schlicht, improve the occasion for a walk? you have not left the house to-day,--and I will promise to escort you safely back to the Post."
Hilda of course seconded this proposition, and Eva agreed to it, to the surprise of Aline, who could not but consent to accompany her friend after commending Herwarth to the kind offices of Uncle Balthasar.
Eva and Aline started with Hilda, while Delmar walked by the side of Leo; and how it happened no one except perhaps Paul could have told, but after a little while Leo walked by Eva's side, while Paul followed with the two other ladies. Gradually the distance between the two parties increased, for Delmar walked very slowly, and often stopped to ask Hilda the names of the various mountain-peaks, or to point out to Aline some special beauty in the landscape, while he talked so fast and so eagerly that he absorbed the entire attention of his companions. They never noticed that Leo and Eva were now a considerable distance in front of them.
Leo's entertainment of his companion was by no means so glib and ready as was Delmar's of Aline and Hilda. He was glad that Paul had so soon procured him this opportunity of speaking to Eva alone and undisturbed; and yet, now that it was thus his, he could hardly find courage to improve it. He walked along by Eva's side in silence for some minutes, and did but grow more and more confused. Never had he felt so utterly and insanely stupid. Of course Eva could not begin a conversation, and how she must despise his inability to find the right words in which to address her! The right words! he thought he could not find them, and yet they came, when, yielding to the feeling that had mastered him, he simply asked, "Can you forgive me?"
These were the right words! They came from the heart, as Eva felt, and she looked up to Leo with a charming smile. "I have nothing to forgive!" She said nothing more, and yet she seemed to Leo to have spoken volumes. He could have shouted for joy, so exquisite was the pleasure that the low whispered words gave him, dispelling the dark shadow that had rested upon his life. Eva had forgiven him! The words that she spoke, and still more the eyes that had gazed for a moment into his, had assured him of this.
He took her hand and pressed it to his lips; he could not help it, and Eva did not resent his doing so, nor did she withdraw it when he placed it within his arm. She had forgiven him, there was no cause for offence between them. He never thought of her wealth, of her betrothal, nor of the future. He walked silently beside her in a blissful dream of the present, conscious only of the pressure of that little hand upon his arm.
They said nothing more; now and then their glances met, and they seemed to have uttered all that it was in their hearts to say.
"Halloo, Leo!"
It was Paul's shout. Leo looked back in amazement, and noticed for the first time that he and Eva had left the road and were walking along the foot-path, very much in advance of the others.
"It must be time for me to turn back; we have really come quite a distance," said Eva, withdrawing her hand from Leo's arm.
"May I come to Tausens again to-morrow?"
"Yes."
Again he kissed her hand rapturously, and she allowed it, although at the sound of Delmar's voice near by she withdrew it more quickly than before. Paul had shouted at the request of Hilda, who, now that they were approaching the steepest part of the way, thought it too difficult climbing for Eva, unaccustomed as she was to mountain-walks.
Twilight was settling down upon the landscape as Eva, Aline, and Delmar took their leave and returned to the Post, while Leo and Hilda pursued their way up the mountain.
"Eva is a charming girl," said Hilda.
"She is an angel!" Leo replied. He said nothing further; Hilda glanced up at him in surprise, but he did not notice it as he looked down, lost in dreams. An arch smile flitted across the girl's face; she nodded archly at her cousin, who did not see her, and said no further word to disturb his revery,--she thought she could divine its subject.