The Alpine Fay Part 13

"She will not be such a fool as to reject such good fortune. The girl is, to be sure, possessed by unaccountable fancies, obstinate as her father, and on certain points not to be controlled. We scarcely harmonize in our views, any one can see that, but this time I think we shall agree. Such a man as Waltenberg with his eccentricities is precisely after Erna's taste. I think her quite capable of accompanying him in his wanderings, if he cannot make up his mind to relinquish them."

"And why not?" Wolfgang said, harshly. "It is so uncommonly romantic and interesting, life in foreign lands with no occupation and no country. With no duties to exercise any controlling influence, life can be dreamed away beneath the palms in inactive enjoyment. To me such an existence, however, seems pitiable; it would be impossible for me."

"You are really indignant," said Nordheim, amazed at this sudden outburst. "You forget that Waltenberg has always been wealthy. You and I must work to attain eminence; no such necessity exists for him,--he has always occupied the height towards which we must climb. Such men are rarely fit for serious exertion."

He turned to a pa.s.sing servant and gave him an order. But Wolfgang stood motionless and gloomy, his gaze still fixed upon the white figure 'compounded as it were of air and Alpine snow, with the white fairylike flower of its waters crowning its fair hair,' and inaudibly but with intense bitterness he muttered, "Yes, he is rich, and so he has a right to be happy."

CHAPTER VIII.

ANOTHER CLIME.

Waltenberg's dwelling was somewhat remote from the central portion of the city; it was a fine, s.p.a.cious villa, surrounded by a garden which was almost a park. It had been built by the father of the present possessor, and had been occupied by him until his death. Since then it had been empty, for the son, always travelling in distant lands, was far too wealthy to think of renting it. He left it in charge of a trustworthy person, whose duty it had been to receive, to unpack, and to arrange the various chests and packages sent home by his master from time to time, until now, after the lapse of a decade, the closed doors and windows were again opened, and the desolate rooms showed signs of occupation.

The large balconied apartment in the middle of the house was still furnished precisely as it had been in the lifetime of its former master. There was no magnificence here as in the Nordheim mansion, but on every hand was to be observed the solid comfort of a well-to-do burgher. The persons present at this time in the room, however, looked strangely foreign. A negro black as night, with woolly hair, and a slender, brown Malay lad, both in fantastic Oriental costume, were busy arranging a table with flowers and all kinds of fruits, while a third individual stood in the middle of the room giving the necessary directions.

The dress of this last was European in cut, and seemed to be something between the garb of a sailor and that of a farmer. Its wearer was an elderly man, very tall and thin, but at the same time most powerfully built. His close-cut hair was grizzled here and there, and his furrowed, sunburned face was scarcely less brown than that of the Malay. But from the brown face looked forth a pair of genuine German, blue eyes, and the words that issued from the man's lips were such pure, unadulterated German as is spoken only by those to whom it is the mother-tongue.

"The flowers in the centre!" he ordered. "Herr Waltenberg wishes it to be romantic; he must have his way. Said, boy, don't stand the silver epergnes close together like a pair of grenadiers; put them at either end of the table, and the gla.s.ses on the side-table where the wine is to be served. Do you understand?"

"Oh, yes, master," the negro replied, in English.

"And speak German. Do you not know that we are in Germany, on this G.o.d-forsaken soil where you freeze stiff in March, and where the sun appears once a month, and then only at the command of the authorities?

I detest it, as does Herr Waltenberg. But you must learn German, or, true as my name is Veit Gronau, you'll repent it. You're still half a heathen, and Djelma there is a whole one. See how he stares! Do you understand a word I say, boy?"

The Malay shook his head. Evidently his progress in the German tongue was slow, and the negro, who was much farther advanced, was obliged to come to his a.s.sistance frequently.

"It is the master's fault; he talks your gibberish to you too often,"

Veit Gronau grumbled. "If I did not insist upon your speaking German neither of you would understand a syllable of it. There! now the table is ready. All fruit and flowers, and nothing really fit to eat and drink. That, I suppose, is romantic; I think it crazy, which is very much the same thing, after all."

"Are there ladies coming?" Said asked, inquisitively.

"Unfortunately, yes. It is no pleasure, but an honour, for in this country they are treated with immense respect, very differently from your black and brown women; so behave yourselves!"

He would probably have continued his admonitions, but at this moment the door opened and the master of the house entered. He glanced at the table loaded with flowers and fruit, signed to Said to retire to the antechamber, spoke a few words in some Indian tongue to Djelma, who straightway disappeared, and then turning to Veit Gronau, said, "President Nordheim has sent an excuse, but the rest are coming; Herr Gersdorf has also accepted. You will escape for this time the encounter you have so dreaded, Gronau."

"Dreaded?" the other repeated. "Hardly that! It certainly would have given me no great pleasure to meet an old playmate with whom I was once on most familiar terms, and to be honoured by him with a condescending nod when I was presented to him as a kind of servant."

"As my secretary?" Waltenberg said, with emphasis. "I should not suppose such a position could be in any wise humiliating."

Gronau shrugged his shoulders: "Secretary, steward, travelling companion, all in one. True, you have always treated me like a fellow-countryman, and not as an inferior, Herr Waltenberg. When you picked me up in Melbourne I was very near starvation, and I should have starved but for you. G.o.d requite you!"

"Nonsense!" said Ernst, repudiating his grat.i.tude almost harshly. "You were a priceless discovery for me, with your knowledge of languages and your practical experience, and I think we have been well content with each other for these six years. So the president was one of your playmates?"

"Yes, we were the children of neighbours, and grew up together until life parted us, sending one hither and the other thither. He always prophesied to me, and to Benno Reinsfeld, who was one of us, that I should be a poor devil."

Waltenberg had gone to the window, and was looking out with some impatience while nevertheless listening attentively. The youth of the man whom he had known only in the midst of wealth and luxury seemed to interest him.

"Of course all three of us entertained vast schemes for the future,"

Veit continued, with good-humoured self-ridicule. "I was to go abroad and return a wealthy nabob, Reinsfeld was to astound the world with some wonderful invention; we were boys who imagined that the universe belonged to us. But Nordheim, the wise, poured cold water upon our heated brains. 'Neither of you will ever achieve anything,' said he, 'for you do not understand expediency.' We jeered at the calculator of twenty with his wonderful sagacity, but he was right. I have wandered about the world, and have tried my hand at everything, but I have always been poor as a church mouse, and Reinsfeld with all his talent was left in the lurch as a paltry engineer, while our comrade Nordheim is a millionaire and a railway king,--because he understood expediency."

"He certainly has always understood that," Waltenberg said, coolly. "He occupies an extremely influential position---- But there come our guests."

He hastily left the window and went to receive his friends. A carriage had drawn up before the door, bringing Frau von Lasberg and Alice, escorted by Elmhorst. Wolfgang had not succeeded in evading the duty of accompanying his betrothed, and he had no excuse for refusing an invitation which his future father-in law regarded with such favour. He therefore submitted to necessity, but any one who knew him could see that, in spite of the extreme courtesy with which he greeted his host, he was making a great sacrifice. The two men, who had instinctively disliked each other from the first, hid their antipathy under a strictly courteous demeanour.

"Fraulein von Thurgau is late; she drove to the court-councillor's to call for Baroness Ernsthausen." Frau von Lasberg, who gave this information, was rather surprised by it herself. She had supposed that Molly was in the country under the secure guardianship of her granduncle; instead of which a note had arrived in the morning for Erna begging her to call for her on her way to Herr Waltenberg's. Her journey must have been postponed, probably for several days. But the old lady's surprise was transformed to indignation upon the entrance of Herr Gersdorf. Actually a rendezvous! And the ladies of Nordheim's family were made accomplices as it were, since Molly was under their protection. This must not be concealed from the girl's parents: they should hear of it this very day; and Frau von Lasberg, who was not at all inclined to play the part of a guardian-angel, received Herr Gersdorf with icy coldness. Unfortunately, it did not produce the slightest impression upon him; there was an expression of great content upon his grave features, and he took part in the conversation with unusual readiness.

Meanwhile, Erna had called at the court-councillor's, where she had waited in the carriage for five minutes before the little Baroness appeared in a state of great agitation, quite startling her friend by the stormy embrace with which she greeted her.

"What is the matter, Molly?" she asked. "You seem quite beside yourself."

"I am betrothed!--betrothed to Albert," the girl exclaimed, "and we are to be married in three months! Oh, my granduncle is the dearest, most delightful of men! I could kiss him if he were not so very ugly!"

Erna's composure was not so easily shaken as Molly's, but, knowing as she did the views of the entire Ernsthausen family, this news was certainly surprising.

"Your parents have given their consent?" she asked. "And so suddenly?

It seemed quite impossible a few days ago."

"Nothing is impossible!" Molly cried, in a rapture. "Oh, I prayed so fervently that my granduncle would commit some folly! But I never dreamed of this; and you will hardly believe it, Erna,--you cannot!"

"Do talk sensibly. Pray explain yourself," said Erna.

"He has married! Seventy, and married! He is a bridegroom. Oh, I shall die of laughter!" And she did laugh until the tears came.

"The old Baron--married?" Erna repeated, incredulously.

"Yes, to an old maid of irreproachable descent. The affair was arranged long ago; but it was kept secret, because he was afraid of a scene with my father and mother. He came to town simply and solely to alter his will, which was left with his attorney, and immediately after his return he had the knot tied fast by church and state, and papa says he has left all his money to his bride, and we shall not have a penny, so I am no match at all. Think what good luck!"

The young girl ran on without pausing for an instant, so that it was impossible to interpose a word. She scarcely gave herself time to take breath before she began again: "They had actually formed a conspiracy,--papa and your wise old duenna, to whom I owe something for her conduct as long as I live. I was to be tied up like a parcel and sent to my granduncle's address. My prayers and tears were of no avail,--my trunks were packed. Suddenly my granduncle's letter announcing his marriage fell into the midst of us like a bombsh.e.l.l.

Papa looked ready to have a stroke, mamma went into violent hysterics, and I danced about my room tossing the things out of my trunks, for of course the journey was out of the question. The next morning was like the calm after ten thunder-storms; my granduncle was excommunicated with bell, book, and candle. There was a secret conference between my parents, and when Albert came in the afternoon, he was accepted without a word."

"And you were absolutely happy, I am sure," Erna at last contrived to interpose.

"No; at first I was angry," Molly declared, with a little grimace, "Albert behaved so prosaically. Instead of talking of our eternal love and our half-broken hearts, he told my father the exact amount of his income, and explained his prospects. Of course I was listening in the next room, and I was outraged; but papa and mamma seemed really quite gentle and amiable. At last they called me in, and there was general embracing and emotion. Of course I cried too, although I would far rather have danced, and I was provoked with Albert for not shedding a single tear! A telegram was despatched to my granduncle,--it will embitter his honeymoon,--and to-morrow the announcements of the betrothal are to be sent out, and in three months we are to be married."

In the excess of her happiness the little Baroness threw her arms around her friend and embraced her afresh. The carriage, however, now reached its destination, and Molly's supreme moment of triumph was at hand. While the master of the house was receiving Fraulein von Thurgau, Gersdorf, secure in his lately-acquired right, hastened towards his betrothed, thus provoking an indignant glance from Frau von Lasberg. "I supposed you had already left town, Baroness," she remarked, in her sharpest tone.

"Oh, no, madame," Molly replied, with the most innocent air. "I did, it is true, propose to pay my granduncle a visit, but as he is just married----"

"What?" asked the old lady, imagining she had not heard correctly.

"The marriage of my granduncle, Baron Ernsthausen of Frankenstein, and my betrothal took place at the same time. Allow me, madame, to present my betrothed to you."

The smile on Waltenberg's face at these words showed that he was in the secret, but Frau von Lasberg sat quite dumfounded, and it was not until all the rest had eagerly pressed around Molly with their wishes for her happiness that she made up her mind to utter a few formal, congratulatory words, which the girl received with a smile that was not without malice. But Molly was too happy to-day to have refused forgiveness to her worst enemy, and her brilliant gaiety was contagious. All present seemed greatly to enjoy the occasion, although, as Gronau expressed it, 'there was nothing fit to eat.' He required some refreshment more solid than fruit, rare as such exquisite fruit was at this season of the year, and something better to drink than the heavy, fragrant cordial, which could be but sparingly sipped. The ladies, however, did not seem to share his opinion, and all left the table in a most cheerful mood to inspect the host's collection, which occupied the entire upper story.

Waltenberg conducted his guests up the staircase, and when the tall folding-doors opened into the suite of rooms, the entire party seemed suddenly transported as by magic from the gray wintry atmosphere of this northern March day to the sunny, glowing East.