"If your betrothal had been an affair of the heart I should think something there had gone wrong, but----"

"I have no heart; you have told me so often enough," Wolfgang interposed, bitterly.

"No, you have nothing but ambition,--absolutely nothing," Reinsfeld rejoined, seriously.

Elmhorst made an impatient gesture: "Don't lecture me again, Benno! You know we never shall understand each other on that point. You are, and always will be----"

"An overstrained idealist who would rather eat dry bread with the darling of his heart than drive about in a gorgeous equipage beside a grand wife whom he did not love. Yes, I am unpractical in the extreme, and since at present I have not bread enough for two, it is fortunate that there is no darling of my heart."

"We must go," said Wolfgang, rising; "Alice expects me at twelve o'clock. And now do me the favour to look your best. I do not believe you know even how to make a bow."

"My patients are glad enough to be cured without one," said Benno, defiantly. "And if I do you no credit in your betrothed's society, it is your own fault: why do you take me there like a lamb led to the slaughter? I suppose Fraulein von Thurgau is there too?"

"She is."

"And has she grown to be a grand lady too?"

"I suppose you would call her so."

These answers were not very rea.s.suring to the poor doctor, who looked forward to this visit with positive dread. He did not rebel, however, for he was accustomed to yield to his friend. So he took from the table his hat, which, in spite of its late ironing, did not belie its years, and prepared to draw on the yellow gloves, saying, submissively, "Well, then, what must be, must."

Beyond the line of railway, about half a mile from the future station, lay the president's new villa. The house, built after the fashion common in the mountains, with an overhanging roof and graceful galleries, accorded well with its surroundings, while everything within was arranged to suit the grand scale upon which Nordheim's mode of life was conducted. The views of the finest portions of the mountain-range were magnificent, the meadows about the villa had been laid out in gardens, and the adjoining forest so cleared as to form a natural park.

There had been an immense outlay of money that the place might serve for a six-weeks' residence in the summer, but Nordheim never took the expense into account when he laid his plans, and had given his architect _carte blanche_. Elmhorst had, in fact, created a masterpiece of beauty in this mountain-retreat, and it was to be his wife's property.

Within, all appearance of simplicity vanished. The sunlight came through costly coloured gla.s.s to fall upon brilliant rugs and hangings, while carpeted stairs and corridors led to suites of apartments which, if not so splendid as those in the city, quite equalled them in luxury, and from every room there was an exquisite distant view.

Hither the president had now brought his family, and Alice was to pa.s.s the summer months here for the sake of the mountain-air which had been prescribed for her. As usual, Nordheim himself had no time to spend in relaxation; he stayed only long enough to oversee the work on the railway before he was recalled to town by business. He had intended to take his departure in the early morning, but several letters had arrived to which he was obliged to attend, and this had delayed him for a few hours. His carriage was waiting while he himself sought out his niece, with whom he wished to speak before leaving for town.

Erna's room was in the upper story; the gla.s.s door leading out upon the balcony was open, and outside lay Griff comfortably stretched out in the sunshine.

The dog was almost the only relic left the girl of her home; but Griff she had insisted upon taking with her when she left Wolkenstein Court, in spite of the opposition of her uncle and of Frau von Lasberg, who could not endure 'the creature.' At the suggestion of leaving it behind there had been a scene; Erna had positively refused to go from the house unless Griff accompanied her, and Nordheim had yielded at last upon condition that the dog was never to be admitted to the drawing-room.

This condition had been fulfilled; and, moreover. Griff had grown extremely well behaved, and it would now never have occurred to him to raise a riot in any room. He was no longer a puppy, but had developed into a magnificent animal. There was something lionlike in his appearance as he lay with huge, tawny paws stretched out, his large black eyes following every movement of his young mistress.

Something special must have occurred to bring the president thus to Erna. He was wont to have neither time nor inclination for the joys of domesticity; he was absent from his home for weeks and months at a time, and when there, was seen by his family only at meal-times. Even his relations with his daughter were far from intimate, and with his niece he stood on a very formal footing. He lived and moved in the world of affairs; everything else was subordinate to his business interests.

He entered Erna's room in his travelling-suit, and said, without sitting down and as if by the way, "I wanted to tell you that an hour ago I had a letter from Waltenberg. He came to Heilborn yesterday, intending to spend some weeks there, and will probably pay you a visit to-morrow."

The words seemed to be carelessly spoken, but they were accompanied by a keen glance at Erna, who received the intelligence with indifference, and replied, "Indeed? I will let Alice and Frau von Lasberg know."

"Frau von Lasberg knows it already, and will pay him all requisite attention; but I should wish a certain regard accorded him from--another quarter. Do you hear, Erna?"

"I was not aware, uncle, that I had seemed regardless of your guest."

"My guest? As if you did not know as well as I what attracts him to this house, and what has brought him to Heilborn. He wishes to know his fate with certainty, and I cannot blame him for wearying, after being trifled with all these months."

"I have never trifled with Herr von Waltenberg," Erna rejoined, coolly.

"I merely thought it best to maintain a degree of reserve with him, since he seems to imagine that he has only to stretch out his hand to obtain whatever he may desire."

"Well, we will not dispute about that, for you seem to have pursued precisely the right course, with your cool reserve. Men like Waltenberg, who make a positive cult of their liberty, and regard all family ties as so many fetters, need to be dealt with very carefully.

Too ready a welcome might have made him shy. What is withheld attracts him."

The girl's eyes flashed indignantly: "Such calculation is yours, uncle, not mine!"

"No matter, if it is correct," said Nordheim, paying no heed to the reproach contained in her words. "I have refrained from interfering hitherto because I saw that the affair was progressing as I would have it, but now I desire you no longer to avoid a declaration on Waltenberg's part. I have no doubt that he will shortly propose to you, and your answer----"

"May, perhaps, not accord with his wishes," Erna completed the sentence.

The president turned and looked searchingly at his niece: "What does that mean? You would not be insane enough to reject him?"

She was silent, but the same obstinacy was legible in her face that had characterized the girl of sixteen. Nordheim probably recognized the look and what it foreboded, for he frowned darkly.

"Erna, I confidently expect to find no obstacles in the way of my serious and well-considered plans. The matter in question is your marriage with a man----"

"Whom I do not love," she interrupted him.

Nordheim smiled, half contemptuously, half compa.s.sionately: "I supposed there was some exaggerated nonsense in the background. Love! What are called love-matches always end in disappointment. A marriage should be contracted upon a more sensible basis, and Alice sets you an example.

Do you suppose that she was influenced by any romantic ideas in her betrothal, or that they have any weight with Wolfgang?"

"Oh, no; least of all with _him_," Erna said, with evident contempt.

"Which, of course, amounts to a crime in your eyes! Nevertheless I confide to him my daughter's future in the conviction that he will be to her an excellent husband. I certainly should not have chosen an enthusiast for my son-in-law. Waltenberg indeed can allow himself any luxury in the way of romance,--his means are ample. He is as eccentric as yourself; in fact, you are extremely alike, and I cannot understand what objection you can have to him."

"His egotism! He lives only for himself and for what he considers the enjoyment of life. He knows neither country nor profession, neither duty nor ambition, nor does he choose to know them, because they might disturb his enjoyment. Such a man can never live a life of earnest endeavour; he has no future, nor can he love a wife, for he loves himself alone."

"He offers you his hand, however, and that is the matter to be considered at present. If you require in your future husband only ambition and energy, you should have married Wolfgang. He _has_ a future,--for that I'll go warrant."

Erna shrank from him, and her tone was almost sharp as she exclaimed, "Spare me such jests, uncle, I pray you."

"I am not given to jesting; but, by the way, Erna, your relations with Wolfgang are very unpleasant, and the manner in which you conduct yourselves towards each other is most disagreeable for those about you.

Let me seriously request you to modify the extreme coldness of your manner to him. But to return to the subject of our talk. You seem to think that you have but to make your choice among a crowd of suitors of one who shall conform to your ideal. I regret being obliged to show you your mistake, but the truth is, you have no choice. A girl without means will certainly be admired and flattered if she is beautiful, but married she will not be, for men are very calculating. This offer is the first you have had, and will probably be the only one; moreover, it is a more brilliant one than you had any right to expect. There is every reason why you should accept it."

His words were not uttered in a tone of well-meant admonition; there was something indescribably heartless and offensive in the way in which President Nordheim explained to his niece that in spite of her beauty she had no claim to be loved and wooed, since she was poor. Erna turned pale, and her lip quivered, but her face was by no means expressive of docility.

"And if, notwithstanding all this, I do not accept it?" she asked, slowly.

"Then you must abide by the consequences. Your position will hardly be an enviable one if you remain unmarried. Alice is to be married next year, as you know."

"And in the same year I shall be of age--and free!"

"Free!" sneered Nordheim. "How grand it sounds! Have you, then, been fettered in chains in my house, where you were received as a daughter?

or are you longing for your patrimony? It is the merest pittance, and you are accustomed to the requirements of a lady."

"I lived with my father in the simplest way," said Erna, bitterly, "and we were happy. I have never been so in your house."

The president shrugged his shoulders: "Yes, you are emphatically your father's daughter. He too preferred to live in a peasant's hut rather than, with his ancient name, to have a career in the world. Well, Waltenberg offers you the freedom for which you pine. As his wife you can have wealth and position; he will fulfil your every wish, gratify your every whim, if you but understand how to manage him. For the last time I entreat you to take a rational view of the matter. If you refuse to do so, you and I have done with each other. I have no toleration for exaggerations, which appear to be hereditary in the Thurgau family."

Erna made no reply, and her uncle seemed to expect none, for he turned to go, pausing, however, on the threshold of the door to say, with frigid emphasis, "I confidently hope to find you betrothed when I return. Farewell!"