Villa Eden Part 181

Roland went into the garden, where a bright voice called to him:--

"Mutual congratulations! we congratulate you, and you should congratulate us, too; we are betrothed."

Lina and the Architect were coming, holding each other's hand, through the meadow from the Villa. Lina left her lover and came up to Roland, saying:--

"We didn't want to wait until the dedication of the castle, we have our celebration by ourselves. Oh, Roland, how beautiful and how happy everything is in the world! But why don't you speak? Why do you make up such a melancholy face?"

Roland could only wave her off, and hurried into the house. The betrothed remained standing in the garden, sorely puzzled, when Lina said:--

"Oh, Albert, there's no good in being here. n.o.body welcomed us at the Villa, Manna was not to be seen, Herr Dournay isn't there, and Roland runs away. Come, we'll quit the whole premises. Forgive me for having brought you here before going anywhere else. I thought these were the people to whom I should make known my happiness in the very first place. Come, we'll go to your castle, and spend the whole day for once; you shall be a solitary knight, and I'll be a castle-maiden. Come, I thought there was to be a betrothal here to-day, too; but it doesn't look like it at all, and there's something frightful the matter."

Lina and her betrothed went together to the castle, up through the vineyard, but they were detained at the Major's, who was standing utterly helpless by the garden-hedge.

Such a thing had never happened as took place to-day.

Fraulein Milch had locked herself in her room; she must have met with something very extraordinary.

The Major was perfectly delighted to hear of the betrothal, but he only said:--

"Ah, there might be one down therein the Villa, too; but I'm afraid--I'm afraid we'll hear some bad news from there."

The Major insisted upon the betrothed couple taking a seat in his arbor, saying that Fraulein Milch would soon be down.

The Fraulein was sitting in her chamber alone, for the first time in a sore struggle. The world had been a matter of indifference to her, and only of account so far as some thing could be obtained from it agreeable to the Major. She found the neighborhood very friendly, and she was grateful to the soil, for the Major had a good digestion, and elsewhere he suffered from dyspepsia. She was also grateful to the Rhine, which occasionally furnished a nice fish, and she would nod to the mountains, as if she would say: That's right! just produce good wine; the Major likes to drink it when new, but he mustn't drink too mach of it. Thus was the Fraulein kindly disposed towards man and beast, towards water and plants; it was a matter of indifference that n.o.body troubled himself about her. She had strenuously declined every intimate connection, and now, through the Professorin, she had been drawn more among people, and had to-day been so deeply mortified. She had known Bella for a long time, although very distantly, and she had disliked her for a long time, although very distantly; but what she had experienced to-day was something wholly novel, and it grieved her sorely.

"O," said she to herself, "O, Frau Countess, you are highly virtuous, virtuous in the extreme, most respectfully virtuous, and beautiful too, you are; but I was once young and beautiful, and no one has ever ventured to give me an uncivil word; I have gone through the streets unattended by a servant, I was my own attendant, my own protector, and my own support. O Frau Countess, you stand very far up on the list of rank, I don't know but that you ought to be addressed as Your Highness!

O Frau Countess, take care, there is another list of n.o.bility which the Major ought to give you a glimpse of; no, not he; it would mortify him to death; but Herr Dournay, he must do it. No--n.o.body--only myself."

And just as she had become composed, the Major again knocked, crying:--

"Fraulein Milch! dear good Rosa," he added in a whisper, "Rosie, Rosalie!"

"What do you want?" the Major heard laughingly asked.

"Oh heavens! it's all right now you are laughing again. There are two good people here, the Architect, and Lina the Justice's daughter; they are betrothed, and have come to receive our congratulations. Do come, join us in the garden, and bring right off a bottle and four gla.s.ses."

Fraulein Milch opened the door. The Major asked:--

"Mayn't I know what has been the matter with you?"

"You shall know, sure enough, but don't ask me any more now. So the young people are betrothed, and at the house? I must dress myself up a little, and I'll come down immediately."

"So do. That's nice."

Fraulein Milch was delivered from all her own trouble, when the duty was enjoined upon her of rejoicing with the joyful; and the betrothed couple forgot the castle, and remained for hours sitting with the Major and Fraulein Milch in the arbor.

Then the journal came, and the Major begged to be excused for reading it before his guests; he received the paper after the burgomaster, the school-master, and the barber had read it, and so he could keep it. As he had nothing more to do with the world, it made no difference whether he learned an hour or two sooner or later what had happened.

"Oh, here's a great black mark," exclaimed Lina.

"That's the burgomaster's mark," said the Major. "Fraulein Milch, would you read to me? There must be something very special."

The Fraulein took the paper, but she covered her face with her hand after she had looked into it.

"What's the matter? You read, dear Lina."

Lina read the bitter paragraph by Professor Crutius; she wanted to stop after the first few lines, but the Major begged:

"Read on; do read on."

She read on to the end.

"O Thou really good Builder of all the worlds, what queer material you've put into the construction of the world! Good heavens! there's something frightful about a newspaper; now everybody knows about this."

Fraulein Milch was just on the point of saying that this was no news to her, but she had the self-command, doubly difficult for a woman, to keep from telling what she knew. It was better to say nothing, as she would thus escape a long explanation to the Major why she had said nothing about it a long time ago. Not till the Major begged her to go to the Professorin, who would be greatly troubled by this communication, did she say:--

"The Professorin, as well as I, knew it a long time ago."

In his bewilderment, the Major did not ask how it happened that she knew; he only opened his eyes wider. He had said to her a great many good and kind things, but the best of all was when he observed:--

"Yes. You might belong to our Brotherhood, you can keep a secret."

After a while the Major continued:--

"Look, children, down below there is the wonderfully beautiful Villa with its parks, its gardens, and with its millions inside the house--ha! and Roland and Manna. Fraulein Milch, don't try to prevent me. I must go down there, for n.o.body knows what's going on there, and I must do something to help them. Don't say anything against it, Fraulein Milch, I entreat you."

"I haven't said anything to hinder you; on the contrary, I think you ought to go."

Before she had finished speaking, a messenger came from the Villa for the Major to go there.

Lina wanted to join him, thinking she might be of some a.s.sistance to Manna; but the Major said that the Professorin and Aunt Claudine were enough already, and Lina ought not to spoil now any of her happiness.

Just as the Major was about to set off, a voice cried:--

"Herr Major, just stop. I'm coming."

With flushed face, and out of breath, Knopf came up.

"Do you know it?" asked the Major.

"Yes, indeed, and that's the reason I've come. Perhaps I can do something at the Villa."

"Good! I'm going, so come with me. No, you stay here, stay with the Fraulein. I'll have you sent for if you're needed."

And so the Major walked down the mountain, and the four who remained followed him with affectionate looks.