Marlitt_The_Second_Wife.txt topic ['13', '324', '378', '393']
CHAPTER I.
High in the clear bine sky a dark spot was poised motion-
less above the waters of the little lake. The smooth sheet
swarmed with fish, it lay there usually so lonely and defence-
less, the giant trees upon its shore were powerless to prevent
the gray-feathered thief from darting suddenly down out of
the blue air and pouncing upon its scaly inhabitants. But
to-day he did not venture down, for there were people standing
about, old and young, and the young shouted and danced,
and in childish glee tossed their balls up at him; horses
neighed and stamped upon the grassy banks, and clouds of
smoke curled up through the tops of the trees and stretched
wavering arms to heaven. Human Voices and smoke were too
much for the sly depredator, too much for the sailor of the
crystal ether; he circled wildly about, and at last vanished,
as if blown away like an air-bubble, while a shrill, childish
hurrah was shouted after him.
On the left bank of the lake there was a little fishing-village,
eight scattered cottages, so low that their straw-thatched roofs
scarcely touched the low-hanging boughs of the lindens cen-
turies old that overshadowed them. With rods and nets
hanging upon their walls, small benches beside their doors,
and flanked on the south by hedges of hawthorn and dog-roses,
they formed a picturesque group upon the pebbly beach of the
1* 5
6 THE SECOND WIFE.
lake. There was nothing to suggest the thick-set East Fries-
land fisherman, and it was well that the huge park, with its
wide stretches of forest, entirely concealed the little capital
beyond it ; everything seemed rustic and rural, until one of
the low cottage doors opened.
If the German prince had known that Le Petit Trianon, in-
nocent as it seemed, would cost the brilliant queen of France
her head, this little fishing-village would certainly never have
been built; but his was no prophetic soul, and accordingly
this graceful imitation had been standing on the shore of the
lake, in the royal park here, for nearly a hundred years ; with-
out, a primitive idyll, within, a toy for the most petted and
spoiled of mortals. The foot, fresh from the sandy beach,
stepped directly upon Persian carpets, and the walls were draped
with silk where they were not hung with mirrors. The outer
walls might mimic poverty and simplicity, but surely it was
impossible to eat from deal tables, or to rest from play upon
wooden benches.
The royal family, to one of whose scions the fishing-village
owed its existence, had for centuries adhered to the custom by
which each heir to the throne was required, in the eighth year
of his age, to plant a linden-tree. The meadow on the left
shore of the little lake was called the Maienfest, and had be-
come somewhat of a historic curiosity, a royal record. Seldom
had one of these prince-planted trees perished ; there was a
goodly group on the Maienfest, sturdy giants in armour of grya
bark, brandishing in the face of heaven their mighty shields
of greenery, protecting the weaklings among their descendants,
for such there were in spite of princely planting ; nature heeds
no length of mortal pedigree.
To-day, in the month of May, the crown-prince Frederick
was to perform the mighty deed. Of course the court and
the loyal capital celebrated the occasion in the manner pre-
scribed bv ancient custom. Various children of rank were
THE SECOND WIFE. 7
invited to the festival, while those less fortunate, for whom
there was no coronet in prospect, drove out with their parents
to look on and see how a real prince handled a spade. Behind
the mass of carriages swarmed a crowd of the populace; and
boys, unchecked, climbed into the surrounding trees, to secure
a good view.
There was a twofold significance in to-day's festivities ; for
just eighteen months before, the ruler of the country, the
father of the crown-prince, had died, and his widow now for
the first time laid aside her mourning.
She stood beside the linden that had just been planted;
no one could be for an instant mistaken in her as the mistress
of all about her. She was dressed in white, with a spray of
pale wild-roses stuck in her belt, and from the pink lining of
the parasol that she held above her uncovered head a faint
rosy reflection was cast upon her face, upon a delicate short
nose tnd full-formed though rather colourless lips. The
manifest irregularity of outline beneath the masses of black
hair, the dark shadows around the eyes, and the waxy, inani-
mate hue of the complexion which one involuntarily connects
with a passionate temperament, lent her face something of the
Spanish Creole type, although assuredly there did not run one
drop of the blood of that race in the veins of the German
princess.
She followed the flight of the heron as fixedly as did the
children, who gave another loud hurrah as he disappeared.
, " You did not shout this time either, Gabriel," a little boy
Said, angrily, to another, taller than himself, beside him, whose
plain white linen suit contrasted oddly with the rich dresses
of the children among whom he stood.
He made no reply, but cast down his eyes, whereat his
young questioner fell into a rage.
"You ought to be ashamed cf yourself, before all the
others, too ! Shout, hurrah, this instant ; we are all going
8 THE SECOND WIFE.
to do it again/' he ordered, and encouraged at the same
time.
The boy in white turned away, embarrassed, and would have
left the spot where he was standing, when the other raised a
whip he held in his hand and struck him full in the face.
The crowd of children scattered in all directions. The little
angry figure stood there alone for one moment, an ideally
handsome . child, dressed in green velvet, with magnificent
brown curls, a perfect picture of vigour and distinction ; the
crown-prince and his brother, with all their childish retinue,
were no match for him.
His governess came hurrying up to him, pale with conster"
nation ; but the duchess had already taken hold of the little
clenched fist.
" That was not pretty, Leo," she said ; but the tone of her
voice had more of tenderness than of reproach in it.
The child snatched away his hand from the clasp of the
velvet caressing fingers, and with a shy side glance at the re-
treating figure of the boy whom he had struck, turned upon
his heel. "I don't care," he muttered; "it's good for him!
Papa doesn't like him, either; he always says, 'This coward is
afraid of the sound of his own voice.' "
" But why, then, you little rogue," the duchess asked, with
a smile, "do you always insist upon having Gabriel with you?"
" Because well because I choose to."
With these wayward words, he tossed his curly head, turned
his back upon the company as if it did not exist, and vanished
behind one of the cottages. By a circuitous route he then
sought the giant linden, behind which Gabriel had retired.
The lonely white figure was leaning against the trunk of
the tree. He was a boy about thirteen years of age, with a
face profoundly melancholy in expression, and a supple, well-
knit, but by no means muscular frame. t He had dipped his
pocket-handkerchief in the water of the lake, and was laying
THE SECOND WIFE. f
it upon His left cheek, while his delicate lips twitched ner-
vously, less perhaps from the pain caused bj the blow than
from inward emotion.
Little Leo walked up and down before him sereral times
savagely cracking his whip.
"Does it hurt very much?" he asked, abruptly, knitting his
brows angrily and stamping his foot. Gabriel had taken away
the handkerchief to dip it again in water, and a retd, swollen
welt, streaking the left cheek, was plainly to be seen.
" Oh, no," the boy answered, and his voice was gentle and
very melodious; "it only bums a little now."
In an instant the whip lay on the ground, and its owner
had his arms around the beaten boy.
" Oh, I am too wicked a fellow I" he sobbed out. " There
lies my whip, Gabriel; take it and thrash me I"
The other children, who now stood around, stared open-
mouthed at this outburst of profound repentance. The duchess
also had approached. Some strange emotion must have over-
come her. She snatched the boy to her and covered his
beautiful face with kisses.
"Raoul!" she whispered. The name was breathed richer
than spoken.
" Nonsense 1" pouted the boy, rudely extricating himself
from her embrace, "Raoul is my papa's name."
A deep blush crimsoned the pale cheek of the lady ; she
stood motionless for a moment, then slowly turned her head
and cast a timid glance around her; but all the ladies neat
were vanishing within one of the cottages.
10 THE SECOND WIFE.
CHAPTER IL
Along the road leading from the capital came a court
equipage, in which sat a gentleman, while the blue satin cush
ions beside him were occupied by croquet-mallets and balls.
Just as the carriage was turning into the drive upon the shore
of the lake, a pedestrian emerged from the shadow of a group
of trees. The gentleman in the carriage ordered his coachman
to stop.
" Good-day, Mainau I" he called. " No offence ; but you are
expected with the greatest impatience, and here you are saun-
tering along on the most roundabout road ! The linden was
planted long ago, and you have deprived the House of Mainau
of the proud, tradition that it was your hand that held the sap-
ling upright while Frederick the Twenty-first shovelled earth
upon its roote."
" For which my portrait will be hung with black crape in
future."
The gentleman in the carriage laughed, and, opening the
barouche-door, made a motion to the other to enter.
"What the deuce, Rdiger 1 inside?" and Mainau maae a
comical gesture of dismay. " No, thank God ; the gout Has
pared me as yet. Drive on in the proud consciousness of
vour lofty mission. You have been to fetch the croquet-balls
I see. Enviable mortal I"
The gentleman sprang out of the carriage and closed the
door, and then, as the vehicle drove on, the two men turned
into the footpath that led among the trees to the fishing-vil-
lage. They contrasted oddly enough as they walked side by
side. The gentleman from the carriage was short, vivacious
THE SECOND WIFE. 11
and quite stout; while his companion was so tall that he some-
times had to bend his head to avoid contact with the lower
boughs of the trees. There was something that startled and
dazzled one in the face and air of this man, a strange intent-
ness in the carriage of his expressive head and his gestures,
sometimes seen in the melancholy gleam of dark eyes, some-
times in the sudden lighting of those eyes to an indignation
that can nerve the weakest arm against an antagonist. The
angry boy by the lake-side was so like him that the resemblance
was almost laughable.
" Let us walk, then," said Herr von Kdiger. " Unfortu-
nately, we cannot be late enough at dinner to-day. Ugh ! pap
and pudding of every variety. I am in no danger of reproof,
either, for I bring you with me. Apropos, you have been
away for two days, your Leo told the duchess."
"Yes, I have been away."
This laconic assent was too much even for the vivacious little
man. The " Where ?" that he was about to utter died upon his
lips. They were passing a spot where the foliage divided and
there was a view of the lake and the little village. Snowy
tables were spread beneath the lindens ; and among the cot-
tages, through the open door of one of which the prince's cook
could be seen in white cap and apron, servants were hurry-
ing to and fro; dinner was evidently in preparation. The
scene in which little Leo had played such a part had long
been forgotten ; all were at play, graceful court ladies and
slender young chamberlains. Age, too, seemed to bring no
immunity here ; even the pursy, asthmatic old Oberhofmeister
waddled about among the crowd of children clapping his
hands.
The duchess was standing on the very brink of the lake ; so
near the edge that her feet almost touched the water. Her
white reflection floated like swan's-down upon the glassy sur-
face. Some young girls had woven her a wreath of wild
12 THE SECOND WIFE.
convolvulus and maybells. It lay above her brow, the long,
feathery tendrils drooping down upon her graceful shoulders.
"Ophelia!" cried Baron Mainau, in a low tone, with a
wave of his hand. There was infinite sarcasm in his voice.
His companion turned upon him. " No, no ! if you please,
Mainau. No farce with me. It may impose upon the women,
who tremble like lambs in your presence ; but not upon me."
He thrust his hands into the side-pockets of his light over-
coat, shrugged his shoulders, and began, with a sly smile,
" Once upon a time there was a beautiful but poor princess
and a gay young gallant. They were in love with each other,
and the princess would have been glad to be rid of her rank
to be a baron's wife." He paused a moment, and glanced at
his companion, but he did not notice how pale he grew as his
burning glance sought the depths of the thicket beside them
Then gaily continuing, " But the princess's cousin made his
appearance the ruler of the land and sued for her fair hand.
Her beautiful black eyes wept bitter tears ; but rank and power
won the victory over love at last, and the princess let them
place a crown upon her splendid dark curls. Honour bright,
Mainau," he interrupted himself, "who could blame her?
Only sentimentalists."
Mainau made no reply. He angrily broke off and threw
away some young twigs that had made bold to touch his
cheek.
" How her heart must beat to-day I" said Rdiger, after a
short pause, evidently resolved not to drop the interesting
subject. " Her mourning is at an end ; her princely pride is
satisfied forever ; for the duchess is the mother of the reigning
prince. You, too, are free from matrimonial fetters. Every-
thing is wonderfully arranged, and you would persuade me
No use, my dear fellow. We know what will happen
to-day."
" What wonderful sagacity you show 1" said Baron Mainau,
THE SECOND WIFE. 13
with mock admiration. Ab be spoke, they emerged from
the forest upon the open space where the carriages were
standing, and, avoiding the crowd and press, turned into the
narrow path upon the lake-shore.
" What, boy ! are you mad ?" Mainau suddenly cried, seiz-
ing by the collar a half-grown, sturdy beggar-boy, who was
dangling in a very dangerous position from a bough that
overhung the water. He shook him once or twice, like a wet
poodle, and placed him upon his feet. " A bath might have
been of service to you, my boy," he laughed, looking at his
light-gloved hands; " but I doubt if you can swim."
" Pah 1 the fellow was horridly dirty," said Bdiger, with
a shudder.
" So he was. But I can assure you that I do not make
myself wretched long about such contacts hasty plebeian
sins of the hand, in which the soul has no part There it is
again. We must strive long before the true feeling of aris-
tocracy so permeates our physical frame that we shall be in
no danger of yielding to a sudden impulse. Don't you agree
with me? eh ?"
Bdiger turned away peevishly, and hastened on. " Your
heroic act has been observed from the Maienfest," he said,
hurriedly. " Come, come, Mainau I The duchess is moving ;
and there comes your boy."
Little Leo came rushing around the lake to his papa, who
bent to caress him, and then walked on with the child's hand
in his.
While the others went on with their play upon the Maien-
fest, the duchess, attended by several ladies and gentlemen of
the court, walked slowly towards the new-comers. There was
in her every motion the inimitable languid grace of the Creole.
Yes, her heavy widow's mourning was. gone, like an ugly chrys-
alis from the bright-hued butterfly. Decorum and conven-
tionality had been paid their just due, and at last happiness
2
14 THE SECOND WIFE.
might claim its own. There was no need to restrain any longer
the fire that burned in those eyes at this moment.
" I must upbraid you, Baron Mainau," she said, with a
Blight tremor in her voice. " You frightened me by what you
did just now ; and, besides, you have come too late."
He held his hat in his right hand, and made her a profound
bow. The sunlight played over the brown curls of the head
beforu which ladies trembled ""like lambs.*'
" I should assure your highness that I am most unfortunate
in being late," he replied. " But you will hardly believe such
an assertion if I tell you where I lingered."
The duchess fixed her eyes upon him with an expression
of inquiry. He had grown a little pale ; but that fathomless
glance of his sought her face in a kind of savage triumph.
Involuntarily her hand sought her heart. The pale little rose
in her belt broke off, and fell unnoticed at the feet of the man
who confronted her.
In vain he waited for her to question him. She was silent in
what seemed almost breathless expectation. With another obei-
sance, he continued, after a moment's pause, "I was at Rudis-
dorf, at my aunt Trachenberg's. Permit me to announce to your
highness my betrothal to Juliana, Countess von Trachenberg."
All around stood as if petrified. Who might dare to break
the silence, or even cast an indiscreet glance at the duchess,
whose face blanched to the very lips ? Her niece only, the
young princess Helena, laughed carelessly and gaily. " What
an idea, Baron Mainau I Marry a woman called Juliana ! She
must be a great-grandmother at least, and wear spectacles !"
He joined in her merry laughter, how melodious and inno-
cent it sounded 1 The spell of silence was broken. The duchess,
too, smiled with pale lips, and addressed a few words of con-
gratulation to the baron, with all the condescending grace that
becomes a sovereign towards a subject.
" My dear girls," she then said, turning easily and gracefully
THE SECOND WIFE. lft
to a group of young people, "I am sorry to lay aside your
charming wreath, hut it weighs upon my temples. I must
retire for a few moments and take it off. Au revoir at
dinner."
She declined the proffered assistance of one of her ladies-in-
waiting, and went into a cottage, the door of which she closed
behind her.
Her face was always lily-pale, and her eyes often shone with
a glow that seemed born of southern skies. She smiled gra-
ciously, and vanished like a flitting fairy. No one saw her
within the cottage sink upon the floor in a passion of tearless
grief, as she tossed away the wreath from her head and strove
fiercely for self-control. For the time allowed her was so short.
In a few moments she must appear blandly smiling again before
the courtly throng outside. They must not dream of the wild
fire in her veins.
Meanwhile, Baron Mainau was standing with his boy on the
shore, watching, with apparent amusement, the bustle among
the carriages. Every one had congratulated him, but a re-
straint had fallen upon all the company, and he soon found
himself alone. Suddenly Rdiger approached him.
"A fearful revenge! most striking!" the little man mur-
mured, with something like terror in his tone. "Ah, I say
with Gretchen, ' Henry, I fear thee.' God bless me ! Was
there ever another man who could, upon the altar of his
wounded pride, slaughter his victim after so implacable, so
refined, so cruel a fashion as you did just now? You are des-
perately bold terribly "
" Because I chose to say, not in set phrase and at my own
time, l Now 1 refuse' ? Do you suppose I will let myself be
married ?"
The vivacious little man looked at him dubiously. This
polished man of the world was sometimes rude, not to say
coarse. " My consolation is that you suffer terribly yourself
16 THE SECOND WIFE. .
under the cruel conditions imposed upon you by your pride,"
he said, almost defiantly, after a pause.
" Pray admit that all that is my own affair."
" Good heavens ! yes. And now, what next?"
" What next?" laughed Mainau. "A marriage, Rdiger."
"Actually? You have never seen much of Rudisdorf. I
know all about it. Just a bride wooed in a hurry out of the
' Almanach de Gotha.' "
" Rightly guessed, my friend."
" Hm I She is of an ancient race ; but but every one
knows Rudisdorf is in ruins. What does she look like?"
" My dear Rdiger, she is a bean-pole, twenty years old, with
red hair and downcast eyes, that is all I know. Her mirror
knows her face better than I do. But, bah ! what does it
matter? I want neither a beautiful nor a rich wife. She
must be virtuous. She must not annoy me by conduct for
which I may be held accountable. You know my views con-
cerning marriage."
The same proudly-cruel smile at which the duchess had
turned pale again flitted across his face, probably at the
thought of his " striking revenge."
" What else can I do ?" he asked, after a moment's pause,
with easy nonchalance. " My uncle has sent off Leo's tutor,
because he read in bed o' nights and wore creaking boots,
and the governess squints fearfully, and puts almonds and
bonbons in her pocket at dessert. She is detestable. And I
want to go to the East, and of course I must leave a wife at
home. I am to be married in six weeks. Will you be my
best man ?"
The little man moved uneasily. " What can I do ? I
must," he said, half angry, half laughing. " For not one of
those fellows there," and he pointed to a group of gentlemen
who were casting side glances at his companion, " will have
anything to say to you ; rely upon that."
THE SECOND WIFE. 17
" Oh, Gabriel !" little Leo said, in a state of great childish
excitement, to the boy in white, immediately after this, " my
new mamma, who is coming to our house, is a bean-pole
papa said so ; and her hair is red, just like our scullery-maid'f .
I can't bear her. I'll have nothing to do with her. I'll cut
her with my whip when she comes."
CHAPTER IIL
" Look, Liana 1 here is KaouTs wedding-gift. It must have
cost six thousand thalers," cried the Countess Trachenberg at
the door of the room, as she rustled across the threshold.
The apartment that she entered was upon the ground-floor
of a wing of the stately castle. Its entire front wall was like
one large pane of glass, divided only by narrow veins of lead
and very delicate door-frames, and this was all that intervened
between the floor of the room and the broad, imposing terrace
outside. Beyond the balustrade of the terrace there was a
wide stretch of lawn intersected by gravelled paths, with white
marble groups at the points of intersection. Around the lawn
ran a belt of dense woodland, through which, directly opposite
the centre door of this glass-walled saloon, ran an apparently
endless alley, within whose depths the waters of a fountain,
sparkling in the May sunshine, obscured the view of the
misty heights beyond.
Tho whole both castle and garden formed a masterpiece
of antique French taste. But, alas ! from the chinks in the
marble pavement of the terrace was sprouting a positively
thick growth of weeds ; and the outlines of the paths inter-
secting what should have been a smoothly-shaven lawn were
irregular with rank grasses, while the broad pathway of the
B 2*
18 THE SECOND WIFE.
alley was emerald green in colour. And, all ! what sights the
frescoed figures upon the ceiling of the garden-room, as it was
called, looked down upon ! How tottering and shabby was
all that rococo furniture ! Banished long since as old-fashicned
from the brilliant apartments in the castle, it had passed
through every stage of degradation to the apartments of the
grooms, where it must have been scrubbed with sand. And
here it was again in this stately room, a witness of the
inevitable decrees of fate. All the gorgeous furniture that
had eclipsed and thrust it aside, the costly curtains, pictures,
clocks, mirrors, had fallen beneath the auctioneer's hammer.
They were all scattered to the four winds of heaven ; and the
old, despised rubbish was gathered together again, for it be-
longed to the entail, and could not be sold. The final ruin
had occurred four years since. "A disgraceful sign of the
times, an outrageous triumph of wealth over aristocracy, which
the justice of Heaven never should have permitted," the
Countess Trachenberg was wont to say.
In the middle of the garden-room stood a long oaken table,
at one end of which sat a lady, the plainness, nay, ugliness,
of whose appearance was positively startling. It was almost
monstrous, the large head crowned with stiff red hair, and
the face, of the fiat-nosed negro type, not even possessing the
charm of a clear complexion. The hands alone, now busily
employed, were delicate, and of exquisite beauty of form. She
was turning in her fingers a blossom of blue syringa. One
would have thought the perfume of so fresh a spray must have
filled the apartment ; but the stem was covered with a strip of
thin green paper, the flower was artificial.
As the Countess Trachenberg entered, the lady started as
in terror, the flower was hastily dropped on the table, and a
white kerchief thrown over the materials of her work.
" Oh, 'tis mamma I" half murmured a young girl, standing
at the other end of the table, with her back to the door. All
THE SECOND WIFE. 19
oyer her back, like a glittering cloak, hung a shining mass.
The girl had loosened her hair, and it rippled down, rich,
heavy, golden red in hue, almost to the hem of her light
muslin dress. At sight of it the countess stayed her steps for
a moment. " What is this for ?" she asked, pointing to the
hanging hair.
" I brought home a headache, mamma, and Ulrika loosened
my braids for me,*' was the answer, and there was a slight
shade of timidity in the voice. "Indeed, it is a terrible
burden," she sighed, leaning back her head as if yielding to
the weight behind.
"Have you been out in the sun again, entertaining tho
peasants about here with your weed-gathering?" the countess
asked, at once sternly and contemptuously. " When will you
have done with such childish nonsense ?" She shrugged her
shoulders, and cast a scornful glance upon the table, where
were lying quires of blotting-paper and a press for flowers.
The young girl had just taken some orchids carefully out of
a tin box preparatory to pressing them.
Her grace the Countess Trachenberg, nie Princess Luto-
wiska, knew perfectly well that her eldest daughter, Countess
Ulrika, manufactured artificial flowers which brought a high
price in Berlin. The matter was arranged through the me-
dium of a trustworthy old servant, a former nurse, and no
one suspected that a coronet rested upon the brows of tho
artist. The countess also knew that her only son, the heir of
Kudisdorf, prepared, with the assistance of his sister Ju-
liana, and sold in Russia, admirable collections of native plant?.
But it was impossible that a born Princess Lutowiska should
be aware of anything so degrading. Woe to the hand de-
tected in flower-manufacture ! woe to the tongue that hinted
at these sources of increase to her income ! All these pursuits
were, of course, childish nonsense ; they would tire of them in
time
20 THE SECOND WIFE.
As she passed her youngest daughter, she put her hand
beneath her tresses, weighing, as it were, the " terrible bur-
den;" and something like an emotion of maternal pride passed
across her sharply-outlined but still beautiful features.
" Raoul ought to see this," she said. " Little fool, to hide
auch an ornament from him ! I shall never forgive you that
horrible thick velvet ribbon in which you had the folly to
appear before him ! With such hair "
" But it is red, mamma."
"Nonsense! That is red," she said, pointing to her
daughter Ulrika. " What have I ever done, to be punished
by two red-heads ?"
Countess Ulrika, who had in the mean time taken her
worsted embroidery from her pocket, sat like a statue. Not
an eyelash quivered ; her beautiful mother was right. But
her sister ran to her, and, laying the despised head gently
upon her breast, kissed it tenderly again and again.
" Sentimentality forever I' ' murmured the Countess Trachen-
berg, peevishly, laying upon the table the package that she
carried. With a pair of scissors she quickly cut open its en-
velope. It contained a jewel-box, and a piece of heavy white
ilk brocade arabesqued with silver.
The lady eagerly opened the box, and gazed at its contents
with head thrown back, scarcely controlling an outburst of
envious surprise.
" Just look ! this bread-and-butter girl of mine will go to
the altar in more princely attire than did the petted Princess
Lutowiska," she said, slowly holding up to the sunlight a
necklace of brilliants and emeralds. " Yes, yes, it is easy
enough for the Mainaus. Your father was a poor wretch. 1
might have known that then."
Ulrika started as if her mother had struck her ; from the
sharp blue eyes beneath her heavy eyelids came a flash of
irritation; but he calmly drew out her needleful of green
THE SECOND WIFE. 21
worsted, and said, in a grave monotone, " The Trachenbergs
then possessed an unencumbered property of half a million
They had always been a frugal, domestic family, and my dear
father was true to their traditional virtues until, at forty years
of age, he married. At the bankruptcy I did all that I could,
with the lawyer's assistance, to understand matten. I know
that boundless compliance reduced papa to poverty."
" Insolent 1" exclaimed the countess, with a sudden outburst
of anger. " Cleave to your Trachenbergs. Although I gave
you birth, I have no part in you. One needs but to walk
through the portrait-gallery of your family to know that,
red-haired Tartar faces from beginning to end. I did well to
weep and lament when, thirty years ago, a little new-born
monster 1 a genuine Trachenberg was laid in my arms."
" Mamma ! mamma !" cried Liana.
" Be quiet, my child," her sister said, soothingly, with a
smile. She rolled up her embroidery and arose. The sisters
were of the same height, above middle size, sylph-like forms,
with beautiful hands and feet, and supple, taper fingers. As
her mother grumblingly tossed the jewel-box upon the table,
Ulrika unrolled the piece of silk. Heavy and stiff, as only
such brocade can be, its folds fell upon the floor with a rustle
that was almost metallic. Casting a terrified glance at the
heap of silver splendour, Liana turned and looked fixedly out
into the garden.
" You will be a majestic bride, Liana. If papa could only
see it!" cried Ulrika.
" Mainau insults us," murmured the young girl, in a deeply
wounded tone.
"Insults us?" exclaimed the Countess Trachenberg, whoso
quick ears had caught the half- whispered words. " Are you
beside yourself? And will you have the kindness to tell me
wherein he presumes to insult the Trachenbergs?"
Liana pointed to the worn and faded covering of the old
22 THE SECOND WIFE.
arm-chair, across which lay the gorgeous bridal dress. " Can
you conceive a greater contrast, mamma? Is it not a tactless
condescension on his part to our poverty?" she replied, evi-
dently with an effort to overcome her fear of her irritable
mother.
The Countess Trachenberg clasped her hands. "God help
me 1 How did I ever come by such plebeian children, meas-
uring the dignity of their position by a haberdasher's yard*
stick? Condescension 1 And that from a Trachenberg! You
condescend to the Mainaus, let me tell you. Are you not
aware that your mother is a direct descendant of the old Po-
lish kings, and that your paternal ancestors were lords of the
land long before the crusades ? If Raoul were to lay the wealth
of the world at your feet, he could not buy of you pre-emi-
nence of rank. His family is not ten generations old. In-
deed, this marriage of yours is a rrUsaUiance^ and if I could
have endured the thought of two daughters left on my hands,
I should certainly have denied his suit. And he knows this
well enough, or he would not have engaged himself almost
without seeing you."
The girl stood motionless, with her hands clasped before her.
The golden-red hair fell over her breast and concealed her pro-
file. But her sister walked several times hastily to and fro in
the room.
At this moment the door leading into the corridor was
gently opened ; the old nurse at present the cook put in
her head. "Excuse me, your grace," she said, in a humble
tone; "but the post-boy will not wait any longer."
"Oh, yes; I had entirely forgotten the man. He must
wait until I come. Give him a cup of coffee, in the kitchen,
Lena."
The servant vanished, and Countess Trachenberg took a
paper from her pocket.
" The post-boy must have a douceur, and here is a postal bill
THE SECOND WIFE. 23
for forty thalers that we must pay. The wine-merchant in
Rheims most impertinently requires payment on delivery for
the champagne I have ordered for the wedding. Pay it/' she
said, curtly, handing the paper to Ulrika.
A blush of terror suffused her daughter's face. "You
ordered champagne, mamma?" she exclaimed, in dismay.
"Heavens! and to such an amount!"
The countess smiled scornfully. " Did you propose to regale,
the gentlemen at the wedding-breakfast with your home-made
currant-wine? And I never imagined, as I have just told you,
that we should be required to pay thus, on delivery." She
shrugged her shoulders : " There is nothing for it but to put a
good face upon the matter and pay the bill."
Ulrika, without a word, unlocked a desk and took from it
two rolls of money. " Here is all we have at present," she
said, briefly and decidedly, "thirty-five thalers. We must
live. Not only in Rheims are we refused credit ; we cannot
buy a pound of meat in all the country round without ready
money. You must be aware of that."
" Certainly. My sagacious daughter Ulrika preaches often
enough from this favourite text."
" I musty mamma," Ulrika calmly replied ; " because you so
often forget what is surely not difficult to understand that
our creditors have cut down our yearly income from twenty-
five thousand to six hundred thalers."
The Countess Trachenberg put her fingers in her ears and
ran to one of the glass doors. Tall and majestic though she
was, she acted like a spoiled child. She tore the door open
and was about to rush out, when a new idea took possession
of her. She closed it again, and said calmly, but with
evident malice, " Only six hundred thalers ! But let me ask
you once more, How are they spent? We eat soup fit only
for beggars. Lena feeds us with rice and eggs till I am sick
of both; and the pinch of tea that you allow us grows more
24 THE SECOND WIFE.
and more homoeopathic. I wear this thing," she pointed to
her black silk dress, " with which you had the kindness to
present me at Christmas, day in and day out. Everything
that could make my lonely life here in some degree tolerable
new French books, bonbons, perfumery has long been a
forbidden luxury. Therefore I conclude that you must have a
arplus of money at your disposal of which you do not tell me."
" Ulrika never falsifies, mamma," cried Liana, indignantly.
"I cannot send the bill back," the countess continued, with-
out heeding the interruption. " You must put an end to this
farce and pay it."
"I cannot conjure money out of the ground. The wine
must be returned," Ulrika composedly replied.
Her mother uttered a shrill scream and threw herself upon
a sofa in a fit of hysterics.
Calmly, with folded arms, Ulrika stood by her side, looking
down upon her with a bitter, ironical smile.
" Poor Magnus," whispered Liana, pointing to the door of
the adjoining room. " He is in there, and will be terrified at
this noise. Pray, dear mamma, be composed; Magnus must
not see you thus. What will he think?" she said, half in en-
treaty, half in reproof, to her mother. The girlish figure no
longer trembled with fear; there was an involuntary sense of
superiority in the warning gesture of her hand. She spoke to
deaf ears; her mother's screams continued.
The door of the adjoining room opened; Liana flew to-
wards it
"Go, Magnus; don't come here now," she entreated, in
a touching, child-like way, trying gently to force back the
intruder. He might easily have been pushed away, one would
have thought, so slender and boyish did he look.
"Let me come in, little Famulus," he said, kindly, and his
intelligent face beamed with pleasure. " I have heard it all,
and am come to the rescue."
THE SECOND WIFE. 25
But for one moment he hesitated to advance, as his eye fell
upon the convulsed figure upon the sofa.
"Mamma, be calm," he said, approaching, with a slight
tremor in his voice. "You can pay for the wine. Look,
hero is money, five hundred thalers, mamma dearl" And he
held a handful of bank-notes towards her.
Ulrika looked intently into his face. Her own was crimson,
bnt he did not notice it. He threw the roll of bank-notes
carelessly upon the sofa beside his mother, and opened a
book that he had in his hand. " Look, darling, here it is,"
he said to Liana, with evident emotion.
The sufferer upon the sofa grew quieter; she groaned, and
covered her eyes with her hand, but a wonderfully sharp, intel-
ligent glance shot through her fingers and scrutinized the book
in her son's hand.
" Don't be too proud, my dear little Famulus," he continued.
" Our manuscript has come back to us a magnificent book. It
is passing victoriously through the cross-fire of criticism ; it is
approved by the highest scientific authorities. Oh, Liana!
read the publisher's letter "
"Hush, Magnus!" Ulrika interrupted him, quickly and
authoritatively.
The Countess Trachenberg sat upright. "What book is
that?" she asked. There was no trace of hysterics discern-
ible in features, voice, or manner.
Ulrika hastily took the book from her brother's hand and
pressed it tenderly to her breast. " It is a work upon fossil
plants. Magnus wrote it, and Liana made the drawings for
it," she explained, briefly.
" Give it to me ; I wish to see it."
Hesitatingly, with a reproachful glance at her brother,
Ulrika handed her the book ; but Liana, pale to the very lips,
hid her face in her hands. She had learned from earliest
childhood to dread the expression that she now saw in her
b 8
26 THE SECOND WIFE.
mother's face more than any punishment with which she could
be threatened.
" Fossil Plants, by Magnus, Count von Trachenberg," the
countess read, in a loud voice. Across the book she gave her
son one annihilating glance. " And where/ ' she asked, " is
the name of the illustrator?"
" Liana would not permit her name to be mentioned," the
young man replied, with perfect composure.
" Ah 1 Then in one at least of these heads there is a spark
of sense, a weak glimmer of just pride of position I" She
laughed contemptuously, and hurled the heavy volume from
her with such violence that it crashed through one of the
panes of glass and fell upon the pavement of the terrace
outside.
" That is the only place for such trash," she said, pointing
to the book, which lay open at a beautifully executed drawing
of a prehistoric fern. " Oh, thrice happy mother, what a son
you have to be proud of ! Too great a coward to be a soldier,
too weak-minded for a diplomatist, the descendant of the
Princess Lutowiska, the last Count Trachenberg, has become
a book-maker and works for wages."
In a passionate burst of grief, Liana threw her arms around
her brother's slender figure ; he, for his part, evidently un-
derwent an inward struggle for composure beneath these
insults.
" Mamma, how can you have the heart to speak so to Mag-
nus ?" cried Liana. " To call him a coward ! Seven years ago
he plunged into the lake and saved me from drowning at the
risk of his life. You know he refused to enter the army
because he abhors the needless shedding of blood. He weak-
minded, profound thinker that he is I Oh. mamma, how cruel
and unjust you are ! He hates dissimulation, and would never
stoop to the tricks of diplomacy. I, too, am proud, very proud,
of our old renowned name, but I cannot understand how a
.
THE SECOND WIFE. 2?
patent of nobility is to be preserved only by entering the army
or the ranks of diplomacy "
" And I should like to know," Ulrika interposed, with grave
emphasis, she had brought the despised volume into the
house again, " which is the more honourable career for a
Trachenberg, to stand foremost among scientific men or among
bankrupts ?"
" Oh, you " The countess was almost speechless with
anger. " You are the scourge of my life 1" She paced the
room in uncontrollable rage, then suddenly pausing with ill-
boding composure, said, " In fact, I cannot see the necessity
for my living with you any longer ; you are long past the age
to need a mother's sheltering wing. I have borne with you
long enough, and am ready to grant you unlimited leave of
absence. Go where you will, and stay where you will, only
let my house be rid of your presence !"
Count Magnus took his outcast sister's hand. The brother
and sisters were fondly attached to one another. " Mamma,"
he said, gently, although his face was flushed with emotion,
" you force me for the first time to assert myself as heir to
Rudisdorf. The castle and the paltry income left to the estate
are by right mine only. You cannot take Ulrika's home from
her, her place is with me."
The countess turned away and walked towards the door by
which she had entered. Her son was so absolutely right
that she could not reply to his words. On the threshold she
turned once more.
"Never dare," she harshly commanded Ulrika, "to use
one penny of that money for household expenses." And she
pointed to the roll of notes lying upon the sofa. " I would
starve sooner than eat a morsel purchased with it. I will pay
for the wine. Thank Heaven, I have plate enough saved from
the shipwreck. Let the silver off which my forefathers
dined be melted up. I shall comfort myself with the knowl-
' .*
28 THE SECOND WIFE.
edge that I entertain my guests after a princely fashion, and
not upon a mechanic's wages. But you/' and she turned to
Liana, " will repent all this ; your punishment for this insub-
ordination to your mother is at hand. Wait until you are at
Schbnwerth. Raoul, and still more his old uncle Mainau, will
soon clear your head of all this pedantry and sentimental
nonsense.' '
The door closed after her with a bang that re-echoed along
the wide-vaulted corridor.
CHAPTER IV.
Five weeks had passed since the above scene in Castle
Rudisdorf. Preparations were making for the marriage. Six
years before, such an event would have found the magnificent
castle swarming with work-people and lackeys, for the countess
had lived a life as luxurious as a Turkish pacha's. Six
years before, the suitor would have borne a fairy bride from
the midst of feasting and revelry, ftes rivalling in splendour
those of an Eastern tale ; now he was to bear his bride from
gardens that were wildernesses, from deserted rooms, where the
phantoms of vanished joys hovered among marble pillars hung
with the tapestry that the spider weaves. The stateliest
drawing-room was used as a granary ; all the window-shutters
were closed, and where a ray of light penetrated some chink
it fell upon dust and desolation everywhere.
It was well that the lordly figures in helm and breastplate,
or with nodding plumes above their ruddy locks, were fastened
to the walls of the portrait-gallery, neither they nor their
haughty dames and daughters in Stuart collars and gold
brocade could descend to the garden-room; assuredly thev
THE SECOND WIFE. 29
would have dropped their peacock-plume fans and stiff-leaved
roses from their pale hands to clasp them in dismay, for there
knelt Ulrika, the genuine Trachenberg, as the countess always
called her, tearing off the moth-eaten covers from sofas and
arm-chairs, and with her own noble hands hammering in the
nails that fastened on the new flowered chintz. Old Lena was
rubbing and polishing the worm-eaten wood of the furniture
until it dimly shone again. Thanks to the opportune arrival
of the publisher's enclosure, there were various graceful
chairs and flower-stands of wicker-work scattered here and
there. The white walls were hung with a drapery of ivy, and
festoons of clematis and evergreen drooped to the floor from
among broad-leaved plants on the stands. An air of comfort
pervaded the formerly cheerless apartment ; and it was well
that such was the case, for here the wedding-breakfast was to
be spread.
While all this was in preparation, Liana, with tin box and
trowel, explored field and forest at her brother's side. He,
absorbed in the miracles of creation, forgot that his little
Famulus would shortly cease to live and work with him;
and from her lips came fluently Latin names and critical
remarks, but never an allusion to her distant bridegroom.
She was an odd bride.
Liana, it is true, had often heard the Mainaus spoken of in
her childhood a Lutowiska had once married a Mainau but
there had never been any personal intercourse between the
two families. Suddenly letters arrived from Schlmwerth for
the Countess Trachenberg, and a lively correspondence ensued,
which resulted in the announcement to her daughter by the
countess that she had promised her in marriage to her cousin
Mainau. Every remonstrance on the girl's part was cut short
by the declaration that her own hand, that of a Lutowiska,
Lad been disposed of in the same manner, and that it was the
*nly becoming fashion for such arrangements. Then the
3*
30 THE SECOND WIFE.
bridegroom had arrived unexpectedly ; Liana had hardly had
time to smooth beneath the much-abused velvet ribbon her
locks, dishevelled in her morning's walk by the wind, when her
mother sent for her. She was scarcely conscious of what
happened then. A tall, handsome man had advanced to meet
her from a window-recess, the sun shining broadly in behind
him had dazzled her and forced her to cast down her eyes.
He had spoken to her in a paternal, kindly tone, and in con-
clusion held out his hand, in which she,*moved thereto by her
mother's command, but still more by the previous private
entreaty of her sister Ulrika, had laid her own. He had
immediately afterwards taken his departure, to the unspeakable
relief of the Countess Trachenberg, whose thoughts during
the betrothal had been wandering through the cobwebbed
cellars in search of some nobler beverage than home-made
currant wine, while old Lena in the kitchen had racked her
brain in the endeavour to produce a princely repast from five
eggs and some cold veal cutlets.
All necessary arrangements for the marriage were made in
writing between the bridegroom and the mother of the bride
a few lines to Liana had accompanied Raoul's bridal gift,
lines full of polite gallantry, but cold and formal ; she had
glanced at them with utter lack of interest, and they had since
lain untouched in the jewel-casket. But all this was so
" perfectly suitable and aristocratic," Liana's " composure" so
satisfied her countess mother, that a few days after the stormy
scene in the garden-room she condescended to dine with her
children again, and even to address a gracious word to tlicm
now and then. She did not know how bitterly the young girl
felt the pain of parting; even her brother and sister were
unconscious of her suffering.
The marriage morn had come, a cool, cloudy July day.
After some days of dry heat, a gentle rain was pattering upon
the forest-leaves, and drenching the thirsty weeds upon lawo
THE SECOND WIFE. 31
and gravel-path. The birds twittered joyously fiom tree and
bush, and old Lena looked out into the shower from among
her pots and pans, and rejoiced that the bride would have
some rain-drops upon her wreath.
A single carriage drove into the castle court-yard, a hack
from the nearest railroad station. It vanished in one of the
huge empty carriage-houses, and the two gentlemen it had
contained slowly ascended the steps of the terrace. Baron
Mainau was punctuality itself; he had arrived, according to
agreement, just half an hour before the time appointed for the
marriage.
" Heaven help us I that a bridegroom !" old Lena sighed,
sadly, as she retreated from her post of observation at the
kitchen-window.
The glass door on the terrace flew open, and the Countess
Trachenberg appeared. The rain sprinkled her dark-violet
velvet ribbons, and glittered upon her smooth hair by the side
of several brilliants saved from the wreck. With languid
grace she extended her delicate hands from a cloud of rich
lace. Who would have thought they could have tossed away
a heavy book rudely and angrily ?
They took refuge from the rain in the countess's sitting-
room, and Baron Mainau presented his friend, Herr von
Rdiger. In the pauses of the airy talk that followed the
presentation, a macaw screamed in a window-niche, and two
snow-white poodles snarled and frolicked on the faded rug. If
old Lena had not hung a wreath above the glass door, and if
the effect of the countess's toilette had not been so splendid, no
one would have dreamed that there was a solemn ceremony in
prospect, so frivolous and superficial were the lady's remarks,
so indifferent and unmoved was the perfectly- dressed bride-
groom as he stood at the window looking out at the pouring
rain, and so deep and lonely was the silence that had reigned
outside since the noise of the carriage-wheels in the court yard
32 THE SECOND WIFE.
had died away. Herr von Kdiger knew that this marriage waa
only a business transaction, and he was too much of a courtier
and man of the world not to find the arrangement quite comme
ilfaut; but the weird solitude around seemed to the vivacious
little man "quite beyond a joke." A cold chill ran through
his veins, and he drew a deep breath when at last the folding-
doors of the adjoining room were slowly and solemnly thrown
open, and the bride entered, leaning upon her brother's arm,
and followed by Ulrika. Her veil fell over her face and down
from the back of her head to the hem of her white tulle dress,
which was made after the simplest fashion, gathered in about
the throat, and adorned with a few sprays of myrtle ; there
was no sign of the silver brocade ; the bride of the simplest
commoner could not have been more plainly attired. Her eyes
were bent upon the floor, wherefore she did not see the sur-
prised glance with which Baron Mainau surveyed her, nor the
expression of contemptuous pity that followed it; but she
shrank closer to her brother when her mother exclaimed, in
a kind of terror,
"What does this mean, child? Are you mad?" Such
were the words that greeted the girl's first appearance as a
bride. The countess was so angry that she raised her hand as
if to thrust her daughter back across the threshold of the door,
saying, " Go to your room, instantly, and change this "
She ceased involuntarily, for Baron Mainau had taken her
hand, and, although he said nothing, there was that in his
look and gesture which forbade further remonstrance.
In the corridor, behind the open doors, old Lena was wait-
ing and peeping, in hopes of seeing the bridegroom take his
"fair, lovely countess" in his arms and kiss her; but to do so
never occurred to the "stick of a man." Murmuring a few
courteous words, he took the cold hand hanging by his bride's
side and raised it to his lips quite as if he were afraid of break-
ing it, and then he presented her with a magnificent bouquet
THE SECOND WIFE. 33
"We have flowers of our own," the old woman grumbled,
looking along the hall, which she had strewn with evergreen
and rosebuds. Soon afterwards the despised tulle dress swept
along over the geraniums and roses, and the countess's mother,
who followed the bridal pair upon the arm of Herr von Rdi-
ger, swept the poor things up into a heap with her heavy
train.
The marble heads of the apostles around the chancel and
altar of the castle chapel of Rudisdorf had often before looked
down upon a pale, statue-like bride, had often heard a cold,
calm assent from manly lips for it had never been a custom in
the Trachenberg family to pay much heed to the " sentimental
folly" of its daughters; but surely there had never been
solemnized here so dreary and colourless a marriage *b this !
The baron had seriously requested that there might be no idle
lookers-on. What might not have been the gossip about the
gallant bridegroom, who, with all the courtesy that he showed
his bride, scarcely looked at her? Only once, as they were
kneeling to receive the blessing, his eyes seemed riveted upon
her for a moment. Her braids hung over her shoulders and
lay long and heavy, like serpents of red gold, upon the white
marble mosaic of the pavement.
And after the ceremony, what haste he seemed to be in I
The minister had been slow, and there must be no delay in
catching the next train. During their stay in the chapel the
rain-drops had pattered against the stained glass of the win-
dows, the only whisper of music to be heard ; but now the
sun broke through the dissolving gray, kindled a thousand
quivering lights in the fountain, crept through the dim, humid
alley, away over the rustling grass, and with its warm breath
dried the tear-drops on the flowers. It sparkled, too, on the
modelled lion-heads on the huge old silver ice-bowl, that stood
upon the breakfast-table in the garden-room in all the arro-
gance of a splendid past, unconscious that many of its brave
C
34 THE SECOND WIFE.
old comrades of former centuries were exhaled in the foam
which sparkled from the bottles that nestled among the pieces
of ice. Breakfast was eaten standing. The brother and sis-
ters took nothing, but stood apart, talking together in a half-
whisper, while Count Magnus, with moist eyes, held Liana's
hand in his own. The shy, silent scholar seemed now first to
have become aware of what he was losing.
" May I entreat you, Juliana? It is time T Baron Mainau's
voice suddenly broke in upon their whispered words, as he
approached the group and held oyt his watch to his bride.
She .started.' It was the first time that voice had called
her by name. It seemed courteous enough; but how hard,
how stern! Even' her harsh, unloving mother called her
Liana. . She turned, with a gentle inclination of her head to
him and to all present, and left the room, accompanied by
Ulrika. Silently but hurriedly the sisters ascended the stairs
to their common sitting-room.
"Liana, he is terrible!" cried Ulrika, as the door closed
behind them ; and, calm as she usually was, she now threw
herself upon a lounge and, burying her face in the cushions,
burst into tears.
" Hush, hush ! don't make it too hard for me ! Did you
expect anything else? I did not," Liana said, soothingly,
while a bitter smile flitted across her pallid lips. She took
off her lovely myrtle-wreath very carefully, and laid it away
with all the little memorials of her childish days. In a few
minutes her bridal dress was exchanged for a gray travelling-
suit and round hat with a thick gray veil.
"And now once more to papa!" said Liana, sadly, but
firmly.
" Only one moment more " Ulrika entreated.
"Do not detain me. I must not keep him waiting," she
replied, gravely. She threw her arm around her sister, and
they left the room.
THE SECOND WIFE. 30
The marble gallery, as it was called, where hung the family
portraits, was upon this story, and ran parallel to the terrace
upon which the garden-room opened. The sisters walked in
the deep twilight, caused by the closed shutters, through iU
entire length to the extreme end, where a few rays of day-
light, hovering about in a dim, ghostly way, showed pale
reflections on the smooth, shining marble floor. Ulrika noise-
lessly opened the shutters here. All the portraits of mailed
men with fiery beards and threatening brows remained almost
hidden in the shadow. The broad sunlight fell full upon the
pictured image of a reverend old man seated by a table, upon
which rested one firm, white hand. The unlovely insignia of
the Trachenbergs, the fiery hair and beard, were here trans-
formed to silken silver, covering head and upper lip.
"Dear, dear papal" Liana whispered, raising her clasped
hands to the picture. She had been his pride, his darling ; in
his last moments his uncertain hand had lingered caressingly
upon the head that had so often been pillowed upon his
arm. On his left hung the portrait of a lady, a spare, angular
figure. Her robe was trimmed with ermine ; and her scraggy
shoulders supported a head upon the high, powdered hair of
which was placed a coronet. She was Liana's paternal grand-
mother, a princess from a petty royal family. Within that
strait-laced body had throbbed a stony heart. The cold blue
eyes stared down upon the grandchild, whose tearful glance
bade a sad farewell to her ancestral home, which she left
to go to wealth and luxury. She pointed with her jew-
elled fan down the long gallery, with its rows of portraits,
as if to say, "All these were marriages of pure convenience;
illustrious names, destined not to love, but to rule throughout
the ages."
A rustle sounded through the hall, as if of low whispers
passing from lip to lip; but it was only the summer wind
bearing in the incense that the rain had called forth from the
36 THE SECOND WIFE.
earth, to be wafted up to the tablets above each mailed form.
Upon the terrace without, however, were heard footsteps slowly
approaching from the garden-room to beneath where the gal-
lery-window was open. The sisters, casting a stolen glance
below, saw Baron Mainau standing on the terrace, looking
abroad across the balustrade at the prospect, no longer the
cool, reserved bridegroom who had so punctiliously played Ids
part at the ceremony. He was evidently, to his great content,
laying aside the restraint which he had lately imposed upon
his proud, impulsive nature. Quite ready to start, he had just
lit a cigar,, and the blue rings of smoke were wafted almost to
the open window.
" I don't say * beauty.' Good heavens ! the ideas conveyed
by that word are thousand-fold 1" his friend Rdiger, whose
voice had been heard as the footsteps approached, was saying.
Every syllable was clear and distinct. " I grant you, this
little Liana's nose is neither Grecian nor Roman. But what
of that ? Her face is so exquisitely lovely."
Baron Mainau shrugged his shoulders. " Hm ! yes," he
said, in a tone of the lightest persiflage, " a modest, well-bred
little girl, of a timid nature, with a romantic air and violet
eyes, la La Valliere. I should say- " He broke off
suddenly, as if weary of the subject, and pointed eagerly to
a part of the landscape. " Just look, Rdiger ! Whoever
laid out this Rudisdorf park must have been a genius. That
renaissance building there could not have been more effect-
ively brought out than by that wonderful group of copper
beeches."
" What of it ?" said Herr von Rdiger, slightly irritated.
" You know I know nothing about such things. The eye of
a beautiful woman, now her hair good heavens, what braids
those were lying at your feet before the altar 1"
" Rather a pale shade of the Trachenberg colour," Mainau
lightly rejoined. " No matter. Titian hair is the fashion just
THE SECOND WIFE. 37
at present ; the novels are full of red-headed heroines, who are
all desperately adored. 'Tis a matter of taste. I couldn't
endure it in the woman I loved ; but for my wife 1" He
brushed off from the terrace balustrade a few ashes from his
cigar, and composedly smoked on.
Liana instinctively drew her thick veil over her face,
not even her sister, who was regarding the speaker with
speechless anger and dislike, must see the blush of shame and
humiliation that tinged her cheek.
The Countess Trachenberg was walking in the garden with
the clergyman. She approached and hastened up the terrace-
steps.
"One word, I pray, my good Raoul," she said, and put her
hand into his arm. Slowly walking to and fro with him, she
discussed a few commonplace matters until the two other
gentlemen had moved away out of hearing.
"Apropos," she said then, suddenly standing still, "yon
must forgive a mother's anxious heart for the question if I
trench upon a delicate subject and ask, if I may, how much
pin-money shall you allow Liana ?"
The sisters could see the amused look with which he re-
garded the mother with the "anxious heart."
" Just as much as I allowed my first wife three thousand
thalers."
The countess gave a contented nod. " Happy girl ! much
more than I had as a young wife." The man at her side
greeted with a contemptuous smile the profound sigh that fol-
lowed her words. " And, Raoul, you will be kind to her ?"
ehe added, with an affectation of emotion.
" What do you mean by that, aunt ?" he asked, in a quick,
sharp voice and with a suspicious glance. " Do you suppose
me to be so devoid of courtesy and honour as ever to forget
what is due to my wife, the woman who bears my name?
More than that I have never pretended to. I want a mother
4
I
38 THE SECOND WIFE.
for my boy, and a mistress of my household to take my place
during my absence, and I shall frequently be absent. Know-
ing this, you assure me that Juliana is a gentle, feminine
creature, who will fill the position excellently well. Love I
have none to give her, and I am conscientious enough to wish
to arouse none in her."
Ulrika burst into tears and clasped her sister in her arms.
" For Heaven's sake, do not be vexed, Raoul I" the countess
entreated ; "you entirely misunderstand me. I never thought
of such sentimentality. I simply appealed to your forbearance.
You saw yourself to-day how far the modesty of this * femi-
nine creature' could carry her, in the bridal dress with which
she surprised us."
" That was of no consequence, aunt ; Juliana in all such
respects may do as she pleases. If she understands how to
adapt herself "
" I'll answer for her. Good heavens, it is a melancholy
admission I Magnus is a mere nonentity, a man of no energy,
no force | but what is detestable in him is admirable in his
sister. Liana is an innocent child, and, when removed from
the pernicious influence exerted over her by Ulrika, the evil
genius of my house, you will be able to twist her around your
finger as you please.' '
" Mamma forms hasty judgments," said Liana, bitteily, as
the steps of the speakers died away in the distance. " She has
never taken any pains to know or understand me, we were
always left to strangers. Why are you weeping, Ulrika? We
have no right to cast a stone at that cold egotist. Did I con-
sult my heart when I placed my hand in his? I said 'yes*
oecause I was afraid of mamma "
" And for love of Magnus and me." Ulrika completed her
sentence in a hopeless monotone. " We did all we could to
persuade you, we wanted to save you from this dreadful
Lome, and were so sure that you would find love wherever
TUE SECOND WIFA 39
you went ; and now it is so cruelly, coldly denied you. You,
so young
"So young? Ulrika, next month I shall be twenty-one
years old ; you and I have gone through many a bitter day
together. I am not the child in experience and worldly wis-
dom that mamma has just represented me. Have no fear ;
let me go with Mainau. I do not desire his love, and I have
sufficient pride to let him be fully aware of it. The testimo-
nials of my teachers as to my ability and proficiency should
give me courage, since the Baroness Mainau, who goes to
Schnwerth to-day, is in reality only a governess for little Leo.
I shall have a wide sphere of action, and I hope to be able to
do some good ; more I will not ask for. Now bid me good-
bye, Ulrika. Stay here with papa till I am gone."
She embraced her sister repeatedly with passionate affection,
and then flew through the gallery, without looking around
her, and down the stairs to her mother's room. Here she
found Magnus standing at the window, looking out at the car-
riage that was waiting at the gate of the court-yard, across
which the countess was walking with the three gentlemen. It
was well that she could not see her son, the " nonentity," the
man of " no force," clasping his sister in his arms, with tears
of grief at parting from her. She would have been greatly
disgusted at a display of feeling so " unbecoming his rank."
Liana crossed the court-yard with a firm step, her veil
closely drawn over her face.
" The blessing of Heaven and of your mother go with you,
my dear child 1" said the countess, with a theatrical gesture,
holding her hand above her daughter's head for a moment.
Then, lifting her veil, she touched with her lips the forehead
of the young wife.
A few minutes afterwards the carriage was rolling along the
road to the railway station.
40 THE SECOND WIFE
CHAPTER V.
After a four hours' journey the travellers arrived at the
capital. Here the splendour of her new life immediately
greeted the bride, in the shape of the gorgeous and fairy-like
equipage that was waiting to convey the party to Schn werth,
which was about two miles from the town. The snowy satin
of the cushions seemed made for a nest for some spoiled beauty,
while the plain gray travelling-dress of the slender figure
that leaned back, composed and silent, in one corner, looked
almost like the sordid wrappings of some pauper child whom
an enamoured fairy prince was carrying off from the forest to
his palace.
Herr von Rdiger took his seat beside Liana, and Baron
Mainau sprang upon the box and took the reins. He sat
there with an air of proud indifference, guiding the fiery horses
that whirled the carriage along the smooth, broad road leading
directly through a portion of the park. There gleamed the
little lake, and above the fishers , cots circled a flock of white
pigeons, all else looked calm and lonely. Then the road ran
through a thick grove of giant forest-trees, with here and there
an opening so contrived as to give glimpses of a sunny land-
scape beyond, set like a gem in the dark masses of foliage.
Suddenly, fifty paces in advance, a female figure on horse-
back leaped into sight from a bridle-path, directly before the
swift-rolling equipage.
" Mainau ! the duchess 1" cried Herr von Rdiger, starting
up in terror ; but the baron had checked his steeds, and they
were walking slowly. A second lady followed the duchesa
out of the thicket. They approached swiftly. The angel of
death, riding over the lately-won field of battle, might weU
I
THE SECOND WIFE. 41
be imagined to resemble this princely rider, with her long,
waving black robes, her masses of coal-black hair hanging
down to her waist, too heavy to float on the air, and the
ghostly pallor of her beautiful face, in which even the lip
were now untinged with red.
" I wish you joy, Baron Mainau," she cried, with a haughty
wave of her hand, as he bowed profoundly. There was a world
of scorn in the slowly-spoken, sharply-emphasized words, and
in the tone of her full, deep voice. Did she thoughtlessly
twitch her bridle, or did the fiery animal that she rode shy,
that she suddenly passed, like a flash, close to the door of tho
slowly-moving carriage?
" Do not rise, Herr von Rdiger," she said, condescendingly,
without looking at him, as he started from his seat, while her
flashing eyes sought to pierce the veil of the shrinking figure
among the cushions.
In a moment the fair riders had passed. For a few seconds
their two horses galloped along neck and neck, and the maid
of honour leaned over towards her mistress. " That little
gray nun is really one of the red-haired Trachenbergs, your
highness," the rosy lips gaily declared. The noise of the
wheels drowned her words, but Baron Mainau, looking back,
saw the gesture that accompanied them. For the first time
Liana saw that proud, triumphant smile of satisfied vanity ;
for the first time she saw his eyes gleam with the fire that was
so dangerous. He had never even glanced towards the corner
in which his young wife sat. This indolent indifference was
so unconscious that even Herr von Rdiger was forced to
admit to himself that it had nothing in common with the
depreciating repose of manner that the baron often affected,
from caprice, in the presence of the most charming women.
Again the fiery chestnuts tore along the high-road, so swiftly
and madly that it seemed as if the few words of the princess
to their master had turned the life in his veins to fire. His
4*
42 THE SECOND WIFE.
youn^ wife regarded his every movement attentively. This
meeting in the forest had suddenly cast an illuminating ray
upon her new existence. Now she knew why Mainau had no
love to give her.
They emerged from the forest, and entered the Schbnwerth
valley through grounds with which the ducal park could not
vie. For a time a high railing, delicate as a cobweb, ran
parallel with the road, and far within this gray wire veil a
strange foreign growth rose into the blue air, while gorgeous
scarlet flowers gleamed here and there, like branches of coral
above a sea of verdure. Then, for a few seconds, a hedge of
mimosa shut out the view, but suddenly opened, disclosing,
in startling contrast, a brilliantly-painted Hindoo temple with
a gilded dome. The transparent bluish waters of a little lake
washed the lowest of its broad marble steps, and in the fore-
ground, upon the smoothly-shaven lawn, stood a huge steer
his broad brow turned towards the rippling water. It was all
like a sunny dream of fairy India. As the wire gauze ended,
the scene vanished without a trace. Again the reverend
lindens rustled, and the dim firs drooped their boughs above
the clover-blossoms of the meadows.
One more winding through dark, ancient elders, and the
carriage entered upon a broad gravelled road, and stopped before
the lofty portals of the castle of Schbnwerth.
Several lackeys in livery rushed forward, and the major-domo
in dress-coat and white waistcoat opened the carriage-door with
a profound bow. Several years before, Liana had been an
unseen witness of how the young forest-ranger at Rudisdorf
had brought home his bride, taken her from the carriage with
eager joy, and carried her across the threshold of her new
home in his strong arms. This bridegroom threw the reina
to his groom, and, advancing with cool but gracious courtesy,
took the left hand of his young wife lightly in his cwn and
helped her to descend from the carriage. Then, with a rather
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44 THE SECOND WIFE.
Excuse my uncle; this Mate lamented baroness' was hifi
daughter."
He left hei no time to reply, but strode along, preceded bj
the breathless major-domo, and followed by Herr von Rdiger,
conducting his young wife up the grand staircase, through
gorgeous apartments, parallel with which ran a mirrored gal-
lery. Liana saw herself reflected by the side of his stately,
well knit figure ; in form and bearing they were well matched ;
but what a gulf yawned between the two souls that had that
day been knit together by a formula of words sanctioned by a
priestly blessing!
The major-domo, with significant solemnity, threw open a
pair of folding-doors. The young wife was seized with a kind
of vertigo. In spite of the enormous thickness of the walls
and the height of the vaulted ceiling, it was sultry and hot in
the gallery: the whole force of the July sun poured through
its uncurtained windows; and in this spacious apartment
a bright fire was burning in the chimney. Thick tapestry
covered the walls and the floor, and draped windows and
doors ; everywhere was evident the greatest anxiety to produce
warmth and shut out fresh air. And in this heavy atmosphere,
which was filled to stifling with the odour of various powerful
essences, sat a shivering old man. His feet held out to the
blazing logs were covered with a silken quilt, and suggested
entire immovability, while there was an almost youthfully viva-
cious grace in the upper part of his figure. He was clad
in a black dress suit, and above his snowy cravat looked out a
delicate, shrewd face, upon the invalid pallor of which the
strange mixture of daylight and firelight cast a ghastly hue.
This was the Hofmarschall, Baron of Mainau.
" My dear uncle, permit me to present to you my young
wife," Mainau said, with laconic brevity, while Liana threw
back her veil and curtsied.
The old man's little brown eyes looked keenly in her face.
THE SECOND WIFE. 45
"You know, of course, my dear Raoul," he said, slowly and
deliberately, without turning his eyes from the blushing girl,
" that I cannot welcome the young lady as your wife until our
Church has sanctioned your marriage."
"I certainly never knew until this moment, uncle," Mainau
hastily replied, "to what astounding lengths your bigotry
could carry you, or I should have protected myself from its
consequences."
" Tut, ttft, tut ! don't lose your temper, my good Raoul !
A mere matter of faith, which no noble nature would quarrel
about," said the Hofmarschall, soothingly. There was no
doubt about it this weak old man, with the intellectual face,
was afraid of the menacing voice of his nephew. "Mean-
while, I bid her welcome as the Countess Trachenberg. It is
an excellent name."
He turned to Liana and held out his hand. She hesitated
to commit her own to the clasp of those white, lean fingers ;
she was possessed by a kind of indignant dread. She knew
that the marriage ceremony was to be repeated this very day,
according to the rites of the Roman Catholic Church. The
Mainaus were all Romanists; but that the Protestant cere-
mony performed at Rudisdorf should here be declared utterly
null and void, was a blow indeed.
The old baron avoided all notice of her hesitation, and,
instead of her hand, took in his one of her thick, hanging
braids. "Most beautiful I" he said, gallantly. "No need
to mention your ancient and honourable name, you carry
ts insignia everywhere with you. It was so in the cru-
sades. Nature is not often so complaisant as to preserve
through generation after generation such stamps of race as
the full nether lip of the Hapsburgs and the red hair of the
Trachenbergs." He smiled graciously, such a smile as follows
an intentionally complimental remark.
Herr von Rdiger was seized with a slight attack of cough
46 THE SECOND WIFE.
ing, and Mainau turned to the nearest window. There stood
little Leo, motionless, keenly scanning his new mamma as ho
leaned with boyish grace against a huge dog, across whoso
back hung the child's right hand holding the famous whip.
The group was a study for an artist.
"Come here, Leo, and speak to your mamma," Mainau
ordered, in a tone of evident irritation. Liana did not wait
for the boy to approach her. From all these miserable sur-
roundings, the child's lovely face, in spite of its* hostile ex-
pression of defiance, beamed upon her like a ray of comfort.
She passed on swiftly to where he stood, and her lovely face,
like a flower, bent down to his. " You will love me a little,
will you not, Leo ?" she whispered. It was like an entreaty,
and there was a kind of sob in her low voice.
The hostile look faded from the boy's large eyes as he gazed
into his new mamma's face. Down fell the whip on the floor,
and two childish arms were flung around her neck.
" Yes, mamma, I will love you," he declared, after his own
frank, honest fashion. He looked across her shoulder at his
father. " Papa, it is not true ; she is not a bean-pole at all,
and her braids are no more like our "
" Hush, Leo, rude fellow !" Mainau cut short the child's
revelations. He was evidently mortified and painfully embar-
rassed, while the old man's lips and eyelids quivered with
suppressed laughter, and Herr von Rdiger had another attack
of coughing.
" Good heavens ! what has that poor fellow done ?" he sud-
denly interrupted his diplomatic manoeuvre to ask, pointing to
one of the darkest corners of the room. There knelt Gabriel
with bowed head before a chair, his hands folded on a huge
book that lay open upon it.
" Master Leo has been obstinate, and the worst punishment
I can devise for the wayward fellow is to let Gabriel suffer in
his stead," said the Hofmarschall, composedly.
THE SECOND WIFE 47
"What! are whipping-posts the fashion again at Schn
worth ?"
" It would be better for ns all if they had never gone out
of fashion," replied the old man, with a sneer.
"Stand up, Gabriel," Mainau ordered, turning his back
upon his uncle. The boy arose, and Mainau, with a sarcastie
smile, took up the thick book of legends from which the poor
scapegoat had apparently been forced to read aloud.
This embarrassing scene was interrupted by the entrance
of the major-domo with a waiter of refreshments. Irritated
as the old man was, he cast a keen glance of scrutiny at the
contents of the silver dish that was handed to him.
" That idiot spendthrift in the kitchen must have a leswon,"
he muttered, angrily. " Such a quantity of expensive ices ! Is
he insane?"
" The young baron ordered it," the major-domo made haste
to explain, in a low tone.
" What is the matter ?" asked Mainau. He threw the
folio upon the chair again, and approached with a frown on his
brow.
" Nothing of any consequence," his uncle said, with a timid
air. He was terrified, and blushed like a girl convicted of
some petty misdemeanour. " Pray, my dear countess, take
off your hat and eat a little of this pine-apple ice, you
must need refreshment after your hot journey."
Liana stroked little Leo's brown curls caressingly and kisned
his brow as she turned away. " I must decline, Herr Hof-
marschall," she quietly replied. " You deny my right to the
position or the name of Baroness Mainau. It is impossible
that the Countess Trachenberg should outrage decorum and
good breeding by remaining among gentlemen in a strange
house without female protection. May I request to be shown
some apartment to which I can retire until the performance
of the ceremony ?"
48 THE SECOND WIFE
Perhaps the old gentleman with the keen diplomatic physi-
ognomy had never before received so decided a repulse, or
perhaps he had thought to find in so plainly-clad and girlish
an exterior only a timid bearing and the humility of financial
inferiority, for he opened his eyes to their fullest extent, and
their undeniably-intellectual expression gave place to a thor-
oughly disconcerted air. Herr von Rdiger rubbed his hands
quietly in malicious enjoyment, and Mainau looked round in
speechless surprise. Had " the modest little girl of a timid
nature" really said that?
" Oho ! we are very sensitive, my little countess," said the
Hofmarschall, with an embarrassed clearing of his throat.
Mainau stepped to his young wife's side. " You mistake
very seriously, Juliana, if you suppose that your right to the
position of mistress of Schnwerth can be disputed in the
smallest degree," he said, in a voice that betrayed the struggle
he was undergoing for self-control. " In my eyes, the ceremony
at Rudisdorf was all-suflicient. It gave you my name forever,
and you need pay no heed to whatever is said to the contrary
within these four walls. Permit me to conduct you to your
apartments."
He offered her his arm, and, without bestowing any furthei
notice upon the old man, led her from the room. As they
traversed the mirrored gallery he did not speak. Upon the
staircase, however, he paused for a moment. " You have been
insulted, and my pride is as sensitive to the insult as your
own," he said, more calmly than he had spoken before; "but
I pray you to consider that my first wife was the daughter of
that sick man, his only child. A second wife must submit to
be an object of jealous suspicion to the relatives of the first.
I must beg you to be patient until the force of habit shall as-
sert itself. I cannot leave Schnwerth and live with you upon
Borne other of my estates. It is especially needful that Leo
should have a mother's fostering care, and the boy must re-
THE SECOND WIFE. 49
main here. I cannot deprive his grandfather of his onlj
grandchild."
Liana silently descended the stairs. She found it almost
impossible to speak to this cruel egotist, who had thus fettered
ber to his side to confront such annoyances.
" You will readily conceive that I can cherish no other de-
sire than to escape hence," she replied, at last, indicating
through the open door which they were passing, the sunny
landscape outside. "Were it not for the thought that my
immediate return to Rudisdorf would deny in my own per-
son the authority of my Church "
" You would find such an undertaking very difficult of ex-
ecution/' he said, coldly, walking by her side along a columned
corridor on the ground-floor. " I need not assure you that I
should scarcely allow myself to be so compromised. Hm
yes marriage and separation so nearly simultaneous would
be a precious nut to crack for the worthy souls who cross
themselves devoutly at my eccentricities and extravagances.
I am usually quite ready to furnish them material for gossip,
why not, indeed? But so charming a scandal I think I must
deny them." Here he dropped her hand from his arm and
opened a door. " These are your apartments ; pray have every-
thing in them arranged to your liking. Of course, any altera-
tion that you may suggest will be attended to immediately."
He entered after her, and glanced around the suite of rooms
crowded with every imaginable luxury. There was an evil
mixture of scorn and discontent in the smile that flitted across
his handsome face. "They were Valerie's; but do not be
afraid," he said, falling into the frivolous tone of persiflage that
made women "tremble like lambs." "Her soul was as flut-
tering and airy as the precious cobweb laces in which she loved
to envelop its mortal frame. Besides, her severe piety pro-
vided her, doubtless, with angel wings. She is in heaven."
He rang for her maid and presented her to her mistress.
D
50 THE SECOND WIFE.
Then, reminding Liana that in an hour he should come for her
to attend the fulfilment of the Romish marriage-rite, he left
the room before she had time to reply ; while the maid imme-
diately slipped into the adjoining apartment to arrange every-
tiling for her mistress's toilette.
CHAPTER VI.
And there the young wife stood, alone in the midst of all
these strange surroundings. For one moment she gave way
to an almost insane burst of grief. She ran through the
apartments, trying the lock of every room. No, she was no
prisoner ; even the glass dooB, leading from one of the rooms
into the open air, yielded to her touch ; nothing prevented her
from fleeing from the place. But whither? Had she not
come here of her own free will ? Could she not have said
" No," in spite of her mother's menace and her brother's and
sister's entreaty? She had stupidly persisted in a terrible
mistake ; and for this persistence her school-life was to blame.
Most of her fellow-pupils daughters of the most ancient
nobility had never dreamed of marrying except as their
parents should decide for them, and had left the pension
to form what were called brilliant matches ; nay, one young
girl, Liana knew, had been warmly attached to a man of no
tank, and yet she had submitted, without a murmur, to a
marriage arranged for her by her mother with an elderly count.
Under the influence of these experiences, and confirmed by
her mother's and sister's words, Liana had supposed that no
great amount of resolve would be necessary to embrace the
lot marked out for her ; it was the natural result of circum-
stances. Magnus and Ulrika had wished to rescue her from
THE SECOND WIFE. 5.
her wretched Lome, and she had allowed herself to be rescued
She had not the slightest right to reproach Mainau with hav-
ing deceived her. She had brought him nothing but an earnest
desire to fulfil her new duties faithfully. The scales fell from
her eyes ! She was separated forever from all she loved, and
had no hope of any indemnification for the sacrifice she had
made. She must maintain an icy demeanour towards the
husband to whom she was bound. He could not love her, and
had no desire to be loved by her. A long, long life among
Btrangers lay before her, and there was no hopo of sympathy
in any direction.
She looked up; her eyes rested upon shining blue satin, and
she noticed for the first time that the glittering fabric sur-
rounded her everywhere, as if she were sailing in air. Judg-
ing from the bitter irony with which Mainau had spoken of
her, the woman who had dwelt here must have been a way-
ward, spoiled creature, prone to fits of childish impatience.
She might stamp her little feet and throw herself about lire
as she pleased. The carpet, rich with blue flowers, was luxu-
riously thick; and there were cushioned lounges and chairs
everywhere. In the small boudoir adjoining, no wood was to
be seen : shining blue satin on all sides. Liana opened one of
the windows. The former mistress of these rooms must have
lived upon the fragrance of the jessamine. The air here was
heavy with it; it clung to the curtains and hangings. Just
then, when the second wife by this act took possession, as it
were, of her domain, did not the "fluttering, airy souF* that
ought to thave flown to heaven on "angel wings," rise to the
blue satin ceiling with an indignant sigh? Certain it is that,
breathed forth as it were, and yet distinct, Liana heard a
woman's cry. She stood still, with bated breath, and listened.
The maid entered to tell her that everything was ready for her
toilette.
"What is that?*' Liana asked, as she was about to pass into
52 THE SECOND WIFE.
the adjoining room, and the strange sound was repeated. This
time it came unmistakably through the window.
" There are iEolian harps hanging in those trees, madame,"
the girl replied.
Liana looked out and shook her head. " There is not ft
breath of air.'
" Perhaps it comes from over there, where the woman has
been lying sick for so many years," was the rejoinder; and the
girl pointed to the high wire-work fence, behind which arose
a gleaming, crimson obelisk. " I do not know ; I only came
here a week ago. No one seems to care much about her. The
servants say she is living upon the Herr Baron's charity, and,
sad enough, she has never been baptized even. I would not
go in there for the world, my lady. I am afraid of the huge,
ill-tempered ox; and the trees are full of monkeys, hateful
little brutes!"
Liana went into the next room and silently resigned herself
to the hands of her talkative maid. The silver brocade was
now donned; and when, half an hour afterwards, Mainau
entered the blue boudoir, he was evidently startled. The
"bean-pole" understood how to wear her gorgeous train; and
her neck and arms were of such incomparable beauty that
only an entire absence of personal vanity or coquetry could
have kept them hitherto so modestly concealed. A wreath
of orange-blossoms nestled among the luxuriance of the de-
spised red hair, which shone against the background of blue
satin as if sprinkled with golden dust.
" I thank you, Juliana, for so wisely suppressing your pref-
erence for simplicity, and appearing in my house as becomes
your rank," Mainau said, kindly, but not without surprise in
his tone.
The long, dark eyelashes were raised those were no " pale-
blue, violet eyes, la La Valliere," a pair of large, dark
gray orbs, intelligent, but now gloomily grave, looked full into
THE SECOND WIFE. 53
his own. "Do not rate me too highly/' she replied, calmly,
"It was not love of simplicity that sent me so simply dressed
to the altar at Rudisdorf, rather pride, arrogance, if you will.
I know perfectly well that manv a lady in the Rudisdorf mar-
ble gallery wears ermine upon her robe. I, too, have a right
to do so, and shall know how to maintain it ; and therefore I
oould not wear this borrowed splendour' ' and she swept
her hand across the rich folds of her skirt " to trail through
my ancestral home, not one stone of which is now lawfully
our own. I thought its rustle would arouse all the Trachen-
bergs sleeping in the chapel-vaults, and surely never could
sleep be more welcome to them than at present. Here I
represent your name ; your gift belongs here."
He bit his lips. There was something like unwelcome
amazement in the gaze that now rested upon the delicate lips
that spoke so calmly, and now sought to penetrate the depths
of the eyes so fearlessly raised to his.
" I think the Trachenbergs might awake with some com-
fort," he said, sarcastically. " Their notorious pride of birth
lives still, and knows how to assert itself; surely that might
console them for the empty coffers to which you have just
alluded."
She made no reply, but walked slowly and gravely across the
threshold of the door which he opened for her with an almost
ironically profound bow. As he now passed along by her side,
he was no longer the frivolous man of the world who had con-
Jucted her to the altar in Rudisdorf with such easy grace, no
longer he who had controlled his fiery steeds to follow with
proud glances of triumph the fleeting princess. At this mo-
ment he was undergoing the same struggle that his young
wife had just passed through. He evidently repented the
step he had ventured to take in reliance upon the assevera-
tions of the Countess Trachenberg. She had falsely promised
him a wife " whom he could twist around his finger." There
ft*
54 THE SECOND WIFE.
was still time, his Church had not yet spoken the word that
binds eternally. Suddenly the rustle of the long, heavy train
ceased, the young wife hesitated to proceed ; she drew her
hand from within his arm. He too paused, of necessity, and
turned upon her the gaze that had become so thoughtful ; a
glance at the deep pallor of her face perhaps told him all that
was passing within her mind, for, with a contemptuous smile, he
took again the hand she had withdrawn, and passed it through
his arm, where he held it firmly for the moment, and walked
on through the bower of green that had been erected before
the brazen doors of the chapel. He was resolved, and she
went with him, but not like a lamb led to the sacrifice. No
the haughty princess in the marble gallery could have found
nothing to complain of in the majestic carriage of her grand-
child, no outward tremor betrayed the quick throbbing of
her heart.
And with what splendour the mockery was to be conducted
here ! From a wealth of silver such as Liana could not re-
member at Rudisdorf even in its ancient glory, hundreds of
lights glittered around the altar, and the orangery which the
old invalid had banished from the halls had been transported
hither to grace the holy rite,-* spreading forest lade with
blossoms. Stifling clouds of incense, through which the light
of the candles sent feeble rays, and the declining sun beams
of glistening gold, were wafted among the pillared aisles; as
through a mist Liana saw the bowed heads around her, the
crimson silken cushion upon which lay the white folded hands
af the Hofmarschall, and the gorgeous vestments of the offici-
ating priest glimmering down from the steps of the altar.
There he stood, lofty and commanding. She shrank as she
encountered his gaze; a strange gleaming fire shone in the
eyes of this man, which were riveted upon her own, not until
she shrank shyly did he turn them heavenwards ; and then
his voice rose sonorous, thrilling above her head, telling 0/
THE SECOND WIFE. 55
love and submission for ever and ever. Oh, what blasphemy !
The simple words of the clergyman at Rudisdorf had left her
unmoved ; this burning eloquence threw a dazzling light upon
the black mockery and lie that were here enacted, it made
every word a dagger, a barbed arrow. The young wife trem-
bled before this priest as he gazed at her, and she knew not
why her hands suddenly sought her veil and drew it closely
across her breast and arms.
But this day, the hardest, the most momentous of her life,
at last drew to a close ; the moment came when she could shut
behind her the door leading from her apartments into the col-
umned corridor and cut herself off from the remainder of the
castle. She sent away her maid, disencumbered herself of her
bridal dress, and put on a white wrapper. Rest was impossi-
ble; lonely and among strangers, in her home-sickness she
must see and touch some object from home. She hurriedly
opened a little trunk that she had ordered to be placed in her
room. A sheet of Latin composition in her own handwriting
lay on top ; involuntarily she started, and cast a timid glance
at the large picture in oil hanging opposite. Yes, that was
he, with his handsome, enigmatical face, which could mirror in
one brief moment fire and ice, gentle kindness and withering
scorn I She shuddered at such contradictions ; she hastily
rolled up the manuscript, even those painted eyes must not
see the writing.
" Mainau will soon cure you of your pedantry," the Countl-
ess Trachenberg had said, and this very afternoon at table, in
consequence of some allusion to " women's rights," he had de-
clared, with disgust in look and gesture, that he did not know
which woman he most detested, one who neglected her chil-
dren from vanity and love of frivolous enjoyment, or the blue-
stocking who banished her children from her room that she
might compose verses or learned essays, an ink-spot on a
woman's hand was more detestable than the ugliest birth-mark.
56 THE SECOND WIFE.
She went to her writing-table to hide there all evidences
of her former intellectual pursuits ; it was of rosewood, deli-
cately and artistically carved. What thoughts had that "airy,
fluttering soul" transcribed here ? The scenes represented in
these carvings hardly accorded with the "severe piety" of
their former possessor. Liana opened one of the drawers : it
was filled with rolls of money, evidently her stipulated pin-
money. In terror she shut it again and turned the key ; the
money was buried. This discovery, and the heavy jessamine-
laden air of the room, drove her to the glass door of the
idjoining apartment.
Behind the closely-drawn curtains she had not noticed
that the full moon was high in the heavens outside. She
started, so foreign, so dazzling, lay Schbnwerth, among
jagged mountain-peaks, partially covered with a splendid forest
growth, circling it like menacing dragons' teeth guarding a
gleaming jewel. She stepped out beneath a roof supported
upon pillars ; what a contrast between the modern arrange-
ment of the apartments she left and these huge groups of
columns gray with age, soaring aloft in severe beauty, and
supporting arches, faultless in proportion, that stood out clear
against the moonlit sky I Not a breath of wind was abroad,
and yet it must have stirred among the tops of the trees, for
now and then there was borne down from the iEolian harps
an isolated note, thrilling the nerves like the dim spirit-tone
that slumbers in glass.
In the solemn stillness of the night there was suddenly
heard the sound of a hasty step, and Liana glided into the
shade of a group of columns, as a childish figure came running
round the northern corner of the building. It was Leo. His
little naked feet were thrust into slippers, his green velvet
breeches, evidently put on in a great hurry, were held up by
both hands, and his night-dress, trimmed with lace, fell open
and away from his shoulders, letting the moonlight play upon
THE SECOND WIFE. 57
the child's white, finely-formed neck and bust. He looked
cautiously around him, and then ran directly to the wire
fence. With a quick, noiseless step, Liana stood behind
him.
" What are you doing here, Leo ?" she asked, holding him
in a firm grasp.
The boy uttered a little scream of terror. " Oh, it is the
now mamma 1" he said, instantly, evidently greatly relieved.
" Shall you tell grandpapa?"
" Most certainly, if you are going to do anything wrong "
" No, mamma," he declared, in his decided way, shaking the
disordered curls from his brow ; he had certainly been in bed.
" I only want to give Gabriel these chocolates. I did not take
them myself, indeed, mamma ! Herr von Rdiger laid them
on my plate at table. I always save them for Gabriel, but
sometimes I cannot find them in my pocket, Frulein Berger
is so fond of them ; she is munching all day long, horrid
thing I"
" Where is Frulein Berger now ?" asked Liana.
"She is playing pawns in the school-room. They do as
they please there ; and they are having punch, too : I smelt it
as I passed the door. I have not been allowed to see Gabriel
again to-day, because I was too naughty ; but indeed I must
say * good-night* to him. May I, mamma ? Yes ? May I ?"
He begged with boyish impetuosity, but at the same time
in that delicious tone of confidence that is a child's right
towards a loving mother ; it sent a thrill of joy through hei
heart ; this child with the defiant eyes submitted at once, and
voluntarily, to her maternal authority. Like a gentle ray of
moonlight, a melancholy sensation of pleasure descended upon
her soul ; she clasped the little fellow in her arms and kissed
him tenderly.
" Give me the chocolates, Leo ; I will take them to Gabriel.
You must go back to bed now," she said, holding out her hand
0*
68 THE SECOND WIFE.
for them. u I will say c good-nigllt , to him, too, for you. But
wl.ere shall I find him?
He eagerly turneu his pockets inside out and emptied their
contents into his mother's delicate, beautiful hands. She
smiled ; certainly it would never have done to let his grand-
father know of this chocolate treasure ; his half-muttered com-
plaint with regard to the expensive ices had not escaped her
quick ears.
" You must go past the pond, in there," the boy replied,
heaping her hands with the chocolates and then pointing
through the wire fence ; " but you must not go into the house ;
grandpapa has forbidden it, and Frulein Bcrger says there is
a witch in there with long teeth. Stuff! I'm not afraid.
She never bites Gabriel."
Liana drew the child's night-dress up over his shoulders,
and, taking his little hand in hers, led him back to the castle.
A lamp hanging from the ceiling threw a dim, dreamy light,
through a coloured glass shade, around the child's bedroom.
A king's son could not have been more luxuriously bedded
than was this scion of the Mainaus. But what availed the
poor child all these silken hangings and lace coverlets ? His
slumbers were unwatched, although a bronze angel spread its
gold-gleaming wings above his bed and held back the curtain
with both hands. From the school-room came muffled sounds
of laughter and the clinking of glasses. Liana thought that
the spirit of the child's departed mother must wander angrily
through these rooms, and write a " mene, tekel," above the
heads of guardians so dead to duty as these.
" Mamma," said the little fellow, stroking her cheek, as she
carefully covered him up, " it is too nice when you are here !
Shall you stay always ? My other mamma never came to my
bed. And you will certainly go to Gabriel and take him the
chocolates ?"
She promised that she would. He laid his head perfectly
THE SECOND WIFE. 59
content upon the pillow, and in five minutes his breathing
testified that he was sound asleep. Then Liana left the room,
closing on the outside the door through which the boy had
made his escape.
CHAPTER VII.
The clock was striking half-past ten when liana returned
to the grounds before the windows of her apartments. Gny,
transparent, like the train of the wandering Dame Saga, the
wire fence wound through them. The whipping-post, as Herr
von Rdiger had called him to-day, the pale, silent scape-goat,
must have been asleep long since. He had small part in the
mysterious attraction that drew Liana towards this enclosure.
She turned and looked back at the castle. A flood of moon-
light poured down upon it from the heavens, and in its gray
pride of antiquity, with its massive arches, its trefoils, its
arched windows with their lace-like tracery, and its patron
saint in a projection of the wall, it looked like an ancient
abbey. Behind the glass panes no light was to be seen except
where the lamp from her salon sent forth a yellow gleam into
the obscurity of the columned walk outside. Some one seemed
to be leaning against a pillar there, watching the half-opened
glass door. An illusion, doubtless; not a grain of sand
stirred beneath the feet of the supposed watcher. There was
no motion in the figure ; it was only the shade cast by the
column.
The grated gate swung to behind her, and Liana was walk-
ing upon the light gravel of a narrow pathway, still over-
shadowed by boughs of familiar hazel- and juniper- busheo.
Upon the open lawn shot uj the straight trunk of a banana
BO THE SECOND WIFE.
palm, and the moonlight threw the shadow of its gigantic
leaf upon the smooth sward. Then the path led through a
dark thicket ; sparks of fire moved everywhere around the
fireflies were abroad. There was a rustling in the branches
above: a broken twig fell upon Liana's shoulder; here and
there a little arm was thrust forth after her, and cunning, in-
quisitive monkey-eyes peered into her face. Involuntarily she
put her hand to her brow, as if to dispel a feverish dream.
Would a cobra glide hissing from the thicket, or some huge
elephant break his way through the trees to destroy her ? She
hesitated. A little guinea-fowl ran across her path; a few
steps farther, and bush and tree receded, while before her
lay the pond, smooth and motionless as a sheet of silver un-
rolled upon the grass. The Hindoo temple raised to Jbhe
skies its gleaming dome as firmly as if its steps led directly to
the waters of the Ganges, instead of to a pond in a German
valley.
With a deep-drawn breath, and the shudder that so easily
assails us in strange solitudes and yet lures us irresistibly
onwards, Liana slowly walked around the pond. She did
not know with what a fairy life her flitting figure in white
sweeping robes, her head borne so proudly with its diadem
of deep red gold, invested the strange foreign landscape. Nor
did she dream that the creaking of the gate by which she
had entered had stirred from its place what she had thought
the shadow of the pillar, to follow her noiselessly, but so closely
that it seemed as if from the heavy braids which glittered in
the moonlight there streamed a magnetism that compelled him
to follow.
And now the white walls of a low cottage appeared. A
broad gravel-path ran around the square enclosure in which it
stood literally imbedded in rose-bushes, or rather in the roses
themselves, for they were in bloom everywhere, growing high
and trailing low; some branches of the tea-rose lay across the
TEE SECOND WIFE. 61
path, the pale, heavy blossoms drooping on the hard gravel a*
if drunken with moonlight.
It seemed as if a strong blast of wind could blow away the
cottage, it was so light and graceful, with its roof of reeds, and
its veranda sustained by props of bamboo. Its windows weit,
large, but a carved wooden trellis in front of the glass pro-
tected each one. With some hesitation Liana ascended the
veranda steps ; the floor was carpeted with matting, as cool,
smooth, and shining as an Eastern foot could desire. There
was light behind the trellis : it came from a lamp suspended
from the ceiling of the room. The hanging curtain was drawn
aside just where there was an opening in the carving of the
trellis, and through this Liana could see a great part of the
interior. Against the opposite wall of the room stood a bed-
stead of reeds, and upon its snow-white coverlet a figure was
stretched. Was that delicate creature, whose head was buried
in the pillows, a woman or a child ? Soil folds of white mus-
lin enveloped the lithe form to the feet, which lay exposed,
naked, small, and white as wax. One arm, slight and thin
like that of an undeveloped girl of thirteen, was bare to the
shoulder, and lay listlessly along the thigh, its wrist and upper
part encircled by broad glittering rings of gold, which seemed
as if they must chafe the tender white flesh. But the
stout woman standing by the bed with a silver spoon in her
hand, and modulating her rough voice to tones of gentle en-
treaty, was already known to Liana. She had been presented
to her after the marriage ceremony to-day as Frau Lhn, the
housekeeper.
The spoon, which the woman was carefully holding away
from her white apron, evidently contained medicine, and was
an object of disgust to the figure lying upon the bed. All
her coaxing, and gentle stroking of the buried head with
the large, powerful hand, availed nothing.
" I cannot help you, Gabriel," said Frau Lhn, at last, turn-
62 THE SECOND WIFE.
ing to the side of the apartment that Liana could not see.
" You will have to hold her head. She must sleep, child, at
all hazards."
The pale boy, Leo's scape-goat, advanced within the circle
of light from the hanging lamp. He gently tried to inseit
his hand between the pillow and the head that lay upon
it. At his touch the head was suddenly lifted, showing a
small, emaciated, but beautiful face, the face of a woman.
Liana shuddered to her very soul at the expression in the
large eyes raised to the boy in tender reproach and agonized
entreaty. He recoiled, and his hands fell by his sides. " No,
no, I will not," he said, soothingly, and his gentle voice trem-
bled with pity and sympathy. " I cannot, Frau Lhn ; 1
hurt her. I would rather sing her to sleep."
"You might sing until to-morrow morning, child," the
woman replied. " When she is as she is to-day, it will do
no good ; you know that as well as I." She shrugged ber
shoulders, but did not urge the boy further.
What a tender heart must be throbbing in this woman's
square, robust frame, with her coarse, hard face, that had
seemed so harsh and unfeeling when she was presented, a
few hours before, to her new mistress 1
Liana lifted the latch of the door between the two windows
and entered the room. The housekeeper uttered a cry and
almost spilled the contents of the spoon.
" Support the invalid," said the young wife. " I will give
her the medicine."
The sudden entrance of the slender white figure, with it
air of calm confidence, seemed to have a paralyzing effect upon
the sick woman. She never moved, but, staring steadily into
the lovely young face that bent above her, allowed the anodyne
to be poured down her throat.
" There, my boy, it is all done," Liana said, laying the spoon
upon the table. "It did not hurt her, and now she will
THE SECOND WIFE. 63
sleep." She gently stroked the boy's dark hair. " You love
her very dearly ?"
" She is my mother," the boy answered, with a gush of
tenderness.
" They are poor people, madame, poor and wretched," the
housekeeper interposed, in a hard, dry voice. Not a trace
of the sympathy and pity that had characterized her pre-
viously could now be heard in her tone, or seen in the ex-
pression of her grave face.
" Poor ?" the young wife repeated, and involuntarily pointed
to the glittering bracelets upon the arms of the invalid, and
the chains of gold around her neck. Until now the eyes of
the latter had been quietly fixed upon Liana ; suddenly they
became wandering and anxious, and she clutched in her deli-
cate left hand a small object hanging from one of the chains ;
it appeared to be a little silver flacon.
" There, there ! be quiet ! madame will not take it from you,"
Frau Lhn said, harshly and authoritatively. " The people
are very poor," she continued to Liana. " They cannot eat
those things," and she pointed to the trinkets ; " and indeed
they do not really belong to the woman; the old Herr
Hofmarschall could take that bauble from her too, if he chose.
It is through charity, pure charity, that she is fed and allowed
to live in this hut ; for she and her boy have nothing of their
own in the world."
The housekeeper s words grieved Liana's very heart, espe-
cially when Gabriel, while they were being spoken, leaned
over his mother and gently stroked her cheek, as if she
were a helpless child to be shielded and caressed. This
fair, boyish face, with the weary droop and the melancholy
lines about the mouth, bore the impress of endurance and
slavish submission that could only be the consequence of
the oppression of years. Liana would have liked to ask,
M Who is this stranger, and how comes she to live here with
64 THE SECOND WIFE.
her boy, who is condemned to bear so heavy a yoke ?" But
the fear of hearing still harsher explanations from the house
keeper sealed her lips. She took from her pocket the choco-
late bonbons and laid them on the table. " Leo sends you
these," she said to Gabriel, " and I bring you his good-night"
" He is kind, and I love him." replied the boy, with a mel-
ancholy smile.
"That is right, my child; but you must no longer be
punished for his faults." She put her forefinger beneath
his chin, raised the drooping face, and looked kindly into his
innocent eyes. "Have you not the courage to speak out
when you are unjustly treated ?" she asked, with gentle
gravity.
A flush of surprise crimsoned the harsh features of the
housekeeper; for a moment she evidently struggled with
some strong emotion, but only for a moment ; then she gazed
sullenly as before at her new mistress, and said, in a doubly
harsh voice,
" Madame, it does Gabriel no harm ; if they treat him with
injustice at the castle, he must thank them, humbly thank
them. He must be a monk, in a monastery, and he must
learn to submit and be silent, even although his heart is like
to burst with anger. He cannot love his little master Leo
enough ; it is he who persuades the old Herr Baron to let him
stay here, or he and his mother would have been sent away
long ago.".
The boy's eyes filled with tears.
" You must be a monk ? Do they mean to force you,
Gabriel ?" asked the young wife.
" Tell the truth, my son ; who forces you?" was spoken from
Dehind her, in the voice of the priest who had officiated at her
marriage. He was standing upon the threshold of the doer
from the veranda, his slender yet nervous figure strongly de-
fined against the moonlit rose-bushes beyond. At sight of
THE SECOND WIFE 65
him Liana instantly remembered the shadow of the column,
this man had watched and followed her.
Frau Lhn curtsied as the priest entered, with a courtly
obeisance, " Have no fear, madame," said he ; " we are per-
fectly harmless at Schbnwerth ; we really never commit such
terrible deeds as those with which the story of the Mortara boy
has acquainted the credulous world, eh, my boy?" And he laid
his soft white hand familiarly upon Gabriel's shoulder.
Had it not been for the long clerical coat and the spot of
smooth ivory on the top of the head, among the dark cluster-
ing curls, one would never have suspected the priest in this
man. In his manner there was not a trace of that studied
deliberation which so often disgusts with its exaggeration, not
a trace of assumed unction in tone or words. At table, a few
hours before, there had been a hot debate concerning political
matters, and this man's voice had rung clear and full, like the
warlike note of a trumpet.
At his entrance the sick woman again buried her face in the
pillow, and was so quiet that one might have thought her sleep-
ing, except that her bosom rose and fell so hurriedly. She lay
there like some timid, trembling bird in the grasp of a cruel hand.
" What has been the matter to-day, Frau Lhn ?" asked the
priest. " She is greatly excited. I heard her moans in the
sacristy."
" Her highness the duchess rode past the house again to-
day, your reverence, and of course we have had a terrible
time since," the housekeeper answered, respectfully, but not
irithout perceptible irritation.
There was a delicate shade of scorn in his voice as he re-
joined, with a shrug, " Then there is no help for it. The
luchess can hardly be expected to refrain from her ride
through the l Vale of Cashmere ,' who would have the courage
to prefer such a request?" He approached' the bed; a convul-
sive tremor was immediately visible in the sufferer bjm^Xksss*
B 6*
i
66 THE SECOND WIFE.
" With all your strict rule, you give way to her too much,
my good Frau Lhn," he said to the housekeeper, over his
shoulder. " Why should there be those heavy bracelets on the
weak limbs, those massive chains around the neck?"
" It would kill her, your reverence, if I were to attempt to
take them off," said the woman, and her voice sounded strange,
compressed, as it were, as if coming through her closed teeth,
while something like subdued fire sparkled in her deep-set eyes.
" You must be mistaken ; she is weak, and worn to a shadow.
The weight of those things wearies her more than you would
believe. Come, let us try."
The invalid opened wide a pair of horror-stricken eyes.
Clutching her chains to her breast with her left hand, she
wailed forth the same low yet piercing cry that Liana had
heard at noon. Frau Lhn instantly stepped between her and
the priest. She covered the little white clenched fist by the
ick woman's side with her own large, bony hand.
*' Your reverence will forgive me," she said, firmly, and there
*as an air of stern decision in her bearing, but this is my
affair. If you agitate her, who will suffer from sleepless nights ?
I. I need not, to be sure ; I might refuse, as all the other
servants in the castle do, to enter this cottage. I will not say
that I do what I do from love or compassion. I am a rough
woman, and do not wish to seem better than I am. These
people are nothing in the world to me," she continued, more
cilmly. " If I come here and do all that I can for them, I do
it for my employers, whose bread I eat."
" No one thinks otherwise, my good woman," the priest said,
soothingly, and gently shook his head. " Who could doubt
the coolness and fidelity of Frau Lhn ? Let the invalid keep
hei trinkets. I should be the last to make your duties more
dim cult."
Meanwhile the young wife went out, with noiseless step.
She longed to see the starry skies above her head, to feel tlm
THE SECOND WIFE. C7
gravel crunch beneath her feet, that she might know he was
not wandering in the mists of some feverish dream, so strng
was the impression made npon her by the oddly-assorted group
of human beings in the bamboo cottage. She seemed to havo
been looking at a picture full of anachronisms. That delicate
foreign creature, lying upon her Eastern couch, draped in a
eloud of white muslin, and laden with ornaments like an In-
dian princess, and that strongly-built, rough woman, with her
German tongue, her white, starched apron, and the high horn
comb in the grizzled knot at the back of her head, it was an
incredible companionship.
The air that greeted her outside the cottage was faint with
the odour of the roses. A soft wind had arisen, it breathed
through the sultry night, the silvery moonlight, and wafted
over the garden a long-drawn note from an jEolian harp. Liana
involuntarily laid her cool hands upon her throbbing temples
as she descended the steps of the veranda.
" The Vale of Cashmere, the Paradise that the earliest living
mortal could not understand, and so lost it to us forever 1"
said the man in priestly garb, who had followed her and was
now walking by her side. " Most men seek it, and, blinded
by the curse, foolishly pass it by ; the ascetic sneers at its rap-
tures and blots it from his plan of existence, until some light-
ning-flash reveals to him that the curse is not inherited, but
incurred by his own folly." His voice was veiled, as if half
stifled by the sultry July night-air.
Liana paused and looked up at him. She was about to
reply, when suddenly the blood rushed in a" torrent to her
cheek and brow, and her large, expressive eyes grew hard and
cold as steel ; she could not pursue such a subject with the
man gazing at her thus. She conquered an emotion of dis-
gust, and said, coldly, " It is impossible to think of Paradise
where such moans are heard as but now assailed our ear
Who is the poor creature lying there ?"
68 THE SECOND WIFE.
The man's cheek grew pale. Evidently irritated, he cast a
dark side-glance at the youthful figure by his side, who with
one haughty turn of her lovely head had so repulsed all ap-
proach. It was the Countess Trachenberg, conscious of her
long line of blameless ancestry. " Will it not insult your pride,
madame, to know that Schn werth shelters a fallen woman?"
he said, with keen irony. " There is nothing more unrelenting
than a woman's pride of virtue, it is a joy to its possessor ;
but woe to those whose fiery hearts lead them astray I I know
that cold, chaste, critical gaze from a woman's eye, it cuts
like a sword." Strange utterances from the lips of a priest !
He turned, and, pointing towards the bamboo cottage, already
hidden behind the hedge of roses, said, " Who would dream
that that poor crippled creature, whose feet and arms are
already touched by death, had once danced in the streets of
Benares ? She was a bayadere, a poor Hindoo girl, that a
Mainau once stole from beyond the sea. This ' Vale of Cash-
mere,' as it is called, sprang to life beneath a German sky for
her sake. Thousands were squandered to purchase a smile
from her, to make her forget her native skies."
" And now she lives at Schnwerth on charity, and is given
over to the will and pleasure of that harsh woman," murmured
Liana, with emotion. " And her child, so ill treated here "
"Madame," interrupted the priest, "I would counsel you,
for your own sake, not to judge the Hofmarschall so severely.
It was his brother who outraged society by this love-affair.
The man has been dead for years; but the slightest allusion
to the matter is still enough to irritate the old man excessively.
He is a strict Catholic."
" His rigid adherence to his form of faith gives him no right
to oppress an innocent boy ; and that he does so, I can testify,"
said Liana, firmly.
They were just entering the obscurity of the grove. The
young wife could not see her companion's face ; but she heard
THE SECOND WIFE. 09
the embarrassed clearing of his throat, and after a moment's
silence he said, with an odd kind of hesitation, " I have already
designated the woman as a lost creature ; she was treacherous,
like all Hindoos. The boy has no more claim upon the house
of Mainau than any other beggar at the gates of Schnwerth."
Liana said not another word. She hurried on along the
leafy path; the air seemed stifling beneath those drooping
boughs. One of her braids was caught, as she thought, upon
a projecting branch. She turned to disengage it, and touched
a hand hastily withdrawn. She almost screamed ; the touch
of a cobra could scarcely have made her shrink as did that
contact.
As they emerged from the gloom of the pathway, involun
tarily she looked in the priest's face; it was calm, almost
stony. They walked on silently to the grated gate. As it
closed behind them, the man stood still, and seemed for a
moment to seek expression for the thought he wished to con-
vey. Then, in a low tone, he said, " This Schnwerth is
dangerous ground for tender feet, whether from India or from
our German nobility. Madame, there is a tempest abroad,
and the war-cry is, ' Down with the Ultramontanists ! down
with the Jesuits !' They will tell you that I am one of the
worst of these, a fanatical Romanist ; they will tell you that I
have acquired in the fullest degree that ruinous power over
those in high places for which the Jesuits all over the world
are striving. Think regarding this as you please ; but if ever
in moments of trial and, believe me, such will not be wanting
you need a helping, protecting hand, call upon me, I shall
not fail you."
He bowed, and walked with a quick, elastic step towards
the northern wing of the castle. Liana hastened back to her
apartments. With trembling hands she locked the double
doors behind her and jealously drew the curtains closer, that no
prying eye might intrude upon her solitude. Never had the
70 TEE SECOND WIFE.
future seemed so dark to her as at this moment, never !
not even on that dreadful day when the hammer of the auc-
tioneer had resounded through the halls of Rudisdorf, when her
mother had wandered hither and thither wringing hep hands
and arraigning the justice of Heaven that allowed the last of
the Trachenbergs to starve! For then Ulrika had seized the
helm ; her strength of character had conformed their life to
their means, and the saviour of herself and of her brother and
sister had been labour, labour, a more honourable support
than the " helping hand" of that priest I No, rather perish
in those " moments of trial" than seek assistance there I
CHAPTER VIII.
The next morning Liana discovered, adjoining her dressing-
room, a small, rather scantily-furnished, but cheerful apartment,
evidently intended for her wardrobe. Thither she carried her
press for plante, her books, and her painting-materials. This
should be her study. Its large window afforded her pictu-
resque views of the garden and the lofty wooded hills. She
turned the key in the lock, and instructed her maid, when she
entered, to arrange her wardrobe in some other room. The
girl excused her tardiness by saying that she had been to mass;
and, indeed, her clothes were redolent of incense.
"His reverence the court chaplain,' ' she grumbled, "is
too strict. Even the sick, who can scarcely crawl, must ap-
pear at mass He often stays two or three days at Schn-
werth, where he has his own apartments, and rules more
despotically than the Herr Hofmarschall himself. It is just
the same in the Residenz. The duchess thinks all the world
of her chaplain." And she ended her loQg-winded excuse with.
THE SECOND WIFE. 71
"Thank God! he has just gone back to town." Cheering
news for her mistress also.
A servant announced that breakfast waited in the dining-
hall. This apartment closed the suite of rooms occupied by the
Hofniarschall ; but the windows looked towards the east, and
opened on the spacious court-yard. In brawling, thirsty, savage
mediaeval times, no knightly hall could have rejoiced in more
cumbrous oaken furniture, a greater number of stags 1 and
boars' heads on the walls, or mightier tankards on the side-
boards. From the chimney-corner at one end, the bright
light of a fire contended with the morning sunbeams, but the
glow from the blazing logs did not extend far beyond the
wheeled chair of the Hofmarschall and the white covered table
beside it. The room was too spacious.
The old man's gouty feet must have been better this
morning, for when Liana entered he had left his chair, and was
standing propped upon a crutch, it is true at one of the
windows, looking out into the court-yard. She saw his figure
entirely in profile. He was a tall, thin man, and must once,
like all the Mainaus, have been handsome, save that the
outlines of his features were somewhat too delicate for a man.
The decided depression between the forehead and the rise of
the nose, and the small space between the nose and the chin,
peculiarities that might have characterized the countenance
agreeably in previous years, were now lurking-places for a most
malicious expression.
From the half-open door of the adjoining room came the
noisy voice of little Leo. It had, in view of the figure at
the window, a positively encouraging effect upon the young
wife as she entered. With the Hofmarschall, but at a re-
spectful distance, stood the housekeeper. She had a book and
several papers probably a housekeeping book and receipts in
her hand, but was craning her neck to look over the old gen-
tleman's shoulder into the court-yard. Not a feature betrayed
72 THE SECOND WIFE.
any recoL iction of the previous evening, as her new mistress
glided past her and politely greeted the Hofmarschall. He
returned her greeting gallantly and courteously, but with
obvious haste. All his attention was concentrated upon some
object in the court-yard.
" There ! just look there !" he said, eagerly, to Liana, as she
stepped to his side to look from the window. " Those infamous
nucals have been cutting boughs from the new plantations.
Vagabonds ! They know well enough that the hunting-whip
hangs on the wall, now that I cannot walk. Ah, this time
Baoul will make an example of them 1 The shoe pinches him.
The plantations are his work."
Baron Mainau must have just returned from an early ride.
He wore spurs, had a riding-whip in his hand, and looked
rather dusty. Before him stood the "infamous rascals," a
couple of village children, a boy and a girl. A field-guard, all
in tatters, but with his brass scutcheon of office, had appre-
hended them, and bore witness to their depredations in the plan-
tations, grasping the boy by the shoulder the while. Heads
peeped from numer us windows, and a stable-boy, who was
lounging at the door of a carriage-house, watched with great
interest the " Herr Baron's" riding-whip, which whistled to
and fro in the air during the recital. The little girl, with her
apron at her eyes, was crying bitterly, and the face of the boy
was as white as chalk.
The guard had finished. Baron Mainau's voice was heard,
loud and clear. He cracked his whip once or twice over the
heads of the little delinquents, probably in menace of a thrash-
ing in case of a repetition of the crime, and then pointed it
towards the open court-yard gate. The little girl dropped her
apron, and took to her heels ; the boy followed her example,
and in a few moments they had vanished, amid the laughter of
the lookers-on.
" He's a fool!" muttered the Hofmarschall, in a rage, and
THE SECOND WIFE 73
hobbled away to bis wheeled chair in the worst possible humour.
Frau Lhn wrapped the quilt about his feet, stirred the fire,
and then asked, in a monotonous voice, for further orders,
pointing, as she spoke, to the book in her hand.
" Nothing more," he said, peevishly, " than what I have
ordered already. No more Madeira for the Indian hut. You
mu3t have lost your wits, Lhn. Do you suppose I am made
of money? Would you like me to order baths of wine?
You are quite capable of it."
" Just as you please, Herr Baron ; it is no affair of mine,"
the housekeeper replied, indifferently. " It is the same to me
whether there be wine or water in the spoon that I give her.
The new doctor says she must have Madeira "
" Deuce take the fool and his prescriptions ! He has no
business over there !"
"But the young baron himself ordered him to attend
there, the day he was installed as physician to the castle,"
the woman persisted, entirely unmoved by her master's harsh
words. " He examined her, and has twice asked me as if
I knew anything about it whether her condition were not
the consequence of strangulation."
Meanwhile Liana had gone to the large round table whereon
the breakfast had been placed. She was superintending the
coffee, and stood with her back towards the speakers; but
she turned suddenly in terror, and drew aside her muslin
morning-dress, such a shower of sparks came crackling forth
from the chimney ; the Hofmarschall had thrust the end of
bi3 crutch in among the blazing logs.
"Leave the room instantly, Lhn!" he growled, with
flashing eyes, pointing to the door ; " you bore me to death
with your gabble."
The housekeeper marched dutifully to the door, and laid
Jier hand upon the lock. At its click the old man again
thrust his stick furiously into the fire, but he turned his face
d 7
74 THE SECOND WIFE.
towards the woman, and called her back. " Lhn !" he cried,
"you are the most insufferable woman I have ever known;
but you have one advantage over the rest of the castle pack,
you almost always know how to hold your tongue." He
cleared his throat. "Go on giving her the Madeira, if* you
choose, but by the teaspoonful, do you hear ? by the tea-
spoonful ; more will do her harm. And, once for all, I forbid
these visits of the doctor's. His examinations annoy her,
and he can do her no good."
At this moment a scream was heard from the next room,
followed by a storm of angry words from Leo, and a stamping
of his foot.
" Halloo ! what is the matter in there ?" cried the Hof-
marschall. " Where under the heavens is that woman
Berger ?"
"Here I am, Herr Baron," the governess answered, appear-
ing, with an injured yet humble air, upon the threshold. " 1
have been here in this room all the while. Little Leo was per-
fectly good at first ; but a little drawing fell out of Gabriel's
prayer-book. That boy is too stupid, Herr Baron. Instead
of giving Leo the paper, he tore it out of his hand. "
Leo interrupted her, pushing her aside with his sturdy fists,
and rushing past her into the room. In each hand he held a
torn piece of paper.
" What did she tear it for ? wasn't she a fool, grandpapa ?"
he cried, in a rage. " I did want the picture, to be sure, and
Gabriel would not give it to me that is true, too; but
what did she do but take his beautiful lion and tear it in
two pieces? Just look at that !"
"I congratulate you on your singular sense of justice,
Frulein," the Hofmarschall said, with bitter sarcasm in his
one, to the governess, who had approached, and now looked
Gown in confusion. He took the pieces of paper and glanced
at them. " Gabriel !" he cried, in a tone of harsh command.
THE SECOND WIFE. 75
The boy entered from the next room, and stood near the
door, with downcast eyes, paler than usual.
" You've been daubing again, eh?" the Hofmarschall asked,
briefly, almost closing his little eyes; and through the gray
lashes a look like a poisonous dart was shot at the trembling
child.
Gabriel made no reply.
" There you stand, as if you couldn't count three, you
sneak ! and on the other side of the wire fence you're wild
enough I know you, spoiling expensive paper with your
scribbling, and singing worldly songs as bold as a lark "
Liana, greatly moved, looked at the poor fellow. Those
were the songs that the unhappy child had sung with a sad
heart to soothe his mother's excitement.
The Hofmarschall rubbed the paper between his fingers.
" And what expensive paper is this that you have ruined .'
he inquired further.
The housekeeper, who, with her hand upon the lock of the
door, seemed to have forgotten to leave the room, now hastily
came forward ; her face was perfectly calm, though the colour
in her cheek was perhaps a shade deeper than usual. " I gave
him that, Herr Baron," she said, in her short, decided way.
The old man turned upon her. " What do you mean,
Lhn? How dare you, against my express order and de-
I
ire
"Oh, Herr Baron, Christmas comes but once a year, and
a few pennies will buy a heap of thanks. The boy cares
more for paper than for anything else in the world. I'm sure,
I gave the coachman's children a quantity of old rubbish, and
no one thought any harm of it. I never know the whole
year round whether Gabriel draws or writes ; it's not my
affair, and I care nothing about it ; but I thought to myself
At Christmas, 'Let him draw a Madonna, if he chooses; there's
no sin in that!' "
76 THE SECOND WIFE.
The Hofmarschall looked at her with profound suspicioa
" I cannot tell," he said, with slow emphasis, " whether yon
are really the soul of stupidity, or desperately cunning."
Frau Lhn bore his gaze with unruffled equanimity.
"God bless me, Herr Baron, I never in all my days waf
accounted cunning, it must be stupidity."
" Well, then, let me request you to be less stupid at Christ-
mas-time in future. Keep your pennies in your pocket, for
the days when you can work no longer," he growled, pounding
his stick upon the floor. " The boy shall not draw ! he shall
not! it distracts his mind. Is that a Madonna?" he cried,
holding towards her part of a very correctly drawn lion. " I
say, the scamp carries on all sorts of wild doings over there,
and you are fool enough to help him. Answer !" and he turned
angrily to the boy. " What are you to be ?"
" I am to enter a monastery," was the low reply.
" What for ?"
" To pray for my mother," said the boy, and the tears trickled
from beneath his drooping eyelids.
" Right, to pray for your mother, you were born for this.
God sent you into the world for this. And if you wear your
knees to the bone, and invoke God's mercy day and night, you
can never do enough. You know this, his reverence has told
you this repeatedly, and yex you hanker after the things of this
world, and put your wretched scribblings even in your prayer-
book. For shame, you miserable fellow ! There, go, this
instant !"
The boy's lithe figure vanished like a shadow.
" And you, Lhn, collect all the Christmas paper that there
is over there and bring it to me," said the old man.
" Of course, Herr Baron," replied the housekeeper, stroking
iown her smooth, starched apron, her hand was a little un-
steady, but in all else she was unchanged, as with an awkward
curtsy she left the room.
THE SECOND WIFE. 77
"Grandpapa is horrid to-day," Leo muttered to his govern-
ess. In terror she covered his mouth with her hand. He
thrust it away, struck it violently, and then rubbed his lips
with his sleeve. " You shall not touch my face with your
cold hand. I cannot bear it 1" he said, rudely.
Liana waited in vain for a word of reproof from the Hot*
marschall ; he was gazing into the fire as if he had not heard
the blow given to the governess's hand. " You are a naughty
child, Leo, and deserve correction,' ' the young wife said, at last,
quite sternly.
" Oh, never mind ; he meant no harm," lisped the governess,
as she tied the child's napkin beneath his chin. " We behave
very well indeed, do we not, Leo, my darling ?"
" This will never do, Frulein Bergcr," rejoined the young
wife. " For the child's sake, such training "
" If you please, I act according to orders," the governess
pertly interrupted her, with a side-glance at the Hofmaxschall ;
n and I shall always strive to merit approval from the source
whence they proceed. No one can serve two masters, and "
" Will you allow me to conclude what I was saying, Frulein
Berger?" liana asked, with perfect composure, and yet with
such dignity that the governess was silent and cast down hei
eyes.
" Permit me, if you please, to interrupt you, madame," the
old man now interposed. He was carelessly leaning back
in his chair, lightly touching together the finger-tips of his
outspread hands, while an odiously impertinent smile played
nbout his mouth. " Yesterday you made a very distinguished
and yet charmingly girlish bride ; I assure you you pleaded me
far belter than you do to-day, in your self-imposed maternal
dignity; that solemn air sits ill upon your yputhful face.
Whence, pray, comes this desire of yours to interfere in an
affair of education? Not from your noble mamma, certainly
not, I know her well."
7*
78 TEE SECOND WIFE.
He said all this smilingly, facetiously, leaning back in his
chair, continuing the light touching together of his finger-tips
and showing his well-preserved white teeth.
" Aha ! perhaps at your pension you may have perused Emilo,
by Rousseau of blessed memory, with or without the knowl-
edge of your worthy instructress, 'tis all the same. Thos!
ideas were once very much the fashion, until most of the silly
heads that harboured them fell beneath the guillotine. Madame,
we are standing upon ticklish ground. The men who come
after us must be of iron. We must sow dragons' teeth, not
what they call ' seeds of good/ of which every modern school-
master's pockets are full, and of which they all brag so in
public and private. And therefore, lady fair, never ruin your
exceedingly child-like features by untimely severity; but let
me continue, as hitherto, to direct matters. And now may I
pray for a cup of chocolate from your white hands?"
Liana placed a cup upon a small silver salver and handed it
to him. She was perfectly composed, and seemed not one whit
disconcerted either by the triumphant glance of the governess
or by the sneering smile of the Hofmarschall. He looked
up at her for a moment, and for the first time she gazed
directly into the depths of those small clever eyes. They
fairly sparkled with malice. This man was her implacable
enemy, with whom she must contend so long as he lived: this
she instantly acknowledged to herself. And she was far too
wise not to perceive that gently to submit was to be lost and
trodden under foot: if she would maintain her position it must
be by self-assertion, and, wjiere it was possible, " paying him
back in his own coin,"
He took her left hand and examined it. "A beautiful
hand, a truly aristocratic hand." He gently felt the tip of
her forefinger. "It is very rough; you have been sewing,
not embroidering, sewing, madame; perhaps on the linen of
your trousseau ? Hm 1 these little pricks and scars must bo
THE SECOND WIFE. 7f
smoothed away before we can present you at court. This test
of a capable chambermaid hardly suits the finger of a Baioness
Mainau. Heavens, how times are changed! What would
'Red Roland of Trachenberg/ wealthiest and mightiest of
crusaders, have said to these little wounds ?"
Liana looked down at him with a grave smile. " In bis
time busy hands were no disgrace to a lady of rank," she
said ; " and as regards our poverty, which these little wounds
suggest to you, he might perhaps have been wise enough to
say that the law of change is mightier than mortal will, and
that the centuries which were to follow him could hardly pass
without leaving their traces in many an ancient line. The
Mainaus, too. have not always despised labour. I have searched
among our family archives often enough to know, from the
records of one of our ancestors, that a Mainau was for a long
time his castellan, a man to whose diligence and fidelity his
master bore cheerful witness. We found him a brave and
honest servant."
She returned to the table, and poured out the coffee. For a
moment there was perfect silence in the apartment. At her
last words the Hofmarschall had raised his cup to his lips as
hastily as if he were starving ; now she heard behind her tb
soft clatter of the porcelain in his hands ; and when, after a
short pause, he asked harshly and authoritatively for somi
toast, she handed him the toast-rack as graciously as if nothing
had been said. He took and tasted a small piece, gazing fix-
edly into the fire the while.
80 THE SECOND WIFE.
CHAPTER IX.
" Mamma/' said Leo, stretching out his arms to Liana with
a caressing gesture, " I will be good, and never slap Frulein
Berger again ; but please let me sit by you."
She placed him beside her, regardless of the angry look that
was darted at her from the fireside, and prepared his breakfast
for him. Baron Mainau now entered the room through the door
at the opposite end, and paused for a moment on the threshold,
evidently pleased at what he saw. This was all right ; here
was the mistress of Schonwerth as he had hoped to find her.
She sat quietly by Leo's side, dressed in a simple muslin
morning robe, her face quite colourless in contrast with the
rosy cheeks of the boy on her left, and against the light
wainscot of the room her crown of heavy braids looked red,
decidedly red. The majestic, imposing bride of yesterday had
actually caused him a tremor. That charming figure, with its
small, proudly-carried head, and the clear, incisive words upon
its lips, had terrified him ; it was so far removed from the unpre-
tending, insignificant girl whose timid, docile nature was what
was needed at Schonwerth. The unwelcome discovery had
weighed ever since upon his mind, had filled him with secret
doubt and vexation ; he felt that he had been outwitted by the
cunning old countess at Budisdorf, and tied to a pretentious,
arrogant wife, who, constantly thrusting into view her long line
of ancestors and her own personal claims, might well endanger
his freedom of action. But here she was fulfilling her duties
n mistress of the household after so modest and unpretending
a fashion that even the ugly governess looked quite passable
beside her, and his whimsical old uncle seemed duly attended to.
THE SECOND WIFE. 81
He came forward with a gay " good-morning," and with
him there seemed to stream into the apartment all the fresh
ness and colour of the yonng summer's day, so handsome,
gallant, and debonair was his bearing. No one felt this more
keenly than the invalid in the wheeled chair: he knitted
his brows, and a regretful sigh escaped him; evidently hi
peevish temper was not improved by it.
" Well, Raoul, how many of your famous Prunus tribola
saplings are left in the new plantation ?" he called out, with a
sneer, to his nephew, who lightly touched with his lips his
young wife's hand. His smooth, broad brow was shadowed
for an instant, but then he laughed.
"Those rogues! they said they 'only wanted to build a
house,' and of course nothing would serve them but my splen-
did Prunus" he said, gaily. " Fortunately, they were detected
just as they were about to appropriate my choicest specimen.
The mischief done is quite trifling."
" It is not trifling, even if they only snapped a single twig,"
the Hofmarschall interrupted him, petulantly. "It has gone
too far. While I could walk, no one ventured to touch a leaf.
Those insolent vagabonds must be punished ; an example must
be made of them. I ought to have had that whip in my
hand."
" I take no satisfaction in thrashing such a squalling little
thing, and the boy was too pale," Baron Mainau said, care-
lessly, going to one of the windows. What a contrast
there was between his assumed nonchalance and his uncle's
peevish anger ! The old man turned towards his nephew,
who was softly drumming with his finger-tips upon the
panes.
"These paroxysms of benevolence will make you as*
toundingly popular with tailors and cobblers, but your
equals will find them simply ridiculous," the Hofmarschall
remarked.
82 THE SECOND WIFE.
Baron Mainau continued his drumming, but his face flushed
slightly.
" My dear Raoul, as I contemplated that charming scene in
the court-yard awhile ago, I was suddenly seized with a dread-
ful suspicion that there may be some truth in what is said of
you."
" And what is said of me ?" asked Baron Mainau, turning
round.
" Now, now, don't be violent," his uncle said, soothingly ;
his nephew's figure, set in the recess of the window, as in a
frame, was so commanding. " Your honour is untouched,
but it is said that you have exposed yourself to the charge
of ridiculousness, by allowing the escape, upon humane
grounds, of a notorious criminal. It is said that a person
of rank' aided that scoundrel Hesse, the poacher, who has
been the terror of the Schnwerth forest for years, to elude
the officers of justice just as they were about to capture
him."
Mainau' s lips curled with a smile of contempt.
" Indeed ? And has that little sin also reached your ears,
uncle ?" he asked. " I cannot withhold my meed of praise for
the spider ; whithersoever the unfortunate fly turns he touches
an invisible thread that carries back the electric spark to the
centre. That man, that Hesse, was certainly a most tiresome
fellow. He shot my finest stags before my very nose, and not
for the love of sport, in that case I might have winked at hia
offences, but to keep himself from starving -fi done! In the
good old times the lords of Schnwerth had a right to shoot
such a rascal on the spot, and have a pair of gloves made of
his skin. Heavens, what a sensation of power that must have
given one! Think of drawing on your hands our beloved
neighbour's skin !"
The Hofmarschall wheeled about and looked sharply in
the speaker's face, then impatiently turned away igain, and
TEE SECOND WIFE. &j
with the end of his stick softly tapped the bronze ornainenta
of the chimney-piece, thus keeping up a low ringing accom-
paniment to what was said.
" The growth of modern ideas has proved fatal to most of
the privileges of rank," Baron Mainau continued, " and what
is offered us in exchange I do not choose to accept. The
rogue who breaks into the tailor's or the cobbler's shop is
treated just like my criminal, my poacher. I cannot endure
that. As soon as he is out of prison again, having no more
to eat than before he went in, he pops away at my game.
Therefore I take the matter into my own hands, and put the
fellow out of the way ; in America he will do me, at least,
no harm."
" Foolery!" growled the old man, while Baron Mainau com-
posedly walked up to the breakfast-table and stroked Leo's
curly head. " After breakfast we must take a drive, my boy;
we must show mamma the pheasantry and all the beauties of
Schbnwerth. Will you go, Juliana ?" he asked. She assented,
without raising her eyes from the embroidery with which she
was now occupied.
He lighted a cigar and took his hat. Liana arose. " May
I ask you for a few moments' private conversation, Baron
Mainau ?" she said. Again she stood before him, tall, slender,
inapproachable. He noted the exquisitely delicate skin that
is so apt to accompany red hair, and looked into the passion-
less depths of the steel-gray eyes so calmly raised to his own.
He courteously offered her his arm.
" Take care of yourself, B&oul ! That lady fair has brought
a pocketful of interesting information from Budisdorf. She
is as learned in her family traditions as a keeper of archives.
I have just been informed that a Mainau was once servant to
the noble Trachenbergs."
Mainau let fall the arm upon which his young wife's
finger-tips had lightly rested. Silently and gravely he walked
84 THE SECOND WIFE.
to the door, opened it wide, and waited while Liana passed
jut.
She did not raise her eyes again until she found herself be-
fore another door which was in like manner held open for her.
As she entered there seemed to flutter out towards her from
the Pompeian red of the opposite wall something like a white
cloud. That airy young creature, with the wayward turn of
her pretty head, her narrow chest, sloping shoulders, and thin,
childish arms, half buried in billows of costly lace, looked, in
the heavy frame, like a white butterfly bound by a thread, in
vain endeavouring to fly away. That was the first wife, and
Liana saw, with a slight tremor, that she was in Mainau's room.
She walked to the window.
" I shall soon have finished," she said, refusing the arm-chair
that he offered her. She remained standing, but as she rested
her hand upon the corner of a writing-table that stood in the
recess of the window, she accidentally pushed aside one of
the large photographs in medallion frames that were scattered
about upon it.
" The duchess," Mainau said, with a slight smile, as if by
way of introduction, as he carefully restored the picture of
the beautiful woman to its place. Then he drew down the
window-shade a few inches; a sunbeam quivering across
Liana's forehead forced her to cast down her eyes. " Well,"
he said, as he was busied with the window, " may I hear what
you desire, Juliana? Was my uncle's statement just now
correct ? He was in a very bad humour : vour remark evi-
dendy irritated him. '
"Self-defence, Herr Baron," Liana rejoined, calmly, but
very decidedly.
" What ! did he venture to offend you again ? He prom-
ised "
"It is of no consequence, Herr Baron," she interrupted
him, with a quiet wave of her hand. " I see how ill he is,
THE SECOND WIFE. 85
and shall never for one moment lose sight of his condition
Actual malice I shall understand how to repress, until it ceasca
to display itself.' '
Mainau looked keenly into her face over his shoulder.
" That sounds extremely sensible," he said, slowly. " It would
establish the peace in this household for which I have 00
longed. I assure you nothing so completely ruins all satisfac-
tion and pleasure in travelling as the thought that matters at
home are not conducted as they should be."
" That is exactly what I wished to speak of, Herr Baron."
He smiled brightly and merrily. "This will never do,
Juliana," he interrupted her. "Any one overhearing this
conversation would burst out laughing. There is no help for
it you must have done with that formal title, if only for the
sake of the castle servants, who would regard it as a most unfit-
ting token of respect. I do not wish any such token, or rather
which is sad, but true I am too full of faults to deserve it."
Involuntarily his eyes glanced from the finely-carved writing-
table to the walls of the recess in which it stood. In fact, they
formed a kind of gallery of beauty, hung as they were with
pictures in gilded frames, here and there a lovely, aristocratic
face, a delicate, haughty head, among dancers and actresses in
the most extravagant of toilettes and attitudes. In the centre
of the table, the most fitting place, one would have thought,
for Leo's picture lay, upon a silken cushion, under a glass
case, a faded, light-blue satin slipper.
This kind of cultus among gay cavaliers was not new to
Liana; she had heard enough of it among \ly fellow-pupila
at her pension ; but this was the first time she had ever been
brought into contact with it, and she blushed crimson. Mainau
noticed it.
" Reminiscences of miserable c salad days,' " he said, gaily,
tapping the glass case so smartly with his forefinger that a
harp note from it shrilled through the room. "Heavens!
8
86 THE SECOND WIFE.
how tired I am of the sight of it ! But a promise is a promise.
In a moment of enthusiasm I promised its wearer carefully
to preserve this token of her triumph, and now, whenever I
write a letter, there it lies, in its more than respectable length
and breadth, wounding both my sense of beauty and my vanity;
for it tells of the time when I must have been an uncommonly
stupid youth. But, once for all, Juliana," he said, suddenly
interrupting this strain of ironical self-reproach, " let me en-
treat you seriously to adopt the easy, familiar tone with me that
befits your position, and that will go far to smooth matters
here for you. Let us be friends, Juliana, good comrades, who
are well content with each other, without soaring aloft into any
realms of sentimentality. And you shall see that, whatever
fickleness I am accused of, I am thoroughly to be relied upon
in friendship, there I never deceive."
" I agree, for Leo's sake," she replied, comprehending the
situation with rare tact. " I asked for this interview, Mainau,
to tell you that the child has a most unsuitable guardian, and
that you must instantly take steps "
He did not allow her to proceed. " I leave all that to you,"
he cried, with some impatience. " Send the woman away on
the spot, if you choose ; but leave me out of the affair. For
Heaven's sake, do not do as Valerie did ! She would have had
me the sheriff of my household, and wept floods of tears to
induce me to administer public reproof to her maid every
time she pinned her mistress's sash awry. Let us have no
imbroglios at home, Juliana, I pray you. The more calm and
unruffled the domestic life of Schbnwerth is, the more gratef ll
shall I be to my good comrade. And, besides, my uncle is
already in treaty with a new governess, who is highly recom-
mended."
Liana took some papers from her pocket. " I should be
very glad not to have her come," she said. " Perhaps at your
leisure you will look through these papers. It will not take
v
THE SECOND WIFE. gj
you long. They are my school testimonials. 1 understand
several modern languages thoroughly so far as their gramma*
is concerned. As to my pronunciation) perhaps you will take
the trouble to judge for yourself. These testimonials are
favourable in other respects ; but, in spite of that, I should
not venture to undertake the boy's instruction did I not know
that I learn easily and with pleasure. You would really
gratify me by accepting what I propose to make the busi-
ness of my life, and intrusting your child's education to me
alone."
While Liana was speaking, Mainau had walked several times
hastily to and fro in the room, and now he paused before her.
with evident amazement in his look. " Such words sound
strange from a woman's lips," he said. " I never heard their
like before. Yet I would trust them implicitly if you were
ten years older and had more experience of life, Juliana."
He glanced half-contemptuously towards the gallery of beauty
in the windowed recess, and then his gaze rested for an instant
upon the picture of his first wife.
" * The tiger has not yet tasted blood/ people say to self-
confident inexperience. How many of those heads harboured
virtuous resolves with regard to the business of their lives,
until society sucked them into its whirlpool!" he continued,
motioning towards the rows of miniatures. " You were edu-
cated at a pension, and had scarcely returned to your home
when you witnessed forgive me the downfall of the Rudis-
dorf magnificence. You do not know the enchanting charm
that lies in the life that the Countess Trachenberg has drained
to the dregs."
At this allusion ' to her extravagant mother, Liana blushed
to the roots of her hair. " How can I answer you," she re-
plied, in a low tone, " since you do not believe that any girlish
mind is strong enough to take warning from example ? Let
us be quite frank with each other, like good comrades," she
88 THE SECOND WIFE.
continued, eagerly. "I have laid out a plan for my future life,
as you have for yours, and I shall abide by it. First of all, let
mo entreat you not to put anything more in the upper drawer
of my writing-table ; those rolls of money distress me more V%
than I can express, and what should I do with them ?"
Mainau laughed. " Do you expect me to believe, Juliana,
that you ask that question in good faith," he said, "after
assuring me yesterday that you should know how to maintain
your right to wear ermine ? Where do you mean to wear it ?
Hardly in the school-room. You will trail it majestically over
ball-room floors at court, and you will soon find out what else
your state requires. A time will come when you will entreat
me to increase your pin-money. She" and he pointed to the
picture of his first wife "thoroughly understood that, and
you you will learn it."
" Never 1" cried the young wife, firmly, " never ! And let
me say one word in self-justification. Yes, I am proud of
my ancestors ; they were men of honour from generation to
generation. I know no greater pleasure than in discovering
all there is to learn of their lives. I would never rate my own
value by their merits. I should never allude to such hered-
itary grandeur to those who attach no importance to rank and
position. But when I encounter the arrogance and pretension
of a wealthy aristocracy, then I clash my ancestral shield till
it rings again."
He stood, with his arms folded, silently before her for a
moment, and then said, slowly, " I should like to ask why
you have never shown those eyes in Schn werth until this
moment, Juliana."
She hastily turned away the eyes that had glowed so elo-
quently. "May I beg for a definite answer?" she asked,
struggling with painful embarrassment. "May I be Leo's
niother and only governess, and will you arrange that the Hof-
warschall shall not interfere?" she added, with eager gravity.
THE SECOND WIFE. 89
4 He will make all kinds of objections," said Mainau, pat-
ting his hand to his brow ; " but it shall not prevent me from
giving you unlimited authority. We shall see which will
conquer in your nature, your self-elected ' business of life,'
or the woman of the world, the daughter of the Countess
Lutowiska."
"I thank you, Mainau," she said, with an almost child-like
joy, entirely ignoring the sneer contained in his last words.
Ho would have kissed her hand, but she turned hastily and
walked to the door. " No need of that between good com-
rades. We understand each other," she cried, with a charming
smile thrown to him over her shoulder.
CHAPTER X.
Frau Lhn now had, as she expressed it, a hard time of
it. And, as she said this, she nodded energetically, and angrily
thrust the horn comb deeper into her knot of gray hair. Her
patient was worse than ever, for the duchess rode past the
Indian hut every day, " even when it rained cats and dogs."
Strangely enough, although it had been confidently prophesied
in court circles that Mainau's sudden marriage " that strange,
hair-brained proceeding" would dissolve his connection with
the court and transform previous favour into bitter dislike,
nothing of the kind ensued. The initiated whispered among
themselves thatt he duchess grew gracious again so soon as
she discovered that the new alliance was a " mariage de conve-
nance" in the fullest sense of the phrase, and extremely re-
pugnant to the old Hofmarschall, who hoped that in tame it
would be dissolved. But what these wiseacres did not know
8*
90 THE SECOND WIFE.
was that, in conformity with one of the mysteries of feminine
nature which lie hidden in the bosom of the proudest aristocrat
no less than in that of the meanest grisette, the duchess had
never loved the haughty baron so passionately and humbly as
since his fearful revenge, since he had morally trodden her
under foot. The " red-head," as the pretty maids of honour
Lad dubbed the new mistress of Schnwerth, was no object
of jealousy. The duchess, in her penetrating glance through
the nun-like veil, had discovered no traces of beauty. The first
wife, with her gorgeous toilettes and her piquant love of pleas-
ure, had always been a welcome and flattered guest at court ;
but Mainau had not even presented his second wife. Some-
times for days together he remained in his bachelor apartments
in the heart of the capital, and he was continually alluding to
his contemplated journey to the East. All this served to con
vince the duchess that the thirst of his passionate nature foi
revenge had been entirely satisfied by what he had done, and
that the future fate of the tool he had made use of was a
matter of indifference to him.
Since the departure of the governess from the castle, which
took place by Mainau's orders a few days after his conversation
with Liana, the visits of the court chaplain to Schnwerth had
been much more frequent; he superintended Leo's religious
education. There had been quite a scene between uncle and
nephew ; the servants thought that the floor of the dining-hall
must surely show traces of the angry thumping of the invalid's
cane ; but his anger was entirely fruitless. Half an hour later,
Leo's bed was removed to a room adjoining Liana's, and from
that moment the young wife entered upon all her rights as tho
child's mother and mistress of the house. For, although it
was whispered among the servants that the Hofmarschall could
not endure her, and that "the young master did not seem to
think much of her," all agreed that she was every inch a
countess, and no one dared to treat her with any disrespect
THE SECOND WIFE. 91
At first they were rather astonished to find how silently
and surely the searching gray eyes detected all wrong and
omissions of duty; but they grew accustomed to this "odd
characteristic" when they found how willingly even the house-
keeper opened doors and linen-presses for her young mistress's
inspection.
Liana, after the decisive conversation, avoided all tte-a-ttes
with Mainau, who on his part did not seek her society. He
had never had another opportunity to admire her eyes. Even
during the most interesting conversations or the most animated
discussions between himself and the court chaplain at the tea
table, she sat so still, with her eyes riveted upon her eternal
embroidery, that Mainau was convinced she was either saying
over Leo's verbs to herself, or reckoning how much soap had
been used in the laundry. He, who actually dreaded " German
tediousness" like deadly poison, had in her person, quiet and
passive as she was, formally established it in his household.
And since all his new plantations were laid out, there was, as he
expressed it, nothing for him to do at home for the next six
months, and he was therefore energetically bracing himself for a
journey. The vagabond blood of the Mainaus was stirring in
his veins, he said, laughing, to the Hofmarschall one evening
at the tea-table.
The old gentleman was touchy, and protested in his own
name and that of his noble ancestors against such an expres-
sion; and a sharp discussion ensued, which threw a bright
glare upon past events. Whilst Liana leisurely put in and
drew out her embroidering-needle, she saw before her mind's
eye the three brothers Mainau, about whom there had been
much scandal and gossip thirty-five years previously. They
had been handsome, gallant, and admired. That old man, with
his faultlessly dressed gray head, and the flickering flush of
irritation in his waxen cheek, was right in protesting against
"vagabond blood." He had found the atmosphere of a court
92 THE SECOND WIFE.
alone suited to his lungs. He had always striven after the
highest ideal, as the Countess Trachenberg was accustomed to
say when she wished to intimate that she had once " given him
the mitten." Occupying a place at court " befitting his rank,"
he had married a wife " befitting his rank," and might de-
clare with a good conscience that his aristocratic feet had never
trodden the paths of mediocrity. His eldest brother, on the
contrary, had left home early, penetrated the icy regions of
the north pole, and led a nomad life in Farther India. When-
ever he appeared in the " little courtly nest of gossip in the
G-erman cupboard," his extravagancies and wild transgression
of all conventionalities had kept his courtier brother in a con-
tinual tremor. At last a lovely young heiress had bound
him fast in silken fetters; he had married her, and remained
in the capital long enough to see her beautiful, loving eyes
close in death, after the birth of her first child, whom he had
christened Raoul, and to make his will. Then he had shaken
the dust of Germany from his feet, and a few years afterwards
the German ambassador in Brazil had sent home news of his
deavh from fever.
All this was spoken of, and Liana was tempted for one
moment to pity her husband, so early left alone in the world ;
but why? He was handsome, wealthy, full of the enjoyment
of life, and in his irresponsibility heedless in the extreme of
those around him. The whole world and its delights were at
his fcet, and he had been unscrupulous in his enjoyments.
Thero he sat by the carping old man, looking after the blue
rings of smoke that floated out of the window from his cigar
to mingle with the last golden rays of the setting sun.
"lovely Schbnwerth!" he cried, with smiling pathos, in-
dicating with a wave of his hand the beautiful landscapo
itretching before him. " Most desirable of possessions ! We
owe you to this same much-belied vagabond blood. Uncle
Hormarschall would still have been staring from the windows
THE SECOND WIFE. 93
of his town-house if Gisbert von Mainau had been content to
stay at home."
The court chaplain was right in asserting that any allusion
to the third and youngest of the brothers was sure to enrage
the old gentleman. The Hofmarschall started up ; but the
tempest that would have burst in fury above the head of aa
inferior was reduced to a finely pattering hailstorm in this case.
Hastily putting his handkerchief, which lay beside him, into
his pocket, and thrusting after it his vinaigrette and bottles
of essences, he said,
" Pardon me ; it is time for me to retire. My nerves have
grown extremely sensitive to evening air and forced pleasantry.
We cannot make ourselves stronger and rougher than we are.
A strange thing is age. I have always been devoted to French
customs, and now I have grown so quarrelsome, or rather so
addicted to banter, that I find it utterly ridiculous when our
German rage for imitation betrays one into an attempt to walk
in an uncle's footsteps. My good Eaoul, you are very like
your Uncle Gisbert; there's no denying the resemblance. And,
since it pleases you, let me congratulate you, and express my
hope that you will faithfully follow in the path that he pur
sued, and that conducted him at last to the true goal and to
his eternal salvation."
" Heavens, yes, how deplorable ! Poor Uncle Gisbert ! ho
grew feeble and pious," Mainau replied, with a cold smile,
while the Hofmarschall dinned furiously at his little hand-bell.
His servant appeared, to conduct him to his bedroom
Mainau waved him aside, and wheeled the old man's chair to
the door himself.
" You will allow me to show due respect to Leo's grand-
father," he said, courteously, although in a formal tone, to the
Hofmarschall, who stiffly inclined his head. Then the door
closed behind the wheeled chair, and the baron returned to
his place at the window.
94 THE SECOND WIFE.
The young wife would have liked to gather up her work
and also leave the room, for she was now alone with him,
and had no fancy for hearing the man who could converse
so brilliantly with his uncle or the court chaplain talk,
as was always his wont at such rare moments, only of the
most commonplace matters, without any attempt to conceal
the effort he made to descend to so prosaic, unimaginative a
realm. But she could think of no suitable pretext for leaving
the room ; it was not yet time to put Leo to bed, he had
just put a bridle around Gabriel's arms, and was noisily
driving him up and down the flight of steps outside of the
glass door. She therefore drew her chair near one of the
windows, and began diligently to embroider a fiery cactus-
blossom by the failing light.
" Does not this odd family to which I have brought you
make you shudder, Juliana?" Mainau asked, with a half-
smile, as he lighted a fresh cigar. " You see how every hair
upon my uncle's head rises in horror at the thought that
there may be a drop of this * insane blood' of ours in his
veins. He is right after his fashion, man of creeds and forms
that he is ; and you, with your calm, impregnable, and very
sensible views of life, agree with him. I know you well
enough to see that."
Mainau paused, as if in expectation of a confirmatory
reply ; but Liana never even looked at him. She thought it
entirely superfluous to contest a view that was evidently satis-
factory to him. She threw back her head to try the effect of a
new shade she had just introduced into her embroidery. Her
delicate lips were firmly closed, and the pale tint upon her
velvet cheek did not deepen in colour. The youthful head,
whose loveliness struck the observer afresh, seemed at this
n oment akin to marble in its want of animation ; and involun-
tarily he wondered whether it was pride of ancestry alone that
could fire the depths of that reserved nature. The next
THE SECOND WIFE. 95
moment he felt profound satisfaction in the thought that it
was really so.
"That is most charmingly. rendered," he said, pointing to
the cactus-blossom. " I can understand how a calm feminine
temperament can become so absorbed in this kind of occupa-
tion as to be insensible to much that is disagreeable in her
surroundings. You probably scarcely heard the little difference
just now between my uncle and myself?" His tone sounded
amiably indulgent, as if he would be glad to hear that die
really had paid little heed.
" I heard enough to wonder that you should care so little
to carry out the programme which you yourself prescribed
for me," she said, with composure. "You desire a calm,
passionless, smoothly-conducted domestic life ; and yet a few
moments ago you did all that you could to irritate the Hof-
marschall." She never called the old man uncle.
" Dear Juliana, you are slightly in error," he said, with a
laugh, as he arose. " The programme is not to be adhered to
so literally while I am at home and can guide the reins as I
choose. I certainly do not wish to drown myself in the
stagnant waters of this tedious existence. I only do not
want any quarrelling while I am away upon my travels," he
continued. "Heavens, what a flood of complaining epistles
can come pouring in upon an unlucky traveller ! To what
lengths Valerie could go in that direction ! There they
lie now, in the darkest corner of my writing-table, those
messengers of affection. I have dutifully tied them up
with delicate pink ribbon ; but I have never reopened them,
for fear lest there might breathe out of them upon me
the spirits of discord, tyranny, and childish caprice. And I
was only the second recipient of it all; the little woman
had her admirable confessor, the court chaplain, always at
hand, to whom she used to pour out every emotion of he)
soul."
96 THE SECOND WIFE.
An evil smile appeared and vanished like a flash upon his
handsome face.
" Bah ! what would you have?" he said, suddenly, after an
interval of silence. He was standing at the open glass door,
watching the two boys at play. "I am certainly proud of
my manner t of dealing with my uncle, as vain as a child is
of not eating a piece of cake that his mother gives him.
Did you ever see me provoked ? Yet if you ask my beloved
neighbours about here, your hair will stand on end with horror
at the tales they will tell you of my brutal violence. Here
I control myself, principally, however, for the sake of the
enjoyment of that self-complacency which others, happier than
I, revel in all their lives long."
The young wife looked up, and her glance met his own.
In their eyes there was not a trace of the lightning-flash that
speaks of sympathy and mutual understanding. She said to
herself that nothing upon earth but his own strong desire and
will would ever have any power over the soul of this man,
petted and spoiled by fate and the favour of women as he was ;
and he took up his hat with a shrug, thinking that he could
almost read in those gray eyes the number of crimson stitches
that had been taken while he was speaking.
" I am going," he said. " Take care, Juliana, the twilight
is coming on, and the castle servants declare by all that is holy
that Uncle Gisbert's ghost still lingers in the recess of that
window. He had himself carried thither as he was dying. But
I forget stainless souls like yours have nothing to fear."
" Spirits whom we neither fear nor love can have no power
over us," she replied, calmly, heedless of the sneer in his tone.
u I have no fear of Uncle Gisbert's ghost, but I should like to
isk it why he wished to die upon this spot."
" That I can tell you. He desired that his last gaze should
rest upon his ( Vale of Cashmere,' " Mainau rejoined, stepping
to her side and pointing towards the garden. " He had his
THE SECOND WIFE. 97
grave dug beneath that obelisk. Ah, you cannot see the
monument, it is too much on that side, there !" He sud-
denly took her head gently between his hands to turn it in the
right direction. His fingers sank deep in the red-gold masses
of her hair. The young wife started up, shook off hia
hands, and looked at him with undisguised resentment in
her widely-opened eyes. He stood before her for a moment,
quite out of countenance; a sudden flush mounted to his
cheek.
" I beg pardon. I startled both you and myself. I did
not know your hair would emit such sparks at a touch," he
said, in an uncertain voice, as he turned from her.
She seated herself again, and went on with her embroidery.
The same quiet air of repose as before pervaded her elastic
figure ; but it did not now occur to Mainau that she was count-
ing the stitches beneath her needle. His eyes rested upon the
graceful neck below the heavy braids of hair, it had been so
pearly white, but now he marked the crimson flood stealing
over it. He did not take up again the hat that he had laid
aside. He was provoked by the antagonistic element ever
ready to break forth in this "red-haired girl," and still more
provoked at having subjected himself in his carelessness to a
repulse, and that, too, from an unloved wife. The only course
was to ignore the circumstance.
" I could really find it in my heart to wish that Uncle Gis-
bert could return and look out here," he said, calmly, standing
by the haunted window. " He has been lying thirteen long
years beneath that coloured marble, and in that time his favour-
ite Indian plants and trees have attained a luxuriance that he
ceroid hardly have dreamed of. There is another bone of con-
tention at Schnwerth. All that tropical growth must be
enclosed in glass in the winter-time, and the animals that
belong in it must be carefully tended. It involves a consider-
able outlay. My uncle makes a fresh attempt every year to
G 9
98 THE SECOND WIFE.
do away with the costly toy, and I am determined that not a
leaf shall be destroyed."
" And the human life transplanted by the German noble-
man beneath these northern skies?" she asked, hei voice
sounding sharp and stern.
He hastily approached her. " You mean the woman in the
Indian hut," he said. " Look at that boy !" And he pointed
at Gabriel. Leo had just sprung upon his back ; the delicate
limbs of the improvised steed cantered patiently along beneath
the little rider's cracking whip. " There is the type of the race
that was transported hither, like some costly jewel from beyond
the sea, cowardly, servile, faithless as soon as it is assailed
by temptation. I cannot endure the boy. I could far more
easily forgive him a few bruises upon Leo's back than the
spaniel-like servility beneath that divine face of his. Leo, get
down instantly!" he cried, angrily, with a frown, from the
open door.
Gabriel was just mounting the steps. He was heated be-
neath the unwonted burden that he carried, but his face was
pale, although the lovely outline of its regular oval was as
firm and strong as if chiselled from faintly-coloured marble.
" Be off with you to your home !" Baron Mainau called,
harshly, turning his back upon him.
The naif and yet melancholy smile that had hovered about
the boy's panting lips, as he ascended the last steps, vanished ;
terror gave an added pallor to his cheek. It cut liana to
the heart to see how tenderly he deposited his burden upon
the ground, and, as if involuntarily, passed his slight hand
caressingly over Leo's dishevelled curls. Poor fellow I Hia
youthful soul was in the iron grasp of the Church and an
orthodox aristocracy, and the imperious man, who alone
possessed the energy and power to protect him, spurned and
despised him.
" Good-night, my dear child!" she cried after him, as the
THE SECOND WIFE. 9fc
boy ran noiselessly down the steps. Then she gathered he*
working-materials together, and arose. Perfectly conscious
of her want of influence, she uttered no word on the child's
behalf; but, as she stood there, in her whole air and carriage
there was a protest against the conduct of the castle's lord.
He looked at her askance for one moment, and then lighted
his cigar afresh.
"Do you see that magnificent musa?" he asked, coldly,
pointing to one of the banana palms in the Indian garden.
" It gratefully seeks the cold skies above it ; while the foreign
human growth degraded itself to the stable-yard. There I
know no pity."
The young wife stood with her back towards him, arranging
her work-basket. She did not raise her eyelids.
"Will you have the kindness to look at me?" he said,
sternly. For the first time his tone changed from that of the
"good comrade ;" he spoke like a lord and master; he was
offended. " I scarcely thought that my wife would gird on
all the armour of her virtuous scorn and moral supremacy in
the cause of this bastard I"
A shudder of the same dread as was inspired at home by
the sudden sound of her mother's imperious tones ran through
her. In terror she turned her colourless face towards him ;
what a lovely, innocent, girlish expression there was in the
large, frightened eyes !
His vexed glance instantly grew gentle.
" Heavens, how pale you are, Juliana ! You look at me as
Red Riding-Hood must have looked at the cruel wolf. And
there is an end, I suppose, to our good comradeship, eh ? I
should be very sorry," he said, with a regretful shrug, as if to
express his grief for the probable loss of the carefully cultivated
tedium of Castle Sch'onwerth.
"I will enlighten you a little about these matters," he
added, after pacing rapidly up and down the room once or
100 THE SECOND WIFE.
twice. " When Uncle Gisbert returned to his German home
after his long absence, I was a boy of fourteen years, who
fairly adored this Indian uncle without ever having seen him.
Every one knew that he had accumulated an immense for-
tune ; tales were told of his mode of life and his exploits that
would have done credit to the ' Arabian Nights; 1 and when he
sent from Benares to purchase Schnwerth, and had it laid
out according to his fancy, the worthy citizens of our little
capital opened their mouths and eyes in astonishment. I shall
never forget him, never ; his gallant bearing, fine head, and air
of brooding melancholy. His l Vale of Cashmere' was his idol,
and behind the wire fence there lived a creature who wa*
borne in a Utter from the travelling-carriage to the Indian cot
Those who were fortunate enough to bear in their arms for one
instant during this proceeding the 'pale lotos-flower of the
Ganges,' maintained that hers was no mortal form ; that she
was an elf, created of air and sunlight."
Just so the strange foreign creature on the bed of reeds,
half woman, half child, had impressed Liana, a shape of air
fettered to earth by those metal bracelets and necklaces.
" With the exception of my uncle the Hofmarschall, and
the court chaplain, who was a simple priest then," continued
Mainau, "very few came to Schnwerth ; the haughty bearing
of ite possessor repelled every one. I myself was permitted to
make a visit here of but three days' duration, when I shared
the fate of the curious wives of Bluebeard." He laughed
gently, and knocked the ashes from his cigar. " I did not suffer
in life or limb, to be sure, but my uncle simply forbade my
ever coming again. I thought more than was good for me of
the Indian girl behind the wire fence. Cross yourself, Juliana I
I look back upon millions of follies where women were con-
cerned ; I have swum through tossing waves to recover a lost
breast-knot, and have drunk champagne from a dancer's shoe,
and why should not I begin by climbing over the wire fene*
THE SECOND WIFE. 101
at Sch'onwerth to see the woman whom* Uncle Gisbert loved
bo madly? The gate was not locked, and the i lotos-flower'
was certainly no prisoner, but I am convinced she did not wish
to be bored by the beardless nephew of her lord and master,
and so entrance to the l Vale of Cashmere' was denied me.
With my heart beating fast and loud, I crept through the
thicket, and never looked up until my uncle stood before me.
He spoke not a word, but the smile of contemptuous pity
which illumined his dark eyes for a moment so mortified me
that I forgot all the pride of my budding manhood and took
to my heels. That very morning my travelling-carriage was
ordered to the castle gate, without any previous knowledge on
my part that I was to leave, and I was assisted into it by my
uncle, who, with a friendly farewell, sent me back to school,
my ardour well damped."
He looked from the window towards the Indian garden
With a smile. It was growing quite dark ; the low reed roof
of the cot was undistinguishable amid the rose-trees, and
only upon the golden dome of the temple did there linger a
reflection of the fading light.
" I never saw my uncle again," he said, after a pause, " until
his last wishes were about to be fulfilled, and the physicians
were ready to immerse his dead body in some decomposing
preparation. I had been summoned to Sch'onwerth from the
university to attend the funeral. There he lay, beneath a white
satin coverlet: instead of the balmy breath of the roses of
the ' Vale of Cashmere, 1 clouds of frankincense floated around
bim ; there was no nightingale's song, but, in its stead, mut-
tered prayers, and from priestly lips his praises were sounded,
in that he had turned from evil ways to the true path of
salvation, no great credit to these dogmas," he interrupted
himself, " that the soul should receive them first when it is
crippled by a diseased body, when the nerve-fibres are all worn
out, and the poor brain bewildered by approaching death !
9*
102 THE SECOND WIFE.
Yes, that was the end the pitiful ending of a life that had
revelled in the poetry of existence."
The young wife was still standing beside her work-basket,
unconsciously busy with the skeins of gay worsted. Beneath
the huge arch of that window Uncle Gisbert had died died
with his gaze turned towards that creation of his fancy ; the
oul had gone home from the contemplation of that picture of
its " evil ways," in spite of clouds of incense and ecclesiastical
formulas. A gray, ghostly twilight crept in at the broafl
window, inscribing in dark outlines a giant cross upon the
oaken floor, and enveloping the speaker, whose voice rang all
the changes from tones of gay self-disdain to those of angry
contempt.
" I knew that a child had been born in the Indian cot," he
continued, after a moment's silence; "I had seen it in Frau
Lhn's arms. The little creature's melancholy face touched me.
There was no will, and, according to my conviction, the boy
was chief heir. I maintained this, and a paper was shown
me. Uncle Gisbert had died of a fearful disease of the throat;
for months before his death he had been unable to speak, and
had communicated only in writing with those around him.
There are quantities of such papers there," and he pointed
to a lofty rococo cabinet. " In that cabinet of curiosities of
the Hofmarschall's they are still preserved. This particular
one repudiated, in the harshest terms, the woman in the
Indian cot as false to him, and emphatically required that her
child should be educated for the service of the Church. There
was nothing else to be done. I cared nothing more about the
matter. I was indignant then, and I am so still, that such a
man should have suffered from a woman's treachery. My
uncle and I were the rightful heirs. We entered upon our
inheritance. I was now master of the Indian garden ; there
was no longer any fear of encountering my uncle's stately
figure armed with that cutting smile of contempt, and the
THE SECOND WIFE. 103
idolized * lotos-flower' lay in the house with the ro jf of reeds,
prostrated as if by an avenging thunderbolt "
" Then you could see her," escaped Liana involuntarily.
He turned, with a gesture of disgust. " Do you think so ?
By no means ! I was cured forever 1 A faithless woman is
beneath contempt. And then," he shook himself, " I cannot
endure such diseased creatures; every healthy fibre of my
_fjrame protests" against them. The woman is astray in mind,
paralyzed, and at times screams so that it pierces your ears;
she has been dying for thirteen years. I have never seen her,
and avoid the path to the Indian cot."
Liana put the cover upon her basket, and called Leo, who
had been amusing himself outside with throwing stones.
During Mainau's narrative she had been half inclined to
draw near him and follow his recital with sympathy, when
suddenly the hateful egotism of his last words repelled and
disgusted her; she wished for no closer approach to a man
who, in his arrogant consciousness of health and strength,
seemed to believe himself above all mortal ill, and who avoided
the slightest contact with misery, lest it should endanger his
enjoyment of existence.
" Say good-night to papa, Leo," she said to the boy, who
rushed impetuously to her and hung upon her arm.
Mainau took him up and kissed him. " You will not ask
anything more about the woman in the Indian cot, Juliana ?"
" No."
" And I hope I shall not hear again that tender and an-
tagonistic i Good-night, my dear child. ' You understand that
I must do as I "
" My mind works slowly, and I need time to form a judg-
ment," she interrupted him. And, with an easy inclination,
she left the room with Leo.
"Pedagogue !" he muttered between his teeth, as he turned
away. " Bah 1 she suits admirably," he instantly added, gaily,
]04 THE SECOND WIFE.
to himself, and, ordering his horse, rode to the capital, where
he wad to spend the night.
An hour later, he said at his cluh, to his friend Rdiger,
"I have drawn a wonderful prize. My wife neither sings,
paints, nor plays upon the piano. Thank Heaven, I shall
never be bored by dilettante airs ! She sometimes looks pret-
tier than T thought her at first, but she has no esprit, and not
the smallest idea of coquetry; she can never be dangerous.
She is not nearly so bornie as I thought her, and is much les*
sentimental. Her mind works slowly, and she will retain with
all the perseverance of an unimaginative nature the opinions
she imbibed at school ; so much the better for me ! I can
describe minutely her future letters to me, stiff exercises in
composition after the most approved school-girl fashion, with
intelligence concerning domestic affairs thrown in ; they will
never keep me awake at night. Leo has grown very fond of
her, and learns well ; and she seems rather to impress my uncle
by her natural coldness and the Trachenberg hauteur, which
she brings into play very magnificently at certain times. I
shall leave here in two weeks."
CHAPTER XL
The duchess, with her two boys, announced her intention
of paying the Hofmarschall a visit. There was nothing amaz-
ing in that. During her husband's lifetime the court had
often spent an entire day at Schnwerth, for the Hofmarschall
was high in favour, and always overwhelmed with proofs of
tfio royal good will as a trusty and faithful adherent of the
ducal family. Even during her year of mourning, when the
noble lady had refrained with exemplary strictness from every-
THE SECOND WIFE. 105
thing like social gaiety, she had often, upon her rides through
the ' Vale of Cashmere/ taken her afternoon cup of coffee in
the castle of Schnwerth. Her beautiful face at such times,
indeed, seemed to forget itself to marble amid the crape that
surrounded it, until even the Hofmarschall, with all his coup*
tier penetration, gradually became convinced of her intense
attachment to her late husband. During Mainau's engagement
and since his marriage, however, she had not visited the castle,
and had merely sent a friendly greeting from time to time to
her old friend, whose gout was so much worse of late.
But one afternoon Herr von Rdiger appeared and delighted
the old man with the intelligence that on the morrow the little
princes desired to pluck the early grapes and the dwarf-fruit,
as was their wont every year in the Schnwerth gardens. The
announcement was made at dessert. The Hofmarschall arose
as if rejuvenated ; he leaned his stick up in a corner, and, with
a side-glance at the mirror, attempted to reach the nearest win-
dow without support ; thence he beckoned to Liana, to whom
he imparted his desires with regard to the kitchen and cellar.
" Here it comes 1" said Mainau to his young wife, following
her as she left the room. " I gladly yielded to your desire to
postpone your presentation until I should return from abroad ;
but now, you see, the duchess forces you to appear before her
to-morrow." He shrugged his shoulders with an indescriba-
ble expression of suppressed mirth, flattered vanity, and con-
temptuous malice. u There is no help for it."
" I know it," she replied, with perfect composure, takixg
from her pocket a little memorandum -book, wherein she
jotted down the Hofmarschairs requirements as she walked
slowly on.
" That's well. Tour composure of mind under all circum-
stances is certainly admirable. I would like, however, to re-
mind you of one thing, Juliana, if you will permit me. The
duchess would regard anything like studied simplicity of attire
*
106 THE SECOND WIFE.
with what might seem a rather offensive smile of contempt.
Tour inclination to "
" I hope you give me credit for sufficient tact to know wheu
to conform myself to my own inclination and when to the
duties of my position," she gently interrupted him, as she put
up her pencil and closed her memorandum-book.
Meanwhile, they had reached the corridor leading to Mai-
nau's apartments. There stood a couple of new Russia leather
travelling-trunks that had been brought home during dinner.
Mainau's eyes sparkled at sight of them, as if he saw himself
already far away across vale and hill in the world beyond Castle
Schnwerth. He lifted one of the trunks, and, while he was
examining the straps, Liana turned aside towards Frau Lhn's
domain.
The Hofmarschall had silently acquiesced in her assuming
the oversight of all domestic matters. A bed of nettles would
have been ease compared with her new position in this respect.
It was a continual strife with the grinding avarice of the old
man, who counted every penny and was always suspecting
robbery and deceit on every side. Added to this, there was
his undiminished rage at Mainau's second marriage. Liana
was perpetually in arms against him. She knew that he
watched her every motion as far as was possible, that even
her letters from home passed through his hands before they
reached her own. Those from her brother and sister probably
seemed to him of little importance ; they seldom bore traces
of having been tampered with. But a letter had arrived from
her mother a few days before, the first since her marriage,
and Liana could not but see that its seal had been broken, a
doubly irritating fact in view of its contents. Countess Tra-
chenberg had poured forth the most bitter complaints with
regard to all that she was obliged to resign on account of her
poverty. A residence of a few weeks at some watering-place
was absolutely necessary for her health. Ulrika guarded everv
THE SECOND WIFE. 107
groschen of their income like a dragon, and would give her
nothing ; she therefore turned to her " favourite daughter" and
begged her to send her a small portion of her ample pin-
money. The HofmarschaH's piercing and malicious glance
as he greeted her when, after receiving this letter, she made
her appearance in the dining-hall, confirmed her in her
suspicion that he had read it.
This continual warfare was entirely concealed from Mainau
In his presence the Hofmarschall ruled his features and his
tongue with all the skill of the accomplished courtier, and as
for complaining to the man who desired peace above all else,
liana never dreamed of it.
It was three o'clock in the afternoon when she entered
the large saloon, the glass doors of which opened upon the
flight of steps outside; from these steps the Hofmarschall
wished to salute the duchess as she drove up the approach. He
was already in the apartment, talking with the court chaplain,
who was sitting beside him.
As the young wife entered, a sudden illumination seemed
to flood the room. She wore a half-train of azure silk, with
a waist of velvet of a darker shade. The effect of the ex-
quisite blue in contrast with the dark golden gleam of her
waving hair was wondrous. Wide sleeves lined with silk
tell back from the shoulders, leaving the arms bare, except
for their covering of delicate lace, the same that was
gathered to the throat from the square-cut neck of the dress.
Even in her silvery bridal attire the faultless form of the
" Trachenberg," the pure and delicate complexion of the
" red-head," had not shown to such advantage as to-day.
" Much too early, madame 1" the Hofmarschall called out
as she entered. " The duchess will not be here before four
o'clock." He fixed his eyes with evident vexation upon
the huge bouquet that the young wife held in her hand.
" Heavens, what a waste of flowers ! You must have fairly
108 THE SECOND WIFE.
plundered the green-house, my love ! Raoul is a fool, with
his gloxinias, gesnerias, and whatever else those costly South
American things are called 1 Untold sums he spends, that they
may wither in meddling hands. No one expects the mistress
of a house to appear as if decked for a ball."
Liana stood still and heard him to the end. She might
have replied to him that his daughter had often plucked in
pieces and flung away the costliest bouquets for her whim ;
but she contented herself with saying, "Mainau wishes me
to present the duchess with these flowers upon her arrival."
" Oh, indeed 1 then I beg a thousand pardons !" He looked
at his watch. " There is time enough. I will employ it in
telling you of something extremely disagreeable and annoying
to me; but, unfortunately, what is done cannot be helped.
This morning you sent off a little box to Rudisdorf, to the
Countess Ulrika. I like to have every packet that is to go by
post put in my presence into the tin box that goes to town
every morning. I cannot tell to what clumsy hand the little
box was consigned ; enough, it was handed to me broken."
He drew from under his chair the small box, from which a
piece of the cover hung down loosely.
The crimson flood mounted to Liana's face, and then, retreat-
ing, left it deadly pale, even to the tightly-compressed lips.
Involuntarily her glance fell upon the court chaplain, who
moved slightly ; his eloquent, burning eyes were riveted upon
her with a strange mixture of intensity and anxiety. Those
eyes restored her self-possession. She laid the bouquet upon
a table and approached the old man.
" I am obliged to mention something that embarrasses me
greatly/' the Hofmarschall continued, with affected hesitation,
as he cleared his throat and stroked his upper lip, as if in his
confusion stroking a moustache that did not exist, while his
little eyes sparkled with a light like that in the eyes of the
treacherous cat-tribe. "Nevertheless, we are entirely among
THE SECOND WIFE. 109
aurseives, my excellent little lady, and it will never pass these
four walls that you have fallen into a little error, as I suppose."
He slowly put his hand into his breast-pocket and drew forth
a small jewel-box. "This object fell into my hands as I,
in my irritation at the clumsiness of the servant to whom
the box had been intrusted, took it up rather hastily.' ' His
delicate forefinger, with its white crooked nail, pressed a spring,
and the satin-lined cover sprang open. Within sparkled tho
purple gleam of a fine amethyst set in small brilliants, forming
an ornament to hang from a ribbon around the neck.
"Pardon me if I mistake," he said, almost gently, holding
the trinket towards her, " but I could swear that I had often
seen this pretty little bauble upon my daughter's neck ; is it
not one of Raoul's family jewels?"
" No," Liana replied, with entire composure, as, taking the
trinket from its velvet nest, she pushed aside a little gold plate
at the back of the amethyst. " You must certainly be familiar
with the arms of the Princes of Thurgau, Herr Hofmar-
schall: have the kindness to satisfy yourself that they are
engraved here upon this side of the jewel. It was left me by
my paternal grandmother. You should also be aware that
the error, or rather * mistake,' which you * suppose,' is out of
the question on the part of the grandchild of this Princess of
Thurgau."
"For Heaven's sake, dear little lady," he cried, struggling
now with genuine confusion, " did I express myself so clum-
sily as to be thus entirely misunderstood? Impossible! One
cannot utter what has never occurred to one's mind. Besides, I
surely had a right to mention an error that I believed existed.
A like ornament certainly belongs to us."
"I know it; the chest containing Mainau's family jewels
stands in my dressing-room; soon after my coming here I
identified every article."
" That is to say, you took immediate possession ; for which
10
110 THE SECOND WIFE.
I should be the last to blame you, madame. And, in view of
such wealth, you are further quite right in returning the
crumbs of former splendour to your family for the use of
your sister Ulrika. You need them no longer, and they will
doubtless be acceptable to her."
There was infinite malice in his tone, and an odious sneer
in the smile that wreathed the old man's lips. Liana strug-
gled with herself to keep back the tears, those witnesses in
her eyes would have lost her forever. She took the box from
the floor, and placed it upon the rococo " cabinet of curiosi-
ties," beside which the old man sat.
" You are mistaken, Herr Hofmarschall," she replied, look-
ing him full in the face. " I shall respect your daughter's
memory, and never wear the jewels with which she adorned
herself. I identified them because I consider myself answer-
able for their safe-keeping. You are further mistaken if you
suppose that I send this trinket to Kudisdorf that my sister
may adorn herself with this * crumb of former splendour.' My
poor Ulrika I How she would smile at such an idea !" She
inserted a paper-cutter, which lay upon the table, between the
remainder of the lid and the box, and lifted the former.
Then she hurriedly took out some sheets of blotting-papei
containing dried plants, then a flat object wrapped in silver
paper, apparently a picture, then turned the box upside down
and tapped the bottom of it lightly with her finger-tips.
" With the exception of my grandmother's legacy, it contains
nothing of definite value," she said, drily, looking proudly
down upon the man of mean thoughts beside her. A slight
flush of shame tinged his withered cheek. He had certainly
richly deserved this reproof.
" Good heavens ! why this proof?" he cried. " Muxt I ask
forgiveness when I never intended to offend ? JETow could I
presume to doubt your exactitude ? I believe your slightest
word, madame, even if you should assure me that you pw
THE SECOND WIFE. Ill
sending the trinket back to Rudisdorf to be hung around the
neck of your mother's lap-dog."
His tone was too insolent, angry scorn flushed Liana's
face to her temples. She was upon the point of turning her
back upon the Hofmarschall and leaving the room, when she
saw the court chaplain, who had hitherto sat by in silence,
half extend his arm to the Hofmarschall, with a murderous
gleam in his dark eyes. Was he coming to her assistance, to
defend her ? Was this one of the " moments of trial' ' in which
he wished her to call upon him? Never, never would she
extend so much as the tips of her fingers to this priest,
who crushed in his iron grasp every human soul within his
influence.
" No such absurdity would ever occur to me," she said,
controlling herself hastily, lest the priest should speak. " I
am a daughter of the Trachenbergs, and life, with them, has
always been too serious a matter to leave room for childish
frivolities. Why should I conceal the truth? Every one
knows how poor we are. I was sending the locket to my
mother, to procure her two or three weeks at some watering-
place."
" Now you are hoaxing me," the Hofmarschall said, with
\ laugh, " or else I must accuse you of sordid niggardliness.
Sour pin-money amounts to three thousand thalers "
" I presume that the manner in which this money is dis-
posed of is my affair, and mine only," she gravely interrupted
him.
" Certainly ; I have no right to ask whether you put it
into the public funds or spend it in muslin dresses. You
must, however, have an extrordinary idea of the value of
that trinket," and he contemptuously tapped the jewel-caso
with his forefinger; "the thing is hardly worth eighty
thalers. Ye gods ! eighty thalers for the Countess Trachen-
berg at a watering-place !"
112 THE SECOND WIFE.
" Its value has been appraised," she said, with difficulty
maintaining her composure. " I know its price is insufficient
for the proposed journey, and therefore I " She suddenly
paused, and blushed painfully. She had been led to say more
than prudence would have dictated.
" Well ?" asked the Hofmarschall, leaning forward, and look-
ing up in her face with a malicious smile.
" I added something else, that Ulrika will not sell for less
than forty thalers," she said, drawing a long breath, and in a
more unsteady voice than heretofore.
"Oho! What is this wonderful source of revenue, ma-
dame? That?" And he pointed to the folded silver paper,
upon which she had involuntarily laid her hand. " It seems
to me to be a picture "
" Yes."
" The product of your own pencil ?"
" I painted it." She pressed her clasped hands upon her
breast, as if her breath was failing her. In a flash she saw be-
fore her mind's eye the terrace at Kudisdorf, and the book that
her mother's hand had flung away lying upon the pavement.
" And you wish to sell it?"
" I have just told you so." She did not look into the eyes
that she knew were sparkling with evil exultation ; she heard
that in the slow utterance of his question, the play of the
eat with the mouse.
" The amateur purchaser is all ready, I fancy, some good,
wealthy friend and Maecenas, who visits at Rudisdorf and
holds himself always in readiness to pay for such woiks of
art "
The calm which results from a sudden firm resolve pos-
sessed her now, and she said, gravely and quietly, " That kind
of gain has always seemed to me not one whit removed from
beggary, and of course I have never resorted to it, but have
preferred to send my work to a picture-dealer."
THE SECOND WIFE. 113
The Hofmarschall started as if be had been shot. "Im
other words, before jour marriage you earned jour bread by
the work of your hands ?"'
" Partly, yes ! I know what weapon this confession placet
in your hands, and that by it I make my position in this
house more insufferable than ever; but I would rather en-
dure it all than the burden of a dissimulation that degrades
the soul. I will not continue to pursue here the course that
I adopted at Radisdorf for fear of agitating my mother."
" Heaven help me ! what a substitute Baoul has provided
me in the place of my proud, delicate child, my Valerie !" the
Hofmarschall cried, throwing himself back in his chair, with
a bitter laugh.
The court chaplain had started up, and now held out his
hand to the young wife ; but with a forbidding gesture she
retreated from his approach.
" You belie yourself, madame," he cried, in a tone of almost
humble entreaty. " Admit that you have, in your excitement,
said several things which, calmly considered, would produce a
very different impression."
" No, that I cannot admit. It would not be the truth.
Let me repeat it distinctly. These hands of mine have earned
money, have worked for pay ! I breathe freely, now that I
see all the impression that my words produce." A bitter
smile passed across her charming face. " I know that nothing
escapes the HofmarschalTs keen eye. Sooner or later he would
have learned the true state of the case, and then he would
have made my silence matter for reproach all my life long,
and it might have seemed, too, that I was ashamed of my past
labours. God fcrbid ! Wtuld you really rather have heard,"
and she turned to the Hofmarschall, " that before my marriage
I lived upon alms ? You despise an aristocratic hand that
adapts itself to toil when there are no inherited revenues at
its disposal? What respect can 'he masses have for an
H 10
114 THE SECOND WIFE.
aristocracy of birth which declares that its insignia can bo
stamped only upon a golden background? Does not this
worship of the golden calf deprive it of all right to a position
above other ranks ? God be praised, our century has produced
many an aristocrat too noble to despise artistic labour I"
"Artistic!" the Hofmarschall: sneered; "artistic! the
daubs produced under the tuition of a teacher of drawing at
a girl's school, all after the same model, and " He had
taken the picture from the table and freed it from its tissue-
paper envelope, and his voice died away in a kind of hiss.
Was it terror or shame that sent blush after blush across his
withered cheek? Once or twice he leaned his head against
the back of his chair, as if overcome with weakness, and when
the court chaplain approached, he covered the picture with his
hand, as if to screen it from his gaze.
Liana had thrown upon paper, somewhat idealized, of course,
one of the figures she had seen in the Indian cot. The " lotos-
flower" was not, indeed, lying upon the bed of reeds the
rack where paralysis had chained her for thirteen years.
No, her delicate limbs, to which the pencil had restored the
elastic grace of youth, were extended upon a mossy bed of
delicious greenery. It was the Bayadere of Benares, as the
German noble had brought her across the seas. Strings of
golden coins were twisted about the brow and head that was
supported by her hand as she leaned upon her elbow, and they
fell over her neck and bosom, beside the long, thick braids of
coal-black hair, and upon the gold-broidered jacket of purple
silk that covered only the shoulders and a small part of the
upper arm. The huge, ragged leaves of a palm threw a half-
shadow upon the reclining figure, while in the distant back
ground the sunlight glittered upon the marble steps of the
Hindoo temple and the shimmering waters of the little lake.
Painted in water-colour, parts of the picture were sketchily
rendered. It was not entirely finished, but it was evidently
THE SECOND WIFE. 115
the work of a master-hand. The head, with its melancholy
gleaming eyes, the manner in which the little naked feet, with
their golden anklets, nestled among the green grasses that half
closed over them, the graceful curves of the bust and hips
beneath the soft folds of the silken gauze attire of the Baya-
dere, all were portrayed with the greatest care, and yet with a
freedom that stamped the picture, in spite of the Hofmar-
Bchall's incredulity, as a positive work of art.
However, he regained his composure with tolerable rapidity.
w Oho ! even this young lady of the cold, passive exterior has
her share of feminine curiosity, which finds its food in the
dusty archives of her home, and here in our Indian garden,"
he said, with a cutting sneer. " You have transcribed in a
masterly manner a piece of the past. It must have cost you
laborious study. But you must see that on this very ac-
count this picture can never leave Schnwerth. To have our
former folly and this disgrace to our name published abroad,
and that by a woman who, under the mask of filial affection
and self-sacrifice, aspires to shine in the world of art I My
love, this picture remains in my hands. I will send the
Countess of Trachenberg as much money as she wishes for
her journey."
" No, no, Herr Hofmarschall ! I protest in my mother's
name 1" exclaimed Liana, for the first time with a degree of
anger. " She is proud, and would rather remain at home."
The Hofmarschall burst into a laugh, then arose with diffi-
culty, and, opening one of the drawers in his " cabinet of
curiosities," took out a rose-coloured billet-doux, which he
unfolded and held towards her. " Pray, madame, read these
lines, and admit that a lady who can entreat a former adorer
for a loan of four thousand thalers to discharge a private
gambling-debt will hardly refuse to accept from the same
friendly hand the means to defray the expenses of a pleasure'
trip ibr which she longs. She formerly expressed much graft
116 THE SECOND WIFE.
tude for the loan of the four thousand thalers, the repayment
of which, however, circumstances prevented."
Like an automaton, the young wife received the paper held
towards her, and slowly walked to the window. She could not
and would not read it. Her mother's femininely-illegible hand-
writing, the first words, " Mon eher ami," were a stab to her.
She only wanted to withdraw herself for one short moment
from the gaze of those two men, and she stepped within the
recess, but recoiled with a start. The window was wide open,
and without, upon the landing of the lofty steps, his back
turned to the house, and his hands resting upon the marble
balustrade, Stood Mainau. Not one word of all that had just
passed within the saloon could have escaped him. Had he
really heard the whole, and left her to contend single-handed
with her malicious foe ? She did not dream of requiring love
it his hands, but he could not deny her the chivalric protection
\hat a brother would grant to a sister.
" Eh, give the note back to me, little lady," the Hofmar-
schall called to her; perhaps, as her hand dropped at her side,
he was afraid she might put it in her pocket. " Antagonistic
as you are, some weapon must be kept on hand to hold you in
check ; you are an opponent not to be despised. I learn to
know you to-day ; you have nerve and race, and more wit than
you care to manifest. I pray you give me back my charming
little rose-coloured billet-doux."
She handed him the note; he clutched it eagerly to put it
in the drawer again.
At this moment Mainau entered the glass folding-doors
not this time with the indolent grace, the half-offensive mixture
of weariness and obligatory courtesy with which he was wont
to present himself in the family circle; he looked flushed, as
if from some arduous exercise.
The Hofmarschall started and sank back in his chair as the
tall figure appeared so unexpectedly, like some threatening
THE SECOND WIFE. lit
thunder-cloud throwing a dark shadow over the apartment:
no sound of ascending footsteps had been heard outside.
"Good heavens, Raoul, how you terrified me I"
" Why ? Is it strange that I should come up here to re-
ceive the duchess as you have done?" Mainau rejoined, indif-
ferently, looking eagerly beyond the old man in the wheeled
chair to where his young wife was standing. She was leaning
with her left hand upon the writing-table. The falling ruffle of
the lace sleeve could not conceal that the hand trembled vio-
lently. The Hofmarschall's malicious revelation concerning
her mother had shocked her profoundly, she must tremble in
thinking of it all her life long; but nevertheless she preserved
her upright, undaunted carriage. The gray eyes beneath the
slightly-contracted brows encountered her husband's look firmly
and gravely ; she was arming herself for a fresh struggle.
Meanwhile he stepped up to the large table in the middle
of the room and poured some water from a caraffe into a goblet.
u You look feverish, Juliana. 1 pray you drink this," he said,
offering her the glass.
Surprised, and not without irritation, she refused it. Was
he offering her a glass of water to allay the agitation that a
few energetic words on his part addressed to her implacable
foe would have prevented?
" Don't allow those hectic roses to mislead you, my good
Raoul," said the Hofmarschall, as Mainau put back the glass.
" It is the flush of the dibutante; that is, of the cUbutante in
Castle Schbnwerth, in the world of art, so far at least ab it
is represented by a picture-dealer's shop. The fair lady has
already made a successful (Ubut as Countess Trachenberg.
What do you say to that, sworn foe that you are to all female
Raphaels, blue-stockings, and the like ? Look here ; see what
a genius has been secretly smuggled into Schb'nwerth between
the lines of the marriage-contract. The only pity that oir
cumstances compel me to confiscate this paper/'
118 THE SECOND WIFE.
Mainau held the picture in his hand and was examining it
Liana's heart beat fast as she marked the blood mount to his
sunburned temples. She expected every moment to hear some
arrow of scorn launched at " such daubers;" but, without rais-
ing his eyes from the picture, he coldly said to the old man,
" Pray do not forget that the right to confiscate in this case is
mine alone. How comes the picture here?"
" Yes, how comes it here ?" the Hofmarschall repeated, with
a shrug. " Through the awkwardness of some of our people,
Raoul, the box in which it was to have been sent away was
brought to me broken."
" Aha ! that matter I must investigate. Such clumsiness
must not go unpunished," said Mainau. " And what is this?"
he asked, taking up the packet of dried plants, on the top of
which lay a closely-written sheet of paper. " Was this also
in the unfortunate box ?"
"Yes," said Liana, in the HofmarschalTs stead, firmly,
almost harshly, as with the courage of despair. " They are
pressed wild plants, as you see; some specimens of orchids
that are very rare about Rudisdorf. Magnus sells herbaria in
Russia, and I have been accustomed to help him to collect
them. If this innocent occupation is also against the rules of
the house of Mainau, I can but regret this added transgression."
With a bitter smile she held out her beautiful hands towards
Mainau, who was rapidly running his eye over the written
sheet. " You must admit that there are no ink-spots upon my
fingers, and that I have never wearied you with a single word
concerning my small amount of botanical knowledge. Thanks
to your people's clumsiness, T stand before you now unmasked,
and must be silent." With gentle grace she laid her slender,
supple hands upon her temples, as if to soothe their throbbing
pulses. " I am sorry to have involuntarily caused this scene,
and, in transgression of the programme marked out for me by
you, to have offended against this I must say it this once,
THE SECOND WIFE. 119
and once only this cruelly-devised scheme of mental destruc-
tion. It was not my fault; it shall not happen again. I
have only one thing more to say. I must emphatically repel
the Herr HofmarschaH's accusation, that I was inspired in
my labours by a desire to shine in the world of art. When
my first picture was exposed to public gaze, I was ill for weeks*
not from anxiety as to the result ; no, from shame at my
own presumption ; and the money that it brought me wrung
from me bitter tears, for it seemed to me that I had bartered a
part of my own soul, and yet I was obliged to go on doing it."
During this painful scene, which was like nothing but a
sitting of the Inquisition, the court chaplain had been walking
to and fro at the other end of the apartment. His hands were
calmly folded behind him, but his broad chest rose and fell as
if he were suffocating. A single glance would have convinced
the two gentlemen that the man in the long black coat with
the ivory white tonsure upon his head was exerting great self-
control not to burst out against them like a tiger. At Liana's
last words he approached the glass doors, and, with his hand
above his eyes, looked abroad to where the thin white line of
the road was visible for a short distance among the trees of the
park. " I thought I heard aright," he said, looking back into
the room with a sigh of relief; " the duchess will be here in a
moment.
" Most fortunately ; we were on the point of growing sen-
timental," said the Hofmarschall. " Forward, then !" Ho
arose, and, stretching his meagre limbs with an irrepressible
groan, went to the mirror, arranged his cravat, drenched his
handkerchief with millefleurs, and sprinkled his coat and waist-
coat with the fragrant essence ; then, taking his hat in his hand,
he hobbled to the door. The young wife, however, quietly
laid the papers in the box and tried to fit the cover over it.
" Well, your reverence," said Mainau to the priest, who
stood by the door, evidently waiting for the baron to leave
120 THE SECOND WIFE.
the saloon before him, " do you forget that the duchess wiK
take it extremely ill if she does not hear your unctional wel-
come as she descends from her coach?"
The glances of the two men met; disdainful surprise shone
in Mainau's eyes, and undisguised anger sparkled in those of
the priest.
" Oh, no ; after your reverence, I entreat," Mainau insisted,
with a wave of his hand ; not as if in reverential acknowl-
edgment of ecclesiastical superiority, but as the courteous lord
of the castle, while he scarcely suppressed a sarcastic smile
%i Have no fear on my account ; I shall present myself at the
right moment."
The court chaplain passed him with a slight inclination of
his head. Mainau looked for one moment after the black-
frocked figure as it glided down the steps, then turned sud-
denly, and, with a strange gleam in his eyes, approached his
young wife and held out his hands to her.
" What does this mean ?" she asked, standing immovable as
a statue before him. " Is this intended to express magnani-
mous forgiveness ? I do not require it, for I have done no
wrong. I have done no prejudice either to my duties as
Leo's mother, or to my position as mistress of the mansion or
dame d'honneur, by my small studies. I collected the plants
during my walks with Leo, and taught him the A B C of
botany at the same time. I have painted and written only
in the early morning, when no one had need of me. If it is
your will and desire that I should deny myself the refreshment
of these pursuits, you shall be obeyed. But I ask you to
consider that if the husband claims the right to turn his
back upon all the annoyances and tedium of his domestic
circle and spend his time in travel, the wife should certainly
not be denied during his absence a few hours of relaxation,
that she may have some chance to soar above the homely
drudgery and pettiness of her existence. As I have already
THE SECOND WIFE. 121
assuied ^ou, however, E will submit here, too ; though not
as your blindly obedient and submissive wife, but as Leo's
mother. I have taken upon myself maternal duties, and I
will discharge them ; were it not for this, I would not even
now go to meet the duchess, but whither my desire and what
nas just occurred point the way, back U/ my home."
She gathered up her train, took her bouquet, and was about
to pass him with quiet dignity, when he stepped before her.
Something like fear overcame her as she looked into his face ;
there is always something terrible to a woman in the sudden
pallor of a man in the full pride and strength of manhood.
" One moment more," he said, quietly, but bitterly, raising
his hand. " You are mistaken in supposing that I wished to
accord you my forgiveness ; such an attitude tow&ids you was
impossible on my part. I am not so skilled as you are in
analyzing and controlling emotions. I allow myself to be
carried away, thoughtlessly to express what I feel strongly.
I was prompted by the desire to ask your forgiveness, not
to humiliate you. Either you have no comprehension of the
expression of another's face, which I can hardly imagine, in
view of your extraordinary artistic talent, or the haughty,
offended Countess Trachenberg did not choose to understand.
I believe the latter, and respect your desire to repel any nearer
advances. Nevertheless we must appear before the world as a
harmonious married pair," he continued, falling into his usual
tone of easy persiflage, " and so have the kindness, Juliana,
to rest your finger-tips within my arm as we descend the
steps."
11
122 THE SECOND WIFE
CHAPTER XII.
Two equipages had arrived. The first, drawn up at the foot
of the steps, contained the royal family ; the second, which
was standing at a respectful distance, had brought the princes'
tutor and a maid of honour. The duchess had not yet risen
to alight, she was graciously extending her hand to the Hof-
marschall, and expressing her pleasure at his recovery from a
late attack of gout, when Mainau appeared upon the steps
with his young wife. A fiery glance shot upwards from the
black eyes ; for one moment the words halted upon the lips of
the royal lady ; she hastily turned, as if in surprised inquiry,
to the maid of honour, who had already alighted and ap*
proached the duchess's carriage, and who now also looked in
amazement at the descending figure. Then the sentence was
concluded, with a graceful gesture, and the duchess alighted,
assisted by the court chaplain.
Who indeed would have thought that the gray " nun" cower-
ing in the corner of the carriage could ever have thus majes-
tically acted her part as mistress of Schbnwerth, descending
the steps upon her husband's arm ? Who would have thought
that this woman could so carelessly endure the curse of hair
of the despised colour as actually to wear it in heavy braids
hanging down her back, while the Schnwerth sunlight trans-
formed to a golden halo its rich, waving masses above her
brow?
The two women stood opposite each other. It was said
that since her mourning had been laid aside the duchess had
affected the lightest and freshest toilettes, as if to conjure
back by tJ* eir aid her maiden bloom; and her dress to-day con-
TEE SECOND WIFE. 123
firmed this gossip. She was dressed in pink silk, her neck
and arms were covered with costly lace, and her round straw
hat was trimmed with apple-blossoms.
For one moment a shadow rested upon her brow, those
clear steel-gray eyes encountered her own so fearlessly, and
the dewy freshness of that youthful face was not to be denied ;
but a side-glance at Baron Mainau restored the sunny smile
to her lips. They were certainly right who asserted that in
his choice affection had had no share. He stood cold as a
marble statue beside his young wife, who, as he presented her
to the duchess, curtsied respectfully, but not too profoundly,
and offered her bouquet.
It was graciously accepted, and the duchess would perhaps
have continued at some length to express those flattering senti-
ments which are so dear to the heart of a true subject, had
not her glance fallen upon the Hofmarschall ; he was standing
helpless and bent, his teeth fairly clenched with pain, and pale
as a ghost. " I have overrated my strength," he stammered,
" and am distressed to be obliged to ask permission to make
use of my wheeled chair."
It was instantly brought, by the duchess's desire, and the
invalid sank back in it ; a bitter moment for the man who for-
merly, admired and courted, had hovered about his royal mis-
tress with light courtier tread. The heavy chair rolled creak-
ing over the gravel-paths of the park, whither the guests desired
to wend their way. The lovely rose-coloured duchess swept
past upon Mainau's arm, talking gaily. She had scarcely ever
before seemed so carelessly content, and yet the man whose
conversational talent had but a short time since been so highly
prized sat silent, he was forgotten. The princes rushed by
with Leo. Formerly they had hung around the Hofmarschall,
no play had been complete without him / now it was taken
for granted that he was old and feeble, a fixture upon his own
** .ain. The crushing consciousness was his that he, still
124 THE SECOND WIFE.
living, was as it were dead to all these people ! And there
swept the "red-head" in all her arrogance, as mistress of
Schnwerth. The old man could not but say to himself that
this penniless countess dared to be taller, more majestic, and
of nobler presence than the duchess herself; he was ready to
choke with spleen and rage.
" Let me pray you, madame," he called to the young wife,
as she stooped in passing to pluck a little gillyflower that had
strayed in among the grass, " not to collect any orchids or
weeds of any kind for Russia to-day I"
Mainau turned hastily ; a sharp rejoinder hovered upon his
lips ; but, after a glance at Liana, who, haughtily silent, was
quietly sticking the little flower in her girdle, he shrugged
his shoulders impatiently, and, turning, resumed his conversa-
tion with the duchess.
That part of the Schnwerth park devoted to fruit lay ad-
joining the Indian garden, and was protected by the moun-
tains, the situation of which made this piece of tropical
vegetation possible beneath these cold northern skies. The
concentrated sunlight here, which, unchilled by blasts from
the north and west, fostered the growth of the banana palms,
also ripened magnificent peaches, rare varieties of grapes, and
other southern fruits, upon trellises and espaliers grouped
upon an extensive lawn. These orchards, more grateful to
the palate than to the eye, extended into the woods that
skirted the lawn ; of course they did not penetrate the grand
old forest, which, in its interior, admitted of but one road
through its ancient and mighty growth, but there were several
carefully-kept paths leading to an opening beneath one of
the first groups of maples.
Upon this opening stood what was called the huntsman's
cottage. It was a pretty little structure, built of tiles, with
shining windows, and the customary antlers upon the roof,
and was a half-way station between the castle and the Schn
THE SECOND WIFE. 125
werth forest-house, that lay hidden in the lonely recesses of
the wood. An underkeeper, who had the charge of Mainau's
large collection of sporting weapons, lived here with various
hunting-dogs, and on gala-days the man appeared in uniform
as the count's huntsman.
If there was to be an idyllic entertainment, the opening
beneath this group of maples was selected for its scene. It
was one of the loveliest spots to be found at Schn werth. The
air was fresh and pure ; the richly-coloured Hindoo temple,
in the midst of vivid tropical vegetation, was in sight, as
*ell as the mediaeval roofs and gables of the castle.
The castle cook never officiated at such festivities. Frau
Lhn herself made the coffee in the neat little kitchen of the
cottage. She had done so for years, and her broad-shouldered
figure, in black silk dress and white apron, seemed as much
at home in the place as were the magnificent hounds that lay
idly stretched upon the ground before the cottage door. The
grave face beneath the white cap with plaid ribbons never
smiled, and her "court curtsy" was stiff enough, but the
coffee was delicious, and everything from her hands was so
well cooked and so delicately served that her silent, almost
morose manner was easily forgiven.
It had perhaps been warmer than usual to-day in the little
fcitchen, or Frau Lhn had over-exerted herself, for she looked
oxhausted. Indeed, if such a supposition had not been con-
trary to all that was known of her stern, hard character, one
would have thought she had been weeping, her eyes looked
bo red and swollen in their deep sockets.
" Are you ill, my good Lhn ?" the princess inquired, with
condescension.
" Not at all, your highness, thonking you humbly for ycur
gracious inquiry, as fresh and well as possible," was the reply,
with a half-scared glance at the Hofmarschall. She brought
ou a number of fine white wicker-baskets, which were instantly
11*
1 26 THE SECOND WIFE.
taken possession of by the young princes. The coffee-tabl
was deserted for awhile. The children rushed to the orchard,
where the head gardener stood at a respectful distance, while
the little vandals tore at his carefully-trained vines and ruth-
lessly plundered his rarest fruit-trees, to fill their baskets.
The Hofmarschall was also wheeled thither. The impres-
sion produced by his helplessness must be after some fashion
obliterated, at whatever cost of torture to himself. He arose
from his chair, and hobbled along a richly-laden espalier that
ran close up to the wire fence of the Hindoo garden. He
actually succeeded in walking back again to the coffee-table,
where the duchess had just seated herself. He reached the
spot in a tolerably upright posture, and, with a self-satisfied
smile, offered his august mistress a basket, in which were
several bunches of early grapes plucked by his own hand.
Suddenly the smile on his face gave way to a look of terror.
" My ring i" he exclaimed, hastily, placing the basket upon
the table, and holding out the thin little finger of his right
hand, whereon had sparkled a costly emerald a few moments
before.
All present, with the exception of the duchess, arose from
table and began a search for the ring, which the old man
declared " had always fitted very tightly," but which must have
fallen off while he was plucking the grapes. The search,
however, was fruitless.
"The servants shall be ordered to look for it carefully,"
said Mainau, returning to the table. No more time could he
devoted to this interruption of the royal visit.
" Yes, yes but by that time it may have been appropriate 1
boy on d recall by some of the castle people, who make quite a
thoroughfare of this place. Your highness will forgive my
great annoyance at this circumstance," he said, turning to
the duchess, "but the ring is invaluable to me as havinp
belonged to Gisbert. He gave it to me in the presence /
THE SECOND WIFE. 121
witnesses, a few days before his death, and wrote at the time,
Never forget that you received this seal-ring on the tenth cf
September.' He left it especially to me, and therefore I prize
it most highly. Your highness knows that I never agreed
well with this brother, that I always condemned his wild life
and repeated disregard of all moral considerations. But, good
hoavens ! the heart will assert itself. I loved him in spite of
it all, and this loss would greatly distress me."
" Apart from the almost fabulous value of the stone/' Maiuaii
remarked, drily.
"Of course, that is a consideration that no one would
ignore," the Hofmarschall declared, with affected candour,
at the same time moving his chair by a desperate effort, so
that he could command the whole length of the espalier.
" The emerald is very valuable ; it is wonderfully engraved.
There is a little mystery about it. Just beneath the crest
a small spot is discernible. It looks as if a splinter of the
surface had been broken off, but, examined under a magnify-
ing-glass, it proves to be an exquisitely-cut head. A good
impression of this seal is really more valuable than a genuine
signature."
" Let us drink our coffee now, and then I will help look for
it," said the duchess, amiably. " This interesting ring must
be found."
In the mean while Frau Lhn was carrying round the largo
silver coffee-tray. Not a feature of her face moved ; in the
pause that ensued, the rustle of her silk dress over the gravel
was distinctly heard. Suddenly the porcelain upon the tray
rattled, as if some shock had made the housekeeper's hand
unsteady. The Hofmarschall, before whom she was standing
with her salver, looked up in surprise, and, following th'
direction of her eyes, saw Gabriel coming rapidly througr
the vines.
" What does the fellow want ?" he asked, harshly.
128 THE SECOND WIFE.
" I have not the slightest idea, Herr Baron," she replied,
with restored composure.
Gabriel came directly towards the Hofmarschall, and, witn
downcast eyes, handed him the lost ring. The fingers that
held it were delicate and tapering, and they belonged to a
spotlessly neat boyish hand, but the Hofmarschall threw them
off with evident irritation as they touched his own.
"Are there not plates enough there?" he said, sternly,
pointing to the table. " Have you learned so little all this
while as not to know how to hand an article to a gentleman ?
Where did you find the ring?"
" Close by the wire fence. I knew whose it was instantly.
I always liked to see it on your hand," the boy said, timidly,
as if asking forgiveness for immediately recognizing to whom
the ring belonged.
"Ah, indeed! Quite flattering!" the Hofmarschall aid,
with a contemptuous toss of his head, as he put the emerald
on his finger. " Lohn, give him a piece of cake, and ask what
he wants."
The housekeeper took out of her pocket a key. " You
Wanted this, did you not?" she asked the boy. He assented.
c The woman is thirsty, and I locked up the sherbet "
" Stuff and nonsense ! There were servants enough to come
about that, but my young master is spoiled, and thinks that
he must put in an appearance at whatever is going on at the
castle ; to-day, too, when his reverence, in your hearing, for-
bade his taking part in any amusement ! Did you forget that,
Lohn? He must get ready for the seminary," he said, turn-
ing to the duchess. " We decided this morning that he must
go in three weeks. It is high time."
Liana looked at the housekeeper. This was the reason,
then, why the woman had been so confused and embarrassed
when she came in the morning to receive her orders for the
day ; this was the cause of her red and swollen eyelids. Stony
THE SECOND WIFE. 129
and hard as she tried to appear to him in the presence of
others, Liana had long suspeeted that the housekeeper abso-
lutely worshipped the boy Gabriel. She stood now without
a word, her face crimsoned, the picture, to all present except
Liana, of a woman offended by an unjust reproof. The young
wife was convinced that she was suffering keenly in anticipa-
tion of a threatened calamity.
The duchess scanned the boy through her eyeglass. " You
have decided that he is to be a missionary ?" she said, in-
quiringly, to the court chaplain. " To me he does not seem
at all fitted for such a vocation."
This remark had an electrifying effect upon Liana ; it was
the first word she had heard spoken in opposition to the fiat of
the priest and the Hofmarschall, and it came from lips whose
utterances had power to control for good the lives of others.
There sat the old baron, listening eagerly ; a nervous shudder
thrilled through her at the thought of exciting his wrath
against her afresh. All at the table were either prejudiced
against the boy, or quite indifferent as to his fate. How coldly
Mainau regarded the " little coward" as he stood there like a
culprit, scarcely daring to move from the spot I The young
wife summoned up all her courage ; was it not to a woman
that she was about to appeal ?
" Gabriel is eminently fitted for one career, your highness,
that of an artist," she said, regarding the beautiful princess,
not without some timidity, but steadily enough. The eyes of
all were instantly turned towards her. " Without any encour-
agement or instruction, he has already learned to handle his
pencil with a force that surprises me. I have seen some of
his sketches among Leo's playthings that would procure in-
stant admission to any school of design. The boy has a rata
talent for composition, and a love of art that asserts itself aj
only genius can. Your highness is quite right ; he is not fitted
for a missionary's vocation. To that there should be brought
I
130 TUE SECOND WIFE.
an entire concentration of mind, and the full energy of a soui
that rejects all other aims; to force the boy to embrace it
would be cruel to him, and an injustice to art."
The duchess looked at her with undisguised amazement.
a You misunderstand me entirely, Frau von Mainau," she
said, deliberately. " My remark had reference to the slender
frame, the evidently weak constitution of the boy, not at all
to his mental qualification, or his personal wish in the matter;
with regard to that, I should say decidedly, 'he must conform. '
I am sorry indeed that there are women who do not regard
this holiest of vocations as one to which all else should be
subordinate. When men set their small amount of knowl-
edge, based most probably upon false conclusions, in the
place of the Holiest, it is sad enough. We women should do
all that we can by our united efforts to resist their influence ;
let us cling to our only salvation, and, resting our faith thore,
never be led astray to question or investigate."
" Your highness would make a woman's task a very eiisy
one if we are to open the door to superstition, and to those
beliefs in a supernatural world and in the power of Satan to
which a woman's nature is, alas, but too prone."
A noise of chairs suddenly pushed back from the table and
of embarrassed little coughs was heard; but Liana main-
tained her composure. Opposite her sat her husband, bal-
ancing his coffee-spoon upon the edge of his cup, his head
slightly inclined towards the lovely face from which he did
not turn his eyes, and which, blushing slightly, steadily re-
garded the duchess. As the last words were uttered, Liana,
as if accidentally, looked towards him ; he encountered a glance
so cold, so chilling, that it might have come from an utter
stranger. His cheeks flushed crimson, and he threw the spoon
upon the table, at which the duchess smiled, and said, " Well,
Baron Mainau, what do you think about all this ?" her voice
sounding sweet and almost tender as she addressed him.
THE SECOND WIFE. 131
His lip curled contemptuously. " Your highness knowb well
what a charm those women who believe in witches and ghosta
possess for us," he replied, in his lightest tone. "Woman is
most attractive in her helplessness and timidity, it wooes us
to her and compels our love." His gaze darkened as he
glanced at his wife. " From a Pallas Athene there comes a
breath as icy as that from the glacier of the Jungfrau. We
naturally turn away from her."
Was this the woman who on Liana's marriage-day had
rushed past her on horseback like an angel of death ? Her
beautiful face now beamed with a triumph that transfigured it.
"And you?" she said, turning to the court chaplain, who
sat opposite, with folded arms. He started, as if from a rev-
erie, the duchess was, as it were, mustering her forces against
this young creature who dared to think for herself. " Have
you no weapon that can prevail against antichrist in a delicate
female form ?" she asked, almost jestingly.
"Your highness will graciously remember that I disap-
prove such discussions at the coffee-table," the priest replied,
sternly, suddenly assuming the authority of the omnipotent
confessor and guide. "Let us waive the question for the
present, content in the conviction that Frau von Mainau does
not intend by her remarks to deny the occasional interference
of supernatural forces in the affairs of this world."
He was determined to aid her. She had but to bow her
head in assent, and the strife would be at an end ; but it would
be acting a lie and extending her finger-tips to this priest For
the second time to-day she refused his assistance.
" I emphatically disclaim all belief in interference of a super-
natural kind in the affairs of this world," she said, although
her voice trembled slightly. The maid of honour sitting
next her n 3isily pushed her chair from the table. " I do not
believe in the miracles and heavenly visions taught by the
Church. If the Almighty ever sent us messengers from a
I
132 THE SECOND WIFE.
supernatural world, they would surely wear its livery; but
good angels, as well as evil ones, always wear human forms,
which are lovely in the case of the first, while they are dis-
torted and repulsive, but still human, when they clothe the
principles of evil. And the songs of the seraph, the horns
and hoofs of Satan, are borrowed from our animal world.
Heaven and hell are invested with earthly attributes, and in
I he exaggeration of these our fancy revels."
A profound pause, lasting for a few seconds, followed these
words ; the beautiful duchess sat as if transformed to stone,
her eyes alone moved restlessly, roving from Mainau to his
young wife. He had just declared his antipathy to an inde-
pendent woman, questioning and investigating by the cold
light of the intellect ; here, however, was no mailed Pallas
Athene, but a lovely, girlish apparition, whose melodious voice
uttered her daring sentences at the same time that blushes
and pallor chased each other upon her changing cheek. The
baron's expression of countenance was hidden from the
duchess ; he sat half turned away from her ; but his negli-
gent attitude so well expressed the depreciating indifference
in which he was wont to envelop himself that it seemed almost
to say in words, " Let her talk. What affair is it of mine ?"
" Your stand-point is so far removed from that of the be-
lieving Christian, madame, that I could scarcely here and
now enter upon a controversy with you, certain as I am of the
victorious might of my cause." The deep, melodious voice of
the priest broke the silence. He had to answer her. She
forced him to do so. " I will, however, concede something to
you in leaving the field of biblical authority, and reminding
you that one of the world's greatest poets has said, l There
are more things 'twixt heaven and earth than are dreamed of
in your philosophy.' "
" True, true ; and among them I rank the mysterious in-
fluences of the forces of nature. Most of us consider these
THE SECOND WIFE. 133
forces as commonplace and easily comprehended, because
their effects can be seen, heard, and understood, forgetting
that the miracle lies in this very sight, hearing, and under-
standing. And it is asserted that the all-wise Creator capri-
ciously interrupts and alters the eternal laws that He has
made, often for insignificant human ends. The Church goes
farther still, and declares that these laws are sometimes in
fringed and set at naught by inferior spirits, possibly to con-
vinos some peasant-girl of the existence of God ; and this it
calls a miracle 1 How sordid and theatrical such l miracles 1
appear beside the real effects of the divine Creator's eternally
active energy ! A whole heaven full of cherubs sinks into
insignificance contrasted with the wondrous power that causes
a delicate flower to spring forth from the ground. True it is
that ' God is not mocked/ not mocked in that nature which
is one with Him, and which, as He has ordained, avenges
herself upon us when we sin against her."
The priest gazed at her with the same imploring expression
on his countenance with which he had said to her, earlier in
the afternoon, " You belie yourself, madame."
" Do you forget that the founder of your own Church
Luther accorded to the principle of Evil a throne, a power
in the world never acceded to Satan before his time?" he
asked, gravely.
" In the present century he would have hurled not only his
inkstand but his powerful pen at this creation of human
imagination, and "
u Enough! enough!" cried the Hofmarschall, angrily,
sri etching forth his hand as if to impose silence upon the
young wife. " Your highness will pray forgive your being
exposed to hearing such irreligious rant at my table," he said,
with forced calmness, to the duchess. " Frau von Mainau
has taken advantage of the retirement of her former life at
Rudisdorf to pursue studies which in their insipid results
12
134 THE SECOND WIFE.
renund one of the meagre bread-and-water diet upon whicb
they were sustained "
The duchess hastily arose; as a princess and a woman,
she could not allow a family quarrel to take place in her
presence. " Let us go now and pluck some fruit," she said,
gaily, as if nothing had happened, carefully setting her hat
upon her curls, and taking up her sunshade.
" Where can the princes be ? I neither hear, nor see them,
Herr Werther," she said to the tutor, who hurried away.
Motioning the court chaplain to her side, she laid her hand
upon^Mainau's offered arm, and, without even glancing towards
his wife, he conducted his guest to the orchards. The maid
of honour followed quickly, and Liana stood alone, like an
outcast, beneath the maples.
" What are your sensations, madame ? You have broken
your neck to-day," said the Hofmarschall, maliciously, as he
was wheeled past her.
CHAPTER XIII.
Liana turned silently away, and into a path that led past the
huntsman's cottage, through the forest. Through the kitchen-
window she saw Frau Lhn standing upon the hearth, an*
not far from her Gabriel's pale face looked out, phantom-
like, from a dark corner. He had taken refuge there when
the Hofmarschall had sternly dismissed him. She had made
a terrible mistake in interceding for the boy, most probably
aggravated his sufferings, and undeniably "broken her own
neck," as the Hofmarschall had coarsely expressed it. The
" second wife," hitherto but reluctantly endured, had wm so
destroyed her position that her return to her own home jould
THE SECOND WIFE. 135
be only a question of time. At this thought she breathed
freely. A ray of hope illumined her soul. The demand
for a separation would come from the other side. She need
not stir a finger to break the chain which in her monstrous
delusion she had allowed others to cast around her. Sho
exulted in the courage with which she had denounced the
superstition of these orthodox believers, every word she
had uttered had been a crushing protest against Mainau's
benumbing course towards her. Surely he could not now
leave the care of his household, the education of his heir, in her
hands when he departed upon his travels ; the Hofmarschall
would never suffer it, and his own desire for such an arrange-
ment must have vanished. No need now to avoid distasteful
notoriety ; the scene at the coffee-table had made such avoid-
ance impossible. Once more to be free ! The hated castle
in which she had suffered so bitterly would appear in her
memory in a softened light, she could regard the time of
trial spent here as a terrible dream of the past, and perhaps
forget it. Away to Magnus and Ulrika ! to live and study
with them again in Rudisdorf in the dear old garden-room !
How willingly she would endure all her mother's caprices, her
worst outbreaks of temper ! The misery of the home from
which her brother and sister wished to rescue her was as
nothing compared with this loneliness among strangers. She
did not go to her mother, but to Magnus ; he had emphatic-
ally declared that Rudisdorf should always be a home and a
refuge for his sisters. " Oh, Magnus !" Tears filled her eyes
at the thought of seeing him again.
At this moment she heard the dogs rushing out of the
cottage which she had just passed. She turned her head.
Mainau was approaching; probably to bring from the house
the shawl that the duchess had laid aside there. How
haightily he carried his head, as if he were the very personi-
fication of manly force and activity 1 And yet he was the
136 THE SEuOND WIFE.
worst of all ; he could say what his conscience contradicted,
and hold his peace when the rudest assaults were made upon
a wife who did not suit his views. She hurried on as if she
had not seen him, bnt he suddenly stood beside her.
" What ! tears, Juliana ? You can weep, then ?" he said,
stooping to look into her face, his eyes gleaming with what
seemed to her a cruel exultation. She hastily wiped her eyes
with her handkerchief. " But you need not be vexed ; no
one knows better than I that they do not flow from tender-
ness of heart. There are tears of indignation, of injured
pride "
" And of profound remorse," she interrupted him.
"Ah! you repent your heroic words just now? What a
pity ! I took all that you said as proceeding from entire con-
viction, and thought you would, in case of necessity, have
gone to the stake for every word you uttered. You repent,
then? Shall I send the court chaplain to you? He certainly
showed an inexplicable readiness to assist you. The duchess
was amazed at it. Shall I send him, Juliana? He is the most
charming of father- confessors. Valerie has often told me so."
" I should, then, allow myself," she said, irritated into imi-
tating the smiling scorn of his manner, " to be taught belief
in witches and ghosts, that I " She paused, with a burning
blush and a gesture of aversion.
"That you might be beloved, as I before remarked," he
completed her sentence.
"Not here! not here!" she cried, passionately, extending
her arms, with a gesture of repugnance, towards the castle.
"I repent," she added, more quietly, "having hastened
Gabriel's fate by my ill-judged intercession ; everything else
that I said I am ready to repeat, word for word ; yes, if it
should be squired of me, I would willingly prove it all,
even in the presence of falsehood in high places, and your
biting scorn. I repent, besi les "
TUE SECOND WIFE. 137
" Let me say that, Juliana. I could hardly bear to hear a
woman tell me that," he interrupted her, with the same rapid
change of colour that had startled her once before to-day.
* You repent, besides, that you entered so blindly, ignorantly,
tnd innocently into this marriage, while you passionately
arraign the experienced man of the world, who must have
Known exactly what he was doing, what he desired "
"Yes, yes!"
" And what if he also repented it?"
"Ah! would you, Mainau? Would you let me go? This
very day?" she asked, with bated breath and beaming eyes, as
she pressed both hands to her breast.
" That was not what I meant, Juliana," he replied, evidently
startled by her hardly-suppressed delight. " You misunder-
stood me," he said, with a nervous quiver of the lip. " Let
us leave all this for the present; this is neither the time nor
the place for an explanation."
"Explanation?" she repeated, sadly, as her arms fell by
her side. " It is quite impossible ! Why drag along thus ?
Good heavens! the good will, the honest intentions, with
which I entered upon my new life here are gone. I am em-
bittered, and can hardly preserve a calm exterior; my head
and heart are in Rudisdorf, not here ! This might go on for
awhile, but for a lifetime, impossible ! An explanation ?"
She laughed bitterly. " Four weeks ago I might have sought
it myself, in the honest hope of fulfilling the duties I had as-
sumed with such unpardonable frivolity; to-day, after all ihat
has passed, it cannot be ! I reject it."
" But I do not, Juliana !" he exclaimed, with a degree of
violence that silenced her for a moment with a kind of fear of
him; but would it not be better for both, she thought, that
there should be an immediate rupture ?
" I think I understand why you desire my stay in your house
for the present; and, even in this bitter moment, it is a comfort
138 THE SECOND WIFE.
to me," she said, gently. " You see that I have taken your child
to my heart, that I love him dearly. Let Leo go with me to
Rudisdorf, Mainau. I promise you that I will live for him
alone, that I will guard him like the apple of my eye. I
know how gladly Magnus and Ulrika will welcome him, and
they are so clever, they can teach him everything. And then
you 3an go away without any anxiety, and travel for years.
Give me Leo, Mainau 1" She held out her hand to him in
entreaty ; he thrust it from him.
"A Nemesis indeed! How they would all all laugh!"
He threw back his head with a laugh of scorn, and looked up
into the blue air, as if those of whom he spoke were flying
above him. "Do you know what vanity beneath the lash
looks like, Juliana ? I will tell you some day, but not now,
not for a long time, not until " The young wife suddenly
walked past him towards the maple-trees, whence the duchess
was approaching them, accompanied by her maid of honour.
Unfortunately for Liana, the eager eyes of the royal lady had
seen how Mainau had thrust from him his wife's hand. With
a deep blush she advanced towards the ladies, and she became
still more embarrassed as she marked the malicious smile
hovering about the mouth of the maid of honour.
Ah ! the duchess had surely interrupted a slightly disagree-
able matrimonial scene. The husband had been taking his
young wife to task for her previous want of tact, and had
harshly repulsed her when she had prayed for forgiveness.
How repugnant she must be to him ! The great lady could
now quietly confess to herself that the timid " red-head" ad-
vancing towards her was a perfect picture of a true German
Gretchen, the prophetic field-daisy in her hand was all that
was wanting. "Why should she not admit that this second
wife, despised and disliked though she were, was exquisitely
lovely? Faust did not love her. He treated her cruelly,.
because well, because, rash gallant that he was, he could not
THE SECOND WIFE. 139
shake off this girl with the red-gold braids so quickly as in
his thirst for revenge he had possessed himself of her.
u My dear Frau von Mainau, why do you isolate yourself
so ?" she called out to the young wife, kindly and cordially.
She carried a basket of fruit in her hands, and if she had
held it only a little higher one might have been tempted
to believe that she wished to present a tableau-vivant of
Titian's daughter, so graceful was her attitude as she stood
awaiting her host and hostess. " Take this in exchange for
your lovely flowers. I picked it with my own hands," she
said, holding out a peach to Liana. ' The maid of honour
looked amazed. She was not accustomed to see her haughty
mistress express her thanks after so amiable a fashion. Per-
haps she did not know how gracious and condescending a
passionate woman in the full consciousness of conquest can be
towards her luckless rival. The duchess went even further.
Had not the exquisite hand that received the fruit just been
rejected with unconquerable dislike? "And I have one more
cause for complaint, my dear Frau von Mainau," she said, in
honeyed tones. "Why have we never seen you before to-
day? I trust soon to have the pleasure of welcoming you to
court."
Liana glanced at her husband as he stood beside her. His
lip quivered, as if he were suppressing an ironical smile, but
otherwise his whole figure breathed the air of careless indif-
ference that sat so gracefully upon him. "Your highness
must excuse me from obeying this gracious summons," Liana
said, firmly. " Baron Mainau takes his departure in a few
days, and will allow me to retire to Rudisdorf." It was said,
and with entire composure. Her deliverance was declared,
and the declaration had been peaceful and natural.
" What, Baron Mainau 1 is this so ?" the duchess asked,
almost breathlessly, forgetting herself so entirely that the ma : d
of honour was seized with an embarrassed cough.
140 THE SECOND WIFE.
"Why not, your highness?" he replied, with a careless
shrug. " Rudisdorf is most healthily situated, and offers an
undisturbed retreat for minds given to contemplation. Al-
though I am a restless bird of passage, I am able to under-
*
stand how others may like to return to the nest. Take
care, Juliana! he will tear your dress, I am afraid I" he said,
referring to Leo's huge dog, that, having just escaped from
the cottage, was in his delight madly leaping about Liana.
" The creature positively adores you. What will become of
the poor fool ? Leo will not like to part from him."
Liana bit her lip. This, then, was the answer to her pre-
vious request, and how coldly and carelessly it was given!
The look that accompanied it was seen only by the maid of
honour, who afterwards described it to the duchess as the
" embodiment of dislike," flashing out at his " red-haired
wife."
CHAPTER XIV.
In the mean while the young princes and Leo were run-
ning about in the park. They had soon tired of picking fruit
and strewing the ground with what they had found too unr'pe
to eat. The coffee-table possessed no attractions for them.
They refused Frau Lhn's cakes and glasses of milk ; but the
faint chatter of the monkeys, heard now and then in the In-
dian garden, was alluring indeed. True, the princes had been
3trictly forbidden to go into the " Vale of Cashmere" without
some grown-up attendant, principally on account of the pond
there, which was very deep ; but the prohibition availed little.
Every one beneath the maple-trees was occupied and interested.
Mamma ad Herr Werther would never notice them, and the
maid of honour "had nothing to do with them," as the
THE SECOND WIFE. 141
crown-prince assured his playfellow, Leo, in the strictest con-
fidence.
First the steer, basking lazily in the sun, was chased away.
He was very old, and peaceful by nature, so he retired to the
depths of the thicket. The swans on the pond fled into their
house from showers of well-directed stones, and flocks of gold
and silver pheasants slipped noiselessly into their coverts at
the sound of hurrying childish footsteps.
"Hey, Leo, is the witch still inside there?" asked the
crown-prince, pointing to the bamboo cottage.
Leo nodded. "If I only could " he said, cracking his
whip.
" Let us chase her away, or throw her into the water."
"Nonsense! every one knows that witches never sink.
They can float on top of the water, oh, for a hundred years!
Frulein Berger told me so, and she knew all about it."
The crown-prince listened, open-mouthed ; the information
was new to him, but it only inflamed his destructive zeal
" If we had some gunpowder," he said, " we could easily blow
her up into the air. Captain von Horst told me yesterday
how to do it ; you just put a match "
" There's plenty of powder in the huntsman's cottage,"
cried Leo, all excitement. " Let's blow the witch into the air!
Hurrah that would be fun !"
The children ran through the orchards; they met their
tutor, who was looking for them, and ran by the trellb, where
their mother was picking fruit ; but they were too cunning
to breathe one word of their secret. It was to be a gran 1
surprise, and they slipped quietly into the huntsman's cottage. .
The key had been left in the weapon-closet, and behind
the glass doors was temptingly displayed a richly-decorated
powder-horn. The huntsman was not in the room. The
crown-prince got upon a chair, took the horn from its nail,
and examined its contents ; it was quite full. He looked
142 THE SECOND WIFE.
around for a match , there upon the table lay the remnant of
a thin wax taper, and a box of lucifers "These will do,"
he said, and put them all in his pocket.
Just then the huntsman entered, and at a glance compre-
hended the whole situation. He was a young man of gloomy
aspect, from whom Master Leo could hope for but small
indulgence. "Go out this instant !" the boy ordered, in a
rough, arrogant tone, in which, however, could plainly be
discerned the fear lest the theft of the powder should be dis-
covered. " Oho, out of my own room ?" the huntsman
replied, his brown cheek flushing with anger. He went
directly to the crown-prince, who, holding the horn in both
hands behind him, had retreated to a corner, and seized the
child by the shoulder ; but he was instantly attacked. His
highness kicked him furiously, the other little prince seized
him from behind, and Leo rushed at him with upraised whip.
"I'll serve you as grandpapa did!" he shouted. "Don't
you remember how he hit you in the face with his hunting-
whip ?"
The man grew pale to the very lips ; he raised his hand as
if to strike the wayward boy. " Spawn !" he hissed between
his teeth, controlling himself with difficulty. " What do I
care ? Do as you choose ! It would be good if a match
could be put to all of you I"
He went out of the room, and slammed the door behind
him. The children waited breathlessly until the sound of
his footsteps had died away, and then slipped out of the
house.
A few minutes afterwards the housekeeper ran out of tha
cottage, and, shading her eyes with her hand, looked anx-
iously around her. It was just at the moment when Baron
Mainau with the ladies was returning to the group of maples.
" What is the matter, Lhn ?" he asked, observing her
agitation.
THE SECOND WIFE. 143
" They are in the Indian garden, the children, I mean,
Herr Baron," she hurriedly replied. " Heaven have mercy
on us 1 they have taken gunpowder and matches with them !
The huntsman has just told me 1"
The duchess screamed in terror, and clung to Mainau's
aim ; he instantly turned towards the " Vale of Cashmere."
Liana and the maid of honour followed, and the tutor, who
had been sauntering slowly among the vines, hastened after
them, in obedience to the duchess's angry summons.
They were just in time to be thrilled with the horror that
overcomes us in the presence of an impending peril. In the
centre of the veranda of the Indian cottage, upon the smooth
matting, the children had emptied the powder in a little heap,
and in the midst of it had stuck the end of the waxen taper,
which was burning brightly. The least jostle, a breath, might
overthrow it, or detach a spark from its wick. There was, of
course, not enough powder to achieve the desired end of
" blowing up" the witch's house ; the danger lay in the utter
ignorance and unconsciousness of the children, who, nevej
dreaming of any danger to themselves^ were huddled togethei
around their " mine," bending over it, and breathlessly await-
ing the interesting moment when the flame should reach the
powder.
Leo was crouching down between the two princes, and waft
the first to see the approaching group. " Hush, papa, we
are blowing up the witch !" he said, in a half-whisper, scarcely
moving his eyes from the flame.
In an instant Mainau stood at the veranda, and, without
venturing to mount the slight and easily-shaken steps, he
leaned over and plucked out the taper, crushing the flame in
his hand. As he looked around, his face was pallid as a
spectre's, while the duchess, sobbing hysterically, sank into
the arms of the maid of honour. Quickly recovering herself,
however, she turned to the tutor. " Send the boys supperlesa
144 THE SECOND WIFE.
to bed to-night, Hei.r Weither, and deprive them of theii
ride to-morrow, to punish them," she said, sternly, as Mainau
took Leo by both shoulders and shook him violently.
Liana approached, and put her arms around the weeping
child. " You will not really punish him for the sins of his
former governess, Mainau," she said, with gentle gravity.
" He is just as little to blame as those nations who have been
trained to such cruelties by the gloomy teachings of supersti-
tion." And she passed a trembling hand tenderly over the
beautiful eyes that the father's sudden action alone had saved
from the fearful doom of blindness.
The face of the duchess suddenly assumed the waxen hue
that it had worn when first she had encountered Liana in the
forest. The royal lady forgot that the tutor, the maid of
honour, and he himself whose lips so often wore the dreaded
smile of triumphant scorn, were all present. She only saw
the lovely young creature clasping the boy in her arms, his
child, to whom this self-possessed young wife asserted her
maternal right so calmly. It was not to be borne 1 The jeal-
ousy that she had restrained broke forth afresh. She did not
indeed give way to it so far as to snatch the boy from those
hated arms, but she entirely abandoned her role of kind and
condescending mistress.
"Forgive me, my love, but your opinions are so strange
that they produce an effect here in my dear old Schonwerth
like that which would result from planting the tricolor on its
venerable turrets/ 1 she said, sharply, pointing to the castle.
" I cannot help it, indeed you must not take it ill of me, but
I seem in listening to you to hear the utterances of some gov-
erness, some excellent Smith or Jones. Do you prize so little
the privilege of bearing the noble name of Mainau "
1 " Until a few weeks ago, your highness, I was the Countess
Trachenberg," the young wife interrupted her, emphasizing
her ancient aristocratic name with proud composure. " We
\
THE SECOND WIFE. 145
are impoverished, and upon the prsent representatives of the
name rests a weight of debt; nevertheless, pride in the heroic
deeds and stainless record of a long line of ancestry is my in-
alienable inheritance. I know that I cannot dishonour them
by humane thoughts or opinions, and surely that should suffice
for the Mainaus."
The duchess angrily pressed her pearly teeth deep into her
under lip, and the movement of the lower flounce of her skirt
showed that her little foot was impatiently tapping the gravel-
walk. The maid of honour and the tutor marked each with a
tremor these unmistakable signs of the royal displeasure.
While Liana was speaking, Mainau had turned away as if
to go ; now he looked back over his shoulder. " Your high-
ness, I am guiltless," he said, with a sneer, laying his hand
upon his heart. ' ' I really cannot help your hearing such words
in your * dear old Schnwerth.' I myself believed implicitly
in the dove-like disposition of this lady with the gentle La
Valliere face, but she has inherited not only the glorious name,
out also the sword of her heroic forefathers, you hear it in
her tongue. I have felt its keen edge." He shrugged his
shoulders with a scornful laugh.
This sharp little dialogue, in which every word had resem-
bled the flame that had just been burning in the heap of
gunpowder, had been accompanied by suppressed weeping from
the little princes. The heroic crown-prince was lamenting
the loss of his supper, and his brother bewailed his be-
loved pony whom he should not see on the morrow. Herr
Werther's whispered admonitions produced no effect, and when
he attempted to lead the boys away they burst out into loud
crying.
At this moment the wheels of the Hofmarschall's chair
were heard approaching. The old man's face was pale with
terror; but when he saw all the group uninjured, he ordered
the huntsman, who was pushing him along, to stop . he evi-
E 18
148 THE SECOND WIFE.
passion ; he made as if he would have drawn Liana to his
side, while he extended his right hand menacingly towards
her husband.
"How now, your reverence? would you murder me?"
asked Mainau, with slow emphasis, as he coldly measured from
head to foot the man in priestly garb, the look of honor
his face had worn at his own act giving place to a scornful
smile. His calmness restored the priest's self-control. * He
retreated, and his arms fell by his sides.
" It was a terrible blow," he muttered, as if in self-excuse.
Mainau turned from him, and, standing close before Liana,
tried to look into her eyes ; they were downcast. He gently
offered to take the injured hand ; she buried it more deeply in
the folds of her skirt.
" It is of no consequence ; I can easily move each separate
finger," she said, gently, with a shadowy smile, as she looked
up. Her eyes scarcely met for an instant the eloquent gaze
fixed upon her, but turned with an indescribable expression
of longing towards the distant landscape.
" You hear that it is a trifle, your reverence," said Mainau,
turning round. " For me it is indeed something harder to
bear. That beautiful hand will be able to-morrow to use the
pencil with all its wonted skill ; but I must carry to my grave
the stain upon my honour as a gentleman of having struck a
woman." There was a keen bitterness in his tone. " But let
me ask your reverence one question. What would the implac-
able order to which you belong say to this unusual sympathy
of yours ? It is expended forgive me, Juliana* upon the
hand of a heretic."
The court chaplain had entirely regained his self-contiol.
" You belie your better knowledge, Herr Baron, when you
accuse us of such severity," he replied. " On the contrary,
we never forget that these misguided ones belong to us by
their baptism "
THE SECOND WIFE. U9
" You would find it difficult to gain an adherent to that
doctrine among Luther's disciples, I fear," Mainau inter-
rupted him, with a short laugh, as he turned away, not seeming
to notice Liana's emphatic gesture of dissent, and approached
the duchess. " What sensational events your highness has
witnessed in Schnwerth to-day !" he said, passing easily into
the flippant jargon of the court.
His royal mistress gazed at him half incredulously ; his
look was icy cold. With all the hostility that she cherished
in her heart towards the young wife, she could not but feel
some compassion for the pain that was evident in her pale
face, and he was all unmoved ; he had not even uttered a
word of entreaty for forgiveness. An eternity never could
assimilate these two.
" Oh, mamma, how your hand looks !" exclaimed Leo, who,
aestling close to his mother, had pulled aside the folds of her
akirt, exposing to view the crimson hand that hung down
among them. "Papa, I never hurt Gabriel so much as
that !"
Undeserved as was the reproof, it sounded very cutting
from the boy's lips. Liana herself hastened to weaken the force
of it. She turned away from Mainau, who again approached
her, and, when the duchess proposed to drive home and send
out her physician, declared that all that was needed to allay the
burning of the skin was cold water, and requested permission
to withdraw for a quarter of an hour to the fountain behind
the Indian cottage.
a This is the result of your farce, madame," the Hofmar-
schall said, insolently, as the tutor slowly turned around his
wheeled chair. " You have probably seen upon the stage a
lady interpose between two duellists, it makes quite a pretty
scene ; but to ward off with aristocratic hands a well-deserved
blow from an impudent servant, -fi done! Nothing could be
more derogatory. Tl e noble Princess of Thurgau, your dis-
is*
150 THE SECOND WIFE.
tinguished grandmother, of whom you are so proud, would
turn in her grave " He paused, and looked around in sur-
prise. Without a word Mainau had taken the tutor's place,
and was pushing on the chair at a rapid rate. The others
followed ; the court chaplain had already left the garden.
CHAPTER XV.
The " Vale of Cashmere," so lately the scene of such ex-
citing occurrences, again lay basking in the warm, dreamy
silence of the summer afternoon. There was a soft plash of
water from the fountain with its marble swan, and among the
bushes might be seen the metallic gleam upon the plumage of
a golden pheasant, cautiously determining to venture across
the gravel-path in front of the o ^ttage. After the sound of
the wheels of the rolling-chair had died away in the distance,
it seemed as if all that had happened resolved itself in memory
into a series of grotesque, startling phantasmagoria, thrown
upon the air from the slides of some gigantic magic-lantern,
such a calm had now descended upon the spot; but there
on the ground across the walk lay the stake that had been
hurled away, and the peacock approached in majestic silence
and regarded inquisitively the mysterious little heap of powder
upon the floor of the veranda. Upon the surface of the
water in the basin of the fountain floated a wealth of white
rose-leaves, fallen like downy feathers from the bushes, in which
the spouting swan was half hidden. As Liana dipped her
aching hand into the water, she was half startled to see how
swollen and crimson it looked among the pale leaves.
" Madame must allow me to bandage it," said Frau Lhn,
THE SECOND WIFE. 151
comiDg out of the Indian cottage with strips of white linen
hanging over her arm. She neither exclaimed nor lamented
at sight of the injury, it was not her way, but there was
something that struck Liana as unusual about this woman, who
always made a kind of parade of her coolness and indifference.
Her large hands trembled with agitation as she dipped a strip
of linen in the water. "Yes, yes, this is the Schnwerth
fashion," she said, glancing at the swollen hand. " A blow
upon the hand, that might break every bone in it, or a furious
clutch at a poor little throat."
The young wife looked up in her race with surprise ; but
Frau Lhn was wringing out her bandage upon the gravel-
path.
"She who is lying there could tell a tale," she added
pointing a dripping finger towards the glass door of the In-
dian cottage. " I always say that the castle is an evil home
for women. And when you came, madame, so tender, so
delicate, I pitied you from my very soul."
Her searching glance scanned for a moment the neighbour-
ing thicket, and the path through it; but no unbidden witness
was to be seen, only a little monkey swung himself from the
bough of a tree that overshadowed the bamboo cot down upon
its roof, along the ridge of which he scrambled. Frau Lhn
gently took the swollen hand from the water, and as she
wound the bandage about it, said, as if half to herself, "Yes,
yes ; the whole castle was roused thirteen years ago, when we
heard in the kitchen that the 'girl from the Indian cottage'
had been found lying dead from apoplexy, before the dooi
of the red room, where the master lay dying. Hm I apo-
plexy hardly strikes such delicate young lily-fair creatures,
madame. And then she was brought here, hanging over the
arm of the man who carried her like a poor white slaughtered
lamb, and he laid Lei upon the couch where she still lies after
thirteen long years. I walked by his side. I am hard of
152 THE SECOND WIFE.
heart, 'tis true, no, madame, I will speak the truth for once
I am not hard ; my heart is soft and silly, and I thought it
would break when the poor lady came to herself, opened her
eyes, and was terrified at the sight of old Lhn, for fear she
would strangle her again."
Liana uttered a low cry of horror. Frau Lohn hastily walked
away for a few steps, and looked into the garden, then passed
around the house, and returned apparently reassured.
" If one says A, B must come after it," she said, in a low
tone; " and since I have begun I might as well unburden my-
self. The doctor, a scoundrel of a man, and that's the fact,
said the blue spots on her white throat were where the blood
had settled, blood settled, indeed ! They were the marks of
the clutch of ten fingers, ten fingers, I tell you, madame 1"
" Who did it ?" Liana asked, breathlessly. She might per-
haps in any other case have prudently checked the narrator
in the revelation of so dark a secret; but this grave, stern
woman, who had for thirteen years nerved herself to wear
such an iron mask of concealment, impressed her profoundly,
especially by the manner in which she unclosed, for one instant
as it were, under the influence of strong mental emotion, the
hidden doors of her soul.
" Who did it ?" Frau Lhn repeated, and her eyes flashed.
" Why, the hands that are always so ready with the whip, the
fingers with nails curved inwards, as if to scrape together and
keep all that they can. Madame, he is a devil 1"
" He must have hated her bitterly."
" Hated ?" the housekeeper laughed almost shrilly. " Is it
hatred that makes a man crouch and kneel and whine for pity
upon him? Yes, yes, who could believe that that sallow
old skeleton had ever been so infatuated about a woman!
I stood there upon the veranda, and through the window I
aw him upon his knees at her feet. She thrust him from
her, and fled past me out into the night. He was swift
THjS SECOND WIFE. 153
enough of foot then, and pursued her through the garden;
but she was fleet and light as a feather a snowflake. Long
before he could overtake her, she was back in her room again
and had bolted the door and was sitting by little Gabriel's
cradle. In my dim corner I almost laughed to see how ha
stood there beating at the wooden lattice in his fury ; but it
was of no avail. He had to go away."
The woman's words were so vivid that to Liana's eyes the
whole scenery around her was metamorphosed. She saw the
young creatur3 circling the pond with flying feet, terror and
aversion in the lovely face that looked behind as she ran,
while in pursuit of her came he the man of formulas the
cold courtier with his insolent tongue. How could it be?
Involuntarily she left the fountain, as if to look through the
windows of the Indian cottage, but stiff, fay mats hung behind
both windows and glass doors.
" You are sorry for her, are you not, madame?" the house-
keeper asked, noticing her action. " For two days she has
been so quiet. She sleeps a great deal, sleeping her life
away. She can hardly last four weeks longer."
" Was there no one to protect her?" asked the young wife,
as the tears stood in her eyes.
" Who could ? He who had brought her from beyond tfie
sea my old master had been confined for months to the red
chamber. The curtains there were all closely drawn ; not a
window could be opened, and when the terror was on him
the shutters had to be tightly closed, and the keyholes stuffed
with paper, so that the devil might not slip in. He was a
learned, clever man, but his illness changed him sadly. He
grew timorous and gloomy, and there were two people who
knew well how to contrive that he never should recover, the
man with the shaven crown, and that other who was wheeled
away just now. They told him that only insanity could hafe
caused him to build the Hindoo temple or to give his heart ui
o*
154 THE SECOND WIFE.
1 a dancing-girl,' and lie believed them. Good heavens ! what
will a man not believe and do when his brain is enfeebled by
illness I And if he asked for the wife who was dearer to him
than all the world beside, they told him that she was false to
him and had gone astray with another. Oh, what lies they
poured into his ears ! And all the castle people were in tho
plot, even my own husband. God forgive him ! He was
the master's valet ; and they would have turned him out of
his place if he had refused to aid them."
It must have cost her a hard struggle to utter those last
words ; for the first time she passed her hand across her eyes
to wipe away a tear. " And I put on a sullen face, and pre-
tended to all the world that I detested the woman in the
Indian cottage, and her child no less. Therefore they chose
me to hold little Gabriel in my arms at his christening, and
gave me the care of the invalid. Ah, madame, I can feign
well, as you have seen. It all looks natural and genuine when
I scold and frown at Gabriel in the castle. But, oh ! he is
the light of my eyes my sunshine ! I would shed my heart's
blood drop by drop for his sake. Have I not cherished him
from the first hour of his life, and shed many a tear over the
poor little head with its patient, loving eyes!" Her voice
failed her ; she hid her face in her apron and wept bitterly.
"And he is one of the family," she added, after a short
pause, attaining, by a strong effort, her self-command, and
with a kind of defiance in her tone. " He is a Mainau. as
true as the sun shines above us ! And, although they never
allowed my old master to see him, he is none the less his
lawful child is Gabriel."
" You ought to have told all this to your young master
when he entered upon the inheritance," said Liana, gravely.
The housekeeper recoiled, raising both hands in protestation.
"Madame, tell him?" she asked, as if she had not heard
aright. " Oh, you are not in earnest 1 ^V^^f the young
THE SECOND WIFE 155
baron only glances at Gabriel, I tremble. His look chills me
to the bone. It is true that the baron is very good in other
ways ; he does a great deal for the poor, and will not suffer
injustice when he knows anything about it ; but he chooses
not to know much. He does not like to be annoyed, and lets
a great deal pass that ought to be inquired into. He knows,
toe, why the sick woman screams so whenever the duchess
rides by " She paused.
" Well, why is it ?" Liana asked, eagerly.
The housekeeper looked at her in some confusion. "Whj
because the young baron looks so like his uncle that one
could almost swear sometimes that he is Baron Gisbert him-
self. And one day he passed by the Indian cottage with the
duchess leaning on his arm, and," she looked timidly around
her, " she was gazing at him with eyes that burned so
I was not there, I did not see it, but the sick woman
thought the man walking there was him whom she had loved
best in the world, and shrieked with wild jealousy. Sines
then she is always worse when her highness rides by. It
shows how she loved our dead master ; but the Herr Baron
always says, ' The woman is insane/ and there is an end of
the matter. No, he will not lift a finger, and, unless the good
God interferes, my poor boy will be sent to the seminary in
three weeks, and after that away among the heathen. There
he will be well out of the way."
" But this was the late baron's express desire."
The housekeeper looked full in Liana's face, and her eyes
were brimming with meaning. " Yes, so they say in the castle ;
but who believes it? Have you ever seen the paper they
speak of?"
Liana shook her head.
" I knew it ; who has seen it, I should like to know ? Oh,
nfadame, on the evening when you came so unexpectedly into
the Indian cottage, and talked so kindly to Gabriel, I was
156 THE SECOND WIFE.
rejoiced ; I thought, God has at last sent one of His angels to
help ns. And you are an angel ; did I not hear you just now
pleading for my poor boy so bravely before all those terrible
people? But you will never be of any avail in that house.
No one could be, except such a one as our last mistress,
who used to stamp her feet, and throw at our heads whatever
came first to hand, even though it were a knife or a pair ot
scissors. And so I had better be silent, and not burden your
kind, gentle heart with anything more. You will have to
struggle, struggle hard, to maintain a shadow of authority
there for yourself. That wicked old man is burrowing in the
ground beneath your feet like a mole; he will do all he can
to thrust you forth from here ; and the other, he who brought
you to Schbnwerth, do not be angry with me, madame, I
must say it, he will not protect you, will not keep you. We
all see it, and know it. When the old baron is too much for
him he leaves Schbnwerth, shakes the dust from his feet, and
goes out into the world. What does he care what he leaves
behind him, even although it be his poor young wife ?"
A burning blush overspread Liana's face. What a part
she was playing in this household ! The woman's plain un-
varnished phrases portrayed with terrible distinctness the am-
biguous, unworthy position that she held. She was an object
of compassionate observation. All the pride of the Trachen-
bergs, as well as her injured feminine dignity, stirred within
her. " That was all arranged beforehand between the baron
and myself, my good Lhn ; others cannot understand it," she
said, quietly, holding out her hand that the woman, who was
silent in surprise at her composure, might bind around it a
last dry bandage. At the extreme end of the path the maid
of honour now made her appearance, with Leo. sent by the
duchess to "inquire after the poor patient," as she explained.
The housekeeper vanished for a moment within the cottage,
whilst Liana, accompanied by the maid of honour, and lead-
THE SECOND WIFE. 157
ing Leo "with her left hand, returned to the group of maples.
She fairly shuddered as she saw there the " sallow skeleton of
a man/' who sat in full-dress suit at the table, nervously
drumming upon it with his lean white fingers. Would not
those fingers have been ready with their murderous grasp upon
the throat of the woman who, quickly following her mistress,
entered the huntsman's cottage, had the old man dreamed how
she had just betrayed his evil secret ? Without his knowledge,
he was dogged by a sullen shadow, with eyes forever looking
eagerly for a day of retribution, and the shape that it took
was that of the stern, indifferent figure that re-issued from the
cottage to offer refreshments to all present, and to Liana her-
self, with a face utterly unmoved by the consciousness of the
terrible words she had so lately spoken.
CHAPTEK XVI.
The noise of the departing carriages had long died away.
At the duchess's request, Mainau had ordered his horse, that
he might accompany his guest part of the way towards the
capital, while the court chaplain had been invited to take his
place by the side of his august mistress, the princes being
banished to the back seat of the carriage. Her highness was
evidently in a gracious mood. She could not know that at the
sight of her companion sitting in the seat of honour many a
fist would be secretly clenched. Who could tell her this?
And, if she were told, of what consequence was the opinion
of the people, when respect was to be shown to the Church ?
The reigning line of the ducal family was not Roman Catholic;
the crown prince and his brother had been educated in the
14
158 THE SECOND WIFE.
Protestant faith, but the collateral branch, to which the duchesa
belonged, had always been cherished in the lap of Mother
Church. The Protestant majority of the population, therefore,
had not been greatly edified by their sovereign's choice of the
most bigoted of his Romish cousins for a wife. It was not
long before her chaplain was elevated to the post of court
chaplain, and, if the hand of death had not interfered, there
might have been, so ran the whisper, a change in the duke's
form of faith, for he adored his wife, and blindly submitted
himself to her influence in all things. There they sat as they
drove away from Schbnwerth, personifications of happiness
and evil, the rose-coloured, laughing princess, and the black-
robed priest, with his pale face, that to-day wore only a gloomy
smile in return for her lavish favour.
As she curtsied her farewell to the duchess, Liana also
took leave of Mainau, asking his permission to withdraw to
her own apartments for the rest of the day. It was accorded
her, with an ironical smile, as he mounted his horse. Now
she was alone, the Hofmarschall had claimed Leo to beguile
his loneliness at the tea-table in case Mainau should remain
in town, alone, left to herself in her blue boudoir. She put
on a white dressing-gown, and, as she had a racking head-
ache, her maid loosened and unbraided her heavy hair, that
always brought her relief.
In spite of her headache and the pain in her bandaged
ham! she had a small table placed before her lounge, to write
to Ulrika ; but in the midst of her letter she was forced to lay
aside the pen and throw herself back upon her couch, the pain
was so intense.
There she lay, immovable, for more than an hour, among
the blue cushions, her left hand beneath her head, watching
the shining folds of satin on the opposite wall mirror all the
hues of the setting sun, from glowing crimson to pale, glim-
mering gold. Across her bosom fell a br^ad mass of waving
THE SECOND WIFE. 159
hair down upon the blue flowers of the carpet. The last
ray of evening light still touched those full, heavy rings,
and they gleamed like the red metal so jealously guarded by
the gnomes. Silent and calm though she looked, all kinds
of dreams and fancies were running riot in her brain. She
thought of the airy, lace-woven soul who had thrown about
knives and scissors : this jessamine-scented Valerie had been
a pet at court ; that evil old man spoke of her with admira-
tion ; and Mainau, well, he had never loved her ; he could
not speak of her without contempt ; it had been a mariage de
convenance, and a most unfortunate one. And yet, ruthless
as he was in breaking all fetters that oppressed him, he had
been silent here. He had wandered out into the world
when " matters went too far" at home ; and death alone, no
spoken decree of separation, had dissolved this marriage,
because all scandal must be avoided ! What a contradiction
was this man, paying no heed to the opinion of the world
with regard to his love-adventures, duels, or mad wagers, but
timid as a child at the thought of a step that might con-
vict him of some past mistake, some error of the intellect,
and perhaps expose him to a little malicious ridicule from
his associates ! In view of this weakness, she had herself
hinted to the duchess to-day, in the most delicate manner, at
the approaching separation, and he had calmly, as it seemed
to her, seconded her efforts. The torture could not last much
longer; she should soon be at home again, without Leo, to
be sure. At this thought she buried her head deeper among
the cushions. She loved the child so dearly, the idea of
parting from him was such pain to her ; but she could not,
even for his sake, stay here any longer after the revelation
that had been made to her of the Hofmarschall's past, here,
where she must daily, hourly, behold the evil consequences of
his sins, without the power to raise a finger to prevent them.
A shiver like that from fever ran through her lithe form as
in:
.)
THE SECOND WIFE. 161
"1 will Dot trouble him. At Rudisdorf we were not
accustomed to consult a physician for every trifle ; he lived
too far away, and " She broke off. Why should she
again confess the poverty that had made them their own
physicians, for the sake of economy ? " The fresh spring-
water has already done its duty," she added, quickly.
" He shall not annoy you by an examination of your hand.
1 am relieved to find that you have been able to write,' ' he
answered, with a glance towards the letter that she had begun
to Ulrika. " But I should like to prevent any ill results from
mental agitation. I saw you shiver as with nervous fever."
Then he had been standing for some time behind the por-
tiere, watching her. Why this sudden anxiety, when he had
shown such offensive coldness and indifference at the time of
the accident, and even afterwards ? " Should I see him for
that?" she asked, with a half-smile, as she turned to him
over her shoulder. " You seem to forget that I have been
bred in a different school from that of most of my equals
in rank. I could not else have been Ulrika's sister or my
brother's ' famulus. 1 We really never had time to cosset and
pet our nerves ; we learned to harden ourselves as those must
who would preserve their mental independence and keep them-
selves in working order. I beg you to dismiss the doctor ; he
is, I suppose, waiting outside?" She said the last words
quickly, and with an emphasis that could leave him in no
doubt that she wished in this way to put an end to his visit.
" He is not waiting outside ; and if he were, he would not
care. The good man is sitting in the drawing-room, with a
bottle of excellent Burgundy before him," he replied, as he
walked still farther into the room and looked about him.
" Why, look 1 The blue boudoir my special aversion, I
frankly confess has grown to have a remarkably habitable
and cosy air. Those ivory groups against the folds of satin
are quite charming; they enliven the room wonderfully, as do
L
162 THE SECOND WIFE.
the white azalias in the recess of the window. And the
writing-table, too! Yes, yes, what always disgusted me so f
you see, was Valerie's indolent Sybaritic lounging for hours
among these shining cushions."
Through the open door he cast a glance into the adjoining
room. " But where do you paint, then, Juliana ? I see no
arrangements here. Not in the nursery, I hope?"
" No ; I appropriated to that the small room next to my
dressing-room.' '
" That miserable little corner, which, if I remember rightly,
has not even a good light to recommend it ? What induced
you to use it for such a purpose?"
She looked him full in the face. " I believe that those who
appreciate the sacredness of art have certain additional fibres
of sensation that give them pain in a hostile, unsympathetic
atmosphere ' '
" And that recoil from it. That contradicts my view of
feminine dilettanteism. Still, I am right, although to-day has
converted me to a belief that there are exceptions. But what
will you do in winter? That room is not heated."
"In winter?" the young wife repeated, in sudden terror;
but she quickly collected herself. "Oh, then, you did not
notice probably that there is a splendid fireplace in the garden-
room at Rudisdorf. In spite of its glass front, it can be
warmed very well; and when it is too cold, I share with
Ulrika a pleasant, warm room up-stairs that you do not
know."
There was great irritation in the look with which Mainau
scanned the quiet figure of his young wife. The rise and fall
of her bosom alone betrayed the agitation within.
" Has that whim really taken such hold there ?" he asked,
lowly, lightly touching her white brow with his forefinger.
" I do not know what you mean by that wora," she replied,
recoiling with cold gravity, as involuntarily she drew her hand
THE SECOND WIFE. 163
across the place he had touched, as if to brush away a stain,
" My head is too young for whims. I try to guard myself
against the flattery of any narrow, egotistical, amateur com-
placency. You used the word whim in connection with my
return to Rudisdorf. Is it not the wish and desire of both
of us ?"
" I thought I had convinced you of the contrary to-day,"
lie said. The self-possession with which he shrugged hi*
shoulders as he spoke was merely assumed. She knew that
at the next word of hers he might burst out ; but she waa
not intimidated.
" Yes, at first," she assented ; " but afterwards, when the
duchess was present, you showed yourself entirely agreed "
He laughed aloud, so bitterly that she was silenced. " I
believe, indeed, that it would have been a delicious morsel for
your wounded pride if, at the moment of the explanation you
were at such pains to make, I had declared, ' This lady wishes
to leave me at all hazards. I entreat her on my knees not to
do so ; but she spurns everything that I can offer, and gladly
returns to the life of poverty and sacrifice that she left, and
this for the sake of revenge.' Such a revenge, lady lair,
in the presence of the eyes that were so eagerly watching your
every look to-day, no man could allow to his wife, even
although he loved her."
Liana's hot cheeks paled with agitation. She was deeply
offended ; she did not hear his last words, only that he accused
her of desiring revenge.
"Mainau, let me seriously entreat you not to speak so
offensively, so unjustly," she cried. "Revenge! I hardly
know what the word means, or how such an emotion can affect
the mind ; but surely passion must exist before a desire for
revenge can be aroused, and I cannot see how my residence in
Schnwerth could call to life passion of any kind within me,
The Hofmai schall has often insulted me, but I told you my-
164 THE SECOND WIFE.
self that I always had regard for his invalid condition and
quietly repulsed his attacks. Anl you, how could I desire
revenge for insults that were not intended as such, and there-
fore not regarded as such by me? Neither of us can really
wound the other."
"Juliana, take care! At this moment every one of your
words is ar. intentional stab. You know perfectly well how
embittered you are."
" I deny it emphatically," she said, with perfect calmne&s.
" I am hurt and discouraged, but not embittered. Discouraged,
because all that I can do in your house is like drawing water
in a sieve; even in the matter of Leo's education the oppo-
sition is too strong. I had just begun to write to Ulrika
about it "
" Ah, then this is a good opportunity to inform myself,"
he said, stepping hastily to the table.
"You would not do that, Mainau?" she said, gravely, laying
a detaining hand upon his arm, as he was about to take the
letter from the table.
"Most certainly I would, and shall," he replied, shaking
off her hand. "I have a right to read my wife's letters;
especially if they seem objectionable to me. Look in that
mirror, Juliana! Those pale lips testify to a guilty con-
science. I will read the letter aloud to you."
He went to the window, and read aloud, with sarcastic
emphasis: "In two weeks, at the farthest, I shall come to
Rudisdorf, forever, Ulrika ! That cry of deliverance looks so
cold and tame upon paper that it can give you no idea of the
sunshine that fills my heart at the thought of once again
living with you and Magnus." "Poor Schn werth !" he in-
terpolated, with a sneer. " Do not believe that my freedom is
the consequence of any overt act. It is the simple result of
the attempt to mate two souls whom an eternity could not
assimilate ; one of whom fears to excite the contempt of the
THE SECOND WIFE. 165
world, while the other is tremblingly sensitive to every harsb
word uttered in the privacy of domestic life. The break will
be noiseless ; the scandal-loving world will find small satisfac-
tion in it. Some day Baroness Mainau will quietly disappear
from Castle Schbnwerth, from its rooms, where she maintained
for a short time a phantom-like authority. She will fade from
the memory of its inmates, who from the first appreciated
her untenable position and foresaw with compassion the end
it would come to. And your Liana? She has never been
really uprooted from the soil of home. She will flourish again,
after her short absence, in the sunshine of your eyes. Do you
not think so, Ulrika? You know how cruel I always thought
it to put a freshly-cut plant in ice-cold water; and I now feel a
genuine sympathy for the poor thing. I know how it hurts.
I leave in Schbnwerth, withered and dead, a few resolves,
formerly vigorous, a too-confident reliance upon y own moral
force, and the gage I would have thrown down to a society in
which I find nothing to interest me. This lesson will do me
no harm. Remember, that when I heard him say to mamma
on the terrace, ' I can give her no love, but I am conscientious
enough not to wish to awaken love in return,' I should have
quietly gone down and returned him his ring; not because of
his denial of any love for me, I brought him none, and had no
right to require any of him, but because his last words betrayed
such boundless vanity." The blood rushed to MainauU feee ;
biting his under lip, he paused in his reading, and cast over
the paper at his wife a glance of irritation and doubt.
When he spoke of a guilty conscience, Liana had quietly
folded her arms ; and she still stood in the same attitude, one
delicate foot, firmly planted upon the blue lilies of the carpet,
just peeped from beneath the hem of her dress. Her slender
form seemed to dilate proudly, as he looked at her, in contrast
with the graceful, undulating outline that characterized it, but
the dark eyelashes almost rested upon her cheek; involuntarily
166 THE SECOXD WIFE.
she had just '.old an ugly truth to the man standing there ; it
must shame him, and she blushed for him.
He stepped close to her side. " Your judgment is perfectly
correct," he said, with apparent self-control. " I am not blind
to this great weakness of mine, and when I think that you,
with your power of delicate analysis and keen criticism, over-
beard that coarse remark, the blood mounts to my cheek.
But now, stern judge that you are, it is my turn to accuse.
I was vain, but you were false, when you closed your lips,
and came with me, despising me in your heart."
" Bead on a little farther," she interrupted him, imploringly,
without looking up.
He went back to the window; it was growing quite dark.
*' I knew that after such a declaration on his part I should
never be tempted to experience a particle of sympathy for
him," he rdK on in a low voice, "and my still persisting in
going with him, and pronouncing the solemn yes before the
altar, made me an accomplice in a monstrous crime, and
there was no excuse for me, for I was no silly, undecided
school-girl."
Here she ran towards him, and tried to take the letter from
him; but, warding off her attempt with his left hand, he read
on : ** Ulrika, Mainau is very handsome, and lavishly endowed
with that specra of wit that dazzles and charms in conversa-
tion, and that in its inimitable nonchalance is so generally
attractive to women; but into what insignificance does this
drawing-room hero sink, compared with our quiet scholar in
the study at Rudisdorf, compared with Magnus, who, beneath
such an unpretending exterior, possesses such strength and force
of intellect, and who has never in his life dreamed of doing or
saying anything merely for effect ! For therein, in that the-
atrical striving for effect, lies the key to all Mainau's follies, his
duels, intrigues, D'J even his love of travel, appearing in strange
lands, as he docs here and there, like a prince in a fairy-tale
THE SECOND WIFE. 167
sipping only of what is startling and dazzling. No one can be
more fully aware of his faults than he is himself; but not for
the world would he resign one of them, for are they not all
aristocratic failings, admired by the superficial fashionable
world as original eccentricities? Had he been more in earnest
with regard to himself, and less flattered by worthless women,
he might have been otherwise, but " Here the pen had
been thrown aside.
" It is perfectly true that you are not embittered, Juliana,"
he said, with an odd, hoarse laugh, as he laid the letter upon
the table. " You could not else have so coolly and dispas-
sionately subjected me to the same kind of analysis that one
accords to an unfortunate butterfly on a pin beneath a magni-
fying-glass. And you are perfectly right, taking this view of
my character, in desiring a separation from me at any cost.
You can easily effect it after what has occurred to-day; even
Rome itself would acknowledge it a sufficient ground. Have
I not beaten you ?"
"Mainaul" she exclaimed, the tone in which he spoke
went to her heart.
Without looking at her, he passed by her and walked several
times to and fro in the adjoining apartment; then, going to the
glass door, he looked out into the deepening twilight. How
his friend Rdiger would have laughed to himself, if he could
have looked into these rooms at this moment 1 Liana stood by
the white azaleas in the blue boudoir, her Lorelei hair stream-
ing loose among the white blossoms, her "pale-blue eyes, a la
La Valliere," as they had been contemptuously described, gazing
before her with a look of stern determination. And Mainau ?
A short time before, he had prophetically alluded to the letters
he should receive from her, as " stiff school-girl compositions,
full of household detail:" he had just read one of them,
and the agitation evident in his knotted brow and in the
nervous drumming of his fingers upon the glass pane scarcely
168 THE SECOND WIFE.
testified to that repose of mind which was to ensne upon
their perusal, and which was sever to interfere with hi*
nightly rest '
CHAPTER XVIL
A profound quiet reigned in the apartment after Liana's
exclamation. From the aviary attached to the neighbouring
iarge reception-room the faint fluttering of some sleepy little
bird was heard now and then, or the softly echoing footstep
of some servant passed in the long pillared corridor outside ;
but; there was no sound from the blue boudoir, the shining
walls of which threw a pale reflection through the portiere
into vhe room where Mainau stood. Had the young wife left
the mom? The thought made him start as if from some
sudden insult. Had he expected that she would follow him,
touched to sympathy by his voice, that had startled even
himself, and that had been so all-powerful with women?
Did he suppose that, all unconsciously to itself, that strong,
incorruptible soul yet owned feminine chords that would
thrill and respond to alluring tones from a man's lips,
and that would finally bring it to its victors feet ? Moving
silently but quickly across the room, he stepped between the
curtains.
The young wife had not left her place by the window ; with
her hand resting on the sill, and her lovely profile turned to-
wards him, she stood there lost in thought, the tender curve
cf her lips betokening no struggle within. At the rustle of
his approach she slowly turned her head, and her earnest eyes
looked at him gravely and calmly.
THE SECOND WIFE. 169
" Leo will make my life wretched if he has to go back to
his old ways," he said, returning her look.
Liana sighed deeply, and her eyes filled with tears. " You
will not have to endure it long," she said, softly, looking down;
"you are going away."
"Yes, I am going; and I shall throw myself into the de-
lights of the world more recklessly than ever, and who can
blame me? I leave behind me the icy realm of conscious
virtue, of analytical intellect, while before me laughs a life
of pleasure; there I can be the 'prince in the fairy-tale,'
here nothing is vouchsafed me but a measured glance of con-
temptuous depreciation."
He walked towards the door of exit. " Have you anything
else to say, Juliana?" he asked, over his shoulder.
She shook her head, and yet she pressed her hand to her
heart, as if to suppress some longing.
" We are alone together for the last time," he said, noticing
her gesture.
Quick to resolve, she approached him. " Unintentionally,
I have said many hard things to you to-day. I am sorry, and
yet I have not quite finished. Will you listen to me ?"
He assented, but stood motionless, his hand upon the latch
of the door.
" I have heard you say repeatedly that there is nothing for
you to do at home for the next six months. Mainau, is it
possible for a father, be his rank in life what it may, to reject ^
all idea of duty so entirely as to feel that he has nothing to
do with his child's education ? Besides, think in what hands
you leave your boy. You speak with contempt of the narrow, -*
untenable dogmas of your Church, so sternly advocated in
their darkest superstition by the court chaplain and your uncle,
and yet you carelessly commit to their guidance the youthful
mind of your child ; nay, more, you are silent when your
silence gainsays your convictions, and "
h 15
170 THE SECOND WIFE.
" Oh ! this is my punishment for not coming to your aid in
that uncomfortable controversy to-day about the existence of
the devil. Pshaw! one should not condescend to waste one's
breath in opposing such nonsense ; it refutes itself. Leo is
my son in mind also ; he will shake off that stuff as soon as
he begins to think for himself. "
" Ah, so many think thus, when they ought to act ; and
their inaction is the cause why there is one instant's heed paid
in this nineteenth century to such daring inventions of the
human intellect as are spread abroad by that old man in Rome.
Are you sure that Leo will withstand it all as easily as you
have done ? I know what wounds the first religious doubts
and struggles leave in the soul ; why invoke them rashly, and
perhaps injure forever the entire religious consciousness?
Study and watch a child's mind as carefully as we can, it is,
and always must be, a mystery. Even with a flower-bud
we can never surely predict that some distorted leaf will nof
suddenly unfold. This I have learned since I have been so
constantly with Leo. I earnestly entreat you not to leave him
in the hands of the court chaplain."
His hand dropped from the latch of the door. " Well," he
said, after a moment's consideration, " I will respect your en-
treaty as a kind of last will before your departure ; will that
content you?"
" I thank you 1" she said, cordially, and offered him her
hand.
" No, I do not care to take your hand ; we have ceased to be
good comrades," he said, turning away. " Besides," and there
hovered about his lips both satire and a frivolous sneer, " you
aro not very grateful. Your devoted friend, his reverence,
breaks a lance for you whenever he can, with wonderful self-
denial, and you are plotting against him."
" He knows well that I do not desire his knightly aid," she
replied, composedly. " The first evening that I came here he
THE SECOND WIFE. 171
approached me, but I have no intention of being converted
aficr that cunning, indirect fashion."
" Converted ?" Mainau laughed aloud. " Look at me, Juli-
ana I" he seized her left hand and pressed it hard. " Do you
really mean that? Converted converted to Roman Cathol-
icism ? I must know the truth. Has he been at work with
that famous sonorous voice of his, the holy man of God ?
Juliana, be frank; if he has ever dared to breathe upon
you "
" What do you mean ?" she said, haughtily, snatching her
hand from his. " I do not understand you. It never occurs
to me to conceal anything from you that has been said to me,
whenever you ask about it ; therefore I reply, he told me that
Schn werth was unsafe ground for women's feet, whether they
came from India or from a German castle, and he endeavoured
to prepare me for moments of trial."
" Well devised ! One must confess the man has mind. At
the first glance he saw what eyes less keen recognize only
when it is lost to them. Yes, Juliana, Valerie, you see, was
an admirable penitent, and he is quite right to desire that the
new mistress of Schnwerth should fall into the old traces,
for the sake of the religious peace of the household, this is
what he means, eh ?"
" I suppose so, or rather, I have not the slightest doubt
of it," she replied, looking up frankly and ingenuously into
his face. "And therefore, as I have already told you, I
always protest against his interference."
" Your will may be of steel ; his is no less so. Juliana, 1
wish I did not know the world so well, that I might rely
upon that page," and he inclined his head towards her face,
4 as upon Holy Writ, but " and he laughed bitterly. " Yes,
yes, that head, with its splendid weight of gold, would look
well in the angelic choir of the Romish Church; the pious
prosclyter sees that, and it is sweet to be glorified as an angel;
172 THE SECOND WIFE.
you do not know, as yet, how sweet, Juliana ! I shall, myself,
take strong measures to prevent this conversion "
" But why?" the young wife interrupted him. " You are
going away, and I "
" I really think you have said that often enough," he ex-
claimed, angrily, with a slight stamp of his foot. " You must
have the condescension to admit that it is for me, and me only,
to decide whether and when I shall depart."
She was silent. Into what inconsistencies did this man's
rash temperament betray him ! As if he had not uniformly f
until to-day, alluded with the greatest delight to his projected
journey !
" Confess, too, Juliana, that in preparing you for these
' moments of trial' the pious and amiable although indiscreet
man did not spare my private history," he said, negligently,
as he took down one of the ivory groups from its bracket to
examine it closely.
" That would presuppose my listening," she replied, offended,
" You must credit me with sufficient sense of duty to prevent
me from listening to any disparaging criticism with regard to
you, even although it should coincide with my own opinion.
A man must thoroughly despise a woman to whom he ven-
tures to speak of anything to her husband's discredit."
" If departed spirits preserve any sense of shame, how Va-
lerie must look at this moment !" he exclaimed, as he replaced
the ivory Ariadne upon its bracket. " Then your unfavour-
able opinion of me is the result solely of your own observa-
tion ?"
She turned from him without speaking.
" What? Have others spoken of me in your presence?
my uncle?" His role of indifference was but clumsily main-
tained.
"Yes, Mainau. A short time ago he complained to the
urt chaplain that your continual absences from home filled
THE SECOND WIFE. 173
him with anxiety upon Leo's account. You roamed about the
world to avoid ennui, while there was more than enough to
occupy you at home. Your estates here, he declared, are
mines of wealth, but those to whose care they are intrusted
arp. as heedless as yourself. The mismanagement of them
defies description ; he shudders at an attempt even to appre-
hend it."
Mainau had turned away from her, and was steadily looking
out of the window. She spoke with evident hesitation ; these
were matters in which she scarcely ought to interfere, not now,
at all events, when she should so soon be gone, but she was
speaking in Leo's interest ; all that she could do for him she
would do in these few last moments.
" Pshaw ! you know what my uncle is, with his terror of any
diminution of the Mainau property; his grasping avarice
grows unendurable, the old man is almost insane upon the
subject. I assure you, everything could be perfectly adjusted
in a few weeks. And what then? Shall I follow the plough
myself by way of a change ? or, since I really do not care for
music, had I not better undertake the management of the
royal opera? Perhaps it might be well to apply for some
vacant ministerial post. I dipped into jurisprudence at Bonn
and Berlin, I have made a couple of campaigns, and my rank
is undoubted, what else is necessary ?" He shook his head.
" Oh, never, never ! But advise me, sage sphynx, how shall
I pass my time in Schonwerth when my second wife has left
me?"
" Have you never had any desire to write ?"
Ha turned upon her a look full of amazement. " Do you
want to make an author of me ?" he asked, with an incredu-
lous smile.
" If you agree with mamma and the Hofmarschall, you must
not understand me as suggesting that you should venture into
* print) 1 ' $he replied; with a touch of humour in her tone.
%r*~" 15*
174 THE SECOND WIFE.
"You narrate interestingly and fluently. I am convinced
that your style would be excellent ; you will write more effect-
ively than you talk." It was strange to see the spoiled and
petted man of the world cast down his eyes and blush like a
girl at such slight praise from his grave young wife. "I
should often like to write down your table-talk," she added.
"Aha ! then a keen critic has been sitting silently by my
side, while I have often been tempted to ask how many stitches
it takes to finish a leaf in that eternal embroidery. Juliana,
it was not fair to let me play such a ridiculous part No,
hush I" he cried, as she haughtily raised her head to refute
his accusation, " the punishment was just 1 I confess," he
said, with some hesitation, "that I have sometimes longed
to put on paper my impressions of travel, for instance, but my
first modest attempts, in the shape of letters sent home from
London, were such a striking failure that I forswore the pen
forever. My uncle wrote me, in great irritation, begging me
to forego such stupid descriptions, such tedious dissertations,
with regard to the various courts that had so graciously re-
ceived me, sisce my letters might easily fall into strange hands
and compromise me; and upon my return I found a fragment
of one of these l tiresome epistles' wrapped round a cork of
one of Valerie's cologne-bottles."
Here Leo bounded into the room; the doctor was with
his grandfather, and he had been allowed to come to see how
his mamma was. He opened his eyes wide at sight of his
father. How came he here, where the boy had never before
seen him?
" Why, papa, what are you doing in the blue room ?" he
asked, with something of the jealousy of one to whom alono
hitherto an entrance here had been accorded.
Mainau blushed slightly, and gently pushed the boy by the
shoulders towards Liana. " Go, my boy, and put your arms
around mamma's neck, see, I dare not go any farther with
THE SECOND WIFE. 175
out her permission, and beg her to have a little patience with
you and with me while we are together !"
" Oh, I am going with her, papa!" cried the child, throwing
his arms around his mother's knees. " Mamma has often
promised when she comes to me before I go to sleep at night
that when she goes to Rudisdorf she will take me to see my
uncle Magnus and aunt Ulrika."
" What ! How do you know that your mamma is goiug
to Rudisdorf ?" asked Mainau, in some surprise.
" The court chaplain and the crown-prince's mamma were
talking about it by the huntsman's cottage, very softly, but
the crown-prince and I heard them. Promise, mamma, that
you will take me."
" You must ask papa to let you come often," she replied,
with downcast eyes, but firmly enough, as her delicate fingers
played among the boy's dark curls.
"We will see about it," Mainau said, briefly. "Your
amiable announcement this afternoon, Juliana, seems to have
had the effect of an electric spark ; to-morrow all the sparrows
on the roofs of the capital will be chattering how his holiness
in Rome has his hands full at present to devise the untying
of the knot that binds together two human beings who never
can assimilate. Hm 1 of course you will not go before my
departure."
" I will do just as you think best. If you prefer it, I will
not leave Schnwerth until you have left it a day's journey
behind you."
He bowed slightly, and, stepping to the table, hastily folded
the letter to Ulrika and put it into his breast-pocket. " The
right to confiscate is still mine ; this letter belongs to me 1"
Then he bowed with ironical solemnity, as if retiring from an
audience with a princess, and left the room. Leo suddenly
burst into a flood of tears ; the child felt that he was about to
ose his guardian angel.
176 THE SECOND WIFE.
CHAPTER XVIII.
Im the servants' hall at Castle Schonwerth the report that
the young baroness was to go to Rudisdorf, " upon a visit,"
during the absence of the baron, created but little sensation.
The footmen declared that they had prophesied this " visit"
from the moment when they saw that their master had scarcely
offered his wife any assistance in descending from the carriage
upon her arrival ; the lady's maid said she was not sorry, for
it really shocked ' her feelings to serve a mistress who did not
appreciate her husband, and who would wear thin muslins all
the while ; and the red-haired scullery-maid sighed, and thought
that the baron must dislike blondes, since all the pictures in
his room had either brown or black curls, like his first wife's ;
he must have made a great mistake in marrying this one.
In the upper regions of the castle everything was as sunny
as possible. The parqueted floors enjoyed an immunity from
the usual blows of the Hofmarschairs stick. Leo had a pres-
ent of a toy stable full of horses, the valet received a dress-coat
not much the worse for wear, and instead of having the usual
epithets hurled at him, of " blockhead" and " fool," had been
addressed, for some days at least, as " my friend," or " my good
fellow ;" and all this because the Frau Baroness had " broken
her neck."
The Hofmarschall had never spoken of the matter to his
nephew, and there was no need to do so. Mainau had brought
home this impoverished Protestant wife in direct opposition
to his desires, nay, entreaties, and, now that the consequences
he had prophesied had actually ensued, surely it was punish-
ment enough. Everything went on smoothly and decorously.
THE SECOND WIFE. ^ 177
The young wife presided over the household as heretofore.
She made the tea every evening, and attended to Leo's lessons
precisely as if nothing had happened, except that she avoided,
with a kind of horror, any tete--tete with the Hofmar-
schall. He noticed this, and laughed in her face diabolically
one evening when, in handing him a cup of tea, she shrank
as from contact with a viper as her hand accidentally touched
his. Yes, yes, he had been her evil genius, had even told her
with a sneer of the precise moment when she had become a
nonentity here.
The young baron's departure was delayed, because, in a
short visit that he had made to his estate of Wolkershausen,
he had found matters in such incredible disorder that it was
impossible to leave them at present for so long an absence as
he contemplated. This, at least, was the explanation of the
delay that he gave to the Hofmarschall, almost occasioning
the old man a fall from his chair in surprise at this sudden
halt in his downward course of careless neglect. The new
trunks had been banished to a garret, the odour of the Russia
leather was so frightfully strong, and the brilliant farewell
dinner that Mainau was to give at his club to his associates
in the capital was indefinitely postponed. Probably it was all
done to blunt the edge of scandalous gossip ; the duchess lent
her aid, and she, of course, knew how matters stood, by ex-
pressing a desire to see Liana at court "before she went to
pay her visit to Rudisdorf." The young wife did not refuse
to comply; it would be the first and the last time. And
" the blonde Trachenberg, in the inevitable blue silk dress,"
to quote the sarcastic maid of honour, appeared at court for
half an hour, " that she might carry back to the retirement of
Rudisdorf at least one brilliant memory.
The jewel-box and the pressed plants were not sent, of
course, Liana was going herself, and the picture which was
to have paid the expense of the Countess Trachenberg's plcasuro-
M
178 THE SECOND WIFE.
trip was never returned to her. Mainau had confiscated it,
because it certainly was not desirable that such glimpses of
family history should be disclosed to the world. Although he
was absent continually during the day, and very much occupied
with reforms upon his estates, he almost always contrived
to appear in the evening at the tea-table, where his conduct
underwent no change. He conversed with his uncle and the
court chaplain, and seemed not to notice that the latter scarcely
ever left Schnwerth now, the duchess having granted him
some weeks of absence, that his nerves, which had been affected
of late, might be strengthened by the healthy country air. One
evening, when the priest proposed that he should give Leo
his hour of religious instruction in the nursery instead of the
salon, since he observed that the child's monotonous repe-
titions irritated the HofmarschaU's nerves, a strange gleam
shone in Mainau's eyes, and, in a very constrained voice, he
reminded his reverence that he could scarcely propose thus to
invade the domain of his Protestant wife.
But a time came when it was necessary that he should re-
main for awhile uninterruptedly at Wolkershausen. He rode
over there one afternoon; his uncle and the court chaplain
stood at the window, watching him mount his horse, while
the young wife, who was going to walk in the garden with
Leo, approached, that the child might " bid papa good-bye."
He held out his hand to Leo, but not to his wife. His coun-
tenance, so closely observed by the two standing at the window,
never changed. Patting his horse's neck, he leaned from hia
saddle, and a pair of menacing eyes looked into Liana's own.
tc I hope to find you still a good Protestant upon my return,
Juliana," he said, in a low voice. She turned away provoked,
and he rode out of the court-yard, waving a farewell to the
open window.
Every morning came a messenger on horseback from Wol-
kershausen, with a note from Mainau himself, principally
THE SECOND WIFE. 179
requesting tidings as to Leo's welfare. The HoftnarschaL
laughed heartily at this new whim of his eccentric nephew, who
had suddenly become such a doting parent, when formerly he
used to be absent from wife and child for months without hear-
ing from them. He usually wrote the answer himself, just
beneath the question, which was addressed to no one in par-
ticular. But one morning the messenger, after delivering the
official note in the salon, appeared at the door of Liana's rooms
and handed her a sealed packet. It contained several closely-
written sheets, and a visiting-card, upon which Mainau in-
formed her that they were the beginning of a manuscript
which he amused himself with inditing in the evenings, after
the cares and toils of the day ; and he begged to offer them for
her criticism.
With a mixture of glad surprise and timid embarrass-
ment, she held the sheets in her hand for one instant, unde-
cided what to do. This new bond, the result of her own
words, between herself and the husband whom she was shortly
to leave forever, startled her, as if she had suddenly found
herself amid strange surroundings ; but she replied to him, in
a few hurried lines, that she would read his manuscript in the
quiet retirement of the woods, near the forest-house, where she
spent every afternoon with Leo.
She herself had told him that she suspected an amount of
literary talent in him ; and yet as she read these " letters from
Norway," addressed to "Juliana," she was breathless with
amazement. There was no hesitation in that vigorous hancl.
Those brilliant pictures and descriptions came rushing from
their long confinement as upon the wings of the wind. The
young wife hardly remembered who had written them. The
capricious man of the World, with his courtly sneer and affected
air of ennui, vanished before the lonely traveller upon wild crags
and lofty steeps, thoughtfully contemplating human actions and
weaknesses. All conventional nonsense disappeared from the
180 THE SECOND WIFE.
hardy hunter tracking, with the keen excitement of the chase
the northern bear, traversing wastes of snow, and resting foi
weeks in lonely farms among the mountains, charmed by the
old German force of character, to which his own nature was
allied, that he found among the people ; by the purity of their
morals and the modesty of the women. And as she read these
descriptions, Liana remembered with regret her own harsh accu-
sation, that he cared only to sip everywhere at the startling and
dazzling.
The young wife had read the manuscript through on the
previous day at the forest-house, a late discovery of hers, and
he was again sitting there, with the sheets before her. This
forest-house was none of those modern structures in the Swiss
style that one sees planted on the edges of forests. It was
an ancient cottage, with slanting walls and crooked windows,
behind which the white crocheted curtains of the forester's
wife appeared but dimly. The building had never rejoiced
either in tiles or slates ; a well-preserved, stout roof of thatch
oovered it, crowned with a chimney mighty enough to suggest
that a whole regiment of soldiers might have been cooked
for and baked for in the fireplace within the house. A
broad path, bounded by a low picket-fence, led through the
little front garden directly to the house-door, usually stand-
ing hospitably open, affording a glimpse of the sanded floor
inside. In one corner of the fence stood a wooden bench
overshadowed by a lofty pear-tree, the trunk of which was all
wt eathed and hung with a luxuriant wild hop-vine. Here sat
Liana before a table, which the forester's wife had covered
with a cloth, and upon which she had placed the coffee-machine.
The old house was buried in the depths of the forest ; there
was no extended view in any direction, although, perhaps,
from the dim little window in the gable, or the dovecot on the
roof, a glimpse might be had of mountain-peaks, or even of a
bit of the mosaic roof of Castle Schbnwerth. Verbenas and
THE SECOND WIFE. 181
dahlias were blooming in the garden, and before the door
stood a fine oleander in a wooden tub, while scarcely ten steps
off the blue harebells waved all around, djunp fresh green
mosses covered the roots of the trees, and in yet deeper shade
little pale fungi peeped up everywhere. H?re Liana always
had a sensation of solitude that did her good. No one molested
her. The forester's wife kept at a respectful distance. The
rbrester was almost always absent with his dogs and assistants,
and silence, an enchanting silence, Teigned about the old
straw-thatched cottage, broken only by the cooing of the
doves, and now and then by a gentle low from the cow in hei
citable.
The young wife in her light summer dress wight well have
passed for the forester's fair daughter, so maidenly and young
did she look sitting under the tree, while the forester's huge
striped cat, showing small respect for Liana's air aw hat, which
was lying beside her, occupied the other half of the bench.
The brass coffee " machine" shone like gold, beside a loaf of
schwarzbrod and a plate of butter, with a lacquered basket of
yellow pears just shaken from the tree.
This tempting arrangement was pushed aside for the mo-
ment. Leo had found a late strawberry-blossom, and was
busied, with his mother's assistance, in preparing it for his
herbarium. His brown curls were nestling close among her
golden braids ; the rosy glow of youth coloured the cheeks
of both; they were in the full enjoyment of the delicious air
and freedom of the forest.
" There comes papa !" Leo shouted, suddenly, rushing with
outspread arms down the dim forest-path that opened just op-
posite the spot where they were. And in its depths Mainau
appeared, walking quickly towards the forest-house in a light
summer coat, stick in hand. Liana arose and went to meet
him. while he tossed the boy high in the air, and, with a kiss,
placed him on the ground again.
16
182 THE SECOND WIFE.
"From the depths of the forest, Mainau? And on foot?"
she asked, in surprise.
" Good heavens ! I was tired of rattling along on the high-
way. I drove over, and I left the carriage at the turning
of the road."
" But it is a long walk from there?"
He shrugged his shoulders with a smile. " Nothing at all
when one has not seen his boy for so long. Your note told
me that I should find Schnwerth deserted at this hour."
He approached the table. " Why, how pleasant and homelike
this looks !" he said, taking a seat upon the bench, carefully
pushing the cat only a little aside, that her rights might not
be too much infringed.
Liana vanished for a moment within the forest-house and
returned with hot water. In an instant the flame was burning
beneath the little machine, and soon the delicious aroma of
the coffee mingled with the air of the forest. As if she were
really a forester's daughter, the young wife then deftly cut and
spread some inviting slices of bread-and-butter.
" No, my boy, that is mamma's place," said Mainau, as he
gently thrust Leo aside from the bench upon which he was
climbing, and with a motion of his hand invited Liana, who
had just filled the cups, to take her seat beside him.
She hesitated ; he certainly might have pushed off the cat,
foi the space upon the other side was really very narrow ; but
he did not do so. Her embarrassment was relieved, however,
by the forester's wife bringing out a cane chair ; she placed
Leo upon the bench and herself took the chair. Mainau
threw his hat upon the grass, and ran his fingers through his
thick brown curls ; the forced smile with which he greeted the
forester's wife was anything but grateful.
"Now I have seen with my own eyes what an unhappy
marriage it is," she said within-doors to her old maid-servant.
" Just peep out. They are not even sitting beside each other,
THE SECOND WIFE. 183
and he looks as if the sweet, gentle lady had poured out vin-
egar for him with those lovely hands, instead of coffee. Such
a little spitfire as his first wife was the one for him. Men are
so queer!"
The shadow upon Mainau's brow had vanished. He leaned
back upon the bench, so that the tendrils of the hop-vine
swept across his forehead ; his glance strayed from the green
depths of foliage above him to the picturesque cottage and the
rustic table.
" We seem to be playing a scene from the Vicar of Wake-
field," he said, smiling. "I really did not know that we had
so charming a bit of forest loveliness here. The forester is
begging for a new roof, to replace the straw one; but I cannot
have it changed." With an air of great content he sipped his
coffee. " To find a table all spread here in the depths of the
forest, when one has been driving on a dusty road, and walking
several miles, is "
" Oh, I know what it is," his young wife interrupted him,
eagerly. " When I used to come home with Magnus from
one of our expeditions in search of plants, tired and hungry,
with burning hands and feet, and turned into the long alley
by the fountain that you must remember, I could see from
afar the table spread behind the glass wall of the garden-room,
and the dear, ugly old arm-chairs that you must remember too,
placed around it, while Ulrika would light the little spirit-lamp
beneath the tea-kettle as soon as she saw us coming. Such a
return is delightful, especially if you have been hurry-
ing to avoid a storm and have felt the first drops of the
shower upon your face, and can rest quietly in the sweet se-
curity of home and hear the wind whistle and the rain patter
down outside."
" And such a return home you have pined for ever since you
came to Schnwerth ?"
Involuntarily she clasped her hands ftpon her breast, and
184 THE SECOND WIFE.
her eyes sparkled ; but she did not utter the " yes" that hovered
upon her lips.
" Mamma always says that the last Trachenbergs are dying
out and degenerate," she said, avoiding a direct reply, with a
charming smile. "The desire to live a quiet, content home-
life, and to find one's own pleasure in ministering to the hap-
piness of those whom we love, may be commonplace, as mamma
says it is, and certainly there would have been no chance for
it to strike the smallest root at Rudisdorf ten years ago ; but
it has been a blessing indeed to us children. And yet we
are no recluses, who would like to confine our interests within
the narrow circle of home; we are restless enough, and like
to know what is going on in the world. You will laugh when
I tell you that we gave up sugar in our coffee, and butter on
our bread, that we might buy books and scientific apparatus
and subscribe to certain periodicals. Such a life spent together
with common interests is so delightful ; and now that I have
read your Norway letters, I cannot understand oh, they are
delicious, they go to my very heart!" she interrupted herself,
laying her hand upon*fche manuscript on the table. " If you
could only be induced to publish them "
" Hush ! not a word more, Juliana !" he cried, a sudden
paUor chasing from his cheek the glow produced there by his
wife's first enthusiastic words. "Do not conjure up again
those ugly spirits now slumbering, quelled by your own two-
edged weapon !" He pressed his hand upon his breast-pocket.
" I had your letter with me in Wolkershausen ; it is well written,
Juliana, so well written that it ought to be sown broadcast, as
a spell to exorcise the vanity of the male sex. You have a
clear, philosophic mind. I grant that you are right in many
things, although I do not believe that one must be impoverish ed
to learn that the familiar sympathetic life of home is a life of
true enjoyment."
He took up his manuscript absently and turned over the
THE SECOND WIFE. 185
leaves, from between which flattered a few smaller sheets.
These he picked up in surprise.
" Yes, only think," Liana said, with a low laugh, " your
vivid descriptions had such an effect upon me that involun-
tarily I took up my pencil and began to illustrate them."
" You have an immense deal of talent, Juliana, these are
charmingly done ! How odd that your pencil should follow
thd d ascriptions so closely that it would seem you had written
them and not I ! This pictured criticism hints at every thought
that was in my mind, and yet good heavens ! what am I
saying ? It is the deadliest, the most passionless objectivity
that makes you my master." He spoke harshly, and his voice
had a sharp, hard sound. " What if we went into partner-
ship, Juliana? That is, I would write and you should illus-
trate ?" he added, lightly.
" Gladly. Send me as many letters of travel as you will n
" To my divorced wife ?"
She shrank involuntarily. She might, indeed, have said to
him, " Our attitude towards each other, in Schonwerth is all
wrong; we ought to share each other's joys and woes, and yet
our interests are utterly divided. You ought to be my pro-
tector, and yet you allow me to be ill treated, and it never
occurs to you to lift your finger to prevent it ; our connection
is immoral, and I repudiate it. On the other hand, I would
consent to much that would seem unfitting in the eyes of
the world." Of all that she thought she only said this last,
and added, "I think an author might be allowed to corre-
spond with the illustrator of his works. Who could complain
if we did not part in hostility, but remained friends in spite
of "
" How dare you offer me this ? I wish for no friendship
from you 1" he exclaimed, almost savagely, as he rose hastily.
* I have fallen low enough in my own esteem, but I am one
of those who will starve rather than bog."
16*
18G THE SECOND WIFE.
Perhaps the forester's wife had been watching them through
the half-open window, and anticipated a violent matrimonial
dispute, for, in a low tone, she called Leo away to show
him a colt at the back of the house. She was sorry for the
child.
Mainau walked some paces along the picket-fence, gazed
for a few moments at the marigolds bordering a cabbage-bed,
and then came slowly back to the table, where Liana was
gathering together, with trembling hands, the sheets of paper
that were scattered upon the grass.
" Has everything gone on as usual at Schbnwerth during
my absence?" he asked, with forced composure, drumming
with his fingers upon the table.
" I have nothing unusual to report, save that Gabriel is
drowned in tears in view of his approaching departure, and
that Frau Lhn seems much agitated and very unhappy.' '
" Frau Lhn ? What affair is it of hers ? And what in-
duces you to think that anything can agitate that woman ?
How strangely, how fancifully, you regard everything at Schn-
werth ! Lhn, that masculine creature, that rough-hewn block,
without nerves of any kind ! Why, she will be thankful to be
rid of the boy."
" That I decidedly do not believe."
"Ah ! you think her full of sensibility, I suppose ; just as
you have discovered in that spiritless, puny boy the soaring
genius of a Michael Angelo 1"
His sneer, evidently intended to hurt and offend her, irri-
tated her, but she would not quarrel with him.
" I do not recollect having compared Gabriel to any of the
great masters," she replied, looking gravely at him ; " I only
said that a decided talent for art was being smothered in him,
and I now repeat this emphatically."
" Pshaw ! who is smothering it ? If it is as remarkable as
you suppose, it will find fitting soil in the cloister. Many
THE SECOND WIFE. 187
a famous painter has been a monk. Besides, where is the
use of discussing it ? Neither my uncle nor I have made a
priest of the boy ; we are only fulfilling a dead man's last
will."
" Have you ever seen, and conscientiously examined, this
last will ?"
He turned upon her, and his angry glance shot fire. " Juliana,
take care," he said, in a low tone, raising his forefinger. " You
seem to me to wish to attaint the house you are about to leave.
You would like to be able to say, * I grant that bankruptcy has
left an ugly stain upon the Trachenberg name, but all is not;
as it should be at Castle Schbnwerth ; a story might be told of
that great wealth which would hardly sound well.' But let
me tell you, in answer to these suspicions, that while my
uncle is avaricious, arrogant to the last degree, and can be
malicious enough on occasions, his clear head and cold tem-
perament, that make him inaccessible to the temptations of
evil passions, have enabled him to preserve uninjured the
lofty principles of a genuine nobleman ; as such I trust him
blindly, and regard even the slightest hint as to any dis-
honourable act a forged will, for example as a deadly insult
to my honour. Take heed to what I say, Juliana. And now
I think it is time to go home ; there is an ominous murmur
among the topmost boughs of the trees ; although it is but
the first of September, the sultry weather forebodes a storm. -
Our return home will scarcely resemble the one you pictured
bo delightfully, but what of that? We must learn to do
without it."
She turned from him and went into the house to get Leo.
Her every nerve thrilled. " Liana, he is terrible I" Ulrika had
exclaimed to her upon her marriage-day, and yet then he had
merely been coldly composed. What would she have said to
such an outbreak as this, when his tone and gestures had been
fairly annihilating? And yet strange to say Liana had
188 THE SECOND WIFE.
been silenced and distressed as she listened. She was deeply
offended by his unjust accusations; but he was more compre-
hensible to her thus than when shrouded in his artificial indif-
ference and mock air of ennui. This was his true character,
the same that was revealed in his writings, and that suddenly
attracted her in spite of herself. How else could she have
proposed to him a kind of friendly alliance? And at the
thought she buried her burning face in her hands, for had
not her proposal been rejected ?
CHAPTER XIX.
Dark clouds with white outlines that predicted hail were
fl ving above the Schn werth domain as the little party issued
from the forest near the huntsman's cottage. Mainau, who
had walked on before without speaking a word, proposed to
await the storm in the little cottage ; but Liana reminded him
of the HofmarschalPs anxiety upon Leo's account, and so they
hurried through the garden. The wind whistled shrilly, the
leaves were whirled from the fruit-trees, and the ripe fruit was
blown to the ground with many a dull thud.
Mainau made an impatient gesture when a groom informed
him, as they approached the castle, that the riding-horses of
the duchess and her maid of honour were in the stable ; her
highness had been riding, and had " taken refuge" in the castle
from the coming storm.
"Eh! shall we not have a delightful return to Schn werth?
Could one be received more amiably and graciously ?" Mainau
asked, sarcastically, indicating with an inclination of his head
the steps of the grand entrance. The duchess in her blue
riding-habit appeared from the glass door. The blast tossed
THE SECOND WIFE. 189
the long black curls hanging down her back, and tore at the
ostrich plume in her hat ; but she seized the balustrade on the
landing with both hands, and looked down at the apparently
harmonious pair advancing to the steps, with Leo between
them, in such incredulous amazement that she quite over-
looked Mainau's salutation. She hastily withdrew, with a
haughty turn of her head, into the salon, where the baron
and baroness found her seated comfortably upon a lounge
with the court chaplain and the Hofmarschall.
It almost seemed as if the thunder-clouds without had in-
vaded the apartment and were hanging from the ceiling, so
oppressive was the twilight that reigned in the spacious room.
The white alabaster ornaments upon the walls glimmered ghost-
like, but the angry countenance of the royal lady had a still
more ghastly hue ; the dim, uncertain light quenched the bril
liancy of her beautiful eyes ; they shone like dull coals beneath
the drooping brim of her light-gray felt hat. She replied to
Liana's courteous greeting by a haughty inclination of her
head.
"What new whim has seized you, Raoul?" cried the Hof-
marschall, peevishly, to his nephew as he entered. " Leaving
your horses and carriage behind, to enjoy a sentimental walk
in the woods 1 Do you know that they very nearly came to
grief? How could you intrust those spirited Wolkershausen
horses to such a stupid fellow as Andre7 They ran away with
nim, and he reached home half dead with fright.' 1
u Odd ! he has had the sole management of them for a year.
I suppose they shied again at the milestones. And my ' walk
in the woods' had nothing in the world to do with sentiment ;
I merely objected to being scorched any longer by the burning
sun."
"And you, madame, had better have gone alone to youi
forest-house, for which you have suddenly developed such a
enthusiasm," the old man said, sharply, to Liana, without
190 THE SECOND WIFE.
turning his head towards her; he deemed it unnecessary to
change his comfortable posture on her account. " Let me beg
of you not to lay such exclusive claim to my grandson as
Trachenberg property, with which you think you may do as
you please. I have had a very anxious hour on the child's
account."
"I am very sorry for it, Herr Hofmarschall," Liana frankly
replied, entirely overlooking his offensively impertinent words
And manner.
The duchess was evidently relieved. She drew Leo towards
her and caressed him. " Here he is again, uninjured, my dear
Herr von Mainau," she said, soothingly, to the old man.
Leo rudely extricated himself from the embrace of those
beautiful arms; he always obstinately insisted that he did not
like " the crown-prince's mamma." But he was greatly pleased
with her highness's riding-whip, that lay on the table before
hei The handle terminated in a beautifully modelled tiger's
head of wrought gold with diamond eyes. " The riding-whip
is in the picture that used to stand upon papa's writing-table,"
he said, he meant the photograph of the duchess in her
riding-dress. " But it isn't there now," he continued, making
the whip whistle in the air, ; nor any of the other pictures
either; and the paper is a beautiful dark-red where they hung;
and the stupid blue shoe is gone "
" What, Baron Mainau 1 have you made a tabula rasa .?" the
duchess asked, hastily. " Have you banished all your mementos
together?" There was all the pride of a royal mistress in her
bearing ; . but her low, deprecatory tone spoke of a kind of eager
terror as it were. She knew the arrangement of Mainau's
rooms well ; during the life of his first wife they had frequently
been thrown open to the gay world.
He stood before her, and encountered the burning glance of
her eyes with a calm, almost an amused, air. " They are care-
fully packed up, your highness," he said. " I am going away
THE SECOND WIFE. 191
for a long absence, and could not leave these memorials to the
dust or the careless hands of servants.' 1
" But, papa, you have put my picture where the glass case
with the shoe used to be ; and the new picture that mamma
painted hangs on the wall," Leo went on to declare.
Mainau did not look at the duchess, or at any one of those
present, as Leo spoke, except his young wife, towards whom
he turned h istily, and almost angrily, as if intensely annoyed
that she should hear these childish revelations.
" Then you confiscated that picture, Raoul ?" exclaimed the
Hofmarschall. "I took the liberty of doubting the Frau
Baroness's denial of having appropriated it again. I pray your
pardon, madamel I did you injustice." And he inclined his
head with ironical gravity to Liana. "I am content; it will
do no harm in your possession, Raoul ; let it hang in the recess
of the window. But do you know the price set upon it by the
artist? Forty thalers "
" I beg you to leave to me alone the care of adjusting that
matter," Mainau interrupted him, with some violence. The
old man shrank back at sight of that wrathful face.
The duchess and her maid of honour sat by, not at all com-
prehending this little dialogue; but the court chaplain, who
had been leaning back indifferently, now started forward,
and, with his hands on the arms of his chair, gazed with
almost demoniac intentness into the baron's handsome angry
face, as if to read there some carefully-guarded secret.
" Good heavens, Raoul, this irritation is very unnecessary I
Do not excite yourself. I only want justice to be done," said
the Hofmarschall.
Mainau looked at him gravely. "I willingly believe you,
uncle ; but it often happens that your manner of doing justice
is unfortunate, to say the least. No one has more reliance
upon your sense of right than I hare. You are the only Mainau
now upon whom I can depend with all my pride of rank, all
192 THE SECOND WIFE.
my confidence in the integrity of those bearing our name.
Apropos, now that I think of it, will you let me look over
those papers by which Uncle Gisbert communicated with those
around him in his last illness ? I was vividly reminded of him
at Wolkershausen, as I stood before that wonderful portrait
of him and saw to my regret how it had suffered from the
dust and damp. It must be restored. Those papers are his
last words to us."
"You shall have them; do you want them immedi-
ately ?"
"Are they not there in one of your curiosity-drawers ? M
Baron Mainau asked, lightly, pointing to the rococo cabinet.
" If you would have the goodness to open it."
The Hofmarschall amiably arose, and hobbled across the
room. He opened the drawer in which lay the Countess
Trachenberg's note. With the tips of his fingers he held up
the rose-coloured paper to the duchess, smiling maliciously.
" Fair memories, your highness ; ashes of roses, nothing more,
but worth thousands to me," he said, as he tossed it back into
the drawer. Then he took out a thick roll of papers tied
with a black riband and handed it to Mainau, who instantly
untied it.
"Ah! his directions with regard to Gabriel are the first to
appear," said Mainau, taking a thin strip of paper from the
interior of the roll. " It was the last expression of his will in
writing, was it not?"
"It was his last will," the Hofmarschall replied, as he
returned to his wheeled chair.
Mainau took out two or three other papers, and laid them
Bide by side on the table. " It is very remarkable," he said.
" Tlys last direction was written, they say, only a few hours
before his death, and yet there is not the slightest change in
Lis peculiar, decided handwriting: every comma and period is
exact; the approach of death had no effect upon the steadiness
THE SECOND WIFE. 193
of his hand. It was fortunate ; for discredit might else easily
have been cast upon these unwitnessed documents.' '
The duchess with some curiosity took one of the strips
from his hand. " A characteristic hand, but difficult to de-
cipher," she observed. " 1 1 expressly desire that the boy
Gabriel be devoted to the service of the Church. In the retire-
ment of the cloister let him pray for his fallen mother' "
she read, with hesitation.
" Would you not also like to look at these interesting memo-
rials of a dying man, Juliana?" Mainau asked, turning towards
his young wife, who stood with her hands resting upon the high
back of an empty arm-chair. She did not look at him as he
sought thus to shame her. Not one of all those about her
suspected his meaning, but every word was a well-aimed thrust
at her alone. Why had she been so bold as to stretch forth
a hand to lift the veil from the secret at which Frau Lhn had
hinted? Mainau held out to her two sheets of paper; without
touching them she carefully compared them. There was the
same handwriting on each sheet, the same flourish after the
concluding word; and these characters were too original,
too oddly characteristic, to leave a chance for their successful
imitation; but yet
The entrance of a footman with a card for Mainau put an
end to this distressing scene.
"Oh, yesl" cried the Hofmarschall, lightly tapping his
forehead. " I entirely forgot, Kaoul ! An hour ago a young
man drove up, and alighted with such an easy air of assur-
ance as to make it plain that he intended to remain here. He
announced that he was here by your desire, and had I not
enjoyed the priceless pleasure of welcoming her highness, I
should have sent for him to know what he wants "
"Ho is to remain here, uncle; it is Leo's new tutor," re-
plied Mainau, composedly, as he carefully gathered the papers
together.
N 17
194 THE SECOND WIFE.
The Hofmarscliall leaned forward as if he had not heard
aright. " My dear Raoul, I must have misunderstood you, '
he said, slowly emphasizing every word. " Did you really
say Leo's new tutor? Heavens! have I been sleeping or
delirious for months, to have known nothing of it ?"
Mainau's lips quivered sarcastically. " The change has not
been contemplated for months, uncle. The young man was
recommended to me some time ago, and now that I want him
I sent for him. Fortunately, he was without engagement,
and has arrived two days earlier than I had intended, which
is the only reason why you were not advised of his coming, at
least a day before his appearance."
" It would have made no difference in my express desire that
this same young man should not remain in Schbnwerth."
Mainau was just about to carry the loose papers in his hand
back to the cabinet ; but at the last words, which were spoken
with ineffable impertinence, he turned and looked at the speaker.
The ladies present involuntarily cast down their eyes at the
angry expression of that handsome face.
The Hofmarschall was no whit abashed ; he was raging, as
was plainly to be seen in the quiver of his pointed chin, and
the way in which his white fingers clutched the crimson silk
pocket-handkerchief lying upon his lap. " May I be per-
mitted to ask at least what has induced this coup-cF6tat on
your part?"
"You can easily answer that question yourself, uncle,"
Mainau replied, controlling himself, but with a contemptuous
srug. "lam about to travel, I think I have said so often
enough, to be gone a year ; the baroness is going to Rudis-
dorf, she will no longer instruct Leo," at this cold declaration
a glance of ill-concealed triumph shot from beneath the duch-
ess's drooping eyelids to where the young wife was standing,
composed and calm in her former attitude, " and and tl ig
is more important than all we can hardly require that hi*
THE SECOND WIFE. 195
reverence should come so frequently during the winter to
Sch'nwerth to impart religious instruction to Leo."
"Ah, bah! That is all nonsense That is no reason
in your own eyes. On the contrary, you know that our
excellent court chaplain has lately even offered to instruct the
child in other branches "
" Oh, yes, I remember," Mainau replied, drily ; " but you
cannot wonder that, with my horror of all perverted views of
history and science, I should decline to accept so kind and
disinterested an offer."
u Herr Baron !" exclaimed the priest.
"Your reverence ?" Mainau asked, slowly, in a scornful
tone, as with half-closed eyes he measured the man with a
long, searching glance.
His contempt was crushing. The priest arose and looked
as if he would have made an angry rejoinder, but the Hof-
marschall put his hand upon his arm, and endeavoured to
draw him down into his seat again.
" Raoul, I do not understand you. How can you insult
his reverence thus, and in the presence, too, of her highness
the duchess ?" he cried, in a low voice.
"Insult? What have I said? I ask yourself, Does
the Church treat of things as they are ? Must it not, if it
would retain its authority, obstinately deny much that is as
clear as that two and two make four? Does it not mako
planets stationary that, in obedience to the laws of the Eternal
Creator, are in continual motion? Does it not represent as
the work of good or evil spirits what is due to the intelligence
and activity of mortal man ? Does it not exalt all the hocus-
pocus of penance and pilgrimage above the efficacy of the
intellect of the physician, above the means of healing that the
love of God has placed at our disposal, yes, even above His
almighty wisdom, alleging that He may be induced theroby
to set aside laws that He himself has ordained ?"
196 THE SECOND WIFE.
The Hofmarschall clasped his hands in dismay, and sank
back in his arm-chair. " Heaven help us, Raoul ! I nevei
before saw you thus."
"True," Mainau replied, shrugging his shoulders, "you
have not; I have never had much to say about all this:
the weak arguments and logic of these people are pro-
voking enough, sheltering themselves, as they do, with an air
of conquest behind their ' all things are possible with God ;'
but who wants to pull a nest of black wasps about his
ears, here in God's lovely world which he would fain enjoy ?
I have been somewhat startled from my indolent silence, how-
ever, by the plan to blow up the witch in the Indian garden,
which came within a hair of costing my boy his eyesight. I
mistrust the religious teaching that bears such fruit, and it
seems to me that our only chance of a radical cure is in
beginning with youthful brains as soon as possible, since very
little can be done with the elder thousands that cumber the
earth."
" How unjust, Baron Mainau ! Is this your opinion of
sacred simplicity ?" cried the bigoted maid of honour, who
could no longer restrain herself. " Did you not, only a few
days ago, declare how much you admired it in women ?"
" And I say the same to-day, fair lady," he replied, falling
back into his usual frivolous tone. " A smooth white brow
beneath its silken curls, never thinking deeply, and sweet red
lips that prattle innocently, can anything be more charming
in our eyes? Oh, yes, I love these women, but I do not
respect them."
" And when the silken curls are gray, and the sweet red
lips are no longer wreathed with childlike smiles, then the toy
is thrown aside, eh, Baron Mainau?" the duchess asked,
sharply, as with careless grace she described figures upon the
table with the handle of her riding-whip, the diamond eyes
of the tiger gleaming pi ismatically as she did so.
THE SECOND WIFE. 197
"Do such women desire anything else, your highness?"
Mainau asked, in return, with a cold smile.
" It is time, then, that we took up again our Latin and
chemistry, with which our school-girl days were tormented I"
laughed the royal lady, with a sneer. " They used to say
that I learned quickly and easily, the faculty may have
diminished with years, I might try What would yoit
think, Baron Mainau, if, upon your return from the East, I
greeted you with a Latin address, and then conducted you
into my laboratory to regale you with a few choice scientific
experiments ?"
" Ah,,a blue-stocking in dishabille, with her hair in dis-
order !" Mainau exclaimed, joining in her scornful laugh. " Oh,
your highness, this antipathy of mine is indelible ; but it has
occurred to me lately that there may be women who intelli-
gently investigate the wonders of nature, whose clear mental
organization scorns the leading-strings of tradition, and longs
to discover and judge for itself, but with whom this desire is
secondary to that which animates them to preserve undimmed
the fire on the hearth of home, with all the grace which is
woman's especial gift."
" My dear Baron Mainau, there may be some great artist
who will paint you such a woman !" said the maid of honour,
with a contemptuous titter, as the duchess arose, as if weary
of the conversation.
When Mainau and the court chaplain began their short war
of words, Liana had taken Leo's hand in hers and retired with
him to a distant window-recess. The rain had come; it was
descending in a pouring shower, dashing against the window-
panes, and hiding the andscape outside behind a gray veil,
tli rough which the tall trees, swaying and tossing, looked like
phantoms striving to break the spell that chained them to one
spot. The lightning had ceased to play without, but the
tormy atmosphere inside, from which liana had turned away,
17*
198 THE SECOND WIFE.
was still threatening. What strange denial was this from
Mainau of those precepts which he had hitherto advocated
for the sake of peace? Was this but another caprice, akin to
the one which had induced him to marry a Protestant, impov-
erished wife? or was it due to a radical mental change?
Liana did not turn round, not even when she heard chaim
pushed away and the court chaplain's firm, majestic step, as
be walked towards the glass door. Immediately afterwards
Mainau audibly closed the drawers in the cabinet. Almost at
the same moment a train rustled ; there was a strong odour of
millefleurs, the favorite perfume of the duchess, in the air near
the window, and an arm was suddenly passed about Liana's
slender waist. "Your figure is charming, lady fair," a voice
it was that of the duchess hissed in her ear; "but I am not
afraid of those soft, strong arms. Tou must yield. The in-
exorable Eastern journey will be your ruin."
The lips that uttered these words were white as ashes; and
the Medusa face that looked into her own as she turned in
terror, fairly petrified Liana.
" Let go of my mamma; you hurt her I" cried Leo, pushing
between the two ladies ; but the duchess had already retreated.
" Not for the world, my little man ; how could I have the
heart!" she said, with a gay laugh, as she stepped up to the
mirror to set her hat more firmly upon her head and put up
the curls which the damp air had untwisted. The maid of
honour hastened to assist her.
Meanwhile, Liana left the recess and passed near her hus-
band, her pulses still throbbing with terror. " Never let that
woman touch you again !" he said, in a voice so low that she
alone heax 1 it. " I will not have it I" Words and manner
were harsh and peremptory, and she involuntarily stood still.
" Heavens, what a storm ! How provoking ! My Armmius
will have to spend the night at Schb'nwerth," said the duchess
at the same moment, still occupied before the mirror, from the
THE SECOND WIFE. 190
depths of which her large eyes gleamed strangely. " "Will you
have the great kindness, Baron Mainau, to have me driven
home? I must go back, and it is almost too late now. M
Mainau courteously declared that he should have the
pleasure of driving her himself, and left the room to give the
necessary orders, and to say a few words of welcome to the
new tutor.
As if nothing had occurred, the duchess seated herself bo-
aide the Hofmarschall, who had shrouded himself in an angry
silence, and talked with him upon commonplace matters, draw-
ing the court chaplain into the conversation, until Mainau
returned wrapped in his cloak, and two footmen stationed
themselves with umbrellas outside the glass door, while tho
fiery chestnuts stamped and snorted before the steps.
"Will you come with us?" she asked the court chaplain.
He excused himself upon the ground of a game of chess
that he had promised to play with the Hofmarschall in the
evening, and recoiled as Mainau negligently brushed past him
to open the glass door.
The beautiful princess swept out with a graceful inclination,
and the Hofmarschall threw himself back in his chair with
a sigh. "Pray close the door, your reverence 1" he said,
peevishly. "You ought not to have had it opened; but I
said nothing, since your reverence seemed to wish it. That
wretched air went through me like a knife ; to-morrow I shall
be miserably ill ; and then all this annoyance and vexation is
too much. Pray conduct me to my own warm room; I will
rest there until the fire is lighted here ; it has grown bitterly
cold. AUons, Leo, come with me I" he called to the boy, vLo
was nestling close to Liana's side.
" I want to stay with mamma, grandpapa ; she is all alone,"*
said the child.
"Your mamma is never alone; she holds commune with
nature, and has no need of us," replied the old man, roa*
200 THE SECOND WIFE.
liciously. " Come here, as I bid you." He took the reluctant
boy by the hand and drew him with him, as the court chaplain
pushed the wheeled chair from the room.
CHAPTER XX.
Liana returned to the window. The roll of the carriage-
wheels had died away in the distance; the woman with the
beautiful Medusa face, who loved him so passionately that she
forgot her royal dignity and was nothing in his presence save a
jealously loving woman, was driving through the forest, buried
in the white satin cushions of his carriage. Why had he
brought away the young girl from Rudisdorf? Why had he
not wooed a royal bride? He would have been received there
with open arms. Liana thought of the encounter in the
folgst upon her marriage-day. There was some mystery here.
"This inexorable Eastern journey will be your ruin!" the
duchess had whispered, she seemed still to feel the hot breath
upon her neck. The ruin of what? She had done all that
she could to fulfil her duty, but, thank Heaven, her pride had
never failed her; she had never lifted a finger to gain Mainau's
love. The duchess was wrong there; but she was right in
maintaining that the contemplated journey would entirely dis-
solve the loosened tie, even though Liana did not persist in her
determination to go away. And it was humiliating ! When,
after a year or more, he returned, no one would remember
that a Countess Trachenberg had once passed some unhapj y
days at Schbnwerth, days full of severe trial and struggle; he
himself would have shaken off the ugly memory, and would
return to claim the lovely hand stretched forth to greet him
THE SECOND WIFE. 201
Involuntarily the young wife pressed her closed hand upon
her breast. What was this inexplicable pain that assailed
her? Was it so terrible, then, to be rejected for the sake of
another ? She thought of the moment when he forbade her
to allow the duchess to touch her, what was his motive?
Jealousy ; he grudged even to his wife that gracious contact.
She buried her face in her hands, what miserable weakuesi
was this?
She slowly left the window to go to her room. As she
passed the cabinet she suddenly paused; the key was still
sticking in the drawer. Mainau had forgotten to take it out,
and the Hofmarschall, in his vexation, had never thought of
asking for it. Liana's heart throbbed violently ; there lay the
paper upon which Gabriel's fate depended ; she would so like
to examine it once more ; such documents should be subjected
to other tests than the naked eye. But the drawer would
have to be opened ; it did not belong to her, and the key had
been left in it by mistake. Was it not dishonourable to take
out the paper? No, she would replace it uninjured; and
Mainau had asked his uncle for the roll of papers that she
might examine this particular one. She hastily opened the
drawer, her mother's pink note lay before her ; she shrank as
her hand accidentally touched it, the paper which she sought
was lying open on top of the others.
She took it out and breathlessly sought her apartments.
In a few moments it was placed beneath the microscope, hei
faithful aid in her studies. Involuntarily she recoiled ; the
inexorable glass revealed a terrible fraud. Every carefully-
written letter had been first traced in pencil ; and although
this could not be discovered by the naked eye, each pencil-
mark was now plainly visible, like a shadow, on each side of
the ink of these apparently firmly-written characters, and
where the ink was a little thin, the line of the lead could
plainly be discerned. It had been a laborious task; the
i*
202 THE SECOND WIFE.
forger had put together letters carefully traced from genuine
manuscripts to form the words to suit his purpose. But who
had done it? And why? The paper had been written
without legal witnesses ; the forgery had been committed to
exercise a moral influence upon one person whose voice was
all-powerful in this case ; that person was Mainau had he not
himself told her that he had at first considered the boy as his
uncle's lawful heir ? Had this been done for lands and wealth,
or had religious fanaticism also added an incentive to the
crime ? The last sentence was, " The woman must and shall
be baptized for the sake of her soul's salvation."
Liana threw herself upon her couch. Her pulses were throb-
bing violently, a nervous tremor made her step uncertain.
She must first be more composed ; she could see no one in
this state of agitation. Mainau had a noble nature; those
who knew him had seen clearly that to induce him to lend
himself to an injustice he must be deceived ; he could not be
tempted to a wrong which he could recognize as such. The
paper must be put back in the drawer, it must be taken
thence before his eyes ; for (and her lips quivered with pain
at the thought) he would sooner mistrust her, the stranger,
than believe that such frauds could have been perpetrated in
his Schbnwerth, the home of morality and honour. He
should learn the facts, Gabriel's future was at stake.
She slipped back to the salon. Meanwhile the fire had been
lighted. Heavy damask curtains were drawn close before
the windows, and had muffled the monotonous sound of the
plashing rain outside. The tea-table was spread, and in its
midst stood the large lamp, with a green shade over the* glass
globe, its light but scantily illumining the huge room ; the
furniture against the walls looked shapeless and strange,
and in the corners scarcely a ray of light penetrated ; but
around the fireplace the burning logs threw a bright gleam
upon the polished florr.
THE SECOND WIFE. 203
The young wife looked timidly around, no one was the^e.
She walked to the cabinet, opened the drawer, and, unrolling
ihe papers, put back the one she had brought. At this moment
her hand was seized and held in the drawer ; she could not
even cry out, so deadly was her terror, that made her feel as if
she shouli faint, as she turned and looked into the face of
the court chaplain. He threw his arm around her, clasped
her helpless figure close, and then pressed repeatedly to his
burning lips the hand which he still held.
" Compose yourself, dearest lady ! I alone saw you ; there
is no one except myself in the room," he whispered, in low,
soothing tones.
That voice restored her to herself; she tore herself from his
clasp and thrust his hand away. " What did you see?" she
asked, in a faltering voice, but her form dilated proudly.
" There is nothing of intrinsic value in these drawers. Could
I desire to steal ?"
" What an idea to be harboured behind that regal brow !
I would as soon attaint the memory of my mother with such
a foul suspicion as your pure soul, trust me ! This you can
understand, for was it not filial affection that brought you
hither? Who could blame you, madame, for wishing to de-
stroy the little note which has been used to torment you ?"
He took the note from the drawer. " Let us together burn
this rose-coloured witness of a mother's error."
She hastily snatched the letter from him, and threw it into
its former place. "Would that not be a theft? Is it
addressed to me?" she cried. "It must stay where it is. No
wrong that I could commit can wash the stain from my
mother's fair fame." She retreated to the other corner of the
cabinet, as if she oould hardly put space enough between her-
self and this priest who had dared to touch her. The green
light from the lamp fell upon her delicate, noble profile ; it
seemed cut in marble, so stern was its expression. Ho had
204 THE SECOND WIFE.
tried to entangle her in his toils ; had she displayed less firm
ness, had she shown the slightest hesitation, she would have
been lost ; he must learn that she thoroughly understood him.
" How dare you offer me aid to do a disgraceful deed ?" she
said.
" You wilfully misapprehend my motive and display hos-
tility towards me whenever you can," he said, bitterly, there
was a passionate tone in his utterances that was not feigned,
ehe could not but admit, " and yet you have no truer friend
on earth than I."
" I have two friends, my brother and sister. I desire no
other friendship," she replied.
At this icy repulse he struck his heart with his clenched
fist, and, with a strange fire in his eyes, advanced a step
towards her. " Madame," he said, hoarsely, "you should not
venture to use such haughty words here in Schbnwerth, where
you are but loosely planted in a foreign soil, a plaything for
every wind that blows "
" Thank God, it has not caused me to desert my principles in
the slightest degree.' '
" Of what consequence to the world are your mental con-
victions, while it whispers the most degrading things with
regard to your questionable position in this house, and the
motive in consequence of which you became Frau von Mai-
nau!"
She grew still paler. "What does that mean?" she said,
in a voice that trembled in spite of herself. " I know the
motive in consequence of which I am here. I am to be a
mother to Leo, and the mistress of the household a position
that in no wise insults my dignity as a woman," she added,
haughtily.
Her composure evidently aggravated him.
" It would be well could you really occupy that position !"
he said, hastily. " But the years and rank of the HofmarschaD
THE SECOND WIFE. 205
render the presence of a dame d'honneur at social festivities
entirely superfluous at Schnwerth. He also understands the
management of a household as few women can pretend to, and
Lee is to pursue a military career. He will soon leave Schn-
werth and the maternal guidance. That motive was hardly
worthy of consideration ; the spring of action was a burning
desire for revenge. It may, however, not be insulting to a
woman's dignity to know that she has been married solely to
wound and outrage another after a fashion which is the very
refinement of cruelty."
The large gray eyes of the young wife were riveted in
speechless horror upon the speaker; but the mute pain, the
undisguised terror of that look ^instigated him to inexorable
severity. " Whoever knows Baron Mainau knows that all he
does is for effect. Listen to his plan of action in this case.
In his youth he passionately loved a lady of high rank, who
returned his affection as ardently ; she was forced by her rela-
tives to resign him that she might accept the highest position
in the realm. Perhaps Baron Mainau is right in calling her
faithless ; but every one else saw in her act only a fearful sacri-
fice to the duties of her position. Death freed this woman,
who never had ceased to love him ; a new morning dawned
for the poor victim in ermine and purple. How gladly would
she at all times have cast aside regal show and splendour
to be a faithful, loving wife ! And Baron Mainau, who ever
foresaw what his course would be? During the time of her
mourning his intercourse with her was easy and unrestrained,
until the moment came when she could lay it aside, and, glow-
ing with love and hope, await the renewal of his suit. Then,
in the face of the assembled court, he coldly announced to her
his betrothal with Juliana, Countess von Trachenberg. It cer-
tainly produced a tremendous effect ; it was a fiendish triumph."
Liana had clasped her hands upon the carved corner of the
cabinet and leaned her brow upon them. She would gladly
18
206 THE SECOND WIFE.
have sunk into the ground, where she might no longer Lua
that pitiless voice as it went on wounding incurably her family
pride, her feminine dignity, and yes, her heart.
" Mainau cared little what took place after this farce was
concluded," the priest continued, hurriedly. It seemed as if
he hoarded every moment that was his, alone and without
witnesses, with this woman. " There is no room in that man's
soul for any sense of duty, as he showed by his ruthless neglect
of his first lovely, amiable, and noble wife," there she lifted
her head : the priest lied ; the woman who stamped and threw
about scissors in her impatience of contradiction was certainly
not noble, "and he had married her only to prove to the
royal lady that he cared nothing for her faithlessness. But,
madame, her position was an enviable one in comparison with
that of the second victim to his boundless vanity. She had
her father to befriend her. The second wife owns in him her
bitterest enemy. He now knows that this hated second mar-
riage was but the consequence of an inappeasable thirst for
revenge, knows that the royal lady will still bend all her ener-
gies to conquer in the end ; and he is her most zealous ally,
the Mainau pedigree will derive an additional splendour from
the nimbus of a royal alliance."
" Again I ask you why you say this to me," she suddenly
interrupted him, regaining her firm and dignified bearing.
"I am about voluntarily to depart, as they all know. I
shall make very little trouble for the duchess and her ally;
but while I still bear the name of Mainau, I will not suffer
the husband to whom I am bound to be slandered in my
presence, whatever his course may have been. I pray your
leverence to heed this. Besides, I cannot decide which
most to condemn, the levity of the man of the world, or
the frivolity of the priest, who, aware of the truth, dared
to invoke the blessing of Heaven upon such a crime. The
first made sport of women's hearts, after the fasluon of
THE SECOND WIFE. 207
his class; the other blasphemed God, transforming che altar to
a stage, upon which he acts the part of a clever mime." She
spoke loudly, earnestly; she forgot all prudence, all self-con-
trol. "This Schn werth is an abyss; to Mainau's honour be
it said, he is not aware of it ; he knows nothing of the dark
deeds that taint the air of his castle; he never dreams that
the documents upon which he places implicit confidence are
forged " She paused in terror, so vivid a ray of intel-
ligence suddenly animated the priest's features. He hastily
took from the drawer the paper she had examined and held it
towards the light.
" You mean this document, madame? The investigator has
examined it microscopically, and has discovered "
" That it is traced in pencil," she said, firmly,
" You are right ; every letter was traced against the window-
pane and then inked over," he rejoined, with perfect compo-
sure. " I know it perfectly well, and know, too, what a trying
task it was to the nerves, for I I myself composed and wrote
this paper. Oh, do not look away with such aversion, madame \
Is it nothing, does it not touch you, to have me thus humble
myself in your presence and confess? There is no cause why
you should not touch this hand. It wrought not for gold or
gain, not for earthly dominion, but for the realization of lofty
ideas. Might I not have so shaped this last will as to have
conferred wealth upon my order ? Baron Mainau believes in
the genuineness of the paper, he would not have disputed it
in any case ; and the Hofmarschall well, for certain reasons,
he would have been forced to yield it credence. But no
such gain occurred to me. I only wanted two souls: the
heathen mother to be baptized, the boy to be devoted to
the mission. Our century hates and persecutes as fanaticism
this devotion of an ardent human soul to the priestly calling;
it forgets that a flame encircled by an iron band soars heaven-
wards and "
v*
208 THE SECOND WIFE.
" Burns heretics," she interrupted, in an icy tone, as she
turned away.
He crushed the paper in his hand. " It soars no longer,"
he murmured, in half-stifled tones. " No fervent prayer, no
aelf-castigation, will ever avail to kindle it again: another fire
consumes me." He held out towards her his hand with the
crushed paper. " Madame, you can accuse me of forgery, and
with two words from your lips and this convincing document
Gabriel will be free. You can degrade me from my enviable
position, rob me of the power that I possess over the mighty
ones of the earth, do it! I will be silent; not an eyelash
shall quiver. Give me up to my numerous enemies. Only grant
that I when you have left Schnwerth may be near you."
She looked at him as if turned to stone. Was he insane?
Her stately figure took upon it new dignity. " Your reverence
forgets that the living in the gift of my brother, as lord of
Budisdorf, is Protestant," she said to him, over her shoulder,
with an icy smile.
"The psychologist is right it is true that those women
are the cruellest whose heads wear like a crown that golden
glory." The words came muttered, as it were, from his lips.
" You are wise, madame, and few in whose veins flows royal
blood are so haughty ; you imagine that with one turn of your
graceful head you can assert your position above the common
herd, whose place is in the dust. It may be so with others,
but not with me. I shall follow you step for step ; I will dog
your every movement; never will I withdraw the hand that I
have stretched forth towards you. Repulse me, crush me bc^
neath vour feet I will endure it all in silence, without resist-
ance ; but you will never be free from me. My Church re-
quires that her priest shall fast and pray, that in untiring zeal
he shall mine beneath the soil like a mole, that he shall bridge
the air. An enthusiasm far other than this fanatical self le-
votion shall animate me until you are minel"
THE SECOND WlbE. 209
She shuddered. Now she knew that he was not labouring
to win her soul for his Church. The perjured priest loved the
woman. She was horror-stricken, and yet this flood of elo-
quence, laying bare in its wild utterances all the stormy strug-
gles and sorrows of a human soul, while it repelled, exercisec
a certain magnetism over the young wife ; she had never be-
fore heard the undisguised language of absorbing passion from
a man's lips. Did he read the strange mixture of disgust and
a momentary attention in the expression of the beautiful pale
face that was turned upon him? Suddenly advancing to-
wards her, he sank upon the ground and extended his arms as
if to embrace her knees in entreaty. The green light from
the lamp fell full upon the marble regularity of his features,
upon the white spot in the midst of the dark masses of his
hair. A phantom finger seemed to Liana to point to that spot
as to the mark of Cain. She recoiled, wildly repulsing with
her beautiful hands the kneeling man. " Forger 1" she gasped.
" I would sooner drown in the depths of the sea than let youi
fingers touch even the skirts of my dress." With her hands
tightly clasped upon her breast, she crouched together like
a child that fears some terrible contact and yet cannot stir
from the spot. She could not go while the paper was in his
possession. She had recklessly betrayed her knowledge of his
crime.
The priest slowly arose. In the sudden breathless silence,
the noise of approaching wheels was heard, and instantly after-
wards the trampling of the chestnuts upon the gravel. Mai-
nau had already returned; he must have driven furiously.
At the sound the court chaplain stamped his foot impatiently,
and turned his head towards the window in an access of anger.
Liana drew a long breath ; not a moment was to be lost.
v I must entreat your reverence to put that paper again in its
place," she said, vainly endeavouring to give firmness to her
voice.
18*
210 THE SECOND WIFE.
" Can you suppose that I for one moment contemplate an act
of such good-humoured folly, madame ?" he asked, with a hoarse
laugh. " You think, then, that your mortally wounded victim
has no longer the power to defend himself. Oh, I am still able
to think. I know what you contemplate. You come here and
gain possession of this secret ; then, with your microscope iu
your hand, you prove to your husband and the Hofmarschall
that a terrible fraud has been perpetrated at Schnwerth, in-
volving a false heirship. Of course you cannot be permitted
to carry such a secret to Rudisdorf, and they will entreat you
to remain here. But what will you gain? Baron Mainau
does not love you; he never will love you, fair lady; his
heart is given to the duch'ess, and to her only. Now he is
indifferent to you, but after the discovery he will hate
you. And I see how self-forgetting is love, I will pre-
vent that."
Before she could understand what he intended, he had taken
the Countess Trachenberg's pink note from the drawer and
walked to the fire. It was of no avail that she flew to him
with a cry, and tried to arrest his hand, that she clasped the
arm of the man she had never thought to touch ; both paper
and note were thrown into the flames and shrivelled there to
ashes.
" Now accuse me, madame. In the search for the paper,
the Countess Trachenberg's note will also be missed, and 1
shall scarcely be suspected of burning that." He still stood
before the fire, as if to defend it from Liana's approach, al-
though not even the charred remnants of the paper could be
seen.
The young wife dropped her hands by her sides. The
light, as it shone upon her face, revealed the utter hope-
lessness of its expression. That strong but innocent virgin
soul was no match for the wily priest, and as she stood there
like a flower, delicate, tender, helpless, her terrified eyes gazing
THE SECOND WIFE. 211
into the flame, her head near the priest's shoulder, it seemed
as if by one energetic movement he might have snatched her
to him. She was as if paralyzed. One trembling sigh escaped
her lips ; the priest felt its breath.
"Madame, there is still time/' he cried, his face pale as
marble. " Be gentle and pitiful to me, and I will go on the
spot to the lords of Schn werth and confess.' '
She stepped back proudly, and her glance was keun and
haughty. "That is your own affair; act as you think fit,"
she said, in a cold, annihilating voice. " I sincerely wished
to save Gabriel ; I would have gone upon my knees to the
duchess to attain this end ; but I can own no fellowship with
a Jesuit. I can no longer help the boy; he must fulfil his
cruel destiny. Ah ! Germany is right in expelling fiom her
soil these arch-foes to patriotism, to spiritual deveijpment,
and to the harmony of sects. These are my last words to
your reverence. Now go and spin your mesh of intrigue
with regard to the letter of the Countess Trachenberg, deli
cately but surely, like a true disciple of Loyola."
She turned away, and was about to leave the room, when a
side-door was opened, and the Hofmarschall, leaning upon hia
stick, looked in.
"What are you doing, my dear friend?" he cried, as his
eyes sought to penetrate the depths of the apartment
"Heavens! does it take so long to turn a key in a lock'f '
At sight of him Liana stood still and looked him full in
the face, while the court chaplain remained in his place upon
the hearth, holding his hands out to the flame as if he were
cold.
The Hofmarschall hobbled in, forgetting to close the door
behind him, he was so struck by the attitude of the occupants
of the room.
" Ah, madame, are you here also ?" he said, propping him
aclf upon his crutch-handled cane. " Or you cannot p^issibly
212 THE SECOND WIFE.
have been here ever since ; you are too fond of employing every
moment industriously."
Suddenly, as if struck by a sudden suspicion, he turned his
head towards the cabinet; the fatal drawer was pulled out to
its utmost extent.
A long-drawn "A h!" came from the old man's lips.
"What, madame, have you been meddling ?" he asked, with a
cruel smile, almost gently, like some examiner who has just
seen the last point of defence fail the accused man before him.
He shook his head thoughtfully. " Impossible ! What did I
say ? Those beautiful, aristocratic hands, whose mistress is so
happy as to know herself the grand-daughter of a princess of
Thurgau those high-born hands, I say, never could conde-
scend so far as to meddle with the property of others -fi done!
I beg pardon, madame. It was an unseemly jest."
He hobbled to the cabinet, looked into the drawer, and be-
gan to search among the papers.
Liana clasped her hands upon her breast a fearful moment
was at hand. The man in the long black coat still gazed
steadily into the fire, as if he had not heard one word that
was spoken behind him; doubtless his campaign was all
planned.
The Hofmarschall turned round. "You, too, have been
jesting, madame," he cried, with a short laugh. " You wanted
Co play me a little trick. It was no more than reasonable. I
was a little indiscreet before her highness the duchess to-day.
I will be more prudent in future, I promise you. And now
pray, pray return me my charming billet-doux, dear to my
heart as you know it is. What! you refuse? I could almost
swear I see a little pink corner peeping from your pocket at
this moment. No ? Where is the Countess of Trachenberg's
letter, I say?" he added, suddenly changing his tone to one of
harsh, angry command, and in his irritation so far forgetting
himself as to raise his cane with an air of menace.
THE SECOND WIFE. 213
" Ask his reverence," liana replied, all the colour forsaking
her cheeks.
" His reverence ? Is the Countess Trachenherg his mother?
Hm I yes, perhaps he has been a witness of the deed, and you
now appeal to his chivalric courtesy, his Christian gentleness!
for succour ; but it can avail you nothing, madame. I must
hear from your lips where the letter is."
The young wife pointed to the chimney-place. " It is burned,"
she said, in a firm but unmelodious voice. At that moment
the court chaplain turned his head slightly for the first time,
with a half-dismayed, half-despairing glance at the speaker,
who never dreamed of availing herself of the only weapon at
hand, falsehood.
The Hofmarschall uttered an exclamation of anger, and,
unable to stand any longer, sank into the nearest arm-
chair.
"And you saw it done, your reverence? You quietly al-
lowed this infamous deed to be perpetrated?" he muttered,
between his teeth.
"I cannot answer you at this moment, Herr Hofmarschall;
you must first be more composed. The matter is very differ-
ent from what you suppose," the court chaplain replied,
evasively. He turned from the fire and advanced slowly
towards the old man.
"It needed but this, that you should go over to her. Will
that heretical spirit beneath those red braids turn the heads of
all the men? I long since began to mistrust Kaoul " He
bit his lips ; the last words had evidently escaped him invol-
untarily; but their effect upon the court chaplain was that of
an unexpected blow. With a glance of angry terror towards
the listener, he hastily raised his hand as if to lay it upon the
old man's thoughtless lips.
"I do not understand you, Herr Hofmarschall," he said
emphasizing every word in a menacing tone.
214 THE SECOND WIFE.
" Good heavens ! I meant with regard to his faith In Cathol-
icism/' the Hofmarschall replied, peevishly.
The man whose faith was just now under discussion was at
that moment ascending the broad steps covered with Byzantine
carpet in the hell. Liana was standing directly opposite the
open door of the salon. The brilliantly-lighted corridor led
out to the staircase, which was also a sea of light. Mainau
stood for one instant upon the topmost step, wrapped in his
dark cloak. Did he see the light dress of his wife in the dim
salon? He certainly had intended going to his own rooms,
but he turned into the corridor towards this apartment.
"Aha, here he comes! quite apropos!" said the Hof-
marschall, evidently rejoiced to hear the quick, well-known
tep approaching. He sat upright in his chair, as if he snuffed
the battle from afar, and rubbed his withered hands with a
ehuckle.
"Herr Hofmarschall, I must entreat you to be silent at
present," the court chaplain said, in a strange, peremptory
whisper, in which, in spite of himself, there was a shade of
terror.
Mainau, however, was already upon the threshold. "Will
your reverence allow me to hear it ?" he asked ; his sharp, suspi-
cious ear had caught the whisper. His flaming glance sought
the face of his young wife. " A secret, then a secret between
his reverence and my wife, which you must not betray,
uncle," he added, with slow emphasis. " I must confess, it
sounds very interesting. A secret between a strict Catholic
priest and a ' heretic' how piquant ! Do I not guess aright,
uncle? An interesting attempt at conversion ?"
"Not a bit of it, Eaoul. Our court chaplain is far too wise
not to see that it would be a waste of breath. Madame is not
even Protestant. No, my friend, the secret is her own, and
his reverence, who chanced to discover it, is too chivalric and
courteous to consent to compromise her. And I, too, would
THE SECOND WIFE. 215
have held my tongae good heavens ! if one is not a gentle-
man one is nothing; but what excuse can I give you? My
old head has grown too stupid to invent a story quickly enough,
and "
" To the point, uncle !" cried Mainau, in a hard, strained
voice, his face showing his agitation of mind.
" Oh, very well ; it is soon told. You left the key in the
drawer of the cabinet that contained the Countess of Trachen-
berg's letter. I must confess to having teased madame almost
too much with the interesting little memorial, and she probably
thought it had better disappear some fine day. She was alone
here in the salon, and made use of the favourable chance to
throw my little treasure, my pretty pink note, into the fire, eh,
what do you think of it? Unfortunately, I missed the key a
few moments before. His reverence kindly offered to get it
for me, and was thus, an involuntary witness of the auto-da-f6.
When I, wondering at his protracted absence, suddenly entered
the room, he was standing by the fire in evident agitation, and
the Frau Baroness was making a too tardy attempt to escape.
Look ! the open drawer tells the tale."
The young wife, who saw the coming storm about to
break upon her head, now took from her lips the handkerchief
she had held pressed to them, and advanced one step towards
her husband, her face pale as ashes.
"No need, Juliana!" he said, cold as ice, recoiling, and
raising his right hand, as if to .command silence. " My uncle
judges from his prejudiced point of view. You never touched
the paper. I know it, and let no one dare to repeat so vile an
accusation 1 But I must express my surprise at finding you
here at this time "
"Aha I we start, then, from the same point/' said the Hof-
marschall, with a short laugh.
" It will not be the hour for tea for some time yet," Mainau
continued, without heeding the interruption. " You cannot
216 THE SECOND WIFE.
have been embroidering by this dim light, and there is neitho
work-basket nor book to be seen. Moreover, you are always
the first to withdraw from this room and the last to appear in
it. I repeat that all these causes combine to make your pres-
ence here a riddle to me, and I can only explain it thus : You
have been requested to come hither at a certain time, and
you have complied, Juliana; the bird has flown into the snare,
and it is lost beyond hope of rescue. You are given over to
the hand which, of course without your consent, probably in
spite of your entreaty, did you the kindness to burn the com-
promising note. You are not yet fallen, but you are lost.
Why did you come ?"
"What do you mean, Raoul? What nonsense are you
talking?" the Hofmarschall cried, in amazement.
Mainau's bitter laugh rang through the room. "His
reverence will explain it to you, uncle. He has long been
netting such fat fish for his Church, that it is small wonder
if he wants to appropriate one pretty slender gold-fish for
himself. Your holy order, your reverence, has of late
years repudiated its oft-quoted motto, ' the end sanctifies the
means ;' but it is still a watchword, and I congratulate you
upon your skill in turning it to account in your own private
interests. Or are those lovely lips really destined only to tell
the beads of a rosary ?"
"I must confess, I do not know what you mean, Herr
Baron," the court chaplain replied, calmly. He had found
time to assume all his imposing dignity of tone and carriage,
although the gleam in his eyes hardly told of composure of
mind.
"Nonsense! I cannot in the least understand what you
would be at, Raoul," said the old man, moving uneasily in his
chair.
"But I know, Mainau," murmured Liana, as if crushed;
and then she raised her arms involuntarily above her head,
THE SECOND WIFE. 217
as if to ward off the destruction invoked by the con-
fession.
" What a farce !" the Hofmarschall said, in his grating voice,
indignantly turning his head aside; but the court chaplain
stood before him with a warning gesture.
" Do not transgress further, Herr Hofmarschall," he said,
sternly and peremptorily. "This poor tormented woman is
under my protection, and I will not suffer the heavenly purity
of her soul "
"Not one word more, your reverence!" Liana cried, indig-
nantly, with flashing eyes. "You know how with 'one turn
of my head I can assert my position above the common herd,
whose place is in the dust.' You know that 'few in whose
veins flows royal blood are so haughty as I, 1 your own words
of a few moments ago. And yet you dare, unasked, to stand
forth as my champion ? Do you not know that the Countess
Trachenberg resents and repels such insolence ? There, Herr
Hofmarschall, stands the actor, the hypocrite." She waved
her hand towards the priest. "Inquire of him. Let him
give you such an account of what took place here as suits both
himself and you. For myself, it would be a waste of words
to open my lips to you in self-defence."
She turned hastily away, but paused before her husband,
They stood face to face. " I am going, Mainau" she said ; but
in place of the decision and energy with which she had just been
speaking, there was now a kind of sob in her voice. " A few
days ago I could have left Schnwerth without wasting one
word upon you in vindication of my honour. To-day it is
different; the knowledge you have granted me of your mind
brings me nearer to you. I hold your powers in high esteem,
although this moment tells me, to my sorrow, how blinded and
weak they may become, how falso are your views of human
nature, that make it impossible for you to have faith in other'
abhorrence of sin. I myself can indeed neither tell you nor
k 19
218 THE SECOND WIFE.
write you the true account of this matter ; but I have a brother
and a sister: you shall hear from me through them."
She walked through the room into the corridor.
" For God's sake, Raoul," exclaimed the Hofmarschall, " let
there be no scandal ! You will not believe that arrant plotter?
I conjure you by your father's memory not to be influenced
to mistrust the tried and faithful friend of our family. Oh
heavens 1" And he turned to the priest. " My dearest friend,
take me away quick ! to my own room ! I am very ill."
And Liana heard his voice rise almost to a shriek.
He was almost worthy of his brother actor. This feigned
attack of illness was the cloak beneath the sheltering folds
of which he withdrew his friend and confidant from the effects
of his nephew's anger.
CHAPTER XXL
With a bitter smile, and struggling against her tears, Liana
descended the stairs. The three whom she left- behind her
might find their intercourse constrained and formal for a few
days, but time and conventionality would smooth away all
such results of the last hour; the earth would close above the
victim that had plunged into the gulf between them, and who
then would bestow one thought upon the divorced wife? In
the aristocratic world the grass grows quickly over such dis-
agreeable experiences.
The lamps were burning before the tall mirror in her dress-
ing-room. Hanna had evidently supposed that her mistress
would wish to change her light summer dress for something
warmer, the weather had grown so cold and damp. A fire
was lighted in the chimney, and threw its cheerful glare upov
THE SECOND WIFE. 219
the carpet and furniture of the room which she had learned
to feel was her own special domain, her home, and where she
now looked around her for the last time before leaving it.
She sent her maid away, and bolted the door of the blue
boudoir behind her.
The window-shutters were already closed, with the excep-
tion of those in the boudoir. These she always attended to
herself, for fear lest the lovely azalias might be injured if
approached by less gentle hands. The rain was still pouring
in torrents from the gloomy skies. The air came sweeping
in, heavy with damp, to dim the lustre of the glittering
satin. The wind moaned in sudden gusts, and the iEolian
harps, now swept by the blast and now silenced by the rain,
sent forth fitful wails to die away among the trees of the
garden.
Liana stood for a moment at the open window. She
shivered involuntarily; she must go out into this gloomy,
stormy night on foot. She would leave Schnwerth so quietly,
so noiselessly, that no one should know precisely when she had
departed. She would not remain a single night beneath the
roof of him who had believed her capable of infidelity, who
had declared that she was lost. Such dishonouring accusations
had been heaped upon her, so cunningly had the court chaplain
robbed her of all means of defence, that only a woman well
versed in wiles and intrigue could prove herself a match for
the false priest. The purity and truth of Liana's nature
made her helpless here ; there was no refuge for her but to
flee to her brother and sister and place her defence in their
hands.
She closed the window and pulled down the shade. Sud-
denly hasty steps were heard in the antechamber, and an
impatient hand lifted the latch of her door: it was bolted.
Liana pressed her hand upon her wildly-beating heart. Mai-
nau stood witho at, desiring admittance ;. but novfor worlds
220 THE SECOND WIFE.
would she encounter him again. His own words had m\ie
any approach to him on her part impossible.
He knocked hurriedly. "Open, Juliana!" he cried, per-
emptorily.
She stood as if changed to stone; not a finger moved. Her
eyes glanced downwards at her dress, in fear lest the rustle of
a fold should betray her presence.
Twice he repeated his call to her, and rattled at the door;
then she heard him retreat, and the folding-doors into the
pillared corridor flung open ; they were not closed behind him ;
he had evidently departed excessively angry.
With a sigh, she went back to her dressing-room. Why
was she weeping? She was ashamed of her tears. Is there
upon God's earth a thing more mysterious, more inconsistent,
than a woman's heart? Liana's seemed now on the point of
breaking in mute agony. She hid her face in her hands. The
time for self-deception was past. Had he entered now, she
was weak enough to tell him, " I am going, it is true, but I
know that I shall never forget you." What a triumph for
him ! No woman could resist him, then ! Even the ill-used girl
whom he had snatched from her home for the sake of revenge
upon a woman whom he still fondly loved, this girl, in inter-
course with whom he had sheltered himself in a reserve that
forbade all approach on her part, the wife who bore his name
indeed, but who occupied only the position of a governess in his
house, could throw aside her pride, her womanly dignity, an-i
say to him, " I shall never forget you." No ; thank God, he
was gone ! He would never know of this conquest. A strange,
hard expression lent itself to her closed lips. In imagination
she saw the chestnuts halting at the portal of the palace, and
their bold driver conducting within-doors the proudest lady in
the land. Perhaps that homeward drive had been decisive fc?
both. The young wife was now suspicious and embittered
enough to suspect that Mainau's accusing words had been but
THE SECOND WIFE. 221
a pretext to hurry forward a separation. But, good heavens!
why ponder it thus? It could not be love that she felt for
him. Her Trachenberg pride would prevent that. It was
only that she could not forbear at present the desire to possess
his friendship ; once at home again, she should soon learn to
overcome all this.
She opened the jewel-box and compared its contents with
fcer list, and then counted over the money in the drawer of
the writing-table ; she had never touched it. Then she sealed
up both keys in an envelope, addressed it to Mainau, and left
it upon the table. Those things which she did not wish
touched by stranger-hands she packed in a little trunk ; every-
thing else she left to be sent after her by her maid.
Nearly two hours were consumed in these preparations.
She raised the shade in the window of the blue boudoir and
looked out ; it had grown quite dark, and the light of the
lamp behind her was reflected from the pools of water col-
lected upon the gravel-path in front of the window, and showed
thsm in tremulous motion with the steadily-falling rain. It
had abated somewhat ; but the wind came howling around the
corner as if it had lost its way among the numberless court
and arcades of the huge castle and were now rushing forth
with a savage sense of renewed freedom over the fields and
gardens.
It was time to go. Liana exchanged her light dress for
one darker in hue, put on a black cloak, and drew the hood
of it over her head. "Weeping bitterly, she went into Leo's
little room and laid her cheek upon the pillow beside which
she had so often sat watching until her darling's eyes should
close in the soft sleep of childhood. He was with his grand-
father, never dreaming of the tears that were falling upon his
pillow, or that she to whom his heart clung with boyish
adoration was about to leave the castle in the night ani storm,
never tc return.
19
222 THE SECOND WIFE.
The young wife went back to the blue boudoir and noise-
lessly unbolted the door ; but, as she opened it, she started
back, dazzled and confused. She had supposed she should
find the anteroom perfectly dark ; the huge chandelier hang
ing from the ceiling was lighted, and the folding-doors oppo-
site her admitted the full blaze of the gas-jets in the pillared
corridor. She did not advance a step ; breathless with terror,
she stood still, bathed in light, her pale, delicate face looking al-
most unearthly in its beauty from the black velvet hood of her
cloak ; but the hard lines that had but a little while before
appeared about her mouth were again sharply defined, while
the steel-gray eyes, half defiant, half amazed, sought the recess
of the window, where Mainau stood with folded arms.
" You have kept me waiting some time, Juliana," he said,
almost monotonously, as if the question were of some delay
in an appointment for the theatre or a concert. Then he
stepped to the folding-doors and closed them, making it evi-
dent that they had been thus wide open that he might over-
look the whole length of the corridor in case his wife should
attempt to leave her apartments by the door of her dressing-
room.
"You are going to walk?" He asked this in the dreaded
tone of sarcasm ; but his eyes gleamed strangely.
"As you see," she replied, coldly, turning aside that he
might not bar her way to the door.
" Rather a strange idea in suet weather. Do you hear the
wind ? You will hardly be able to reach the first circlo of
lawn in the garden. The paths are under water. I warn
you, Juliana, that this whim will cost you a cold and rheu-
matism; '
"Why this farce?" she asked, with perfect composure.
" You know perfectly well that this is no i whim' of mine.
I told you up-stairs that I was going, and you see me on my
way.
THE SECOND WIFE. 223
"Indeed? You are going just as you are, in a velvet
cloak, and with an umbrella, to walk to Rudisdorf ?"
She smiled faintly. " Only as far as the capital ; the train
starts *!ience at ten o'clock. "
"Oh, indeed ! A charming plan I The Schn werth stables
are full of horses, and there is a long row of comfortable and
handsome carriages in the carriage-houses ; but the baroness
prefers to leave the house on foot, because "
"At the moment when I left the salon, resolved to go to-
night, I ceased to be one of this family, or to own the right
to avail myself of "
"Because," he continued his sentence in a slightly raised
voice, without heeding the interruption, " it would be such a
heart-breaking, tragic piece of news to circulate in the capital to-
morrow morning. Poor young Frau von Mainau ! They used
her so ill in Schonwerth that she fled thence in the night, and
just at the edge of the forest was dashed by the wind against the
trunks of the trees and hurled senseless to the ground. There
she lay, her pale, patient face and magnificent golden braids
stained with blood." He stepped before her, for, with an indig-
nant exclamation, she made a fiteh attempt to leave the room.
"What incredible simplicity^jJuliana, you combine with
your strong, ripe intellect and clear comprehension !" he con-
tinued, all trace of sarcasm vanishing from his face and voice.
" You think like a man, and suddenly act like a frightened
child. When it comes to speaking the truth or serving others,
you are a heroine, and your tongue is like an arrow; but
when you should justify yourself, you hide your head like
the ostrich. You know yourself innocent, and yet you flee.
Do you not know that such a step Would enlist the world
against you? A woman who leaves her husband's house,
never to return, at night in a storm, alone, is and always must
be a fugitive. It sounds offensive and insulting to your sensi-
bility, I know, but I cannot spare you."
224 THE SECOND WIFE.
He put his hand upon hers, which already rested upon the
door-handle ; but her fingers closed tightly upon it, and he
could not draw them thence without force. The expression
of his face told her that he was sternly restraining a wild
outbreak of anger; nevertheless she said, quietly, "Do not
forget that I said farewell to you, and told you of my contem-
plated departure, before two witnesses ; there can be no talk of
my leaving your house as a l fugitive. ' And if evil tongues
defame me, let them. Good heavens! of what consequence
am I in the world? I am not vain enough to suppose it
would trouble itself about me long, it cannot, for I shall
vanish from the scene. And now, I beg of you, let me go.
I do not bii you farewell again. We are neither of us senti-
mental."
" No, only I, oddly enough, am conscious of an obstinate,
stupid something within me that cries aloud." He stepped
back from the door. " You can go, Juliana, that is, we can
both go. You cannot suppose that I shall let you go alone to
a judge partial already to the plaintiff? You wish to put
your case against me in your brothers and sister's hands : so
be it, but I will go also. I will order the carriage, for I will
accompany you. Ulrika, the calm, the wise, shall judge be-
tween us."
"Mainau, you would not venture " she cried, in terror;
and as she started her hood fell back and her loosened hair
escaped to lie in heavy golden rings upon the black velvet. She
clasped her hands. " I have suffered much beneath your roof,
and yet I would not have you exposed to Ulrika's keen judicial
scrutiny. I could not bear it. What will you answer when
she asks you why you sought her sister's hand? You will
have to tell her, * That I might be revenged upon another. I
was betrothed to the Countess Trachenberg that I might, in
the presence of the whole court, inflict a deadly wound upon
the duchess.' "
THE SECOND WIFE. 225
He stood before her pale as ashes. Slowly and mechanically
he raised his right hand and thrust it into the breast of hia
coat. His silence and this attitude made his aspect that of a
man who knows well that he is lost, and awaits the crisis with
assumed calm. "And what then, Mainau?" she went on, in-
exorably. "You will be obliged to continue, l Therefore I
heaped the unfortunate plaintiff, of whom etiquette unhappily
did not permit me to rid myself immediately, with jewels ai d
costly stuffs, carried her to my home, and, as if I were wind-
ing a clock, prescribed her life for her, requiring her to perform
its duties with monotonous regularity. I knew that the head
of my house was a sick, embittered old man. I knew that he
would make the life I had prescribed for her a gigantic task,
requiring unexampled self-renunciation, and an entire absence
of nervous sensibility, or pride that could be wounded. Oh, all
this must of course be expected of the doll who bore my name,
ate at my table, and dwelt beneath my roof/ " She paused,
out of breath, and, with parted lips, lifted her head, as if freed
from an incredible burden, delivered from the burning pain
that had for so many weeks choked her utterance and made
her heart like lead.
" Have you finished, Juliana ? And will you permit me to
answer Ulrika?" he asked, in a voice that was exquisitely low
and gentle. Was it the same that had hitherto made women
" tremble like lambs" ?
" Not yet," the young wife said, harshly. She had sipped
of revenge for the first time in her life, and found it sweet to
retaliate, to give scorn for scorn ; she must have more of the
intoxicating poison ; she never dreamed that this very thirst
for revenge revealed the existence of another passion, profound
although hopeless. " This poor automaton, with hands eter-
nally busy with embroidery, and lips with which to teach
verbs, was, with all good intentions, so positively destitute of
tact that she never shortened, as she should have done, he*
P
228 THE SECOND WIFE.
egotist. A desire for travel awoke afresh within me ; I longed
for adventures of all kinds, for the society of pretty, piquant
women. I was stricken with blindness. The white rose of
Rudisdorf on our marriage-day showed me a sharp thorn that
Btartled me. I encountered indomitable pride. But she was
wise, and my superior in keenness of intellect ; she understood
how to veil her beauty of person as well as her cultivated mind
in the nun-like habit of strict reserve. It never occurred to her
to lift a finger to woo to her the man who had depreciated and
misunderstood her. And thus I passed the days beneath the
same roof with her, cold, disdainful, overlooking her, but
now and then startled as by a sudden flash of lightning, until
I could laugh at the Nemesis if it were not so bitter is it
ziot pitiful, Ulrika, that the man who in his unpardonable
blindness could say, " Love I cannot give her," now kneels
before your sister and entreats her forgiveness? Is it not
miserable that he should now beg and implore her for what he
so senselessly threw away? She wishes to leave me; justly
mistrusting me, she does not in the least understand me.
A more experienced, expert eye than hers would have seen
long since how matters stood with me, and would have kindly
spared the offender the acknowledgment of his entire over-
throw ; but she pursues her way undeterred, not dreaming of
the pain she is inflicting, and there is nothing left for me
except to say clearly and distinctly that I shall die, spiritually
and mentally, if Juliana leaves me.' "
When he began his confession, he walked to the window,
and there he stood now. He had not since looked at his wife;
but now he turned towards her. She had covered her eyes with
her right hand, while the other groped tremblingly for the
arm-chair near her. She looked as if she were about to faint.
"Shall the carriage be ordered?" he asked, approaching
her with breathless eagerness, his lips ashy white ; " or will
Juliana decide for herself?"
THE SECOND WIFE. 229
She clasped her hands convulsively ; the ground seemed
unsteady beneath her.
"Yes or no. For. God's sake, put an end to this agony !
Sou will stay with me, Juliana?"
" Yes." The word came indeed like a trembling breath from
her lips; but it produced an absolutely intoxicating effect
upon her husband. With an upward glance, as if suddenly
relieved from an agony of torture, he clasped his wife in his
arms ; then he loosened her cloak from around her and tossed
it aside.
He kissed her on the mouth. " This is our betrothal, Ju-
liana. I will woo you with the fondest affection," he said,
almost solemnly. "Now, do with me what you will; you
shall have time and opportunity to prove yourself, to discover
whether you can learn to love him whom now, with all a
woman's gentle compassion, you forgive. Who would have
dreamed six months ago that a woman would have swayed me
thus ? Thank God, I am still young enough to steer my course
anew and be happy ; and as I clasp you to me and you no
longer repulse me, you are indeed my own, my Liana."
He led her into the blue boudoir. " Heavens, what magic!"
he cried. He gazed around him, and then his eyes rested in
an intoxication of delight upon the lovely face of his young
wife. " Is this really the odious room, with its stifling fra-
grance of jessamine and its cushions for indolence ?"
A lamp with a pink shade was burning upon the table ; its
rosy light faintly tinged the folds of satin. Mainau had been
used to see this room brilliantly illuminated. Liana knew
from Leo that his " first mamma's" rooms had always been a
blaze of light. With her heart throbbing with a new-found
ecstasy, she told herself that it was the dawn of coming hap-
piness that transfigured everything suddenly for the man be-
side her. It seemed to her as if a fairy light streamed
from the white cups of the azaleas in the dim recess ; she had
20
230 THE SECOND WIFE.
fostered and cherished them while she was struggling and
unhappy, and they could better divine her silent, shy delight
than he who still believed himself unloved.
"And now my last and only question with regard to the
past, Liana!" he said, clasping her hands in his and press-
*ng them passionately to his breast. " You know now what
made me so harsh, so insanely unjust to you this evening in the
salon ; you know that I never for one moment really believed
in any fault of yours : else should I be here now ? The poi-
sonous breath of that hateful priest never touched you, that
I can swear; and yet I cannot be content, Liana I feel as if
a hand were at my throat when, in the midst of my present
bliss, I think of that mysterious moment when I saw your
terrified face in the dimly-lighted room and heard his voice
enjoining silence upon my uncle. What took you to that
room at so unwonted an hour ?"
In low tones, but clearly and distinctly, she told him every-
thing. She described how, prompted thereto by Frau Lhn's
hint, she had discovered the forgery. At the revelation of
this vile fraud to which he had for years been an involuntary
accomplice, Mainau stood like a statue, incapable of a single
word. He had been shamefully duped, the wily Jesuit had
led him whither he pleased, and forced him to act according
to his cunning will. And the poor boy whom -that paper had
branded and cast out as a bastard had been obliged to drag
out what should have been the happy years of childhood, the
victim of oppression, a mark for the contempt and scorn of
all ; he had been crushed under foot and banished into the
holes and corners of the castle that had belonged to the man
whose only child he was. Liana read in Mainau's face tho
indignation of his soul ; this was in truth a ghastly awaken-
ing from the blindest confidence.
She came to the moment when the court chaplain had
thrown both paper and note into the fire. She modestly
THE SECOND WIFE. 231
avoided soiling her lips by the repetition of his passionate
entreaties and complaints. She merely hinted at the motive
for his criminal act ; but Mainau could not control himself;
he left her side and walked restlessly to and fro in the apart-
ment, then returned, and, clasping her close in his arms, ex-
claimed, " And I left you in the tiger's claws while I drove
that waman to her home I"
She gently soothed and calmed him, and from this moment
her mission as a faithful wife and companion began. Her
gentle, melodious tones sounded doubly sweet in these apart-
ments once the witnesses of matrimonial bickerings and dis-
putes. How shyly sweet and gentle was the aspect of this
second wife here between these walls that had gazed upon
that other capricious, spoiled creature, now nestled like a
kitten among the satin cushions, dreaming away days in utter
idleness, now fluttering about, pretty and graceful, but ready
at a moment's notice to trample flowers under her little feet,
or even to chastise her maid with her own aristocratic hands !
Well might all this be present in Mainau's mind, while he
resigned himself to the magic of a new influence and grew
calmer.
"Lately I have had but one thought: to take you and
Leo to Wolkershausen, and then to return hither to banish
that unclean spirit from Schn werth forever," he said, in a
tone that bore evidence to his passionate indignation. " My
blood boils when I think of that scoundrel sitting at this
moment, cherished and respected, in my uncle's room, when
by rights he should be thrust forth into the stormy night
And yet I must admit that an avenging blow from an honest
man can avail nothing against these foxes ; it scatters them
for a moment, but they return overwhelmingly, and the
avenger is lost, although every law in the world be on his
eide. See, my darling, the first astounding effect of your
influence. I will control myself; but this self-control shall
232 THE SECOND WIFE.
cost the priest dear. An eye for an eye, and a tooth for &
tooth, your reverence. I will slip on a fox's skin for the sake
of Uncle Grisbert, whose child I have so wronged. My uncle
has been as entirely deceived as I, for all his keen, wise in-
sight ; there is some small consolation for me in that.' 1 His
faith in the old man's honour was impregnable. Liana trem-
bled, for as soon as Gabriel was safe Frau Lhn's lips would
be unsealed. What bitter revelations awaited him ! " And if
I were to inform him of the truth, he would simply laugh at
me and require convincing proofs," Mainau continued. " I
will reverse matters, Liana; hard as it will be for me, we
must preserve for awhile our former attitude towards each
other. Can you consent to resume your place to-morrow as
if nothing had happened ?"
" I will try ; I am your faithful comrade still."
" Oh, no ! that is all done with. The compact that we
made that first day was long ago null and void, torn and scat-
tered to the winds. Between good comrades there must al-
ways exist a certain amount of forbearance. I have failed in
it utterly ; I cannot practise it in the smallest degree. I am
obliged to conquer a feeling of hostility towards even Leo
when he says ' my mamma' so self-sufficiently ; and I cannot
hear you say ' Magnus* or ' Ulrika' without a positive feeling
of envy. I think I never shall like those names. But bo
assured I will watch over you, no guardian angel could be
more untiring. I will not leave you for a moment until
the skies are clear of the bird of prey that hovers above my
graceful doe."
The servants who, a few moments afterwards, met him in the
passages of the castle, never dreamed that his lips, so firmly
closed, were still thrilling with his betrothal kisses, and that
the second wife whom they so pitied had just been made
mistress of all he owned. And when the court chaplain, half
an hour later, in spite of the wind and rain, walked around tho
V
THE SECOND WIFE. 233
castle, he saw Mainau's shadow pass to and fro in his brightly-
lighted library, while his young wife must be sitting at her
writing-table in the room below. Those two people, then, had
felt no need of a mutual explanation. His reverence, who, like
some shy but persistent beast of prey, watched in hopes of one
glimpse ofthat golden hair behind the flapping window-shutter,
rai^ht arrange matters as he pleased.
CHAPTER XXII.
Tbe wind, that increased to a hurricane during the even-
ing, raged until midnight. But few of the castle inmates
retired to rest. Fear was entertained lest even the mosaic
tiles upon the castle roof should not resist the fury of the
storm ; it was therefore not to be wondered at that the light
bamboo roof of the Indian cottage was blown away entirely.
The morning sky laughed blue and cloudless above the ill-
used earth, and the tossed trees again stood quiet and upright.
They forgot their torn boughs and the old birds'-nests scattered
upon the ground, and their leaves played gently with the light
breeze, which was all that was left of the roaring monster of
the previous evening. In the kitchen of the castle the servants
were full of news, declaring that Lhn looked like a ghost.
The tempest had been too much for her, bold and calm as
she always seemed; she had spent the night in the Indian
cottage ; the roof had been literally torn away above her head,
and the stars had shone through great holes in the ceiling of
the room. Their beams were all the light she had had there
until dawn, for the wind had extinguished the lamps as soon
as they were lit. And the mischief could not be repaired: it
would make too much noise; the Indian woman was lying.
20*
234 THE SECOND WIFE.
The rigid Catholics among the servants were not at all sur-
prised at the fearful tempest ; it was always so when such un-
baptized souls were sent to perdition.
Liana, too, had waked until near morning kept from sleep-
ing not by the wind, but by the fever of her soul. What in-
describable bliss it was to know herself beloved ! The little
trunk had been instantly unpacked, and everything put back
into the place which it was to occupy, as the second wife did
hers in her husband's heart. The two keys were taken from
their envelope, no one must know that she had thought of
departure. Then she wrote to Ulrika a full account of all her
woes and struggles, with their happy ending.
The sleep which visited her near morning refreshed her
much ; and when her maid drew aside her curtains and opened
the window-shutters, Liana thought she never had seen the
skies so crystal clear, or felt the morning air so balmily
sweet, not even in Rudisdorf, where she had always spent the
early morning with her brother and sister. She carefully
selected a purple morning dress which Ulrika had declared
became her well ; she wished so to please Mainau now.
Leading Leo, as usual, by the hand, she entered the break-
fast-room. She knew what humiliations she should have to
endure from the Hofmarschall, for the evening before she had
turned from him contemptuously, and here she was ready to
hand him his morning chocolate. She set her teeth and sum-
moned up all the stoicism of which she was mistress. What
the court chaplain had invented for the old man's ear on the
previous evening to explain his own part in the matter of the
burned note she had not the slightest idea. Hanna had
brought Leo to her at nine o'clock. The boy had stayed un-
til then in his grandfather's room, and, from his childish prattle,
it would seem that there had been no loud discussion between
the two men, they had played a game of chess together.
As she ent)red the room she was reminded of her first
TUE SECOND WIFE. 235
morning in Schnwerth. The Hofinarschall was sitting by
the fire, and Frau Lhn, who had apparently just entered, was
standing at a little distance from him. Without noticing her
clumsy curtsy, the old man propped both hands upon the
arms of his chair, and, leaning slightly forward, half closed his
eyes, as if he could scarcely trust them.
" Why, here you are again, madame 1" he exclaimed. " I
thought last evening, when you left us so abruptly and an-
nounced your intention of undertaking your long-contemplated
visit to your home at such an unsuitable hour, that you would
change your mind. In such a storm, too! You doubtless
took into consideration, besides, that so sudden a departure
from our roof would not look very well when it came to the
legal separation, and might somewhat diminish the allowance
made you. Oh, you are prudent enough, my little lady.'*
She was upon the point of leaving the room; her task was
too hard. Where was Mainau? He had promised not to
leave her alone. Leo noticed her hesitation ; the child could
not understand the insults that had greeted her entrance, and,
clasping her hand in both his own, he drew her farther into
the room.
" That's right, my boy," the Hofmarschall said, with a laugh.
" Bring mamma to the breakfast-table and ask her for a cup
of chocolate for grandpapa. He likes to have it from her
hands, even although those beautiful hands have about them
a faint odour of burnt paper. Well, Lohn," and he turned
to the housekeeper, as if to prevent all chance of any retort
from the tortured young wife, " is it true? They say the wind
last night destroyed the roof of the Indian cottage."
" Yes, Herr Baron ; it is all swept away."
"And the ceiling is injured?"
" Full of holes; if it rains the room will 'be overflowed."
" Very provoking 1 But nothing shall be replaced or mended
in the Indian garden ; the sooner that nonsense falls to pieces
236 THE SECOND WIFE.
the better. See that the sick woman is taken into the little
round pavilion."
Liana looked at the housekeeper. The servants were right
in saying that the rough woman looked like a ghost. A deli-
cate ear could detect that she added roughness and strength to
her tone of voice to prevent it from breaking down.
" There is no need, Herr Baron. The woman will go her-
self," she replied to his order, and there was a peculiar rigidity
in her expression.
"How? what? Are you mad?" The Hofmarschall
turned suddenly, and for the first time since she had known
him Liana saw his withered face flush crimson. " Nonsense 1
Do you mean to tell me that she will ever be able to stand, or
to use her paralyzed tongue ?"
" No, Herr Baron. What is dead will always be dead, and
the rest will be gone before sunset." The woman spoke in a
monotone, but what she said sounded agonized, heart-breaking.
The Hofmarschall looked steadily into the fire. " Ah ! has it
come to that ?" he muttered, in a low voice.
Liana put the cup of chocolate which she was about to hand
him upon the table again. She could not bring herself imme-
diately to approach the murderous old man, whose withered
lips quivered so strangely as he stared absently for a moment
at the lean, crooked fingers that grasped his cane. Would the
crushed lotos-blossom arise from her bed of torture once more
before her death to point accusingly to the blue streaks about
her delicate throat? He suddenly looked up, as if he felt the
young wife's eyes upon him; his own lost their absent look
instantly and grew keen. "Well, madame, you see I am
Waiting for my chocolate. Why did you set it down again?
Because I looked a little thoughtful ? Ah, bah ! I only
bought I saw a little scrap of rose-coloured paper peeping
out from the ashes in the corner of the chimney."
It was terrible. But deliverance was at hand. Liana heard
.
THE SECOND WIFE. 237
Mainau's step. He entered hastily. What a difference be-
tween this morning and that other first one ! His glance did
not pass her by as then, but, forgetting all prudence, sought
her face, and rested there, as if it could not leave it. The old
invalid in the arm-chair did not notice it, he sat with his
back to the door, but Frau Lhn suddenly looked amazed.
She hastily smoothed out her starched white apron, and cast
down, her eyes.
"You here already, Juliana ?" Mainau asked, carelessly,
looking at his watch, as if he had mistaken the time. " Here
is why I was sent for, uncle.' ' He handed the Hofmarschall
a card. " A messenger from the duchess waits below for the
answer to this invitation to a concert at court this evening.
The duchess told me yesterday that her favorite prima donna
was to pass through the capital and had declared her readiness
to ring at court. It seems she has arrived a day earlier than
she intended, and leaves to-morrow ; hence this sudden invita-
tion. hall you accept ?"
" Of course. I have been penned up here in Schonwerth
too long. You know I should attend upon the duchess if she
required my presence, even although I had to crawl to the
capital upon all-fours."
Mainau opened the door with an ironical smile, and gavu
the message to the mounted footman below in the court-yard.
" This fete comes very apropos," the Hofmarschall added.
" The mischief caused by the wind in the gardens last night
annoys me, and there are all sorts of vexations besides. Lhn,
there," and he pointed his thumb over his shoulder towards
the housekeeper, without turning his head, " has just told me
that the woman in the Indian house will die to-day. I am
always out of sorts when there is a corpse upon the place.
You know I had the footman who died here carried instantly
to the dead-house in the capital. What shall we do in this
case?"
i.
238 THE SECOND WIFE.
" I must say, uncle, your words sound brutal. They curdle
my blood," said Mainau, indignantly. " How can you discuss
after this fashion a human being who still lives and breathes ?
Have you sent for the doctor, Lhn?" he asked the house-
keeper, in a gentler tone.
"No, Herr Baron. What good would it do? He cannot
help her, and his remedies torment her. Her soul has already
left the earth, or she would not gaze before her fixedly and
nnmoved when Gabriel weeps and laments so terribly "
" For Heaven's sake, let me have no more of that whining,
Lohn!" exclaimed the Hofmarschall, much irritated. "If
you knew how entirely unsuited it is to your rough voice,
you would hold your tongue. It makes not the smallest dif-
ference to me whether it curdles your blood or not, Raoul,"
he said, with increasing agitation. " In this case I must con-
sider my own feelings. My horror is indescribable. I hate
to inhale a mouthful of air even in such proximity. You will
see I shall be mortally ill if you do not arrange that, as soon
as the catastrophe has occurred, the remains are taken to their
future resting-place, the churchyard the capital."
Liana understood the terror, the ^nameless horror, that was
heard in his voice as well as seen in the nervous tremor of his
frame. He had no fear of the sp)tit of the unhappy woman
bo long as it was fettered in its qf ppled earthly frame ; but
now it was to escape, and, accordmg to popular belief, hovei
above its deserted tenement until that was laid in the ground.
This must not be anywhere in his vicinity.
" The woman will rest in the vault beneath the obelisk,"
said Mainau, very gravely. " Uncle Gisbert brought her from
her home, and she was the only woman whom he ever loved ;
she belongs by right beside him, so let there be an end of
this heartless talk."
" She belongs by right beside him ?" the Hofmarschall re-
peated, with a hoarse laugh. " Dare to lay her there, Raoul,
THE SECOND WIFE. 239
and you will learn what I am. I hate that woman, living or
dead. She shall not lie beside him, although I should have
to take my place between them."
What words were these ? Mainau looked in amazement at
the old man whom he had thought, as he had told Liana,
avaricious and arrogant, prone to petty malice, but possessed
of a cold nature, not to be led astray by passion. What else
was it but long-restrained, insane passion that now broke forth
in his violent gestures and the gleam of his cunning eyes ?
The Hofmarschall arose and went with a tolerably firm step
to the nearest window. He passed close by Frau Lhn, al-
most brushing the dress of his secret but implacable enemy,
but his eyes were directed towards the window; he did not
look at her or dream that within her dwelt a spirit ever ready
to dog his footsteps and scan his slightest act with suspicious
hate.
The morning air came in at the half-open window and
stirred the carefully-brushed gray hair upon the old man's
brow, but he, who was usually afraid of the slightest draught,
did not seem to feel it. m-
" 1 do not understand ySi, Raoul," he said, struggling with
his agitation. " Would you disgrace my brother in his grave ?"
" If he considered it no disgrace to take the Hindoo girl to
his heart and dedicate to herjkn idolatrous affection " The
Hofmarschall laughed shrilljk " Uncle," exclaimed Mainau,
with a frown that compelled the old man to self-control, " I
was never but once at Schbnwerth during that time, but T
know that the stories then told me by the people in the castle
made my heart throb feverishly. A man who guards the
object of his passion with such careful tenderness " In-
voluntarily he paused, startled by the fire that darted from the
old man's eyes, usually so cold and calculating. Mainau did
not suspect what memories he awakened. The seductive form
of the unfortunate lotos-flower lay over there, with calm, fixed
240 THE SECOND WIFE.
eyes, about to perish, to crumble to dust, and the man who, in
his overweening tenderness, had once borne her in his arms
through the gardens, lest her delicate feet should be profaned
by contact with the ground, had long been sleeping beneath
the obelisk ; but still the rejected man was a prey to furious
jealousy. He still grudged to his dead brother the possession
of the woman who had been the object of his own consuming
passion.
" This * careful tenderness,' fortunately, did not last," ne
said, hoarsely. " Gisbert came to his senses in time, and he
repudiated the * lotos-flower' as worthless."
" Convincing proofs of that are wanting, uncle."
As if driven from the window by the hurricane of the pre-
vious day, the withered, frail old man suddenly left the recess
and stood before his n iphew.
" Convincing proofs, Raoul ? They are to be found in the
white salon, as you know, in the * cabinet of curiosities,' which
was, unfortunately, * attempted' yesterday. Surely it is not
necessary to remind you that you examined the distinct, au-
thoritative expression of Uncle Gisbert's will in your own
hands yesterday afternoon ?"
" Is that paper the only document existing upon which you
base your knowledge of his will ?" Mainau asked, briefly and
sternly. The impertinent insult to Liana made him flush.
" The only one, of course. Raoul, how strange you are !
To what upon earth can any importance be attached, if not to
the written desire of a dying man ?"
" Did you see him write it, uncle ?"
" No, I did not ; I was ill myself. But I can bring you
a witness who can swear that he saw every letter written.
It is a pity he drove to town an hour ago. You have
lately taken a most singular attitude with regard to our court
chaplain "
Mainau laughed almost gaily. " My dear uncle, I must
THE SECOND WIFE. 241
reject such testimony as legal in any wise. I decline the
document null and void and of no importance. Oh, yes, I
am sure his reverence is ready to swear to it, to swear by his
soul's welfare that he dipped the pen in the ink for the dying
man. Why not ? There is always a side-door into heaven
warranted to these Jesuits if they have forfeited their claim
to the grand entrance-gate. I blame myself for acting as no
xmscientious man should have done. I was not present
when my uncle died. As joint heir of his great wealth, I
diould have been doubly cautious, and not have sanctioned
irrangements based solely upon written injunctions not legally
witnessed. In such a case the law should interfere and
decide."
" Indeed I" The Hofmarschall nodded. He had grown
ominously calm. Propping himself with both hands upon
his crutch-handled cane, he fixed his sparkling eyes upon his
nephew's handsome face. " Will you, then, have the kind-
ness to point out to me the law that can be appealed to to
protect the woman in the Indian cottage? She is free as air;
she was not my brother's lawful wife. If the l law should
decide,' we might rightfully thrust her forth from our
threshold, for there is no legally valid will in existence that
insures her a crumb of bread or a shelter for the night at
Sch'nwerth. If we have not adhered to the law in the one
case, we are not bound by it in the other."
"Is that logic, uncle? Does our not acting with fiendish
hardness of heart in one respect justify us in according obedi-
ence to the cruel injunctions of an illegal, unproven testament-
ary document? And suppose that Uncle Gisbert really wrote
that paper, repudiating the woman because Gabriel was not his
child, what, I ask, gave him the right to decide upon the
future of a boy who was no kin of his? I was a thoughtless
young fellow when Uncle Gisbert died. What did I care for
the law or legal investigation? The story that the Indian giri
- Q 21
242 THE SECOND WIFE.
had been faithless sufficed to make me mad and blind, for 1
had loved my uncle sincerely. That is my only excuse.
Afterwards the slavish, servile bearing of the boy strengthened
me in my belief that there was not in his veins one drop of
the proud, lordly blood of the Mainaus. I thrust him like a
dog from my path, and acquiesced in his being a monk, as
quite fitting. I recall this acquiescence now, as a lamentable
error on my part."
A breathless silence followed these last solemn words. Even
Leo must have felt instinctively that the next moment there
would be a breach in the house of Mainau, for, nestled close
to Liana, he bent his head forward, and gazed with wide,
troubled eyes into his father's serious face.
"Will you have the kindness to speak more distinctly?
You know my brain is old ; it does not apprehend quickly
least of all what looks like modern innovation," said the Hof-
marschall. His meagre figure seemed to straighten into a
kind of icy inaccessibility; for a moment he had no need of
his cane, excitement supported him.
" With pleasure, my dear uncle. I say, briefly and clearly,
Gabriel is to be neither a monk nor a missionary " He
paused, and walked towards the housekeeper. The robust,
sturdy woman suddenly staggered, and seemed about to fall.
Liana put her arm around her and led her to a seat.
"Are you ill, Lhn?" Mainau asked, kindly.
" God forbid, Herr Baron ! I never was so well in all my
life," she murmured, half laughing, half crying. "Every-
thing swam before my eyes, and my stupid old head thought*
the skies were falling. Oh, Father in heaven above!" she
eighed, covering her crimsoned face with her apron.
The Hofmarschall cast a piercing glance at her. Amid all
his agitation it did not escape him that the woman, a servant,
was sitting in his presence, and that she did not rise even after
she had declared herself perfectly well.
THE SECOND WIFE. 243
"Gabriel, then, is to be neither a monk nor a missionary ?"
he asked, scornfully, turning his head, that he might not see
the housekeeper's breach of decorum. " May I ask to what
lofty calling, then, you have dedicated this noble specimen of
humanity?"
" Uncle, that tone has lost its effect upon me. I have, it is
true, been weak enough to stand in dread of it, and to play
the heartless mocker sooner than expose myself to ridicule as a
sentimentalist. But I now turn my back upon those among
whom the fear of ridicule reigns supreme. I am convinced
that Gabriel is my cousin. If you, as his father's chief heir,
do not choose to give him a part of your immense inheritance,
no one can force you to it, for Gabriel is not legitimate. Here
I cannot appeal to the law to decide ; but from my own -sense
of what is right I shall, by adopting the boy, give him his
father's name and the means to maintain his rank."
The breach was made ; the deed was done. But the finished
courtier, who could sustain his cause cleverly and acutely
enough while there was a chance of victory, had learned to
face an accomplished fact with perfect composure.
" One of two things is the case here," he said, coldly : " either
you are ill," and he pointed to his forehead with a compas-
sionate air, " or you are, as I have long suspected, entangled
hopelessly in the meshes of those red braids I believe the
latter, to your ruin. I pity you, Raoul. I know that specie
of woman; thank God, it is rare. From their gleaming
hair and white skin there streams phosphoric light like that
from mermaids' bodies ; with their cool breath they fan flames
which they never quench; mind enough, but no fervour of
soul ; flowing phrases upon their lips, but no sweet madness
of love, none of woman's passionate devotion in their hearts !
Your life will be a purgatory ; remember what I say. Look
now, how pale you grow "
" It may well be so. with irritation at ycur words. My
244 THE SECOND WIFE.
ears, unfortunately, are not dulled; and every one of your
words is like a blow. Must I remind you of your gray hair ?"
" Do not trouble yourself. I know what I am doing and
saying. I have warned you against my grandson's stepmother
And now take her to your heart, which never appreciated my
Valerie, she who was the soul of fervid piety and loving de-
votion. With regard to your new yyrotigi I mean the boy in
the Indian cottage I have not a word to say. That is the
Church's affair. The boy, body and soul, is her special prop-
erty. She will know how to answer you if you should venture
to lay claim to him. Praise and glory to the Lord whom she
serves. With His help she has always overthrown her foes,
individuals as well as nations. You will be defeated, as are
all those who would work her woe or make martyrs of her
servants. We conquer in the end, and maintain our sway."
He turned his back upon Mainau to leave the room ; but,
stamping his cane upon the floor, he suddenly stood still.
" Well, Lhn, are you sufficiently rested ? Apparently you
like your seat on your master's cushioned chair 1" he exclaimed.
The housekeeper, who had followed every syllable of the
foregoing war of words with eager interest and in entire self-
forgetfulness, sprang up in terror. .
"Put my breakfast upon a waiter," he commanded, nod-
ding his head towards the table, " and bring it into my study.
I wish to be alone."
He left the room. His cane sounded along the passage, and
the noise was accompanied by the jingling of the housekeeper's
keys and the rattle of the china upon the waiter whioh she
carried after him. The old man's soul was filled with rage,
and the woman who followed him with closed lips was trem-
bling with delight and with hatred. She would have Uked
to dash his chocolate at the feet of " the sallow skeleton, ^ho
had said such infamous things of the dear, pur* ungel ic t***
breakfast-room.'
THE SECOND WIFE. 245
As soon as the door closed behind the Hofmarschall and
the housekeeper, Liana came hastily from the window-recess,
where she had before taken refuge, and, going up to Mainau,
seized his hand and carried it to her lips.
"What are you doing, Liana?" he exclaimed, in sheer
amazement drawing away his hand. "You to me?" A
transfiguring expression of delight flitted across his face ; he
extended his arms, and his wife, for the first time, voluntarily
nestled close to his heart.
Leo stood with his hands clasped behind him, quite pale
with surprise. Ready as he usually was to express his opinion,
this novel sight entirely deprived him of speech. Liana, with
a smile, drew him towards her, and he threw his arms around
her, half caressingly, half in jealous defiance of his father.
"I shall have to send you both away from me to-morrow,"
Mainau said, despondingly. " After this scene with my undo
you cannot stay here, Liana. And I cannot leave Schnwerth
before the questions now opened are settled and the coming
strife concluded."
"I will stay with you, Mainau," she said, firmly. She
knew that terrible revelations awaited him. At such moment?
her place was by his side. " You speak of strife, and would
have me leave you alone ? I can isolate myself here as easily
as at Wolkershausen. I need not meet the Hofmarschall
again
" Once more you will have to do so," he interrupted hei,
fondly stroking back the waving masses of gold from her brow.
" You heard him say he would go to court even if he had to
'crawl upon all-fours. , And I am going too, for the last
time, Liana. Can you consent to accompany me, if I earnestly
entreat you ?"
" I will go with you whithersoever you will." She said it
bravely enough, but her fair face flushed with absolute terror.
Hei heart throbbed anxiously at the thought of onco more
21*
246 THE SECOND WIFE,
encountering the woman who was her worst foe, who would
move heaven and earth to depose her from her place, to snatch
from her the heart that but yesterday the most sacred protesta-
tions had made her own.
T&R
CHAPT8K XXIII.
The Hofmarschall kept his room for the rest of the day;
he took his dinner there alone,^pot even asking for Xeo. The
castle servants were in a statS^of wild amazement, for the
young baron, with Leo and the new tutor, dined with the
baroness in her salon. The doctor from the capital had been
sent for, and the young baron himself accompanied him to
the bedside of the dying woman in the Indian cottage. In
compliance with the baron's orders, and in his presence, the
injured ceiling of the room had been noiselessly repaired as
well as possible. The tropical animals in the " Vale of Cash-
mere" had been confined in their huts and cages, and " the
young master" himself had with his own hands closed the
pipes of the plashing fountain near by. No noise should
annoy the peace of the parting soul.
These arrangements sufficed to influence the variable mind?
of the castle people. The dying woman, who had for so man}
years been regarded by them as a useless encumbrance, sud-
denly became a patient sufferer; and since Baron Mainau re-
turned from the Indian garden so grave and serious, the foot-
men hovered about the stairways and passages on tiptoe, and
all unnecessary noise, all singing and whistling, was avoided in
the stables and carriage-houses, as if the dying woman were
lying in the castle itself.
Hanna, too, went about with eyes red with weeping. Two
THE SECOND WIFE. 24?
wonderful things had happened to her to-day: through the
key-hole of the breakfast-room door she had seen the Herr
Baron kiss "my lady," and she had been for the first time in
the Indian garden. She had penetrated into the sick-room
with a cup of bouillon for Lhn, and ever since she had been
weeping incessantly, declaring in the kitchen that they had
all b ?en barbarians and fools, for no one except stern old Lhn
had cared for the sick woman, who nevertheless, any person
of sense could see at a glance, wasche daughter of some foreign
prince.
Mainau, too, had been profoundly impressed by his visit to
the Indian cottage. The face he had once in boyish curiosity
eagerly but vainly longed to beiiold, and which he had since
avoided, in the belief that it must wear the livery of crime or
be distorted by insanity, had lain before him upon the pillow,
pale, in peaceful unchanged beauty, not Uncle Gisbert's faith-
less love, not Gabriel's mother, a sinless, dying child, a rose-
leaf that some breeze had gently loosened from its calyx to
die upon the ground. The keen, incorruptible intellect of his
second wife had thrown a torchlight glare into the dim obscu-
rity of the past; but a still more intense light shone from this
quiet face. Mainau knew now that Schnwerth, his pride and
delight, was fairly mined by deceit and crime. There were
trap-doors beneath his feet that he had never thought it worth
his while to lift or explore, strange as the events enacted above
them had formerly seemed in his youthful eyes. He felt
guilty indeed to have frivolously allowed himself, in his blind
confidence in his uncle's honour, to be cajoled into playing
away his life, avoiding all tedious investigations, all minute
examinations. He had placed implicit confidence in the Ho
marschall ; but his newly-awakened conscience told him that a
few months before he would have shut his ears to the slightest
hint that matters were not as they should be. Now, roused
though he was through his wife's influence to action and the
248 THE SECOND WIFE.
exercise of his judgment and will, lie could not entirely re-
pair the consequences of his indolence and selfishness. The
eyes beneath the closed lids did not see him draw to his side
the ill-used boy, watching in tearless agony his mother's parting
breath ; the dying ears did not hear him tenderly call the poor
" bastard" " my son." The mother felt it all as little as the boj
himself, who cared for no other parent but for her now dying,
to whose heart he had clung when outcast by the hard, cruel
world outside.
As yet, Mainau could reproach the Hofmarschall with
nothing save blind belief. He had not been accessory to the
forgery of the paper ; he had referred to it with too entire a
security. The court chaplain had pursued his own path here
alone, and he had certainly contrived to satisfy the Hofmar-
schall with regard to the burned note without betraying the
truth. Mainau said this repeatedly to himself, and yet he
could not get rid of a suspicion that the fair fame of the
Mainaus would suffer as soon as the dust was more fully
removed from the past.
Late in the afternoon Liana, too, went to the Indian cot-
tage. Mainau had received important tidings from Wolkers-
hausen, and was obliged to retire to his study for a few hours.
Leo was very content with his new tutor, to whom, for a
wonder, he had taken a great fancy. Unwonted silence was
around the young wife as the gate in the wire fence swung to
behind her, a silence so intense that it seemed as if the dark
angel hovering above the bamboo cottage had destroyed all
vitality in the air and on the earth around it. Strange ! Uncle
Gisbert's darlings were dying together. His splendid musa,
that had grown so bravely beneath northern skies, lay pros-
trate on the grass : the wind had shattered it. " The sooner
that nonsense falls to pieces, the better," the Hofmarschall had
aid. Liana had to step over huge boughs of trees that lay
across the path, which was covered with rose-leaves. Where
THE SECOND WIFE. 249
the large rose-trees stood singly on the lawn, theii tops wen
snapped off, as a child would break a decayed twig. Wher
ever her glance rested there was desolation ; the Hindoo temple
alone shone brighter and more golden after its bath of rain,
and the pond sparkled smooth and blue at its feet, as if it had
not played the part of a false friend a few hours before, and
tossed its mimic waves into the very vestibule of the building.
Near its shores hundreds of white water-lilies had opened over-
night. The northern blossoms lay fresh and blooming upon
their broad green leaves ; but the Indian lotos was drooping
and dying.
What would have been the emotions of her murderous per
secutor in the Schnwerth castle if he could have cast his
eyes upon that bed of reeds ? There was no chance of that !
Liana saw that his windows looking towards the Indian garden
were actually barricaded. The Bayadere could never have
been more exquisitely beautiful, when in former years she had
aroused so fierce a passion in his worldly soul, than now in
the transfiguration of approaching death. Frau Lhn had
swathed her slender form, " this snow-flake," once more in a
cloud of fresh white muslin, " because she always liked it so
much.'* Upon her breast, the gentle rise and fall of which
was now hardly to be discerned, lay the strings of golden coins,
and her left hand clasped the amulet, hanging by a golden
chain around her neck. Those blue-veined, transparent lids
would be raised once more, when the eye beneath was glazed,
but the expression of rapture that was already fixed upon
the half-open lips would go with them to the vault beneath
the obelisk.
" For God's sake, madame, do not think that I am crying
for this poor creature 1" Frau Lhn said, in a low voice, ob-
serving Liana's kind glance at her swollen eyelids. " I love
her as though she were my own child ; and because I love hei
bo dearly I can say, with a grateful heart, ' Thank God, hex
250 THE SECOND WIFE.
torments are at an end !' This morning, in the break fas t-rcom,
the tears would come. I thought joy would have choked me!
I came back here to the house, where I have known and seen
so much suffering and anguish, and cried my heart out, I
knew I might now. No need to pretend any longer, tc wear
a mask, and pull a long, grave face, when I was boiling with
rage at that rogue, that scoundrel, I beg pardon, madame,
I cannot help it to-day. Sometimes I wonder if this is really
I, and whether it is all true, and then I am afraid lest his
reverence should put a stop to it, in spite of all the young
baron can do. He must be quick and beforehand. Did I
not say so, that you, madame, were the good angel sent to us
by God? His forbearance was exhausted, and the young
baron's eyes are opened at last. When he looked at you as
he came in to breakfast this morning, I saw how it was. I
know it is your cleverness and your good heart that has done
it all. Gabriel may thank you for his good fortune, and you
will finish what you have begun. I cannot speak to the young
master, I beg pardon, madame, but he has been stern and
harsh for so long, that neither Gabriel nor I can be easy with
him yet. I tried this morning, but it would not do. The
doctor was here, too, and I stood as if I had been beaten.
Gabriel, go outside for a little while. You need the fresh air,
and I want to speak with madame."
The boy, about whose shoulders Liana had tenderly laid her
arm, went into the garden and seated himself upon a bench
beneath the rose-bushes, whence he could see through the
broken glass of the door the bed upon which lay his dying
mother.
" And the young baron will pay no further heed to the
paper that they say was written by my old master ? I do not
know why he will not. I can only thank God that it is so,"
the housekeeper continued. " The worst is, that there will be
a terrible battle with the priest ; and we shall be defeated, as
THE SECOND WIFE. 251
sure as the skies are above us. You heard the Herr Hof*
marschall laugh in the young baron's face this morning. But
I know something " And she lowered her voice to the
softest whisper. " Madame, there is some writing of my old
master's, a paper that he wrote before my very eyes, letter
for letter. There," she pointed to the dying woman's left
hand, " she has it in her hand. A little box that looks like
a little silver book, and the paper is in it. Poor, dear soul !
Is it not enough to break your heart? The brutes say she was
faithless to him whom she so dearly loved ; and there she has
lain for thirteen years, guarding that miserable little bit of
paper, cherishing it more tenderly than her child, her poor
fingers all cramped with holding it so tight, -just because it
was the last thing that he gave her, and because she thinks
every one wants to take it from her."
Liana thought of the moment when the court chaplain had
attempted to take away those trinkets. Now she understood
the poor creature's agony, and the bold remonstrance on Lhn's
part, the harsh decision with which she had interposed between
the sick woman and the court chaplain. A nervous thrill ran
through her at the thought that there, buried in the grasp of
those emaciated, half-dead, childish fingers, a stern witness was
awaiting its hour of resurrection. Unconsciously, the pries*
had nearly become possessed of it, and there had been no voice
to whisper in his ear, " Destroy it !"
" You see, madame, it was only in the time of her sore
misery and need that the poor thing took to me," the house-
keeper continued. " I was always a rough, homely kind of
woman, and I could not expect her to take a fancy to me.
When my old master brought her to Sch'nwerth, he seemed
to think no one should go near the Indian cottage except
crawling on their knees. He was fairly insane about her.
We servants scarcely dared look at her, let alone speak to her,
when she used to run like a child through the castle-ocwri
252 THE SECOND WIFE.
dors, and away into the garden after her fawn, with her lovex
pursuing her. She would run from him for awhile, and then
suddenly turn, and in a moment her arms would be around
his neck. Oh, how pretty it was 1 I used to have much ado
not to run after the airy creature, in her crimson jacket and gay
skirt, and clasp her in my rough arms. Look at her now.
There never will be anything in the world so pretty again."
Her voice broke down ; she arose, and, with tender, ma-
ternal pride, smoothed the heavy blue-black braid that lay en
either side of the scarcely-heaving bosom.
. " Ah, how often he has kissed these braids !" she sighed, as
she stood by the bedside. " He may have thought as I did,
that they looked heavier than all the rest of her fairy person.
Pearls, rubies, and golden coins always used to be scattered
among her hair, but I had to hand them all over to the Herr
Hofmarschall. She had a grand lady's-maid, whom the Herr
Baron sent for from Paris, or Heaven knows where. She
waited upon her, and the pretty creature was like an angel to
her, and an evil return the yellow-skinned hussy made her for
her kindness. Baron Gisbert one morning had a stroke ; he
lay for a couple of hours like a dead man, and when he came to
himself, the attacks of melancholy to which he had been sub-
ject for some time had taken entire possession of him. From
that moment the Herr Hofmarschall and the court chaplain
were the masters of Schnwerth.
" I think I told you before, madame, that all the castle ser-
vants went over to the two scoundrels, I beg pardon, and
the lady's-maid was the worst of all. She made up the shame-
ful lie about her poor little lady's love for Joseph, the hand-
gome groom, and she told it to her sick master. She got two
thousand thalers for that, and left for her home. Then I be
gan to go to the Indian cottage,/but secretly, lest my husband
should know it. Here she used to stay cowered together upon
the bed, in perfect dread of the Hofmarschall, scared and
THE SECOND WIFE. 253
hungry, keeping herself locked in. I cannot tell why it was,
but he never noticed how she began to depend upon me ; per-
haps I am not so stupid as he says. For six months she lived
here like a prisoner. Her longing and grief for the man who
would not see her, and who seemed not to care for her, were
heart-breaking. I never shall forget them. After that Gabriel
was born, and at that time ' rough, harsh Lhn' was installed
as jailer in the Indian cottage. Sometimes, when my husband
wac ill, I took his place in waiting upon Baron Gisbert, and
often enough I had her name at my tongue's end. I longed
to remind him of her, and to tell him that he had a son, and
that all that he had been told about her faithlessness was a
shameful falsehood; but I kept my tongue bravely between
my teeth, for I knew that, whatever impression I might make
upon him, as soon as his dark hour came he would confess it
all to his reverence, I should be sent to the right-about, and
the mother and child in the Indian cottage would be left with-
out a friend in the world."
Liana took her hand and pressed it ; no mother could have
s^iown a greater depth of love, unselfishness, and tender cunning
for her offspring than had this woman for these poor outcasts.
The housekeeper flushed crimson and cast down her eyes as
she felt the clasp of that soft, beautiful hand.
" When they saw," she continued, in a voice that almost
faltered, "that Baron Gisbert was near his end, the Hof-
marschall and his reverence never left him alone. One of them
was always with him, to see that their plans were not interfered
with. But once it happened that the Herr Hofmarschall was
confined to his room with a cold, and his reverence had to go
to town to give the sacrament to Prince Adolph, who was
dying. Oh, it was a special providence that, when the priest
had gone, my husband had one of his attacks of giddiness and
could not stir from the sofa. But I was at hand. I went to
the red room to give my master his medicine, and I drew back
22
254 THE SECOND WIFE.
the dark curtains from the windows ; the blessed sunlight fell
full upon his bed, and a veil seemed to fall from his eyes.
Suddenly he stroked my hand, as if to thank me for my ser-
vice, and a thought flashed upon me like lightning. * I'll lisk
it/ I said to myself," and hurried away. Ten minutes after-
wards, I crept with my pretty lady through the elder hedge
;pposite the right wing, and went through the wooden door
up the winding stairs. No one saw us, no one dreamed that
something was going on for which the Herr Hofmarschall,
if he had known it, would have turned off every servant in
the castle. I opened the door of the red room, my heart
was fairly thumping against my ribs, and she flew in before
me. Never, while I live, shall I forget the shriek she gave.
Her handsome, proud lover, the darling of her heart, was
wasted to the merest shadow. Poor child ! She threw her-
self upon his bed. Ah, then one saw how fresh and lovely
she was ; beside his thin sallow face hers looked like a pink
and white apple-blossom upon the green silk coverlet. He
looked gravely at her at first, until she threw her arms around
his neck and pressed her little face close to his as she used to
do. Then he stroked her hair, and she began to talk in her
own tongue, I could not understand a word, -and she went on
quicker and quicker. She must have told him everything that
she had upon her heart, for his eyes grew large and sparkled
angrily, and it seemed as if all the blood there was in him
mounted to his face. And I told ljim all there was on my
heart, too. Good heavens, how frightened I was ! I thought
he would die upon the spot.
" He tried hard to speak, he could not. Then he wrote on
paper, ' Can you not bring a magistrate or a lawyer?' I shook
my head, it was impossible ; he must have known that as
well as I. Then he wrote again. Oh, how I pitied him !
Great drops of perspiration stood upon his forehead, and his
eyes were full of the agony that he was suffering for the dear
THE SECOND WIFE. 255
little creature, who kept stroking his face and murmuring her
happiness in being with him once more. When he finished, I
had to bring him a light and sealing-wax. With the costly
ring that he afterwards gave the Hofmarschall he made two
big seals underneath what he had written. He did it him-
self, but he was so weak that I had to press his hand down,
that the crest might be impressed sharp and clear upon the
wax. Then he looked at it through a glass, and it must have
been all right, for he nodded his head. He held out the paper
for me to read the address. I spelled it out, l To the Freiherr
Raoul von Mainau.' Then he handed the paper to me t
keep ; but she sprang up and snatched it from me, kissed i'
again and again, and then shook out upon the floor the con-
tents of the little silver book and put the paper in it instead.
Something like a smile passed over his face, and he nodded to
me, as if to say it would be well taken care of there. After
that, he embraced and kissed her for the last time upon earth.
He knew it, but she never thought it. She did not want to
go when he made a sign to me to take her home. She began
to cry like a child, but she was so gentle and docile ; he only
looked grave and raised his finger, and she went. If she had
only stayed away 1 But now that she had seen him again,
she fretted after him till she was ill. She scarcely looked at
her little Gabriel, she so longed to go to him whom she adored.
One day she slipped away from me and ran to the castle. The
Herr Hofmarschall caught her in the passage leading to the
sick-room. How it all happened then, whether she was about
to scream, and he clutched her throat to prevent it, or whether
he did it in a fury of jealousy, no one knows, and no one
ever will know, but he did it. I know it from herself, for I
understand her eyes as well as if she spoke to me. At first
her mind was all right, until his reverence came and talked to
her, talked to her until at last, one day, she shrieked like one
in torture. Heavens ! how he hurried away 1 He never tried
256 TBE SECOND WIFE.
it again. But his work was done; her poor brain was never
right afterwards. Now I have told you everything, and 1
beg you to take and keep the chain with the little silver
book "
" Not now 1" cried Liana, in distress. She went to the bed
and leaned over the dying woman. The breath of the grave
seemed already to come from the parted lips, but the bosom
still rose and fell with gentle regularity. " I should never
forgive myself if, as I took it, her eyes should open, and she
should be conscious in her last moment of the loss of her treas-
ure," said the young wife. " When all is over, send for me ;
I will come, although it should be in the middle of the night.
I will take the paper out of her hand you are right, I ought
to do that myself but this poor hand shall not be touched
until then. Frau Lhn, I am sorry, but I must reproach you
for one thing, you ought to have delivered the paper to him
to whom it was addressed."
" Madame 1" the housekeeper exclaimed, almost wildly.
"You say that now, when everything promises well, but
then ? I was entirely alone : all the servants were against me.
I could do nothing to contend with such men as the Herr
Hofmarschall and the priest ; wiser heads than mine would
have failed there. And the young baron, who might have
fought it out with them ? Oh, heavens ! Yes yes, if one
could have put her under a glass case, like the blue shoe 1"
A deep blush suffused Liana's cheeks, and the housekeeper
paused, in terror. " Oh, what am I saying I That is all
over now," she corrected herself. " But then it was bad
enough. Madame, you heard him say to-day that he had
thrust Gabriel like a dog from his path. I will tell you what
would have happened. The young baron would have taken
the paper from me and shown it to the two others; they
would have laughed at him, and told him that they knew
better, for that they had never left the sick man alone day or
THE SECOND WIFE. 257
night. And I should have been convicted of the trick, as
sure as two and two make four, and dismissed from the castle
for lying. No, no, what I had to do was to watch and wait.
It would have been different if I had known what was written
in the paper ; but I did not stand near enough to see while
my master was writing, and when he handed it to me I had
enough to do to spell out the address. Not very long ago I
took the little book to examine it, when the poor child was
sleeping soundly under the effects of morphia, but I could not
open it. It seems fairly welded together : there is no lock or
spring to be seen. I think it will have to be broken open."
" So much the better," said Liana. She went to the glass
door and beckoned to Gabriel. It had grown late, much too
late for the young wife to tell Mainau of all this before going
to court, and he had told her that for certain reasons he must
accept this invitation. It was almost too late to dress. She
could hardly endure the idea of standing before her mirror,
of adorning herself, at such a time, when old, hidden crimes
were just creeping into the daylight. She hastily left the
Indian cottage, to seek Mainau and impart to him the out-
line, at least, of the story she had just heard ; but he was not
to be found, and a footman informed her that the Herr Baron
had received some tidings from Wolkershausen which had taken
him from the castle. He believed he had gone to the gar
doner's With a heavy heart she went to her dressing-room.
R 28
268 THE SECOND WIFE.
CHAPTER XXIV.
The carriage drawn by the chestnuts was waiting on the
broad sweep in front of the castle, and just before the entrance
stood the Hofmarschairs glass coach. The stout, well-fed
coachman on the box of the latter had no trouble with his
horses, they were handsome and gentle, and stood like lambs ;
but the chestnuts stamped and snorted incessantly.
" Brutes 1" growled the Hofmarschall, as he was carried down-
stairs in his chair. He might have walked, but he allowed
himself this indulgence, in view of the hours of martyrdom
upon his feet, now in prospect at court.
Mainau was walking to and fro in the vestibule, and, just as
the footmen deposited the wheeled chair with its burden up^n
the mosaic floor, a man passed out by a side-door, quickening
his steps as he caught sight of the old man.
The Hofmarschall turned in his chair, as if unable to trust
his eyes. " What 1 was not that Dammer, the rascal whom I
turned off?" he asked Mainau.
"Yes, uncle."
*' How the deuce, then what does the fellow mean by going
through here so sansfagon?" he harshly asked the footmen.
" Herr Baron, he has just had his supper in the servant 1
hall," one of them replied, with hesitation.
The Hofmarschall started to his feet. " Tn my servants'
hall? At my servants' table?"
" My dear uncle, I have some right in this servants' hall
and table, have I not?" Mainau said, calmly. "Dammer
brought me a message from Wolkershausen ; he cannot ride
back until to-morrow morning : is he to starve here in Schon*
THE SECOND WIFE. 259
werth in the mean while? It was very stupid of him to crosa
your path, but he is here with my permission."
" Ah, indeed ! I understand. You are a philanthropist, and
are establishing a kind of house of refuge for criminals, a
house of correction, at Wolkershausen. Very goodl" And
the Hofmarschall dropped into his chair again.
" Dammer was wanting in respect to you. Of course he
could not be permitted to remain at Schnwerth." Mainau
spoke with unalterable composure. "But he has several
times had terrible provocation. We must not forget that he
is a man, not a dog whom we thrash into compliance with our
whims and desires." The flush that here rose to his cheeks
showed how well he remembered the moment when his anger
had prompted him to lift his hand so unworthily against the
man. "Besides, his old father, who is entirely innocent,
would have suffered much from so unjustly severe a punish-
ment as his dismissal. He received a stern rebuke, and was
sent to Wolkershausen. So the account was balanced."
"Indeed! You think sol Balanced between the Hof-
marschall von Mainau and a scoundrel I Well, well, time rolls
on, and the longest road has a turning. Will you have
the kindness to take precedence to-day ? I do not want those
brutes of yours behind me."
"I am waiting for my wife, uncle." The words were
scarcely uttered before the rustle of a silken train was heard
along the pillared corridor, and Liana entered the vestibule.
Mainau had told her that the ladies had been requested to
appear en grande toilette, and she was dressed in the silver
brocade. The large emerald solitaires of her necklace glittered
in her hair, confining a spray of snow-drops among its red-
golden waves.
" Ah, what a surprise for our court I" exclaimed the Ho
marschall. He had not, apparently, entertained the idea of hei
accompanying them. " AUez tottfours } madame," he said, with
260 THE SECOND WIFE.
a gesture towards the entrance, pushing back his chair by an
effort, as she hesitated to pass him.
Mainau offered her his arm and led her to the carriage.
" My bride is lovely as Snow-drop in the old fairy-tale, but her
fair face is clouded with melancholy," he whispered, tenderly.
" I have so much to tell you. I seem to be walking upon
coals of fire," she said, hurriedly and anxiously. " If we were
but at home once more !"
" Patience ! My errand at the court will soon be concluded,
and then away into the world, with my darling beside me."
He lifted her into the carriage. The chestnuts sped away,
and the HofmarschalFs steeds followed at a more leisurely
pace.
Baron Mainau's second marriage had come to be regarded
in the capital, in spite of the lofty lineage of the young wife,
as a kind of misalliance. She was said to be nothing more
than a housekeeper and governess, frequenting kitchen, cellar,
and laundry in a black silk apron, with a basket of keys upon
her arm; that was her element. How odious! A baroness
Mainau, the wife of one of the wealthiest men in the country !
Heavens! what charming naivete* and ignorance of all such
matters had lent an indescribable charm to the first wife!
She had been the fairy, not the mistress, of the household, a
genuine aristocratic lily of the field. She had dwelt upon
this earth that costly laces might be woven for her, that
bright champagne might sparkle for her, and that countless
hands and feet might enjoy the inestimable privilege of adorn-
ing, tending, and cherishing her fragile form. Had any one
asked her where the Schonwerth kitchen was, she would prob-
ably in her pretty wrath have laid her riding-whip about the
offender's shoulders ; but she was quite as much at home in the
stables as in her boudoir, that jessamine extract of which she
was so fond had sometimes hardly sufficed to banish the odour
of the stables from her dress : nevertheless there had been some
THE SECOND WIFE, 261
thing deliciously original, indefinably aristocratic, in this taste
of hers. None of all the good people of the capital had as yet
seen the second wife ; she was known to be tall and red-haired
and to these two qualities popular report added, as a necessary
consequence, broad high shoulders, big feet, red hands, and a
coarse skin. Society in the capital had further been accustomed
to regard Baron Mainau as a bachelor : he always appeared with-
out his wife ; and at the last large ball given there, he had replied
to an inquiry as to how she was with a shrug of his shoulders
and a " Well, I suppose ; I have not been to Schnwerth for
three days." Besides, it was confidently stated that his de-
parture for the East was to be the signal for a separation.
And now he suddenly entered the concert-room of the palace,
and on his arm leaned a lovely young creature, snow-white
from her brow to the delicate satin-covered foot peeping from
beneath her petticoat, and of a beauty so pale, grave, and cold
that it appeared as if he had snatched the Ice-Queen from her
glacial throne.
The duchess had wished to make the entertainment espe-
cially brilliant; this was the first concert given at court since
the duke's death, and a whisper was circulated that there
was to be also a small dance afterwards, with which she meant
to surprise the young people invited. The concert-salon and
the adjoining suite of rooms blazed with light; it streamed
from the chandeliers, from candelabra in all the corners, and
m the distant conservatory from gigantic lily-cups and white
glass may bells among the huge tropical plants and flowers.
All the guests who owned diamonds and jewels wore them,
sprinkled upon curls, or upon neck and arms, shining satin or
puffed tulle. Silken trains rustled, spangled fans fluttered,
and from the lips of the young and lovely and the old and
ugly came soft tones of gossip, scandal, flattery, secret love,
or lurking envy. The confused murmur was hushed for
moment at the entrance of " the Schnwerthers."
262 THE SECOND WIFE.
Was this she, the mythic second wife? So strangely proud
and composed? So little affected or embarrassed by the
brilliant assemblage? What new whim was this of the eccen-
tric man upon whose arm she leaned? By his mock-marriage
with this Countess Trachenberg he had placed her in a most
ambiguous position ; he had hitherto hidden her away as if he
were ashamed of her, she had been the object at court of com-
passionate sneers, and at this very moment, it was said, a request
for a dissolution of the unsuitable connection had been dis-
patched to Rome there was no doubt of it ; and yet he had
brought her to court thus ostentatiously, as if to say, " Look,
my taste was not so bad after all I Even for the sake of carry-
ing out the farce I proposed, I could not quite belie my
appreciation of beauty. Take one look at the woman so
maligned before I send her home !" And the men all thought
him insane with arrogance and vanity. Surely there could be
no more harmonious sight than that of those two stately figures
walking side by side. The first wife had always flitted before
him like a butterfly, and when conventionality required that her
finger-tips should rest upon his arm, and her small person
accommodate itself to his, it was quite ridiculous to behold
them. Before the second wife had walked the length of the
spacious salon, all had decided that no Lorelei had ever been
half so fair as she, and that Mainau was a fool and blind.
No one saw how he pressed the round white arm closer to
his side, as if stricken with remorse at having exposed his
young wife to the eager gaze of so many eyes ; no one could
hear his tender whispered words, words betokening the most
jealous affection; no one understood the earnest gravity with
which he presented her to several elderly ladies as his wife.
It was all a farce, a new caprice, and the poor victim by his
side, and indeed the whole court, were, as usual, to minister
to the gratification of his whim.
There was a sudden hush ; all present arose, and all eyes
TE SECOND WIFE. 203
wxe directed to the door through which the duchess was to
enter. The folding-doors were solemnly thrown open, and her
serene highness, followed by the two little princes and several
ladies and gentlemen, entered the salon.
Involuntarily Liana's eyes sought Mainau's face. It flushed
to the very temples, and an evil smile played about his lips.
" Ah, in yellow silk, and pomegranates in her hair 1" he said,
in a low tone, without returning his young wife's glance.
" Liana, look at this lovely princess. Just so she was dressed
at the ball where she promised to be mine. It would seem
she desires specially to recall those heavenly reminiscences this
evening !"
The duchess did indeed look magnificently beautiful. The
brilliant golden hue of her dress about her bare shoulders, the
splendour of the blossoms amid her black curls, set off with
startling effect the waxen white of her complexion, while the
supple, serpent-like grace of her motions, the strange, pleasure-
breathing curl of her full, delicately-tinted lips, and the fire in
her large eyes, involuntarily Liana thought of the Erl-king*8^
daughters, who dance to death mortals who are the objects of
their passion. If he should succumb again to this magic?
The young wife shivered ; she clasped his arm closer with hei
white, slender fingers, and pressed to his side, so that he coulo
feel the wild throbbing of her heart.
"Raoull" she whispered, as if to remind him of her pres-
ence. He started and turned to her; that tone, which had in it
so caressing a tenderness, struck his ear for the first time from
her lips ; for the first time her whole soul lay unveiled in the
large steel-gray eyes that sought his own. Here, before the
entire court, in the presence of the duchess herself, that
single whispered word told him that his love was returned.
The royal lady stayed her steps for an instant; a dark veil
seemed to dim her brilliancy as her pencilled brows gloomily
contracted. The silvery-white robe glimmering like moonlight
204 THE SECOND WIF&.
amid all the gay toilettes apparently surprised her much; evi-
dently her highness shared the amazement of all present at
the young wife's appearance this evening, but she immediately
pursued her way, bowing graciously in all directions, particu-
larly distinguishing the Hofinarschall, giving him her hand
to kiss, in her pleasure at seeing him once more at court afte r
his long absence, and contriving to say a few courteous words
to many of her guests as she slowly passed along. The
jewelled fan in her hand seemed to scatter a fire of brilliant
sparks, and the airy folds of yellow gauze floated upon the
heavy satin train like a shadowy mist gilded by the sun.
Suddenly she paused before Liana.
" Aha ! We thought the learned recluse of Schnwerth so
averse to social gaiety that we did not venture to send her a
special bidding to our little musical evening," she said, coldly,
and yet as if excusing herself for not particularly inviting the
young wife.
Liana blushed crimson, and looked up in terror to him who
had brought her hither ; but he did not appear to notice the
irritation that had caused such discourtesy on the royal lady's
part.
"We always permit ourselves exceptional conduct on the
eve of great changes, your highness," he said, in the dreaded
tone of voice that seemed fairly saturated with sarcasm, " and
therefore I requested the baroness to accompany me this
evening. We are to depart in a few days."
"Indeed, Barn Mainau?" the duchess exclaimed, in de-
lighted surprise. " This Eastern tour is like a fever in your
veins. I believe you would undertake it although the world
were on fire. Ah, well, you will come back weary at last,
and perhaps a little more socially disposed." Her counte-
nance had brightened; but since she had just heard the con-
firmation of her hope that the separation she so desired would
take place in a few days, she was doubly irritated by the
THE SECOND WIFE. 2G5
proud repose and confidence manifested by the young wife at
Mainau's side. Had she not already taken the first step in her
future path which would never again lead the divorced wife to
Schn werth ? And yet she did not even withdraw from Mai-
nau's arm the hand that lay there, as if asserting its right to
that place. " You will be glad to see your quiet Rudisdorf
again,'* she said, with a dark glance at the delicate, hated
finger-tips.
" I have given up my visit to Rudisdorf, your highness,"
Liana replied, embarrassed. She did not like to make the
explanation, but in view of the duchess's remark no alternative
was left her.
The duchess started involuntarily, and the hand that held
her fan was dropped among the rustling folds of her satin skirt
"What! You remain here?" A disdainful smUe played
about her lips. " Oh, I understand. You are magnanimous,
and will not forsake our good Hofmarschall," she added,
quickly, graciously inclining her head towards the old man,
who had gradually approached. In spite of the murmur of
talk in the salon, he had greedily devoured every word that
had passed between the duchess and his relatives. Now he
remonstrated in angry terror.
" I must humbly entreat your highness indeed, your de-
voted old Hofmarschall has nothing whatever to do with these
arrangements," he declared, laying his hand in solemn protest
upon his heart.
" Quite true ; my uncle has had no voice whatever in the
matter," Mainau said, composedly, and in rather a loud tone.
It almost seemed as if he were speaking to the by-standers,
and not to the duchess. " Much as I desire always to leave
him in faithful, devoted hands, in this instance I must consider
myself first. I could not consent to a separation, and my wife,
in her unselfish kindness, consents to go with me."
It sounded so reasonable, so grave and dignified, and as if
m 28
266 THE SECOND WIFE.
those lips had never curled in scorn, as if there had never
been a time when he had given over the silent, slender crea-
ture by his side to all the malice of evil-disposed tongues.
The duchess suddenly unfolded her fan with a loud rustle,
and began to fan herself as if it had grown stiflingly hot in
the salon. " A new caprice, then, Baron Mainau ?" she said,
in vain endeavoring to give to her voice a tone of contemptu-
ous gaiety. " Hitherto you have zealously avoided everything
that could dim the nimbus of the interesting traveller. You
have played the part of a veritable fairy-prince. And sud-
denly to appear with this latter-day Lady Stanhope by your
side, not a bad idea ! It certainly will create surprise and
make a sensation."
" Not for long, your highness," said Mainau, with a quiet
smile, " since I shall not take my ' Lady Stanhope ' to the East,
but to my retired estate, Blankenau, in Franconia, where we
shall reside."
Her serene highness turned away and gave the signal for
the opening of the concert. Those who knew her well
trembled. When her eyes gleamed thus above her pale
cheeks, when there was such harsh severity in the lines about
her mouth and prominent chin, she never granted a petition
or was accessible to any gentle emotion.
CHAPTER XXV.
The ducal band played magnificently, and the prima donna
sang gloriously. Her highness the duchess herself gave the
signal for the applause, and in the pauses of the music over-
whelmed the singer with tokens of her favour and approval.
Everything went on so smoothly, so easily, and yet in such
THE SECOND WIFE. 267
strict accordance with conventional rule, tHat Liana thought
her own fancy alone caused her blood to course so feverishly in
her veins ; she could not look without a shudder at the pale
Medusa profile of the duchess. There, in the midst of a group
of officers in full uniform, and strangely contrasting with their
splendour, sat two dark figures, the Hofmarschall and the
court chaplain. Liana could almost read in the old man's
features what he was passionately whispering into his neigh-
bour's ear; but in rising anger she turned her eyes away. The
priest kept his eyes fixed upon her face, and seemed to be re-
peating inwardly those terrible words : " I will endure every-
thing, silently and without resistance, but you cannot shake
jie off." She feared him no longer. The stately figure who
with folded arms leaned against the wall beside her seat would
protect her. He was strong enough physically and mentally
to crush the viper that would intrude upon the happiness of
his home. If her back were only once turned upon this hall,
with its brilliant assemblage ! But the hour of release had
not yet struck. The astounding intelligence that Mainau was
about to retire to Franconia with his young wife ran like wild-
fire from mouth to mouth, and when the concert was over all
crowded about the baron to hear his confirmation of the report.
Then Mainau was honoured by a command to open the ball
with the duchess.
" Pray take me into the next room," she said, interrupting
the waltz with which the polonaise concluded. " Too much
gas-light here, and too many people! The heat is really
tropical."
They crossed the threshold, while the other couples whirled
past them.
" You play your new part incomparably well, Baron Mai-
nau," the duchess said, in a low tone, as she signed to several
gentlemen, comfortably occupied at the supper-tables, and who
started up at her entrance, not to disturb themselves.
268 THE SECOND WIFE.
"May I a^k the name of the drama that the court is bringing
out and at which I am unconsciously assisting?" he rejoined,
falling into the easy, frivolous tone in which she had spoken.
"Mephisto!" She raised her fan with a graceful air of
menace. " We are not playing we are too depressed, too tared
and inelastic, thanks to wearying inward strife. We have
no talent, like the gifted Baron Mainau, for bringing a sadden
resolve into scenic action. Shall I tell yon that a whisper
goes in the salon that the second act of the drama, * All for
Revenge/ has been played to-night?"
As she spoke, they entered the conservatory. As they had
passed quickly through the rooms, neither had noticed sitting
in the last, which was apparently empty, the Hofmarschall and
his friend the court chaplain. They had iced fruit and cham-
pagne before them, but the ice was melting and the champagne
had foamed untouched.
Mainau hastily drew aside his arm, so that the hand of the
duchess lost its support and dropped by her side. They stood
alone beneath palm-trees, beneath a green shower of tropical
trailing plants depending from the glass roof. Like, the
maiden in the fairy-tale, sprinkled with gold from the magic
tree, the pale, beautiful woman stood there in yellow satin
from which the dazzling gas-light was reflected in a metallic
gleam of colour.
" There is no second act for revenge grown cold; it dies, like
the bee in the fable, as soon as it has stung," said Mainau,
with a slight change of colour.
The duchess looked at him with flashing eyes. " I pray your
pardon, then ! Those good people must have been mistaken,"
she said, with a graceful shrug of her beautiful shoulders.
" Some other motive animates you, doubtless, but we can as
little believe in the one you would seem to profess as that that
gorgeous pomegranate-tree with its fiery blossoms is longing to
take root in glacial snow. You may be impressed by this blonde
THE SECOND WIFE. 269
Countess Juliana, with her studied air of reflection, her pain-
fully acquired mite of masculine information, but such a woman
is never really loved."
" You speak of such a passion as I formerly felt," Mainau
replied, in a hard, icy tone. It irritated him to hear from
those lips the name he so loved. " How lightly it took root
is plainly proved by the ease with which it died."
The duchess started back, and her breath came quickly, as
if he had pointed at her some deadly weapon.
"If what you say is true," he continued, inexorably, " that
such a woman is rarely loved, I am indeed blest I For then
I shall surely be able to rid myself of the torments of jealousy
that I sometimes suffer. And now let me tell your highness
why I am here with this l blonde Countess Juliana.' It is
no act of revenge, but of repentance ; of public apology to my
injured wife."
The royal lady burst into a laugh so loud and convulsive
that it sounded almost frenzied.
"I beg pardon !" she cried, breathlessly, as if stifled with
laughter, "but the idea is too ridiculous. The bold duellist,
not to say bully, forgive me! the brave soldier with his
dreaded sneer at female honour, in which he has absolutely no
belief, doing penance to the countess with the red braids 1
The lion piously prostrating himself before the distaff Oh,
'tis delicious!"
He recoiled. A sovereign's crown rested upon her brow;
during her son's minority it was hers to decide upon life and
death, the weal and woe of her people ; and yet here she stood
laughing wildly, with the air of a bacchante, stripped of even
the feminine dignity that might have clothed the poorest of
her subjects.
" Your highness, l the duellist, not to say bully,' has need
but of a small amount of courage," he said; and his brow
darkened " ft coste ur more force of will and self-control
23*
270 THE SECOND WIFE.
for the mocker Mainau, the frivolous satirist of women, to
confess his conversion, to show 'those good people' that the
zealous advocate for * manages de convenance' has no more
earnest hope or desire than to win the love of his own wife.
But I owe this atonement to the ' blonde Countess Juliana, 9
the maiden whose soul is inspired by pure enthusiasms, whose
thoughts are her own. This penance I imposed upon myself
before I dared to appropriate my new happiness."
The fan fell from the duchess's hand, and dangled, sparkling,
by the delicate chain that confined it to her waist. The beau-
tiful woman stood with her back to Mainau before an orange-
tree in full bloom, and plucked off blossom after blossom, as
if determined that the tree should never bear a single fruit.
She was silent: no word passed her lips ; but in the nervous
action of her hands there was something like suppressed
despair, and the baron could not forbear an emotion of pity.
" I wish I could recall all the follies of my life," he said,
further ; " there has been so much in it to outrage a sense
of honour and chivalry. I cannot, indeed, change my own
nature. I hate those who hate me, and I am afraid that the
'milk of human kindness' will never soothe my throbbing
pulses ; but I repent the savage vengeances I have taken,
your highness; I would gladly see repose and happiness
where I formerly invoked misery and a curse."
The duchess turned around, with an entire change of coun-
tenance. " Why, who can have told you, Herr von Mainau,
that I am not happy ?" she asked the baron, in a cold, scorn-
ful tone. She straightened her stately figure and suddenly
looked as if standing before her throne giving audience to a
subject. The pose was admirable and successful. Not so the
expression of her eyes ; in them gleamed the wild fire of the
angry, offended woman. "Happiness? I have it. I can
place my foot upon the necks of those whom I hate, for I
have the power. I can disperse upon the air their dreams
THE SECOND WIFE. 271
of delight and bliss, for I have potoer. Power ii happiness
for a woman's proud, ambitious soul. Take heed to what I
say, Freiherr von Mainau. You must admit that your amiable
wish was entirely superfluous."
She walked towards the entrance to the rooms, but paused
upon the threshold, and, pointing through their open doors,
looked back over her shoulder. " There she comes, calm and
pale as a cool moonlit night," she said. And her pearly
teeth glittered beneath her lip, curved in a malicious smile*
" In truth, Baron Mainau, yours is an enviable lot. But let
me give you one piece of advice : Do not go to Franconia !
The climate of Sicily might perhaps enable one to tolerate
the freezing temperature of such stern virtue and self-con-
scious delicacy."
Liana was slowly approaching upon the arm of a chamber-
lain with whom she had danced the polonaise. The duchess
left the conservatory, and Mainau paused upon the threshold
to await his wife. The couple arrested their steps near the
opposite door and stood aside to allow the duchess, who walked
with her head haughtily erect, to pass them, but she stopped
just before the young wife.
" My dear Frau von Mainau," she said, in a studied but
perfectly firm tone, " you are to be carried away from us ;
you are, indeed, called upon to rule husband and household
with a gentle yet strong arm. See that the phantom does
not escape you just when you think to hold it fast. A but-
terfly must fly, it is a condition of its existence. And now
fair fortune attend you, lovely * Tide !" With easy grace she
raised her white arms and, opening her closed hands, scattered
a shower of crushed orange-blossoms over the shoulders and
arms of the young wife.
Then she again took up her fan. " Herr von Lievcn, I
wish to dance the next galop with Count Brandau," she saiu\
in a loud, clear voice, to the chamberlain.
272 THE SECOND WIFE.
He hurried away to acquaint the slender, handsome lien
t nant with the favour her highness accorded him. With a
farewell wave of her fan, the royal lady passed by Liana, who
curtsied as she passed, and went back to the music-salon.
" Be sure the butterfly's flights are past," said Mainau, with
a bright smile, as he drew Liana with him across the threshold
of the conservatory, pressing to his breast with passionate
tenderness the hand that lay upon his arm. " It never was a
butterfly from genuine choice, and could it have found its
Liana earlier it would now have far less to repent of."
Silently and timidly she stood beside him, and pointed
towards the adjoining room, in the corner of which she had
observed the two friends sitting; they had arisen and fol-
lowed the duchess to the salon.
" Ah, here you are ! Where have you been hiding, Herr
Hofmarschall ?" the haughty lady inquired. Count Brandau
was standing before her, bowing almost to the ground, as the
Hofmarschall approached in evident embarrassment. " There
is wonderful news abroad. Baron Mainau is about to retire
to Pranconia. Do you accompany him ?"
The Hofmarschall started in horror. " I, your highness ?"
he cried, in an indignant tone. " I would sooner go to my
grave, I would sooner beg my bread from door to door, than
live a day longer with my degenerate nephew. I shall re-
main in my Schbnwerth, and if your highness would now and
then deign to let the sunlight of your favour illumine the
lonely life of an old and faithful servant by continuing to
make Schnwerth the favourite goal of your rides "
" Herr von Mainau," she coldly interrupted him, in a hard
tone of voice, as she laid her hand upon Count Brandau's
arm. " I hear that the wind last night destroyed your mag-
nificent musa, to see which, as you remember, was my prin-
cipal inducement for frequenting the l Vale of Cashmere.'
It has gone, gone ! And, besides, I must confess that I have
THE SECOND WIFE. 273
not yet been able to shake off the horror that possesses me at
the remembrance of that terrible powder-play of the children*
which came so near proving fatal to the crown-prince and his
brother in your garden. You can understand that years must
elapse before a mother's heart can forget such a fright."
A loud galop began from the orchestra, and, with a haughty
inclination to the annihilated courtier, the beautiful duchess
was whirled off in the arms of her partner, " in a strangely wild
and excited way," several scandal-loving old ladies whispered
among themselves. The Hofmarschall looked after her with
an ashy cheek, and knees that almost refused him their support.
Incredible! incomprehensible I Would not all his haughty
ancestors arise from their graves to repudiate him? Would
not the earth yawn and engulf him, wretched outcast ! He
was in disgrace ; he who would have signed away his soul to
the Evil One to avoid such a disaster I Through no fault of
his had this dark cloud gathered above his head. In ten min-
utes the " interesting bit of news" would be circulating from
lip to lip of his enviers and ill-wishers, and a hundred eyes
and fingers would be directed towards him ; he vanished from
the salon.
Soon after the departure of the HofmarschalTs glass coach,
the equipage drawn by the chestnuts stood waiting at the
portal of the ducal castle.
" My errand is done. Now I can carry home my bride,"
Mainau whispered to Liana as he lifted her into the carriage,
s
274 THE SECOND WIFE.
CHAPTER XXVI.
Again he sat upon the box and held the reins, while she
leaned back among the cushions, not, as formerly, a gray, un-
pretending nun with her heart full of cold resignation. The
rich bridal dress lay in sparkling folds upon the white satin,
emeralds gleamed in her hair, and the fine eyes of the young
wife flashed as they followed every movement of the manly
figure that in her presence retained not a trace of the cold
reserve of offended pride.
It was a warm, moonlit night. The silver orb above sailed
through cloudless blue, but between heaven and earth hung a
light silvery mist that veiled all distinctness of outline. Beside
the motionless waters of the little lake in the ducal park the
majestic lindens formed one heavy mass of foliage, in the shade
of which the fishing-village had vanished so completely that it
seemed us if some giant hand had plunged the little toy be-
neath the waters of the lake. Liana did not know that upon
that spot the duchess had heard her name for the first time ;
that there the countess with the red braids had been summoned
to bear her unconscious part in a scheme of revenge which had
been secretly cherished for years. Nevertheless, she turned
from the scene with a shiver ; the dense shade and the leaden
glassy surface of the water had a ghostly air. Besides, the
young wife was distressed and anxious. She knew that the
court chaplain was in the glass coach rolling before her on its
way to Schonwerth ; he had followed the Hofmarschall like
his shadow. From the dressing-room she had seen him enter
the vehicle and close the door. This odious priest would be
there when she entered Schonwerth for the last time ; his was
THE SECOND WIFE. 275
indeed the boldness and steady persistence with which the beast
of prey dogs its victim. She shuddered as the carriage left the
forest and swept through the Schbnwerth valley, now bathed
in moonlight. There rolled the HofmarschalTs equipage. She
saw the gleam of its glass windows before it disappeared be-
hind the hedge. Liana had to summon reason and courage
to aid her not to entreat Mainau to drive past Schnwerth
and take her to Wolkershausen this very night.
As soon as the carriage stopped before the castle, Frau Lohn
stood by the door, as if she had started from the earth. " All
has been over for an hour, madame," she whispered, breath-
lessly. " He of the shaven crown arrived also awhile ago.
He might demand the trinkets of me this very night fo the
Hofmarschall ; he did so that other time."
" I will come," said Liana, and sprang out of the carriage,
while Frau Lhn crossed the gravelled space to return to the
Indian cottage. A fearful moment was at hand for the young
wife; she must tell Mainau of the scene by Gisbert von Mai-
nau's death-bed, she must tell him all that she knew, and then
he could accompany her and take possession himself of the
mysterious little silver book.
He had not observed the housekeeper, and quietly conducted
Liana to her apartments. Both started back as they entered
the room that served as a kind of antechamber to the blue
boudoir; on the table in the centre a lamp was burning, and
beside it stood the Hofmarschall, erect, lightly resting his right
hand upon the table.
" Forgive me, madame, for intruding here," he said, in a
monotonous tone of frigid courtesy. "But it is past tea
o'clock. I was uncertain whether your husband would
feel inclined to grant me a few moments of explanation to-
night, and, as I must have them, I preferred to await him
here."
Mainau dropped his wife's hand from his arm and ar
276 THE SECOND WIFE.
proaclied the old man. " Here I am, uncle ; I would willingly
have gone to you if you had desired it. What have you to
Bay to me?" he asked, calmly, but with the air of a man who
is not disposed to allow of any undue criticism of his conduct.
"What have I to say to you?" the Hofmarschall repeated,
with suppressed rage. " First of all, I beg leave to decline
the title of ' uncle.' You have, as you declared to me this
morning, broken off all connection with your equals in rank
and social standing. I, on the contrary, belong among them,
mind and heart, estate and person; there is, of course, an
irreparable, eternal breach between yourself and your father's
brother."
"I shall know how to endure that misfortune," Mainau
replied, his cheek paling, but in a clear, quiet voice. " The
future must show what you gain by hazarding all upon a
single card. One of my numerous good friends' whispered
to me hastily as I left the ducal castle that you were fallen
into great disgrace upon my account." At the word disgrace,
so calmly uttered, the Hofmarschall raised his hands, as if to
fori back between the speaker's lips the announcement of so
feai-ful a fact. " Such a mean, pitiful revenge taken upon one
entirely unconcerned in provoking it can, of course, arouse
only disgust ; and you can think it worth while to make haste
to break with your only relative, with everything that can
give to your life, to your lonely future, an aim, a fitting
dignity ? And it must be done, too, on the instant, this very
night, that you may early to-morrow morning announce your
entire separation from the ' degraded wretch,' and entreat, for
God's sake, to be received again into the royal favour ? What
loss is it to you "
"What loss to me?" the Hofmarschall almost shrieked.
" The loss of light to my eyes, of the breath of my life. I
Bhall die if thia this fearful disgrace lasts for months only.
What you may hink of it is your own affair, that is nothing
THE SECOND WIFE. 2TI
to me." Unable to stand upon his feet a moment longer, lie
sank into the nearest arm-chair.
Mainau turned his back on him in undisguised contempt.
" Then, indeed, there is nothing more for me to say," he
murmured, shrugging his shoulders. " I thought I might
appeal once more to your affection for Leo "
" Alia ! there you touch the sole consideration that induced
me to seek you even this once. My grandchild, my only
daughter's child "
Is my son," Mainau interrupted him, with perfect com-
posure, looking him full in the face. " Of course he remains
with me."
" On no account I You can, of course, carry him to Fran-
conia, I have no means of preventing that ; but before many
months are over, you will learn what you do in thus inso-
lently challenging those high both in temporal and in spiritual
power."
"I should positively be frightened, 1 ' said Mainau, with an
air of ironical contempt, " if I were not sure of my ground.
I know where you wish to apply the screw. Since I have
given a Protestant mother to my child, who has been baptized
in the Catholic Church, and, moreover, provided him with a
tutor of liberal principles, the Church is justified in reclaiming,
not to say rescuing, the soul consigned to her care. A father
has, of course, no rights that can for one moment avail him in
opposition to a papal decree. Who could attach the least im-
portance to such a trifle, at a time when the final decrees of an
earthly ruler, the edicts of the representatives of the people, are
ignored at Rome as if they were but bubbles light as air ? I
might range myself in the ranks of those now warring against
priestly arrogance if I did not prefer to meet the black-
frocked host single-handed, let it come 1"
"It will come, rely upon that! Your blasphemous oppo-
uition will be chastised as it deserves, and as all the truly good
24
278 THE SECOND WIFE.
must desire that it should be," the Hofmarschall cried, in
uncontrollable irritation. " Place your dependence upon your
intellect, upon the brain that you believe will carry you
through, just there you will make a miserable fiasco I Go
to-morrow to every one connected with the court, not one
will grant that you were in possession of your wits to-night!
A man possessed of his five senses, with an unclouded
brain "
" l Never carries his head erect, but bows it servilely and
cringes to power/ you would say ?"
" I say your words and acts, and your whole conduct, lately,
have been so extraordinary that it is a case for medical inter-
ference," shrieked the old man, blind with fury.
" Aha ! That, then, is the breach through which temporal
power is to advance upon me." For one instant a deep pallor
overspread his handsome countenance. He was very angry ;
but, folding his arms upon his chest, he said, lightly, although
in a cutting tone, " I am surprised at you. It is hardly worthy
of so experienced a diplomatist and courtier to betray the secret
plan of his campaign. So, when the clerical battle has been
happily concluded, the civil authority steps in and declares the
man l irresponsible,' precisely because he has offered battle, and
because an entire court, with her highness the duchess, of
course, at its head, declares upon oath that he was out of his
wits one evening."
The Hofmarschall arose. " I must entreat you not to insult
that noble lady in my presence," he said, in his harshest voice.
" And I intentionally informed you of what you are pleased to
call the secret plan of my campaign. I choose that you shall
know it, because I hope to prevent matters from being driven
to extremities ; because, as a Mainau, I feel it my duty to ward
off as long as possible public scandal from our name. " But
for the sake of my departed child, strictly pious as she was, I
cannot abate one iota of my demand, and therefore I tsk you.
THE SECOND WIFE. 279
briefly and concisely, Will you voluntarily consign Leo to me,
who have as sacred a claim upon him as your own "
He got no further. Mainau interrupted him with a clear,
sudden burst of laughter. At this moment the young wife
glided unnoticed into her dressing-room, and thence into the
pillared corridor. She could not delay one instant longer.
The Hofmarschall's arrogant attitude showed but too plainly
that he could rely upon powerful assistance to enforce his
unjustifiable demand. Secure as he was of conquest, the
wretched courtier with his murderous hands must be humili-
ated for the second time to-day, and this time it must be his
own work. Her heart was aching with sympathy for Mainau.
How she loved him, as he faced so boldly, in so manly a way,
the unavoidable consequences of his affection for her !
She forgot that she had left her light cloak in the salon.
She did not see how the little crowd of lackeys, whom the
sound of angry voices had attracted to the vestibule, dispersed
at the approach of the lovely figure who, with bare head and
neck, swept out into the moonlight in her brilliant ball-dress.
The Indian garden lay before her, as strange and weird be-
neath the silvery moon as upon the first evening of her stay
in Schbnwerth, but what a contrast between now and then !
And to-night the fabrics of years were crumbling beneath the
strokes of a Nemesis, as the storm had felled the giant banana
The young wife's fleet foot scarcely touched the ground.
Her heavy train rustled strangely in the dead silence of the
night. At the entrance of the path leading through the favor-
ite retreat of the monkeys and parrots, she suddenly stayed
her steps, not because of any noise in the boughs above her,
but because a heavy footfall upon the gravel struck her ear.
" Who is there ?" she asked, cautiously retreating towards
the gate.
" The huntsman, Dammer, madame," said an evidently em
barrassei voice.
280 TUE SECOND WIFE.
She breathed freely, and went on her way, as the young
man passed her with a respectful bow and stationed himself
by the entrance to the garden. A glance among the trees
revealed the cause of the huntsman's presence. There stood
a pretty housemaid, who, blushing and hanging her head,
curtsied to her mistress. The young people, whom the re-
moval of the huntsman had separated for some time, were
having a meeting here. The certainty that human beings
were at hand seemed to take a weight from Liana's mind.
The door of the Indian cottage was closed. The stiff mate
were hanging behind the windows, and the broken panes of
glass had been replaced by boards. At Liana's gentle knock,
one of the mats was cautiously pulled a little aside, and im-
mediately afterwards the door was noiselessly opened.
" I was afraid the priest would come," Frau Lohn whispered,
as she slipped the bolt again.
A white linen covering was spread over the dead. Ga-
briel lay in an arm-chair, sunk in the profound slumber of
exhaustion. The housekeeper had thrown a light coverlet
around him, and his pale, thin face looked almost corpse-like
against the dark cushions of the chair, thrown into strong
relief as it was by the light of numerous wax candles in a
silver candelabrum.
" A relic of old times, which I hid from the greedy grasp
of the old man at the castle," the housekeeper said, pointing
to the magnificent candelabrum. " The poor young creature
has been the true mistress of Schonwerth, and shall receive
the last honours due to her."
With a gentle hand she drew down the covering from the
corpse. The heart of the poor lotos-blossom throbbed no
more, and yet the fresh water-lily upon her breast still seemed
to rise and fall with that breast's measured breathing. The
pure white flowers were also scattered upon her dress and the
pillows of her bed.
THE SECOND WIFE. 281
r Gabriel brought them," said Frau Lhn ; " they were her
favourite flowers, and the poor fellow has formerly had many
a blow from the gardener for taking them from the pond."
As she spoke, she gently raised the head from the pillow,
and Liana with trembling hands took from the neck the
golden chain and softly released the little silver book from the
cold, clasping fingers, which no longer offered resistance. The
young wife put the chain around her own neck, and the mys-
terious amulet in her bosom.
" To morrow !" she said, in a low voice, to Frau Lhn, and
left the house. A nameless dread, an inexplicable sensation,
as if with the cold silver she had taken destruction to her
bosom, made her heart seem to stand still. In vain she
looked abroad over the rose-planted space around the cottage,
in vain she held her breath and listened for. a sign that
some human being was near her. The huntsman and his
sweetheart had doubtless left the garden, scared away by her
presence there. She hesitated to descend the veranda-steps
and proceed, and yet she was ashamed to knock again at the
door which Frau Lhn had bolted behind her, and request
the housekeeper's escort. She could delay no longer. She
was to blame for every second of time that prolonged the
unnatural conflict in which Mainau was engaged for the sake
of his child.
She flew down the steps and through the thicket of roses.
There there stood the terrible man whose vicinity she had
divined, as the bird divines the presence of its mortal foe ;
there stood the black figure with its pale, haggard features,
and the shaven spot in the midst of the dark masses of hair
gleamed ghostlike, as he bowed his head in solemn greeting.
For an instant, terror almost curdled Liana's blood, the
next, an emotion of indignation, of anger, such as she had
never known before, welled up within her, and this emotion
conquered ; it made her hard and unsparing. Gathering her
24*
282 TUE SECOND WIFE.
skirts togethar as if to avoid the slightest contact with the
man, she turned aside, and would have passed on without
heeding his greeting, but he planted himself in her path, and
even ventured to lay his hand upon her bare arm to detain
her. She paled to the very lips at his touch. Throwing off
his hand with an energetic gesture, she took up the costly
lace sleeve that hung from her shoulder, and rubbed it several
times over the spot which his fingers had touched.
"Pitiless still," he almost groaned. "You come from a
dying woman "
"From a dead woman, sir priest, from one who died a
heathen, and has therefore, as we Christians say, perished
utterly, body and soul. Whether God really receives souls
only from the hands of priests, forgers though they be, and
stopping at no crime that can serve them as a stepping-stone
to power, you must best know. Out of my path !" she said,
with an air of stern command. " I bow in reverence before
an honest declarer of Christianity, and thank God there are
still such among us! But you have revealed to me your
own baseness ; there is not a trace of sanctity about you, and
I am not surprised at such rant as that which I have just
heard from your priestly lips. Let me pass !"
" Why this haste ?" he asked, scornfully. " You will cer-
tainly be in time to witness the completion of the irreparable
breach between the uncle and the nephew, to see the interest-
ing Baron von Mainau divest himself of all former ties and
associations in order to belong entirely to you !" He had
been listening again by the columns outside of the glass door,
and had followed her as upon that first night. She succeeded
in passing him, and was walking hurriedly around the grassy
circumference of the pond, while he kept by her side. " Yes,
madame, to you alone !" he continued, ironically. " Your
threat of yesterday to leave him doubtless brought him to your
feet. How an I when ? I would give my right hand to know
TUE SECOND WIFE. 283
that. But I saw the triumph upon your lovely face in the
concert-salon to night. You are proud of your conquest,
how long will that pride last ? ' The butterfly must fly T the
duchess said ; the brilliant insect must fly, I say too, that the
world may admire the play of colour upon its wings. I give
you one year of your dreamed-of bliss, not a day longer."
"Well, then, so be it!" she replied, with head erect and
flashing eyes. In involuntary avoidance of the priest's en-
croaching approach, she was walking on the verge of the little
lake. She paused, clasped her hands fervently upon her breast,
and her lovely face, illumined by the moonlight, glowed with
ecstasy. One single year ! but a year of unimagined delight 1
I love him, I shall love him to all eternity, and will gratefully
accept at his hands this year of a return of my affection I"
A half-stifled cry, as if wrung from the depths of despair
and fury, burst from the lips of the man beside her.
" You belie yourself," he gasped, " in your desire to pro-
pitiate your Trachenberg pride by bringing this man for one
moment to your feet. You cannot love him who has so re-
peatedly in my presence and in that of others treated you with
cool neglect, who has shown the whole world that he did not
care even to approach you ; he has insulted you as shame-
fully as man can insult woman, and you have not felt it?
Has it not embittered you, and does it not even at this moment
flush your cheek with the glow of outraged pride ? Look dowu
into that clear minor." And he pointed to the transparent
flood that gleamed at her very feet. " Look down into your
own eyes. You cannot declare that in exchange for a whim-
sical and fleeting fancy on his part you can yield him the
treasure of your love."
She did, indeed, look aside and down into the water, in
nameless dread of the wild fire in his eyes.
" You love this little lake, fair lady," he said, in a strange,
suppressed voice, as if telling of some secret " You have
284 TUE SECOND WIFE.
shown me how you prefer its gentle waves to my touch
Look how alluringly they gleam and ripple 1"
In utter terror she started and looked him full in the face.
" Do you fear me ?" he asked, with a sardonic smile. " I
ask for nothing but that, in full view of this clear, pure mirror,
you should declare that you are not so filled with love for
him and with aversion to me as you would persuade me."
She summoned up all the force of her will, all her courage.
" What insolence ! What right have you to demand any
declaration from me ? I am a Protestant ; you are not my
confessor. I am mistress of Schn werth, and you are its guest;
I am a woman whose word is sacred, and you are a perjured
priest. I might simply pass you proudly by ; but, since you
take an attitude of menace in my presence, you shall know
that I do not fear you, that I despise you from the bottom of
my soul, if only because you would so coarsely attack and
desecrate the first and only love of a woman's heart 1"
She would have proceeded upon her way, but two arms
clasped her. " If I may not, he shall not," was muttered
in her ear. She would have screamed, but hot lips were
pressed to her own, and the slender, girlish figure was hurled
headlong into the deep waters of the pond. A fearful shriek
rang through the air ; but it did not come from Liana. The
house-maid came rushing from the leafy walk, and the hunts-
man followed close at her heels. " We saw it all, wretched
murderer that you are!" she screamed, madly, trying with
outspread arms to bar the way of the priest. " Help I help I
Hold him !" But with one desperate effort the frenzied man
thrust her from his path, and vanished in the thicket.
Meanwhile, the huntsman had reached the pond and torn
off his coat. The shore at this place was not swampy or
moist ; at its edge it descended precipitately into the treach-
erous depths, that were as transparent and smooth as in the
centre of the lake. At first the waves had closed over the
THE SECOND WIFE. 285
form hurled into them, but then and it was a supernaturally
beautiful sight the stiff silver brocade rose to the surface ;
it did not absorb the water, but spread out upon it like glitter-
ing swan's-down, and the drenched head with the gleaming
jewels in the hair appeared for a moment, while the white
arms were tossed aloft in the empty air, seeking some stay
there, and a faint cry for help came from the pale lips.
The huntsman was a good swimmer; but the force of the
priest's arm had sent the slender figure far out into the pond.
Nevertheless, he succeeded in grasping one of her arms just
as she was about to sink again; he drew her towards him,
and slowly but surely swam with his burden towards the
shore. He had not reached it before the garden seemed fairly
alive with the castle servants, hurrying hither from all dhec-
tions. The desperate screams, the calls for help of the house-
maid, had been heard in the Indian cottage as well as in the
vestibule of the castle. Frau Lhn came hurrying through
the rose-thicket as her mistress was about to sink again ; and
then, as the huntsman neared the shore, the footmen from the
castle arrived, just in time to draw the half-unconscious
up on the grassy bank.
586 THE SECOND WIFE
CHAPTER XXVIL
Frau Lhn kneeled upon the sod and received the young
wife in her arms, weeping and exclaiming, as the house-maid,
in a hoarse, broken whisper, told the horrified people of what
had happened. The girl had taken off her clean white muslin
apron, and with it was gently drying the dripping brow and
shoulders of her mistress. Her touch and the loud lamen-
tations of the housekeeper quickly restored Liana to entire
consciousness. "Hush, hush, Frau Lhn!" she whispered,
sitting upright ; " your master must not be alarmed." With
a charming smile she held out her hand to her preserver, and
then arose and stood upon her feet. The trees seemed to
totter before her eyes, as if shaken by some strong blast, and
the ground beneath her feet trembled and wavered, it was as
if she were walking in a palpable mist; but she went on firmly,
and her hand sought the chain at her neck, it was still there,
the precious amulet had not been left in the depths of the
lake.
With every step the dizziness that so confused her head de-
creased ; she walked more quickly, only turning now and then
to lay her finger upon her lip, when some indignant exclama-
tion burst from the people following her.
In the vestibule the rest of the servants were collected.
All knew that something terrible had happened; but they
knew not what or where. The footmen had vanished from
their posts, and distant screams and cries had been heard in
the kitchen and passages, while the Hofmarschall's coachman
declared, in great agitation, that he had seen his reverence rush
madly across the gravelled sweep, his arms extended like a
THE SECOND WIFE. 287
maniac's, and disappear behind the north wing. Meanwhile,
fiuin madame's apartments the harsh voice of the Hofmar-
schall still sounded, now and then interrupted by a warning
or menacing exclamation from the young master.
Suddenly Liana appeared upon the threshold of the vesti
bale, and passed through the terrified assemblage, her face
bloodless and rigid as if modelled in wax, while from her
long braids the water dripped down over the silver folds of
her dress, that shook it off like rolling pearls, and the long
train left a broad wet trail upon the mosaic pavement of the
hall. She might have been a phantom Undine from the
depths of the lake, come to bear thither some mortal lover.
She vanished in the pillared corridor, and Hanna flew after
her to her dressing-room ; the girl's hair bristled with horror,
for she had just caught a whisper of what the footmen were
telling their fellow-servants, and she heard exclamations of
rage and indignation from those she left as she hurried away.
In trembling haste her young mistress changed her dress.
She did not speak, but her teeth chattered audibly, as if with
the chill of fever. Through the closed door of the adjoining
apartment the croaking voice of the Hofmarschall sounded
incessantly; every syllable could be. plainly heard. He was
revelling in abuse of his dead brothers, and of the " vaga-
bond life " that they had led. He recalled the most distant
past, to show to what a succession of trials and difficulties he,
the only genuine scion of his ancestors, the one who alone
had known how to maintain the true lustre and principles of
their noble name, had been exposed. He laughed to scorn
every menacing exclamation of Mainau's, every admonition
to self-control from the nephew, who paced the room inces-
santly in great agitation of mind, and who to-morrow must
leave Schonwerth, for, although both possessed an equal claim
upon the estate, their common occupation of it after all the
insults heaped upon one of them by the other's evil tongue
288 TUE SECOND WIFE.
would be impossible nay, they could never again even breathe
the same air. And that the Herr Hofmarschall, the pride of
the house of Mainau, should vacate the field, was not to be
thought of.
Hanna partly dried her mistress's braids, and, in her haste,
put on her a black dress shuddering then at the effect she
had produced. In the deep black, Liana looked so bloodless,
so ashy pale.
"Madame, not there!" she anxiously entreated, involun-
tarily detaining the young wife as she walked towards the
door of the salon ; hot, tremulous fingers repulsed the detain-
ing hand, and pointed towards the door leading into the cor-
ridor. The waiting-mid went out, and heard the bolt shot
behind her.
" You cannot deny that Leo already shows decided traces
of this vagabond blood ! He often, to my despair, gives evi-
dence of that degree of k cldd genius, if you please that
has been the curse of our once respectable family," the Hof-
marschall was saying. " Nothing but strict training in the
fear of God can save him ; I repeat, he needs his grandfather's
iron hand, and he shall have it, as truly as I hope for mercy
from above. Carry your paternal claims into whatever court
you please. Leo is mine. Besides, there will, be some con-
solation for you in your adopted son Gabriel 1"
The folding-doors were thrown open, and Liana entered the
salon and stood opposite the arm-chair in which sat the old
man laughing scornfully.
"Gabriel's mother is dead," she said, lvancing slowly.
"To hell with her!" shrieked the Hofmarschall, in a fury.
" She had a soul, as you have, and God is merciful I" cried
Liana. The blood returned to her cheeks. " You are a strict
believer, Herr Hofmarschall, and know that He is an incor-
ruptible judge. Throw into the scale, if you choose, c the well-
maintained' lustre of your noble name, the strict discharge of
THE SECOND WIFE. 289
the duties of your rank, they will still weigh too lightly.
Where a judge is to decide, there must be an accuser ; and
she is already in His presence, pointing to the finger-marks
upon her throat."
The Hofmarschall had at first leaned forward with ironical
courtesy and regarded the speaker with a smile of infinite
malice. At her last words he sank back, and, as his jaw
fell in speechless terror, he looked as if the hand of death
had already touched him. Mainau, who, upon Liana's en-
trance, had been standing at the other end of the salon, now
approached her. He seemed scarcely to have heard what she
had said ; at the sight of the strangely-altered appearance of
his young wife, he forgot the desperate battle he had been
fighting for his child, the mighty rage that had possessed him.
He put his arm around her, and drew her towards the light ;
he would have bent back her face to see it more clearly, and
he laid his hand upon the top of her head to do so, but started
back in alarm.
" What is this ?" he exclaimed. " Your hair is dripping
wet. What has happened to you, Liana ? I must know."
" Madame is ill! 1 ' the Hofmarschall cried, in a monotone,
pointing with a significant gesture to his forehead. " I saw
that at once, in her overstrained theatrical bearing, and her
last words confirm the belief that the lady is suffering from
some nervous affection, not to say hallucination. Send for
a physician !"
Liana turned from him with a smile of cold contempt and
seized Mainau's hanff " You shall learn all later, Raoul ;
I told you before to-day that I had sad revelations to make to
you. The dead woman in the Indian cottage "
" Aha ! here is the same apparition again I" And the Hof-
marschall laughed aloud. " Where did you see the phantom,
madame ?"
" Before the door of the red room, Herr Hofmarschall. A
T 25
290 THE SECOND WIFE,
man clasped his fingers about the slender throat of the poof
Bayadere, and clutched it so close that she sank down as if
dead upon the floor."
" Liana !" cried Mainau, in a tone of passionate anguish.
He drew her towards him and laid her head soothingly upon
his breast ; he could more easily believe in a sudden disturb-
ance of the mental faculties of this treasure of his heart than
in the commission of a murderous assault by one of his name.
The Hofmarschall arose at the same moment. "I am
going, I never could endure the sight of the insane." He
said this with intense aversion in his voice and manner, but
he could not stand alone, and clutched with an unsteady hand
at the arm of the chair.
" Be calm, Raoul ! I will prove to you that I am not
insane," said Liana. She extricated herself from his arm,
and approached the old man.
Liana's lovely face, with its delicate features, seemed petri-
fied in hard resolve. "Herr Hofmarschall," she continued,
11 the man pursued the lovely Indian at night through the
gardens to steal her from the dying occupant of the red room.
She was obliged to flee from him behind bolt and bar. Look
there, Raoul," she interrupted herself, and pointed to the
Hofmarschall, who sat bowed together as if annihilated.
" Herr von Mainau proposes to take your child from you be-
cause the only honourable, unstained man of your family is
alone fitted to be the guide of its youngest member; but his
hand has gone nigh to crush a human life, and the intrigue by
which Gabriel and his mother have been rendered outcasts
leaves an ineradicable blot upon the 'lustre* of his nobility.
You may rest assured that the charge of Leo will never be
accorded to him."
If she thought the guilty man was entirely crushed by the
weight of her accusations and the reproaches of his suddenly-
awakened conscience, she was in error. Even as she pointed
THE SECOND WIFE. 291
towards him, he managed to sit upright; as she alluded to
Gabriel and his mother, he nodded his head as if amused ;
and now he burst into a laugh.
" This picture of my crimes is very cleverly drawn, madame.
I always said your red-haired women were the very devil foi
a coolly-devised plot. The whole matter is so deucedly well
gotten up, and such an effect to be produced by that black
dress, thrown on in such a hurry by the way, it makes you
as pale and ugly as a ghost "
"Not one word more!" cried Mainau, angrily pointing
towards the door.
" Gently, gently; I shall go when I see fit. But I am now
the accused, and owe it to myself to throw some light upon
this matter. I can easily understand what has suddenly made
you so arrogant, so insolent towards me, madame. While we
were disputing here you slipped away, prompted by a pardon-
able curiosity to see the 'unfortunate woman' die. There is
in such scenes a pleasurable nervous excitement; they gratify
that love of the horrible, the diabolic, that is inherent in
feminine "
" I entreat you, Kaoul, to do nothing that you will repent
of!" cried Liana, throwing her arms around Mainau, who
was about to rush towards the evil-tongued speaker.
" In feminine nature,' ' the old man repeated, with a mali-
cious smile, as Mainau, stamping his foot angrily, turned his
back upon him. " It is possible that the palsied tongue of
the l poor Bayadere* recovered just before death such things
have happened sufficient power to babble strange, delirious
sentences. But -what intelligent person would attach any im-
portance to such muttcrings, or torture them into an assault
upon an honourable name? You could not impose upon any
of my equals with such a tale. They know me, and would
simply maintain that my son-in-law's second wife is a wily
woman."
292 THE SECOND WIFE.
" Proceed, Liana ! I am afraid that these same ( equals' will
hear of matters strangely at variance with our ideas of aristo-
cratic honour/' said Mainau. " But speak to me! Tou hear
that the Herr Hofmarschall has no interest in the affair, jet
I am stretched upon the rack."
" The woman in the Indian cottage was dead when I reached
there. For thirteen years no intelligible word had passed her
lips, and thus she died/' replied the young wife, pausing for
one moment and closing her eyes as a sudden dizziness over-
powered her. u What I have to tell I have learned from a
witness who has been living at Schnwerth ever since Gisbert
von Mainau's return from India, a witness who spins no
falsehoods, but knows that, if necessary, the testimony given
must be repeated under oath." She spoke to Mainau, as if
the man who sat there with an eager dread disguise it as
he might in his face had really left the room. She told
how he, assisted by the priest, had made himself master in
Schnwerth, and with what refined cruelty he had separated
Gisbert from the woman whom he had loved to the last
moment of his life. From time to time she heard from the
arm-chair a contemptuous titter or a muttered curse, but she
did not heed it. She paused only when she mentioned, for
the first time in her narrative, Frau Lhn's name, for the
Hofmarschall interrupted her with a mixture of rage and
shrill scorn in his voice. " The brute ! the serpent I Is she
your informer, madame? You have been gossiping with the
lowest and rudest servant at Schnwerth, and would allow
what she says to attach my honour?"
" Go on, Liana !" Mainau insisted. " Do not be deterred.
I see it all only too clearly."
" Deny as you may all these assertions of Lhn's, upon the
ground of the strict watch that you kept over all that took
place at Schnwerth, there is one thing that you cannot dis-
pute, for you have no idea that it exists." Liana addressed
THE SECOND WIFE. 293 .
the Hofmarschall. " In spite of your watchfulness, the Indian
saw your brother Gisbert a few days before his death, and he
died in the full conviction that she had been foully slandered.' '
" Bah ! now you lay on the colouring too thickly, my dear
little lady ; you ought to know that you thus deprive all that
you say of the faintest credibility," replied the old man, with
a well-feigned assumption of scornful indifference, although
his voice sounded as if coming from a parched and dry throat.
" Most certainly I know nothing of this touching scene, how
should I ? It will be found, like much else, to be a pure in-
vention. And I really cannot see why I should, with such
lamb-like patience, await the further development of this care-
fully-spun intrigue. I am always to be found in my apart-
ments by the officers of justice, whom you would so amiably
put upon my track. Now go to sleep, madame ; you are terribly
pale, and do not seem to me quite steady upon your feet; yes,
yes, I have been told that composing narratives is very fatiguing.
Good-night, my fair foe."
" One moment, uncle I" Mainau cried, interposing between
the Hofmarschall and the door. " For hours I have listened
with incredible patience and forbearance to your abuse of my-
self and my family; now I require that in my presence you
should hear the conclusion of these revelations, if you would
not lose all claim in my eyes to the honour of a gentleman."
" Poltroon !" muttered the old man between his teeth, and
threw himself back in his chair.
The young wife related the occurrence beside Gisbert's
death-bed. There was profound silence in the room, but when
she described how the dying man had carefully added the two
seals to his signature, both her hearers started.
" Lies I infamous lies !" cried the Hofmarschall.
" Ah !" cried Mainau, as if a sudden light had broken in
apon him. " Uncle, the duchess and her maid of honour can
testify that they have seen the seal ring which you casually
25*
294 THE SECOND WIF&.
mentioned had been solemnly presented to you by Uncle
Gisbert, before witnesses, on the tenth of September. And the
paper which he thus endeavoured to render in some measure
legal, is it still in existence, Liana ?"
With trembling fingers she took the chain from her neck
and put it into his hand.
The little trinket was as it were welded together : no trace
of any means of opening it to be discovered. Mainau inserted
the thick blade of his pocket-knife beneath the thin cover,
which, as he attempted thus to lift it, broke. Loosely folded
together, but yet so that the end of the box had preserved
intact the two seals, a paper lay within the little receptacle,
just as the Indian had laid it there fresh from her passionate
kisses.
" These impressions, guarded as they have been, carry as
much weight for me as for you, uncle ; and I have heard you
declare that such an impression was worth more to you than
an original signature."
* Not a word, not a sound, was heard in reply.
" The apparent defects in the stone are plainly to be dis-
cerned now. To-morrow by daylight, beneath the magnifying-
glass, we shall be able to admire the finely-cut head. And here
is the date, underscored twice, * Written in Schnwerth the
tenth of September/ "
For one moment he was much moved, and passed his hands
across his eyes before opening the paper. " Addressed to me ?
To me?" he exclaimed, in agitation. He stepped up to the
lamp and read the contents aloud.
The dying man first declared that, in consequence of his
mental and physical infirmity, he was the prisoner of his
brother and the priest. Although deluded by the idea that
his love had been faithless to him, he had been desirous of
making a testamentary provision in her favour; but everything
had been done to prevent this. Even his physician had been
THE SECOND WIF,. 295
bribed to ignore, as the ravings of delirium, his entreaty for
a lawyer. At such moments every one about him had en-
deavoured to depict to him in the blackest colours the poor
Indian's infidelity and moral degradation ; and he, weakened
as he was in intellect, and often a prey to terrible hallucina-
tions, had given credence to what had been told him. Now,
however, he knew how vilely he had been deceived. He
knew that a son had been born to him, of whose existence he
had until now never been informed. He knew further that
his brother had persecuted the wife of his bosom with his
unworthy passion, and that he would leave no stone unturned
to defraud her of even the smallest inheritance and to gain
entire possession of her. Among all the scoundrels who had
thus fettered his will, there did not seem to be one capable of
a sentiment of compassion ; but in this hour of supreme deso-
lation he remembered his young nephew, with his " whimsi-
cal hot head, but magnanimous heart." In view of his own
death, which might now take place at any moment, he turned
to him with his last request. He held it to be his duty to
declare that the Indian was innocent of all stain whatsoever,
and had never been a Bayadere before belonging to him. He
acknowledged little Gabriel as his son, and conjured his
nephew to protect the two persecuted unfortunates, and to see
that they inherited the third part of his estates and that his
boy bore the family name of his father. Frau Lhn, faithful
soul, was to deliver the paper to his nephew with her own
hands, and he would attest its authenticity by committing the
ring with which he affixed the seals to it to the " faithless"
hands of his " degenerate" brother.
" A most flattering description the vagabond has given of
me ! This is his thanks for my unwearied care of him, my *
sleepless nights 1" the Hofmarschall said ; and, as he arose,
his features twitched nervously, whilst Mainau put the paper
into his breast-pocket. " He was utterly worthless, to th
296 TUE SECOND WIFE.
last breath that he drew ; those women's lying tongues swayed
him like a willow wand. Bah ! I am vexed at haying been the
dupe of such a creature as that Lhn."
Mainau retreated from the speaker, making it evident that
he now considered every tie dissolved between himself and
the " most honourable and respectable member of the family."
" Shall I, as Gisbert von Mainau" s executor, lay this before
Iho court to-morrow ?" he asked, lightly touching his breast-
pocket.
" Eh, we will consider the matter. There are other docu-
ments extant. We shall see who will come off victorious,
you with that scrap, or the Church with the paper in the
cabinet of curiosities. The court chaplain must be sum-
moned, rather a different sort of witness from Frau Lhn,
the housekeeper. Hm 1 I rather think the wonderful piece
of penmanship that you cherish so fondly will give you more
of a headache than you imagine. Meanwhile, you had better
look to the lady. The miserable intrigue to which she has so
deftly and willingly lent herself seems to have agitated her."
Whilst Mainau was reading, Liana had shivered with a
nervous chill. A crimson floating mist seemed to fill the
room, hideously distorting with its waving clouds the coun-
tenance of the Hofmarschall, as he sat opposite her. Now
profound icy night encompassed her. Forcing a feeble smile,
she extended both hands towards where Mainau was standing,
and, as he caught her in his arms, with a low cry, she fainted.
Five minutes later a carriage drove furiously towards the town,
to bring a physician to the bedside of the mistress of Schon
werth, who was dangerously ill.
THE SECOND WIFE. 297
CHAPTER XXVIII.
The lovely sunny autumn days glided by in the Schnw&th
valley. The mild, warm breeze was heavy with the fragrance
of beds of mignonette, and wild grapes hung their purple
clusters on the gray walls of the tower and around the clus-
tered pillars of the columned walk.
The blue curtains were drawn close behind two windows
upon the ground-floor of the castle. One of these windows
was open, and the odorous afternoon breeze stirred the heavy
silken folds ; and now and then they were drawn aside for a
moment, as if by the wayward hand of a child. A fiery sun-
beam would then penetrate the blue twilight and awaken
glittering reflections on the mass of ruddy golden hair within,
lying loose upon the white coverlet of the bed. For weeks
there had been a struggle between life and death for the pos-
session of the girlish form lying there ; but since yesterday
the physicians had been hopeful, and now, just as a sunbeam
" slid, a sunny fleck," down upon the gently-heaving breast,
the dark eyelashes were raised, and the first glance of return-
ing consciousness dawned in the veiled eyes. It fell upon the
man who sat at the foot of the bed, where he had been stationed
ever since he had laid his fainting wife upon her couch of pain.
For the first time in his hitherto careless existence, he had
gone through every stage of that indescribable agony by the
sick-bed of one whom we love, which leads us Uf long for
death, since every nerve is on the rack, and the future, when
the sufferer whom we watch shall be no more, seems a long
erucl night.
298 THE SECOND WIFE.
"Ka)ul!" Who would have imagined when in the Rudis-
dorf chapel he heard with such supreme indifference those
lips pronounce the " yes," that in a short time a whispered
word from them would so intoxicate him with delight ? He
took the little hand in his and covered it with kisses, then
laid his finger on his lips. Her eyes wandered smilingly from
his face, and opened wide in amazement. Advancing from
the table, a tumbler of cooling drink in her hand, the red-
haired, unlovely lady whom we have seen in Rudisdorf
approached the bed Ulrika. Mainau had telegraphed for
her on the terrible night when Liana was taken ill. She had
been his stay and support, the homely girl with her clear
wise head and her heart full of self-sacrificing maternal love
for his young wife. No hand but hers had ministered to
Liana, and her ministry had been indeed a labour of love.
Each by a gesture imposed silence upon the invalid, but
she smiled, and whispered, " How is my child ?"
" Leo is well," said Mainau. " He has written half a dozen
tender letters a day to his sick mamma, they lie there in a
pile."
" And Gabriel ?"
" Lives in the castle. His room adjoins the tutor's, and he
is eagerly hoping for the time when he may be admitted to
kiss the hand of his lovely advocate."
The eyes drooped slowly, and the invalid fell into a deep
and refreshing slumber.
Eight days later she slowly walked through her rooms, for
the first time, upon Mainau's arm. It was the last day of
September, and the vault of the summer sky was still blue
and clear ; it was only now and then that a yellowing leaf
fluttered to the ground. The rose-thicket was still blossom-
ing profusely, and the green of the velvet lawn was spring-
like in hue. The world without was as lovely as if no icy
winter were at hand.
THE SECOND WIFE. 299
The young wife paused in her salon opposite the glass door.
H Ah, Kaoul, how divine it is to live, and "
" And, Liana ?"
" And to love," she said, nestling close to him. But as she
spoke she shuddered, as she listened with terror in her eyes to
the rolling of wheels outside the room.
" Leo is driving his goats through the hall," Mainau said,
soothingly. " Rest assured, the wheeled chair, that was always
pursuing you in your delirium, has long since vanished from
Schnwerth." It was the first time that he had referred to
what had happened. He bit his lips. " I owe you an explana-
tion ; I should set your mind at rest, Liana, and the physician
has granted his permission ; but I can no more speak of it all
than I can enter the Indian garden where such wretched
scenes were enacted. Ulrika, our prudent, sensible sister, will
tell you in your blue boudoir everything that you must desire
and ought to know."
Again she lay upon her lounge beneath the blue satin ceil-
ing. Enough of evil for a lifetime lay between this hour and
the moment of her first entrance into this little blue boudoir,
and yet but a few months had elapsed. But no link in tho
chain could have been missed that had bound together two
beings at first so coldly indifferent to each other. She could
not yet look boldly back upon the past, she did not know what
had followed upon that last moment of consciousness, in which
she had been aware of the Hofmarschall confronting Mainau
in unbroken arrogance and impertinent malice. That picturo
was graven upon her soul, present to her like the ineradicable
jessamine perfume, that was wailed towards her from time to
time, as if by the phantom hand of the " airy, lace-woven
soul," from out the shining blue folds of the satin ; it made
her restless.
Ulrika sat beside her. Frau Lohn entered, with a basket
of grapeb that Mainau had cut for the ladies. " From the
000 THE SECOND WIFE.
Herr Hofmarschairs special trellis," she said. "They are the
best grapes in the garden ; he always used to send the finest
to the duchess, and the rest were sold: even little Baron
Leo was not allowed to have one."
She had evidently received instructions from Mainau thus
to allude to former arrangements ; it had not been done before
in Liana's presence.
"When did the Herr Hofmarschall leave Schnwerth ?"
asked Liana.
" The very next morning, madame. He came through the
pillared corridor that night, crosser than I had ever seen him.
1 knew where the shoe pinched. We were all standing in
the hall. ' What are you all gaping and staring at, the whole
rabble of you ? Go to his reverence,' he said to Anton, ' and
beg him to come immediately to my room. 1 Anton stood
stock still, and all the rest vanished. ' What is the matter ?'
he asked ; and then the fellow told him what had happened,
and that he could not go for his reverence, for he had gone
away. I was standing beneath the stairs. To my dying day
I never shall forget that moment; Anton had to carry him up-
stairs. He did not go to bed,f the night was spent in packing
up ; once or twice he went and peeped into his reverence's
room, as if he thought the priest must be there, and the next
morning, at seven o'clock, he left the castle."
" He is a worthless man, this Herr Hofmarschall," said Ulrika,
whilst Frau Lhn took some of the grapes out to where Leo
was still driving his goats up and down the gravelled path.
Gabriel was playing passenger in the little carriage. " He did
not take leave of his grandchild : he must have forgotten him.
A few days afterwards he gave some signs of life, in claiming
through his lawyer a third of Gisbert's estate. Schnwerth
is to be sold; Mainau wishes never to see it again, after he
has once left it. Even a glimmer of the pond in the distance
agitates him. He will not go immediately to Franconia,
THE SECOND WIFE. 301
however, but will postpone for awhile that supervision of hi
estates which he has determined to undertake for the future.
Do you know, darling, where you will light the Christmas-
tree this year? In the white salon at Eudisdorf, where papa
always had it placed for us. Mainau has rented the castle and
the park from the creditors, and you are to grow strong and
well there. I shall go first, to arrange everything; the new
furniture is all ordered. Magnus writes me that old Lena is
quite distracted with joy to think that the 'fine old times' are
coming again. We shall not have mamma with us, however.
She is just as happy as Lena since Mainau gave her her choice
whether to be at Rudisdorf or to spend the winter in Dresden.
Of course she did not hesitate for a moment, and will only
remain in Eudisdorf long enough to receive your husband and
yourself, and then, as she writes me, a ray of sunlight will
once more illumine her 'forlorn and lonely path.' This is a
matter of opinion, of course, my child. Frau Lhn goes with
us Mainau cannot spare so faithful a servant; and, besides,
he did not wish to separate her from Gabriel, who, after a course
of study with the tutor, is to be sent, as Herr von Mainau, to
Dsseldorf, to pursue his artistic studies there. Your pre-
server, the huntsman Dammer, is chief forester at Wolkera-
hausen, whither he will shortly carry his pretty little bride.
I think this is all that I am to tell you, in accordance with the
request of your lord and master, who flatters himself that he
has arranged matters to please you. You know, dear, I am
not prone to raptures ; and yet I could chant a perpetual hymn
of praise when I see how my darling is loved. And what do
you think of the fact that I, Ulrika, Countess of Trachenberg,
have rented the huge hostelry at Eudisdorf, for myself, from
the creditors, and am about to convert it into an extensive
flower-manufactory ? Mainau approves my undertaking, and
has loaned me the capital to make it possible, trusting, as I
do, that I shall succeed in redeeming, at least in part, by my
26
302 THE SECOND WIFE.
exertions, what lavish extravagance and folly lost to us.
God give me strength for my task !"
She was silent; and Liana lay back with closed eyes, her
hands clasped on her breast, her lips wreathed in a happy
smile, scarcely breathing, as if even her lightest sigh might
disperse all these lovely pictures of the future. Suddenly a
shade passed over her brow, and she started. " The priest,
Ulrikal" she exclaimed.
" He has vanished without a trace. It is thought he has
sought the shelter of the cloister. He can do you no harm,
rest assured. He will never venture to appear in public again ;
the affair has made so much talk, and the Protestant inhab-
itants of the capital are so exasperated, that his patroness the
duchess, has judged it wise to retire to Meran for awhile, to
benefit 'an attack of weakness of the chest.'"
Mainau entered, followed by the two boys.
" Raoul, how can I thank you !" cried his young wife.
He laughed, and sat down beside her. " You thank met
Nonsense 1 Like an honest and incorrigible egotist, I have
arranged everything to conduce to my own future happiness.