Part 26 (1/2)
Suddenly a thought came to him: he began to put on gloves, fine, white kid gloves. Then he tried to clench his fist in them without tearing them.
Perhaps he does not wish to touch, with uncovered hands, him for whom he is waiting!
At last the street door opened, and steps made direct for his door.
Only let him come! but he, whom he expected did not come alone: the first to open his door was not Pepi Gyali, but his brother, Desiderius.
By chance they had met.
Lorand received his brother in a very spiritless manner. It was not he whom he wished to see now. Yet he rushed to embrace Lorand with a face beaming triumph.
”Well, and what has happened, that you are beaming so?”
”The school tribunal has acquitted me: yet I drew everything on myself and did not throw any suspicion on you.”
”I hope you would be insulted if I praised you for it. Every ordinary man of honor would have done the same. It is just as little a merit not to be a traitor as it is a great ignominy to be one. Am I not right?
Pepi,--my friend?”
Pepi Gyali decided that Lorand could not have heard of his treachery and would not know it until he was placed in some safe place. He answered naturally enough that no greater disgrace existed on earth than that of treachery.
”But why did you summon me in such haste,” he enquired, offering his hand confidently to Lorand; the latter allowed him to grasp his hand--on which was a glove.
”I merely wished to ask you if you would take my vis-a-vis in the ball to-night following my farewell banquet?”
”With the greatest pleasure. You need not even have asked me. Where you are, I must be also.”
”Go upstairs, Desi, to the governess and ask her whether she intends to come to the ball to-night, or if the lady of the house is going alone.”
Desiderius listlessly sauntered out of the room.
He thought that to-day was scarcely a suitable day to conclude with a ball; still he did go upstairs to the governess.
The young lady answered that she was not going for Melanie had a difficult ”Cavatina” to learn that evening, but her ladys.h.i.+p was getting ready, and the stout aunt was going with her.
As Desiderius shut the door after him, Lorand stood with crossed arms before the dandy, and said:
”Do you know what kind of dance it is, in which I have invited you to be my vis-a-vis?”
”What kind?” asked Pepi with a playful expression.
”A kind of dance at which one of us must die.” Therewith he handed him the lilac-coloured letter which Hermine had written to him: ”Read that.”
Gyali read these lines:
”Gyali handed over the alb.u.m-leaf you wrote on. All is betrayed.”
The dandy smiled, and placed his hands behind him.
”Well, and what do you want with me?” he enquired with cool a.s.surance.
”What do you think I want?”