Part 2 (1/2)
Herr von Wallmoden did not indulge in this hilarity, which seemed to jar upon his nerves. He only shrugged his shoulders.
”I do not intend that, indeed; it would probably be lost pains; but I and Willibald are now the only representatives of the family, and if I should remain unmarried----”
”_If?_ Are you contemplating marriage in your old age?” interrupted his sister in her inconsiderate manner.
”I am forty-five years old, dear Regine. That is not usually considered old in a man,” said Wallmoden, somewhat offended. ”At any rate, I consider a late contracted marriage the best, because then one is not influenced by pa.s.sion as was Falkenried to his great misfortune, but one allows reason to guide the decision.”
”May G.o.d help me! Must w.i.l.l.y wait until he has fifty years upon his back and gray hairs upon his head before he marries!” exclaimed Frau von Eschenhagen, horrified.
”No; for he must consider the fact that he is an only son and future lord of the estates; besides, it will depend upon an individual attachment. What do you say, Willibald?”
The young future lord, who had just finished his ham and eggs, and was now turning with unappeased appet.i.te to the _wurst_, was apparently greatly surprised at having his opinion asked. Such a thing happened so seldom that he was now thrown into a spell of deep musing, declaring as the result of it:
”Yes; I shall probably have to marry some time, but mamma will find me a wife when the time comes.”
”That she will, my boy,” affirmed Frau von Eschenhagen. ”That is my affair; you do not need to worry about it at all. You will remain here in Burgsdorf, where I shall have you under my eyes. Universities and travels are not to be considered--that is decided.”
She threw a challenging glance at her brother, but he was regarding with a kind of horror the enormous amount of eatables which his nephew was piling upon his plate for the second time.
”Do you always have such a healthy appet.i.te, w.i.l.l.y?” he asked.
”Always,” a.s.sured w.i.l.l.y with satisfaction, taking another huge piece of bread and b.u.t.ter.
”Yes; G.o.d be thanked, we do not suffer from indigestion here,” said Frau Regine, somewhat pointedly. ”We deserve our meals honestly. First play and work, then eat and drink, and heartily--that keeps soul and body together. Just look at w.i.l.l.y, how he has prospered with that treatment. He need never be ashamed to be seen.”
She slapped her brother upon the shoulder in a friendly manner at these words, but so heartily that Wallmoden hastily pushed his chair out of her reach. His face betrayed plainly that his hair was ”standing on end” again; but he gave up the enforcing of his rights as guardian in the face of these primitive conditions.
w.i.l.l.y, on the contrary, apparently discovered that he had turned out extraordinarily well, and looked very pleased at this praise of his mother, who continued now rather vexedly:
”And Hartmut has not come to breakfast again! He seems to allow himself all sorts of irregularities here at Burgsdorf, but I shall lecture the young man when he comes, and make him----”
”Here he is already!” cried a voice from the garden.
A shadow fell athwart the bright suns.h.i.+ne that poured in through the open window, in which there suddenly appeared a youthful form, which swung itself through from the outside.
”Boy, are you out of your senses that you enter through the window?”
exclaimed Frau von Eschenhagen indignantly. ”What are the doors for?”
”For w.i.l.l.y and other well-raised people,” laughed the intruder mirthfully. ”I always take the shortest route, and this time it led through this window.”
With one jump he landed in the middle of the room from the high sill.
Hartmut Falkenried, like the future lord of Burgsdorf, stood at the border between boyhood and manhood, but beyond that likeness it required but a glance to see the superiority of Hartmut in every respect.
He wore the cadet uniform, which became him wonderfully, but there was something in his whole appearance indicative of a revolt against the strict military cut.
The tall, slender boy was a true picture of youth and beauty, but this beauty had something strange and foreign about it; the movement and whole appearance had a wild, unruled element; and not a feature reminded one of the powerful, soldierly figure and grave composure of the father. The thick, curly hair of a blue-black color, falling over the high brow, denoted a son of the South, rather than a German; the eyes also, which glowed in the youthful face, did not belong to the cold, calm North; they were mysterious eyes, dark as night, yet full of hot, pa.s.sionate fire. Beautiful as they were, there was something uncanny about them.
And now the laugh, with which Hartmut looked from one to another of the a.s.sembly, had more of the supercilious about it than of a boy's hearty mirth.
”You introduce yourself in a very unconventional manner,” said Wallmoden sharply; ”you seem to think that no etiquette is to be observed at Burgsdorf. I hardly think your father would have permitted such an entrance into a dining-room.”