Katie, she noticed, who helped Ferdinand with the serving, had red eyelids and kept gnawing her lips while setting the table. Katie was of finer material than the average servant girl, her father having been a teacher, and was very pretty besides; owing to which qualities Miss von Schwertfeger had selected her as Lilly's special maid.
When Katie left the room, Lilly began to ask questions.
In reply Miss von Schwertfeger merely kissed her with redoubled tenderness, and observed:
"Why should you sully your pure young spirit with such ugly things? If certain people are bent upon breaking their necks, that's their business. We cannot help them."
"Breaking their necks--that must mean Walter von Prell," thought Lilly, and said aloud: "After all this is my home, and nothing that happens here in my future province"--she modestly said "future"--"ought to be kept from me."
Miss von Schwertfeger yielded to her arguments.
"It will be painful to you," she said, "because I know you like him."
"Him--whom?" queried Lilly, conscious of blushing.
"In fact all of us like him," continued Miss von Schwertfeger by way of mitigation, "the colonel most of all. So long as he confined himself to the rooms of the labourers' girls I winked my eyes, and begged the kitchen help not to annoy me with gossip about his adventures. But if he commits the outrage of breaking into the castle, it's time the matter ended."
"Why, what did he do?" asked Lilly, in fright.
"For some weeks past I noticed certain things which struck me as rather curious. In spots the vine on your balcony was withered--"
"On--my--" Seized with a wild suspicion Lilly stepped a pace nearer to Miss von Schwertfeger, and clutching her arm asked: "What has my balcony to do with Mr. von Prell, Miss Anna?"
Miss von Schwertfeger avoided Lilly's look.
"Calm yourself, my dear," she said, "calm yourself. Persons in my position have to keep their eyes wide open. That's what they are there for. I was simply acting for your protection, because anyone who does not know you as I do might come to the vile conclusion that if a man climbs up to your balcony--"
Miss von Schwertfeger drew her to the sofa and stroked her brow.
"I have gone through much worse things, dear child. At any rate, I wanted to get at the bottom of the affair, and although, I need not say, I hadn't the least suspicion of you"--she turned her eyes away again--"nevertheless I spent a few nights outside your door."