CHAPTER X.
Rodeck, the hunting lodge belonging to the possessions of the Prince of Adelsberg, was about two hours' distance from Furstenstein, in the midst of deepest forest loneliness. The small building, erected without much taste, contained at the most about a dozen rooms, whose old-fashioned and shabby furniture had been put in as good order as the short notice of the coming of the Prince permitted.
The little castle had not been inhabited for years and looked somewhat dilapidated, but when one emerged from the deep, dark forest into the opening, and beheld at the end of the wide green sward the old gray edifice with its tall, spiked roof and four steeples at the corners, it had truly something of the forest idyl about it.
The Adelsbergs had once been a reigning family, but a family that had long since lost its sovereignty. They had retained, however, the princely title, an enormous fortune, and a very extensive property. The once numerous family counted at present but few representatives; the main branch only a single one--the Prince Egon, who, as lord of all the family estates, besides being closely related to the reigning house through his late mother, played an important rôle among the nobility of the land.
The young Prince had always been considered a rover, who at times followed very eccentric notions and bothered himself very little about princely etiquette when he wished to follow some momentary whim. The old Prince had been very strict with his son, but his death made Egon von Adelsberg the sole master of his own will very early in life.
He had now returned from a tour in the Orient which had kept him in foreign lands two years, but instead of occupying the princely palace in town, or one of his other castles which were furnished with every conceivable splendor for a summer or fall visit, he took a notion to go to the old forest nook--the little half-forgotten Rodeck--which was not prepared for the honor of receiving its master, and could offer but scant accommodation.
Old Stadinger was right: one must never ask Prince Egon why. Everything depended entirely upon his momentary caprice.
In the morning of a sunny autumn day, two gentlemen in hunting costume stood upon the lawn at Rodeck talking with the castle-keeper, while a light open carriage stood upon the gravel road, ready for departure. At a casual glance the two young men bore a certain resemblance to each other. They had tall, slender figures, deeply tanned faces, and eyes in which glowed the whole fiery gayety and courage of youth, but upon closer examination the wide difference between them was apparent.
The Southern coloring of the younger one, who might, perhaps, be about twenty-four years old, was caused, apparently, by a prolonged stay under a hot sun, for the light, curly hair and blue eyes did not match it--they betrayed the German. A light beard, curly like the hair, framed a handsome, open face, which, however, did not follow any strict line of beauty. The forehead was rather too low, but there was something like bright sunshine in this face which charmed and won everybody.
His companion, several years his senior, had nothing of this sunny quality, although his appearance was more imposing. Slender like the younger one, he towered above him in height, and his dark complexion was not caused by the sun alone. It was of that olive tint which allows a pale face to still look fresh, and the blue-black hair which fell in thick waves over the high brow made the apparent paleness more noticeable. The face was beautiful, with its noble, proud lines so firmly and energetically pronounced, but upon it appeared also deep shadows lying over brow and eyes; such shadows as one seldom finds on youthful features.
The large, dark eyes, which had in their depths something gloomy, told of hot, unruled passions. In their flashing there was something uncanny but mysteriously attractive. One felt that they could charm with demoniac power; in fact, the whole personality of the man possessed this uncanny, entrancing charm.
"But I cannot help you, Stadinger," said the younger of the two gentlemen. "The newly arrived lot has to be unpacked and a place found for them. Where? that is your affair."
"But, Your Highness, if that is absolutely impossible?" argued the castle-keeper, in a tone indicating that he stood in rather familiar relations to his young master. "Not a nook is free any more in Rodeck. I have had trouble enough already to house the servants which Your Highness brought along, and now every day boxes large as houses arrive, and always it is 'Unpack, Stadinger,' 'Find room, Stadinger,' and in the meantime the rooms stand empty by the dozen in the other castles."
"Do not grumble, old forest spirit, but find room," interrupted the Prince. "The arrivals have to be put up here at Rodeck, at least for the present, and if the worst comes you will have to give up your own lodgings."
"Yes, certainly; Stadinger has room enough in his lodgings," joined in the second gentleman. "I shall arrange it myself and measure it all."
"And Lena can help you with it," added the Prince, supporting the proposal of his friend. "She is at home, is she not?"
Stadinger measured the gentlemen from head to foot, then answered drily:
"No, Your Highness, Lena is away."
"Where?" cried the Prince, starting up. "Where has she gone?"
"To town," was the laconic reply.
"What! I thought you intended keeping your grandchild at home all winter."
"That has been changed," replied the castle-keeper with imperturbable composure. "My old sister Rosa only is at home now. If you wish to measure my dwelling with her help, Herr Rojanow, she would consider it a high honor."
Rojanow glanced at the old man in no very friendly way, and the young prince said reproachfully:
"Now listen, Stadinger, you treat us in quite an unaccountable manner. You even take Lena away from us, the only one who was worth looking at. All else here in the female line have the sixties behind them, and their heads positively shake from old age; and the kitchen women you got from Furstenstein to help actually offend our sense of beauty."
"Your Highnesses do not need to look at them," suggested Stadinger. "I look out that the servants do not come into the castle, but if Your Highness goes into the kitchen like the day before yesterday----"
"Well, must I not inspect my servants at times? But I shall not go into the kitchen a second time--you have taken care of that. I have my suspicions that you have gathered here all the very ugliest of the Wald to celebrate my arrival. You ought to be ashamed, Stadinger."
The old man looked sharply and fixedly into his master's eyes, and his voice sounded very impressive as he answered:
"I am not ashamed a bit, Your Highness. When the late Prince, Your Highness' father, gave me this post of rest he said to me, 'Keep order at Rodeck, Stadinger--I rely upon you.' Well, I have kept order for twelve years in the castle, and in my house particularly, and I shall do that in future. Has Your Highness any orders for me?"
"No, you old, rude thing," cried the Prince, half laughing, half angry. "Make haste and get away. We do not need any curtain lectures."
Stadinger obeyed. He saluted and marched off.
Rojanow looked after him and shrugged his shoulders sarcastically.
"I admire your patience, Egon. You allow your servants very far-reaching liberty."
"Stadinger is an exception," replied Egon. "He allows himself everything; but he was not so much in the wrong when he sent Lena away. I believe I should have done the same in his place."
"But it is not the first time that this old castle-keeper has taken it upon himself to call you and me to order. If I were his master he would have his dismissal in the next hour."
"If I tried that it would turn out badly for me," laughed the Prince. "Such old family heirlooms, who have served for three generations, and have carried the children in their arms, will be treated with respect. I cannot gain anything there with orders and prohibitions. Peter Stadinger does what he will, and occasionally lectures me just as he sees fit."
"If you suffer it--such a thing is incomprehensible to me."
"Yes, it is a thing you do not comprehend, Hartmut," said Egon more seriously. "You know only the slavish submission of the servants in your country and the Orient. They kneel and bow at every opportunity, yet steal and betray their masters whenever they can and know how. Stadinger is of an enviable simplicity. My 'Highness' does not intimidate him in the least. He often tells me the hardest things to my face; but I could put hundreds of thousands in his hands--he would not defraud me of one iota of it. If Rodeck were in flames and I in the midst of it, the old man, with all his sixty years, would stand by me without a second thought. All this is different with us in Germany."
"Yes; with you in Germany," repeated Hartmut slowly, and his glance was lost dreamily in the dusk of the forest.
"Are you still so prejudiced against it?" asked Egon. "It cost me persuasion and prayers enough to get you to accompany me here--you fought so against entering German territory."
"I wish I had not entered it," said Rojanow, gloomily. "You know----"
"That all sorts of bitter remembrances have their origin here for you--yes, you have told me that; but you must have been a boy then. Have you not yet overcome the grudge against it? You have the most obstinate reticence, anyway, upon this point. I have not yet heard what it really was that----"
"Egon, I beg of you, leave the subject," interrupted Hartmut, harshly. "I have told you once for all that I cannot and will not speak of it. If you mistrust me, let me go. I have not forced myself upon you, you know that; but I cannot bear these inquiries and questions."
The proud, inconsiderate tone which he used toward his friend did not seem to be anything new to the Prince. He merely shrugged his shoulders and said pacifyingly:
"How irritable you are again to-day! I believe you are right when you insist that German air makes you nervous. You are entirely changed since you put foot on this soil."
"It is possible. I feel that I torture you and myself with these whims; therefore let me go, Egon."
"I know better! Have I taken so much pains to catch you, just to let you fly off again now? No, no, Hartmut, I shall not let you go by any means."
The words sounded playful, but Rojanow seemed to take them wrongly. His eyes lighted up almost threateningly as he returned:
"And what if I will leave?"
"Then I shall hold you like this."
With an indescribably charming expression, Egon threw his arm around his friend's shoulder. "And I shall ask if this bad, obstinate Hartmut can bring his conscience to desert me. We have lived together almost two years, and have shared danger and joy like two brothers, and now you would storm out into the world again without asking about me. Am I, then, so little to you?"
Such warm, heartfelt beseeching was in the words that Rojanow's irritation could not live. His eyes lit up with an expression which showed that he returned just as intensely the passionate, enthusiastic affection which the young Prince bore him, even if he was, in their mutual relationship, the domineering one.
"Do you believe that for the sake of any one else I would have come to Germany?" he asked in a low voice. "Forgive me, Egon. I am an unstable nature. I have never been able to stay long in any place since--since my boyhood."
"Then learn it now here at my home," cried Egon. "I came to Rodeck especially to show you my country in its entire beauty. This old edifice, which nestles in the midst of the deep forest like a fairy castle, is a piece of forest poetry such as you could not find in any of my other possessions. I know your taste--but I must really leave you now. You will not drive with me over to Furstenstein?"
"No; I will enjoy your much-praised forest poetry, which, it appears, is already tiresome to you, as you wish to make calls."
"Yes; I am no poet like you, who can dream and be enthused all day," said Egon, laughing. "We have led the life of hermits for a full week, and I cannot live on sunshine and forest perfume and the curtain lectures of Stadinger alone. I need people, and the Chief Forester is about the only person in the neighborhood. Besides, this Herr von Schonan is a splendid, jolly man. You will yet meet and know him, too."
He motioned to the waiting carriage, gave his hand to his friend, sprang to his seat and rolled away.