"To whom did you make this promise?"
"Why, to Elise, of course. But you need not look so cast down, Herr von Ernau. I'm sure she felt sorry that she allowed herself to be so influenced by Bertha's ill-natured words as to make me promise. I was determined that you should know that my darling Elise is here, for if you knew her long ago at Castle Osternau, I am sure you must want to see her again."
"Does Fräulein von Osternau know that you expect me?"
"Of course not. That would have spoiled it all. I took good care not to tell her. It is all a little plan of my own. Elise never tells me anything; she thinks me nothing but a child, but I can see in her eyes how glad she would be to see Herr von Ernau again. But indeed there is no time to go on talking. Tell me, honestly and frankly, Herr von Ernau, do you come to Linau to-day to see Elise?"
"Honestly and frankly then, my dear little Clara, yes."
"And for that only?"
"Yes."
"And would you like to see her now, just when she is alone and expecting nobody?"
"That is just what I desire beyond all else."
"Then you must not drive on to Linau, but follow me on foot. We will let your carriage wait, lest it should betray us. Get out, Herr von Ernau, and I will show your coachman a spot where he can wait for you without exciting any one's attention. Let him drive along that path that skirts the fields, and he will find a cool, shady place on the edge of the forest, where the horses will not tire of standing."