"Eva, I entreat you not to be headstrong," Aline interposed. "Herr von Bertram is quite right in this instance. You owe it to him and to all of us to avoid all chance of a meeting which might have disastrous consequences. Let us leave here, if we only go as far as the next village. We can rest there and then continue our tour. Do it for my sake, Eva!"
Eva would certainly have yielded to Aline's entreaty if coward fear of an encounter with Delmar and Heydeck had not been plainly imprinted upon Bertram's pale face. This fear seemed to her so pitiable, so despicable, that her pride revolted at the idea of flight. No, she would not retreat; she would not grant such a triumph to the man who had insulted her.
"I cannot comply with your request, Aline," she said firmly. "Do not urge it: my resolution is fixed; I shall stay. Come, dear, let us see the rooms; the landlord will show us to them." She followed the postmaster into the hall, and the others could do no less than imitate her example. Guido alone was left standing in front of the house. His portmanteau was not yet taken from the foot-board of the carriage, and one of the men was busied in untying the rope that bound it there. Should he order it to be left where it was? It was not easy to decide. Like a flash of lightning all that had lately occurred passed through his mind. Eva had indeed thanked him when he brought her the intelligence that the duel had been made impossible, but then she had asked for particulars with regard to what had occurred at Büchner's, and he had been forced to give her an account that had some similitude to the truth lest she should hear of it elsewhere.
He told her that after an interview with Count Waldheim he had awaited Leo von Heydeck at Büchner's, to make him the apology which he had promised Eva should be made, but that the execution of his design had been hastened by the intervention of the old colonel and Delmar. He had skilfully interwoven truth and falsehood in his narrative, but it had not escaped him that Eva's countenance betrayed a certain distrust of him while he spoke. He had begged her to allow him to accompany her upon her tour, and she had not refused, but this journey had been to him a daily source of the greatest humiliation. He would have liked nothing better than to withdraw, but he could not leave the field to his enemies; he must stay.
"Take the small leather trunk to my room," he gave orders to the man, and then followed the servant into the house.
Meanwhile, Eva had subjected the three vacant rooms to a thorough inspection, and had found that their neatness and comfort far exceeded her expectations. One was very spacious; besides two beds it contained a sofa, wardrobe, bureau, washstands, and two cushioned easy-chairs. It would be easy to be comfortable here for a while. The second was considerably smaller, and contained neither sofa nor wardrobe, but then the prospect from the windows was perfectly enchanting. They looked out upon the picturesque ruins of Castle Reifenstein, which here intervened between the eye and the inhabited part of the building. In the background the view was bounded by the snowy peaks of the Weisshorn and the Drei Maidelspitz, with the blue shimmering glaciers of the Schiechhorn between them. The third room, between the first and third, and connected with each by a door, was small enough, with only one window; a bed, washstand, and two chairs were all it could contain.
Such were the apartments which the postmaster placed at the command of the travellers; in addition they could have the exclusive use of a balcony, upon which a door opened from the wide hall. The magnificent view from it of Castle Reifenstein and the glacier background made it seem a most attractive resort, and even in bad weather it might be used, since it was protected by a broad roof.
Eva's arrangements, after she had seen the three rooms and the balcony, were soon made. "We will stay here," she said; "we can make ourselves very comfortable here for a while. The large room with the sofa is yours and uncle's of course, Aunt Minni; Aline and I shall do very well in this next largest room, and Nanette can have the one with one window if Herr von Bertram leaves us."
"Which he certainly will not do," Guido rejoined, having overheard the last words.
"Then Nanette will sleep in Nannerl's room, and the little room is yours."