Madame von Marwitz, having finished her second letter, was gazing before her with a somewhat ambiguous expression.
"Tallie speaks well of him," she remarked at last. "He has made a very good impression on Tallie."
"Are you speaking of Gregory Jardine, Mercedes?" Miss Scrotton repeated.
Madame von Marwitz now looked at her and as she looked the tricksy light of malice again grew in her eye. "Mais oui; mais oui. You have guessed correctly, my Scrotton," she said. "And you may read his letter. It is pleasant to me to see that stiff, self-satisfied young man brought to his knees. Read it, ma chère, read it. It is an excellent letter."
Miss Scrotton read, and, while she read, Madame von Marwitz's cold, deep eyes rested on her, still vaguely smiling.
"How very extraordinary," said Miss Scrotton. She handed back the letter.
"Extraordinary? Now, why, ma bonne?" her friend inquired, all limpid frankness. "He looked indeed, a stockish, chill young man, of the cold-nosed type—ah, que je n'aime pas ça!—but he is a good young man; a most unimpeachable young man; and our little Karen has melted him; how much his letter shows."
"Gregory Jardine is a very able and a very distinguished person," said Miss Scrotton, "and of an excellent county family. His mother and mine were cousins, as you know, and I have always taken the greatest interest in him. One can't but wonder how the child managed it." Mercedes, she knew, was drawing a peculiar satisfaction from her displeasure; but she couldn't control it.
"Ah, the child is not a manager. She is so far from managing it, you see, that she leaves it to me to manage. It touches and surprises me, I confess, to find that her devotion to me rules her even at a moment like this. Yes; Karen has pleased me very much."
"Of course that old-fashioned formality would in itself charm Gregory. He is very conventional. But I do hope, my dear Mercedes, that you will think it over a little before giving your consent. It is really a most unsuitable match. Karen's feelings are, evidently, not at all deeply engaged and with Gregory it must be a momentary infatuation. He will get over it in time and thank you for saving him; and Karen will marry Herr Lippheim, as you hoped she would."