I had consented!...
Unfathomable enigma! A misunderstanding!... But she had been ill!... Ill with fear ... with anger ... with....
The fact that the little unknown cousin was about to appear upon the scene added a new interest, and with a beating heart I went on board the steamer at four o'clock, as had been arranged.
The Baroness greeted me with sisterly kindness.
"You're not angry with me because of my unkind words?" she began. "I'm very excitable...."
"Don't let us speak about it," I replied, trying to find her a seat behind the bridge.
"Mr. Axel ... Miss Baby!..."
The Baron was introducing us. I was looking at a girl of about eighteen, of the soubrette type, exactly what I had imagined. She was small, very ordinary-looking, dressed simply, but with a certain striving after elegance.
But the Baroness! Pale as death, with hollow cheeks, she looked more fragile than ever. Her bangles jingled at her wrists; her slender neck rose from her collar, plainly-showing the blue arteries winding towards the ears which, owing to the careless way in which she had arranged her hair, stood out from her head more than usual. She was badly dressed, too. The colours of her frock were crude, and did not blend. I could not help thinking that she was downright plain, and, as I looked at her, my heart was filled with compassion, and I cursed my recent conduct towards her. This woman a coquette? She was a saint, a martyr, bearing undeserved sorrow.
The steamer started. The lovely August evening on the Lake of Mälar tempted one to peaceful dreams.