“Yes, he is; and more and more, and worse and worse every time he comes home,” continued his mother hoarsely; “and no wonder. Is there another such face in the Four Cantons? But they are not for one another—no, never!” and she stamped her heavy foot upon the gravel. “She does not care for him,” stooping to pick up an apple, “no, not this!” flinging it away with a vicious jerk. “She does not care for anyone. My tongue is quiet—but I use my eyes. As for Fritz, he shall marry one of his own country, a girl of his own class, strong, hard-working, with a fortune—such there are. His cousin Gertrud, in the Oberland, will suit me—and it has been arranged. Meanwhile Mitli, whom he sees daily, goes to his head like new beer, and the boy is as one drunken, and mad! and so, mein liebe Frau, after many years together, and I may say friendship, I must give you notice to leave.”
For a moment or two Letty made no answer. Her little world had been suddenly dissolved and was whirling about her. She looked across the garden, and its tall, white lilies and standard roses, to the familiar brown house, with green shutters, then up at her own open window—with its accustomed sponge,—her haven for so long.
At last she said:
“Very well, I see your point of view, and I am afraid Cara is inclined to be a flirt. The child likes to make herself pleasant to everyone.”
“No, not to everyone,” corrected the other bitterly.
“I am really very, very sorry if Fritz is attracted. I honestly believed it was just the old boy-and-girl liking.”
“Boy-and-girl liking, Jesu Maria! I’ve seen Fritz kiss her empty shoes, I’ve known him watch her window till dawn; these are the follies of his Italian blood. I hoped Zurich would end them, but he is worse. Ach ye! he is ten times worse! So now I send him to a relative near Adelboden for some time; there he will learn farming and good sense. When he returns——” She paused expressively.
“We shall have left, and to tell you the truth, Frau Hurter, this move has been in my mind; but I love Les Plans, and hate the idea of a change. I have lately come into a legacy which brings me in one hundred and fifty pounds a year, and as Cara believes herself grown up, it is time that we go to where she can mix with her own country-people. I am undecided where to live, or what to do. I have been rooted here for so long, that Les Plans seems like my home.”
“Dear lady, it would, and gladly, be your home for always—but for our two children. Young people, will be young!”
“Well, to-day I shall write to Mrs. Hesketh and ask her advice,” said Letty, collecting her work. “How soon must we move—in a week?”