"You see, Mr. Szirmay," said Libor, with a little accession of boldness, "I was quite right. There are two of you here, and while one thinks the news bad, the other calls it 'divine.'"
"Silence, gossip!" said Peter haughtily, "you are not in your own house, remember. Be so good as to wait till your opinion is asked before you give it." Then, turning to Roger, he went on: "Well, if it is so, it is, and we can't alter it; but there will be a fine piece of work when the Diet does meet. It must be as his Majesty wills, but I for one shall not give my consent, not though the Danube and Tisza both were poured upon them. One thing is clear, we are called to the Diet and we must go, and as for the rest it is in God's hands."
So saying, Master Peter began to pace up and down the room, and no one ventured to interrupt him. But presently he came to a standstill in front of the clerk, and said gloomily, "You have told us ill news enough to last a good many years; so, unless there is more to come, you may go on to the next part, and tell us any good news you have."
"I can oblige you with that, too," said the clerk, who evidently felt injured by Peter's contemptuous way of speaking; "at least," he added, "I hope I shall not have to pay for it as I have done for my other news, though I am sure I am not responsible, for I neither invited the Kunok nor summoned your Honour to the Diet."
"Stop there!" said Peter, with some little irritation. "It seems to me, young man, that you have opened your eyes considerably since you left my brother; you talk a great deal and very mysteriously. Now then, let us have any good news you can tell us!"
"His Majesty has appointed Father Roger to be one of the Canons of Nagyvárad (Grosswardein), and Master Peter's long suit has terminated in a favourable judgment. The land in dispute is given back, with the proceeds for the last nine years."
"That is good news, if you will," cried Peter, both surprised and pleased; and without heeding a remark from Libor that he was glad he had been able to say something which was to his mind at last, he went on: "Now, Dora, my dear, we shall be able to be a little more comfortable, and we will spend part of the winter in Pest. Young ladies want a little amusement, and you, my poor girl, have had to live buried in the woods, where there is nothing going on."
"The Hédervárys are in Pest too," the clerk chimed in, "and you will have a delightful visit, my dear young mistress. His Majesty's Court was never more brilliant than it is now; the Queen likes to see noble young dames about her."
Dora and Peter both looked at the clerk in amazement. He had been four years in Master Stephen's house, without ever once venturing to make Dora such a long speech as this.
"What has come to this man?" and "How very odd!" were the thoughts which passed through the minds of Peter and his daughter.