The gardener said that she was not there, and that she would not be there any more.
What does this mean? He laughed aloud when he was informed that the villa, with all its appurtenances, had been sold the day before to the American consul at the capital. He is outwitted; these people are his neighbors no longer, and there can nothing be said about demanding back the property bought at a merely nominal sum. And after the first flush of anger, Sonnenkamp experienced a peculiar satisfaction in the thought that there were so many sagacious people in the world; it is a pleasant thing that there are so many foxes and lynxes to be found everywhere, and under their own particular masks.
A court-lackey rode up. Sonnenkamp reined in. Could it be possible that they repented and were sending a courier after him?
"Where are you going?" he asked of the court-lackey as he stopped.
"To Villa Eden."
"To whom?"
"To the Professorin Dournay."
"Might I ask who sends you, and what your errand is?"
"Why not?"
"Well, what's the errand?"