Lost in her day-dreams, Elizabeth did not hear the sound of hasty footsteps approaching; she therefore started in alarm when she heard her name pronounced, close to her, by a man's voice. Hollfeld stood just behind her. She suspected why he had followed her, and she felt her heart beat quickly, but she collected herself, and, standing aside, made room for him to pass her in the narrow pathway.
"No, that was not what I wished, Fräulein Ferber," he said smiling, and in a tone of such familiarity as deeply offended her. "I wished to have the pleasure of accompanying you."
"I thank you," she coldly replied, "it would be giving you needless trouble; I always greatly prefer walking alone in the forest."
"And have you no fear?" he asked, stepping so close to her that she felt his hot breath upon her cheek.
"Only of unwelcome companionship," she replied, retaining her self-possession by an effort.
"Ah! here is the same dignified reserve again in which you always entrench yourself with me; and wherefore? I shall soon put an end to it, however. To-day, at least, I shall not respect it as I have hitherto been forced to do,—I must speak to you."
"Is what you have to say of such consequence as to require you to absent yourself from your friends and the fête?"
"Yes; it is a wish upon which my life depends; it pursues me day and night; I have been ill and wretched at the idea that it may never be gratified—I——"
In the mean time Elizabeth had accelerated her pace. It was hateful to her,—the presence of this man, in whose eyes glowed all the passion which he had hitherto partly repressed and which had already inspired her with such deep aversion and disgust; but she was perfectly conscious that absolute self-possession was her only weapon, and therefore she interrupted him, while her lips quivered with the sickly semblance of a smile.
"Ah!" she said, "our practisings, then, have had most desirable results; you wish my assistance in music, if I understand you rightly?"