"To be the lord and master of such a world--to move thousands by a single word of power! How that man stood on the threshold of his own house when he received us--like a prince and ruler, and such in fact he is. Success no longer intoxicates him--me it will intoxicate."
He drew himself up, proudly, to his full height, but all of a sudden a more tender expression rested upon his features, while he continued almost inaudibly:
"What a sweet pretty child that Maia is! So pure, so untouched by any shadow--and to the hand of that child is attached the other half of this power and this wealth."
He opened the window and leaned far out; restless, ambitious thoughts were working in the soul of this man, while he looked down upon the vast establishment at his feet. The rash gambler was not satisfied with his one lucky stroke, he was making ready for a second which was to be his master-stroke. Oscar von Wildenrod was not indeed made to live upon the bounty of his sister.
Cecilia, too, had not yet gone to rest, but, nestling among the cushions of an arm-chair, still sat motionless in the same spot that her brother had left her. She had taken the roses from her bosom and was heedlessly pulling them to pieces. They had been a present from Eric; he had welcomed her with them upon her arrival. Magnificent, pale yellow roses to remind her of their betrothal-day, when she had worn these same flowers. The withered leaves showered down upon her gown and upon the floor, but the intended bride heeded them not; she gazed into space like one lost in dreams. Evidently the visions that haunted her were of no friendly nature. Upon her forehead between those finely-arched eyebrows, there was again that fold, the significant feature which she had in common with her brother, and there, too, were his eyes that looked from her countenance--at this minute, it was easy to see that the two were of one blood.
CHAPTER VII.
[CECILA VISITS RADEFELD.]
The engagement of the young heir of Odensburg to Baroness Wildenrod had now indeed been announced and had excited great surprise in neighborhood circles, that had always supposed that in this matter, too, Dernburg would act as his son's guardian, and have the first word to say as to this union, and now Eric had made his own choice, far away at the South, without asking either his advice or permission. The beauty of the bride-elect, her good old name and her evidently brilliant fortune and connections, lent to this choice, it is true, the prestige of a thoroughly suitable one. And the father's consent was taken as a thing for granted.
At present, Cecilia had no ground for complaint as to the dreaded solitude of Odensburg, for her betrothal made the usually quiet Manor the scene of a constant round of social festivities. The engaged couple had made the usual visits, and now received return-calls from all the neighbors, by far the larger number of whom were the families of the large landed proprietors of that district. There were numerous invitations, larger and smaller entertainments, of which Cecilia was ever the center of attraction. Here, too, homage was paid to her wherever she appeared, and happily Eric had not the foible of jealousy. So swam Cecilia with full sails, upon the stream of satisfaction; new acquaintances and surroundings, new triumphs that hardly allowed her, for the moment at least, to miss the life to which she was accustomed.
The appearance of Baron von Wildenrod made the most favorable impression on every one. His distinguished appearance and his gifts as a brilliant conversationalist in general, won the favor of every one that he wanted to win, and here he was treated with double honor, as the future relative of the Dernburg family. Already, during the few weeks of his sojourn here, he had attained to a prominent position in these circles, and well knew how to maintain it.