"Well, there is an arrangement of my father's you have got to admire now, an arrangement made simply and entirely in your honour. My father has shown himself practical for once in a way. Come along with me, you'll be surprised."
The summer-house, a small pavilion perched on the edge of the lake, certainly offered a glorious prospect.
"There are ladies inside," said Winterfeld, as they approached the tiny building.
"Some callers on my wife, I suppose," replied Max, indifferently. "Ah! there is Agnes."
Madame Agnes did, indeed, at this juncture appear on the scene, and exchanged a look of intelligence with her husband, who at once executed a manœuvre simple as it was adroit. He let his unsuspecting friend walk on before him, then, without more ado, gave him a sudden push over the threshold and pulled the door to behind him. Then he turned to his wife in triumph.
"There they are in the trap, and if George does not come out of that an affianced husband, may the Lord have mercy on him. Now the great point is to prevent their being disturbed. It is highly derogatory for a married man and the head of a family to stand sentinel while a love-declaration is in progress, but, in consideration of the very peculiar circumstances, I will once more condescend to the task. Go into the house, Agnes, and tell my father it has succeeded magnificently."
While Agnes went off to discharge her commission, a brief but most comprehensive scene was being enacted in the pavilion.
"Gabrielle!" cried George, and moved hastily forwards, as though he would have rushed up to her; then, bethinking himself, he stopped short. "Baroness Harder!"
"George!" said Gabrielle, with gentle reproach in her tone.
"Forgive me; I did not know--could not guess---- What brought you here?"