"No, I had been married once," was the dry answer, and it seemed to increase the head forester's irritation. He shrugged his shoulders spitefully.
"Well, I certainly think you had no cause for complaint against poor Eschenhagen. He, and all his people at Burgsdorf danced when you piped. With me you would not have ordered the regiment about so easily."
"In about four weeks," Frau Regine declared calmly, "you would all have been under my command, Moritz."
"What! You say that to my face? Well, I'd just like to prove it for once," retorted Schönau, full of wrath now.
"Thank you, I shouldn't care to marry a second time, so give yourself no uneasiness."
"I can assure you I didn't mean an offer. I wouldn't think of such a thing for a moment. One refusal was enough for me. So you need not trouble giving me a second one."
With these words the master of the house rose, pushed back his chair noisily, and left his guest abruptly. Frau von Eschenhagen remained quietly sitting alone for some time, then she called out in a friendly tone:
"Moritz."
"What is it?" he growled from the other side of the terrace.
"When are Herbert and his young wife coming?"