"Everything must be certified to with letter and seal with you diplomats," laughed the Chief. "This Rojanow has certainly something aristocratic about him, and one is never so strict, anyway, with a foreigner. I can well understand that our sovereigns like to hear and see something different from the usual court circle, which presents the same old tiresome face from year to year. The Duke appears to be quite captivated already with the Roumanian."
"Yes, it seems so," muttered Wallmoden, upon whose brow a cloud gathered.
"But why should this concern us?" remarked Schonan. "I will go now and look for Toni, who has to appear now everywhere without her betrothed. That was another notion of Regine's. She departed from us with her son like a skyrocket. Your sister cannot be detained as soon as the beloved Burgsdorf is brought into question. If she had only left Willy with us! Everybody wonders that my future son-in-law should take his departure before the fête. I cannot understand it at all."
"A stroke of good fortune that they are gone," thought Wallmoden, as his brother-in-law left him. "If Willibald had met his former friend and playmate here unexpectedly another scene similar to that upon the Hochberg might have occurred. But who would have thought that Hartmut would carry his defiance so far as to appear in a circle where he was sure to meet the Ambassador?"
Prince Adelsberg, who held in this circle one of the highest positions through his name and relationship to the reigning house, had, indeed, succeeded with the presentation of his friend, and the Duke seemed to have had a very favorable opinion of him from the first meeting at Rodeck, for he now himself presented this young stranger to the Duchess.
This Rojanow, with the captivating charm of his personality and the foreign air which surrounded him, was, indeed, an extraordinary person, who had only to appear to cause general observation.
To-day he displayed lavishly all the brilliant attributes which were at his command. His conversation sparkled with life and spirit, his fiery temperament, which betrayed itself involuntarily, gave to everything he said and did a peculiar charm, while he proved himself in every respect master of society forms and customs. In short, the prophecy of the Prince was fulfilled.
Hartmut knew how to conquer everybody here by storm, and had hardly put his foot upon the soil when he reigned there by the power of his magnetism.
This could not pass unnoticed by the Ambassador, even if he did not come into direct contact with the Roumanian. It was not difficult to evade each other in the throng of guests, and a meeting was not desired on either side.
Wallmoden walked through a side room, where the Duke's sister, the Princess Sophie, had gathered a large circle around her.