It is always a relief when one can drop a mask which has deceived the world and can breathe in solitude, if it only brings conviction of the heavy load one had to bear under that mask.
Where had the cold, proud calm vanished with which the young wife had entered her new home upon the arm of her husband? Now, when she knew herself alone and unobserved, it could be plainly seen that she had changed much.
That strong will-line which had made her resemble her father so much had become more pronounced, but besides that there was another line--a painful one--as of a person who has to struggle with secret torture and anxiety. The blue eyes had lost the cold, dispassionate expression. A deep shadow rested within them which also told of struggle and pain, and the blonde head drooped as if under an invisible but heavy load.
And yet Adelaide drew a breath of relief at the thought that this would be the last day she should spend at Furstenstein. By to-morrow she would be far from here. Perhaps there would be rest in the far removal of the dark power against which she had struggled now for weeks so painfully, and yet so vainly.
Perhaps she would get better if she did not see those eyes day after day, nor hear that voice.
When she should have fled from the enchanted circle the charm would have to break, and now at last she could flee--oh, the happiness of it!
The noise of the chase sounded in ever-increasing distance, and was finally lost, but steps now sounded in the forest which encircled the hill closely, and warned the young Baroness that she was no longer alone. She started to leave, but at the moment she turned the one approaching emerged from under the trees.
Hartmut Rojanow stood before her.
The meeting was so sudden and unexpected that Adelaide's composure was not proof against it. She retreated to the trunk of the tree, under the boughs of which she had been standing, as if seeking there a protection from this man, upon whom she gazed with fixed, fearful eyes--with the gaze of a wounded animal which sees the huntsman approach.
Rojanow did not seem to notice it. He saluted her and asked hastily: "You are alone, Your Excellency? The accident did not have any serious consequences?"