"I am even more clever than you think," she said, triumphantly, "for I have put the matter to rights. I got behind Uncle Schonan and gave him to understand that if he would storm once more now, the fortress would probably surrender. He grumbled mightily and said that he had had enough of it and did not want to be made a fool of again; but at last he reconsidered the matter. He arrived fifteen minutes ago. I did not dare tell mamma anything about it, and--here he is!"
She nodded to the Chief Forester, who emerged upon the terrace and heard the last words.
"Yes, here I am; but take care, little woman, if you have 'led me behind the light,' for"--to Willibald--"I have come solely at her request. She has probably given you the details about how it stands with us--that is, with me, for your Frau Mamma is probably again unreasonable, obstinate and self-willed as she usually is--but I will marry her yet!"
"All right, uncle, if she will only have you," laughed Willibald, who could not help thinking this description of his mother from a wooer very peculiar.
"Yes, that is the question," said Schonan, doubtfully; "but your wife thinks----"
"That we dare not lose another minute!" interrupted Marietta. "Mamma is in her room, and has no conception of the attack. Willy and I will remain in the background, and join in the battle if the worst should happen. Forward, march, uncle; forward, Willy!"
And Frau Marietta von Eschenhagen, with her little, delicate hands pushed the stately Chief Forester and her huge husband forward, without more ado. They patiently submitted, although Schonan muttered:
"Strange how they all understand how to order one about--little ones as well as big ones. It must be born in them."
Regine von Eschenhagen stood at the window of her room, looking out upon her beloved Burgsdorf, which she intended to leave in a few days.
Much as she was convinced of the wisdom of this decision, it was yet not easy to execute it. The strong, restlessly active woman, who had stood thirty years at the head of a large work, felt a shudder at the rest and inactivity which awaited her. She had been made acquainted with the city life during her first separation from her son, and had been very unhappy in it.