"Only two or three miles; about half as far as Altenhof from this."
The young man was silent. He looked anxiously through the window again: the shore seemed to have an unusual interest for him to-day.
"Speaking of Wilicza," said the Princess, negligently, "you will be taking possession of your property soon, I suppose, now that you are of age. When do you think of going there?"
"It was fixed for next spring," said Waldemar, absently, still absorbed by his outdoor observations. "I wanted to stay on with my uncle through the winter; but all that will be changed now, for I mean to go to the University."
His mother bent her head approvingly.
"I can but applaud such a resolution. I have never disguised from you that the essentially practical education you have received at your guardian's has been, in my opinion, too one-sided. For such a position as yours, some higher culture is indispensable."
"I should rather like to see Wilicza first, though." Waldemar made a dash at his object. "I have not been there since my childhood, and ... You will make a long stay at Rakowicz, will you not?"
"I do not know," replied the Princess. "For the present I shall certainly accept the refuge offered by my brother to me and to my son. Time will show whether we must make a permanent claim on his generosity."
Young Nordeck looked up. "Refuge? Generosity? What do you mean, mother?"
The Princess's lips twitched nervously, the only sign she gave that the step she was about to take was one painful to her. With this exception her face remained unmoved as she answered--