CHAPTER I.
Castle Wilicza, which gave its name to all the lands appertaining to it, formed, as has already been mentioned, the central point of a great agglomeration of estates situated near the frontier. Rarely indeed does so extensive a property come into the hands of one man; still more rarely does it happen that the owner shows so little interest in his possessions as was here the case. Judicious, systematic management had ever been wanting to the Wilicza domain. The late master, Nordeck, had been a speculator, and had acquired his fortune by a speculator's talents; he could play the part of a great landed proprietor neither as regards a practical nor a social point of view, and was not long in discovering that he was well-nigh at the mercy of his agents. He at once rid himself of all care for the separate outlying estates by letting them off, and they were still held by the various tenants who had leased them. Wilicza itself, his own residence, was excepted from the rule, and given over to the administration of a steward.
The chief wealth of the property consisted, however, in the extensive forests, which covered nearly two-thirds of the domain, and required for their inspection a perfect army of foresters and rangers. They formed a distinct branch of the administration, and were the principal source of those vast revenues which yearly flowed into the proprietor's coffers.
At Nordeck's death, the guardian of the infant heir, stepping into his friend's shoes, suffered all existing arrangements to remain undisturbed, partly out of a pious regard to the dead man's wishes, partly because such a course seemed to him advisable in the interest of the property. Herr Witold managed the Altenhof estate extremely well--it was on a scale small enough for him to take the entire direction of it into his own hands; but to the grander ratio of Wilicza affairs the Squire showed himself altogether unequal--he had neither measure nor grasp for them. He thought he had done his duty to the uttermost when he had gone as carefully as possible through the accounts and vouchers submitted to him, which he was necessarily obliged to take on trust--when he had conscientiously invested the incoming funds with a due regard to his ward's interests; and, for the rest, he relied on the agents, who were allowed to act in everything according to their own good will and pleasure. This sort of management would have ruined most landowners, but it could not make any very formidable breach in the Nordeck fortune; for, if hundreds were lost here and there, thousands and tens of thousands remained behind, and the enormous revenues of the domain, of which at present the young heir could only enjoy a very limited fraction, not only covered every chance deficit, but went continually to swell the capital. That the estates produced less than by skilful hands they might have been made to produce, was incontestable; but the guardian cared little for that, and young Nordeck even less.
The young man had gone to the University shortly after his coming of age, and from thence he had set out on his travels. For years he had not shown himself at Wilicza; he seemed to have no love for the place.
The Castle itself presented a striking contrast to most of the noblemen's seats around, which, with few exceptions, hardly deserved the name of castles, and whereof the decay and ruin were often not to be hidden by a certain outward splendour maintained by their owners at any cost. The exterior of Wilicza was such as became the old seigneurial residence of many a prince and count during two centuries. It dated from the country's brightest period, when the might of the nobility still went hand in hand with its wealth, when its chateaux were the scene of a luxury and magnificence hardly known in these our days. The castle could not exactly be described as beautiful, and would hardly have found grace in the eyes of an artist. The taste which gave it being was undeniably of a rude order; but it was imposing by its massive structure and by the grandeur of its design. In spite of all the changes it had undergone in the course of years, it still retained its old original character; and the great edifice, with its long rows of windows, its broad expanse of lawn, and vast, finely wooded park, stood out, somewhat sombre perhaps, but grand and majestic, from the circle of magnificent forests which surrounded it.
After the death of the late owner, the castle had stood for many years empty and deserted. At very rare intervals the young heir came in company of his guardian, but he never stayed more than a few weeks at a time. The desolate solitude of the place vanished, however, when its former mistress, the present widowed Princess Baratowska, returned to take up her abode at Wilicza. The apartments, which had been so long shut up, were thrown open once more, and the costly decorations and furniture with which Nordeck had fitted up the different suites of rooms on the occasion of his marriage, were renewed and restored to all their pristine splendour. The present proprietor had assigned to his mother's use the income arising from the Castle lands--a sum inconsiderable to him, yet sufficient to secure to the Princess and her younger son means 'suitable to their position,' however broad an interpretation she might choose to put on the words. She made full use of the funds at her disposal, and her surroundings and manner of life were ordered on the same scale as in past times, when the young Countess Morynska came to rule as mistress in Wilicza, and her husband still loved to parade his wealth before her and her relations.
It was the beginning of October. The autumnal wind was sharp already as it swept over the forests, where the foliage was gradually changing its tints, and the sun often fought its way with difficulty through the thick mists which enveloped the landscape. To-day again the veil had only lifted towards noon, but now the sun shone brightly into the salon which communicated with the Princess's study, and in which she usually sat. It was a large apartment, lofty and somewhat gloomy, like all the rooms in the Castle, with deep window-niches and a spacious chimney-place, where, as a protection against the chills of autumn, a fire was sparkling. The heavy dark-green curtains were thrown far back, and the full daylight streaming in displayed the solid handsome furniture, in all which the same dark-green hue predominated.
The only occupants of the room at the present moment were Count Morynski and the Princess. The Count often came over with his daughter from Rakowicz, and would spend days, even weeks, with his sister. On this occasion he had arrived on a long visit. The years which had passed over his head had left visible traces--his hair had grown greyer, and there were more lines imprinted on his forehead--but the expression of that grave, characteristic face remained unaltered. In the Princess, on the other hand, there was hardly any change. The features of this still beautiful woman were as cold and proud, her bearing as haughty, as in the old days. Although at the expiration of the year she had laid aside her deep widow's mourning, she yet constantly dressed in black; and her dark, though exceedingly rich, attire set off her tall figure to full advantage. She was now engaged in an animated conversation with her brother.
"I do not understand why the news should surprise you," said she. "We must both of us have been prepared for it for some time. To me, at least, it has always been a matter for wonder that Waldemar should remain so long and so persistently absent from his estates."