"I do not intend to be present at the reception," Bertram said; "but I may as well dress now." And he followed Konski into the bedroom.
As Konski was assisting him, he said to him--
"Well, on what terms are you with that girl now? You will have to make haste if you wish to settle everything before we go."
"It is already settled, and settled very nicely," Konski made answer, "since last night, sir. With the like of us, such things are settled smartly, Herr Doctor, and I have a favour to ask of you in connection with it. Aurora--it's a strange name that, sir, is it not? and her two others are just as bad: Amanda Rolline--thank you, says I. Well, it is not her fault, though, poor thing, and I won't mind re-baptizing her once we, are in Berlin. But, as I was going to say, Herr Doctor, she insists upon our getting married in the beginning of October, because at the end of October Christine is going to be married to Peter Weissenborn, and she wants to annoy Christina by being married before her, so she says; but I fancy it's meant for Peter, who used to be uncommonly sweet upon her, and, I rather think, promised to marry her at one time. And if the Herr Doctor is not going to Italy at all, or leastways not now, we thought ..."
"You know," said Bertram, "how sorry I shall be to part with you; but I will not stand in the way of your happiness."
"It would be my greatest happiness, sir," said Konski, "to remain with you as long as I live. And there's just one way, so Aurora says ..."
"Well?"
Konski hesitated a little, then took heart of grace, and said, with an embarrassed sort of smirk--
"If the Herr Doctor would be so very kind as to marry too!"
"I am afraid," said Bertram, "you will have to devise some other way out of the difficulty."