"I bow my head in admiration and--silence," answered the Count, laying his hand on his heart.
"And you, Ottomar?" exclaimed the Baroness, turning in her chair with almost girlish activity, and fixing her pince-nez like a double-barrelled pistol on him.
"I consider Wagnerism, from beginning to end, to be an abominable humbug!" answered Ottomar defiantly. The company were horror-struck. "Good heavens!" "Unheard of!" "Abominable!" "Positive blasphemy!" was heard on all sides.
"What did he say?" asked the old lady, her hand to her ear, bending towards Carla. Carla shrugged her shoulders. "You really cannot expect me to repeat Herr von Werben's words. Baroness?"
"Which Ottomar did not mean seriously," said Elsa, with an imploring look at her brother, which Ottomar answered by a shrug of the shoulders.
"I thought myself bound," he said, "as the Baroness did me the honour to appeal directly to me, to give my opinion, though it can be of no importance in this 'noble circle.'" He emphasised scornfully the last words.
"Humbug!" exclaimed the old lady, who, while the others were all talking at once, had made Herr von Tettritz repeat the fearful word in her ear. "It is too bad! You must withdraw it!--you must positively withdraw it! Do you hear, Ottomar?"
"Perfectly, Baroness," answered Ottomar; "but I am unfortunately unable to comply with your command."
"It is an insult--a positive insult!" exclaimed the Baroness, waving her enormous fan violently up and down--"to us all, to Carla in particular--on my honour, my dear Carla!" Carla appeared not to hear; she was leaning back on the sofa, and laughing with Count Golm, who, leaning on his elbow, bent low over her. Elsa was greatly disturbed. She knew that her brother did not in the least care about music, and that under any other circumstances he would have put an end to the disagreeable scene with one of the light jests that came so easily to him; and that if he did not do so now--if, as was evident from his gloomy countenance, he was determined to continue it, he could only have one reason for doing so--the wish to bring about a crisis, to break with Carla irrevocably and for ever, in the presence of their friends! She did not wish for the marriage; she had spoken eagerly against it that very day; had opened her anxious heart to her brother. But Carla had not deserved this; she was only behaving today as she always did, and her laughter at this moment was doubtless forced. What could she say or do?
"Will you at least honour me with an answer?" exclaimed the angry old lady, half rising from her chair.