"Always in the air, your Excellence?" he cried out; "what are your Excellence's commands?"
"Tender my respectful compliments to your mistress, and request her to favor me with a moment's interview upon urgent business."
Ilse appeared, with her usual serious countenance, at the window, the servant behind her. The young gentleman held on fast by one hand, and raised the other to his cap.
"I beg your pardon. Madam, for choosing this unnatural way of presenting myself to you, but my cousin down there has sent me up here against my will."
"If you fall, Sir, you may take with you the full conviction that it was unnecessary to climb the tree: the door of the house is always open."
Ilse retreated, and Victor bowed again.
"The lady is quite of my opinion," he cried out, reprovingly, to the Hereditary Prince, "that you have done very wrong in keeping me from the door."
"There is no way of getting out of this scrape but by going in at once, and apologizing," replied the Hereditary Prince.
"That is exactly what I wish," cried Victor. "One must always let people know what they want."
The Princes entered the house together, and Ilse received them with a silent curtsy.