She changed colour, and dropped her hands in her lap.
"You'll only be angry with me again, Herr," she stammered.
"Do as I bid you."
She still hesitated. "It's ... so long ago," she whispered piteously, "and I don't know how to tell things."
"But you can at least answer questions."
Then she resigned herself to fate.
"Who was it that first suggested to you the midnight sortie?"
"The gnädiger Herr."
He clenched his teeth. "When and how?"
"The gnädiger Herr ordered me to wait at table. The great candelabra, that was hardly ever lit as a rule, was burning, and shone on the gold uniforms of the French officers, and it was all so dazzling I felt quite giddy when I carried the soup into the hall. They all laughed and pointed at me, and spoke in French, which I didn't understand."