‘Never, while you both live, believe me. I shall have to leave her in your hands for a long time to come yet.’
With that he hastened away, leaving Ellen in a more contented frame of mind than she had enjoyed for a long time.
It was afternoon of the following day. Sara was much in the same state–no stronger, no weaker. She saw, with something like apathy, how Wilhelmi, his wife, and Luise came into her room together, spoke to her, and seated themselves side by side.
She had a faint remembrance that Rudolf had said something about witnesses; she was not quite sure what it all meant, but no doubt it was right. Falkenberg was there too, seated beside her, and, in an unconscious appeal to his protecting power, she had moved her hand into his, and then lay back in her chair, silent and indifferent. He said something to her, an explanation, it seemed, of the circumstances; something about–
‘In cases like this, Sara, they dispense with the usual notice, so there has been no difficulty about getting it done at once.’
She looked rather blankly at him, and in her own mind wondered vaguely what it meant.
Then some strangers entered–the Bürgermeister and his clerk. Words were read. Something was brought to her to sign, which deed, with Rudolf’s assistance, she accomplished. Questions were asked as to her age, her name, parentage, and occupation. At each of these she looked helplessly at Falkenberg, or at Ellen, who stood at the other side of her couch. Then more reading; then a wedding-ring was put upon her finger, and would have rolled off again had not Rudolf caught her hand and held it fast in his.
Then the Bürgermeister and his clerk took their hats, murmured severally, ‘Empfehle mich zu gnaden,’ bowed to the assembled company, and were gone.
Frau Wilhelmi and Luise came up and kissed her tenderly, and she saw that their eyes were full of tears. Then the Professor came up and took her hand–the good Wilhelmi–and she remembered his generous kindness to her, and smiled what was intended for a grateful smile at him, whereat his eyes too filled with tears, and he too stooped, and kissed her forehead, and said something incoherent about a geliebtes Kind, a beste Schülerin.