Mathilde Jensen reminded Hardy that she had said he bought Rosendal because he wanted to marry Helga Lindal.
"Yes," said John; "I thanked you for so disposing of me."
The worthy proprietor was delighted that John Hardy would be his neighbour for some time of the year, and thanked him for the mare Hardy had sent over from England to improve his breeding stock. John Hardy had made him a present of it.
"She is," said the proprietor, "as handsome as can be; but she has a temper."
"She is Irish," said Hardy. "But you will find the horse foals easy to manage; the mares may give a little trouble, but they will go like birds."
The Jensens pressed them to stay to an early dinner, and Mrs. Hardy thought they had best do so. The well-bred English lady made a strong impression on the Jensen ladies, and the genuine Danish hospitality appealed to Mrs. Hardy.
The result of this visit was a return visit to Rosendal. The exact service and the excellent arrangements of everything had its effect on the Jensens, and the consequence was that numerous calls were made at Rosendal.
Helga had returned to the parsonage, when John Hardy one day came to his mother with a telegram. The steam yacht Rosendal was at Aarhus.
"Let us go to Copenhagen, John," said Mrs. Hardy, "and take Helga with us. She is fond of the sea, and I enjoy her society. It is the perfect truth that is in everything about her that I love."
"She will not go if I ask her, mother," said John; "but if you do she may."