"Did he ask your advice?"
"No; he merely told me the accomplished fact."
Frau von der Lehde crushed the paper and flung it into the corner.
"But what can have so suddenly led him to this step?"
Thiel shrugged his shoulders. "The resolutions of men are sometimes as incalculable as those of women."
"He cannot possibly have to atone for a sin."
"Fräulein von Markwald is above suspicion," said Thiel sternly, interrupting her.
"Linden may be still more so, but the world, which does not know him so well as I and—you, will probably think something of the sort."
"Certainly. Evil tongues have already begun their work. The newspaper containing the announcement is still damp, and I have even now heard the conjecture expressed that the baron was marrying Fräulein von Markwald because he had been forced to do so by her brother, who thought that Linden had compromised her by his attentions."
"Forced Linden! He who has killed two opponents in a duel! A Hussar officer will not frighten him. That's nonsense."