Katharina's face had grown very white. She staggered toward Marie, caught her arm, and drew her toward the door, gasping:
"Come—come—let us go. The steam—the heat of—the kitchen makes—me faint."
The fresh air of the court soon revived her.
"Let us play a trick on Ludwig," she suggested. "We will take his canoe, and cross the cove to the manor. We can send it back with a servant."
She ordered her coachman to take the carriage home; then she took Marie's hand and led her down to the lake.
They were soon in the boat. Marie, who had learned to row from Ludwig, sent the little craft gliding over the water, while Katharina held the rudder.
Very soon they were in the park belonging to the manor; and how delighted Marie was to see everything!
A herd of deer crossed their path, summoned to the feeding-place by a blast from the game-keeper's horn. The graceful animals were so tame that a hind stopped in front of the two ladies, and allowed them to rub her head and neck. Oh, how much there was to see and enjoy over here!
Katharina could hardly keep pace with the eager young girl, who would have liked to examine the entire park at once.
What a number of questions she asked! And how astonished she was when Katharina told her the large birds in the farm-yard were hens and turkeys. She had never dreamed that these creatures could be so pretty. She had never seen them before—not even a whole one served on the table, only the slices of white meat which Lisette had always cut off for her. But what delighted her more than anything else was that she might meet people, look fearlessly at them, and be stared at in return, and cordially return their friendly "God give you a good day!"