"Oh, it is sure to be tiresome," Zdena replies, heaping her plate with potatoes in her confusion.
"I wish you a good appetite!" Vladimir exclaims.
Zdena looks in dismay at the potatoes piled upon her plate.
"At least open the letter," says Heda.
"Open it, pray!" Harry repeats.
Mechanically Zdena obeys, breaks the seal, and hastily looks through the letter. Her cheeks grow redder and redder, her hands tremble.
"Come, read it to us."
Instead of complying, Zdena puts the document in her pocket again, and murmurs, much embarrassed, "There--there is nothing in it about Bayreuth."
"Ah, secrets!" Heda says, maliciously.
Zdena makes no reply, but gazes in desperation at the mound of potatoes on her plate. It never decreases in the least during the entire meal.