“Have the repairs yet been put in hand which Fräulein von Staubach asked for in her maid’s room, in which the snow came through the roof?”
“Not yet, your Excellency. It appears that the roof is very much out of repair, and that more work will be needed than we imagined.”
“Very good. Bring me the estimates here, and see that the repairs are not begun until I give you orders. If Fräulein von Staubach should inquire the cause of the delay, refer her to me.”
“At the orders of your Excellency,” and the clerk retired, after a puzzled glance at his superior’s face to discover whether he could be joking. But Cyril knew now a good deal more about the lady with whom he had to deal than he had done at the time of their former acquaintance. Then he had regarded her as a singularly uninteresting girl, who seemed to have no tastes or interests of her own, and whose views were coloured by those of any one who came near her. Now he recognised her as a sentimentalist of the most pronounced German type—and when a German is sentimental he carries his favourite quality to such a pitch as to astonish the less impressionable Englishman. Fräulein von Staubach lived in the joys and sorrows of others; it would almost be correct to say that she enjoyed both equally. Her tears and her laughter, her sympathy and her condolences, were always at the service of her friends, or even of her enemies, if they could once succeed in obtaining her ear. Her mood was that of her companion at the moment, but carried to its highest degree; her hopes were the brightest, her despair the deepest, her misery the most uncontrolled, in any society. In the same way, she could be absurdly credulous among trusting people; but once let a suspicion be suggested to her, and she would speedily astonish its author by her absolute persuasion of its truth. She called herself a “child of nature,” in the full belief that she was laying claim to the highest possible honour, and she hated with a bitter hatred the artificialities of courts and of polite society generally, after the manner of the leaders of a minor romantic reaction which had afflicted various exalted circles in Germany twenty or thirty years before, and which had also influenced the Princess of Weldart in the education of her daughter.
It was no surprise to Cyril, therefore, when an imperative knock at his office-door the next day announced the arrival of Fräulein von Staubach, who entered the room in a state of the loftiest moral indignation.
“I have been extremely astonished, Count,” she said severely, as Cyril rose to receive her, “to hear that you have not only taken no steps to remedy the inconvenience from which my servant is suffering, but have even given orders that nothing should be done.”
“I fear you have been misinformed, Fräulein. Nothing could be further from my mind than to wish to cause inconvenience to any member of the household. The delay of which you complain arises from the fact that two alternative schemes have been proposed by the Works Department, and I am glad to have the opportunity of consulting you on the subject. Perhaps if you have a minute or two to spare, you will sit down and look at these estimates. The one provides merely for repairs, as you will see; the other involves an alteration of the shape of the roof, which would be an improvement, but would require a good deal of work and some changing of rooms.”
“I do not wish my maid’s room changed,” said Fräulein von Staubach, falling into the trap, and accepting the offered chair. “It is very conveniently situated, and she can talk to the Queen’s dressers if she feels lonely when I am busy with the King. Still, I will look at the papers, Count.”
A very short examination of the estimates served to confirm Fräulein von Staubach in her preference for the simple repairs, which was what Cyril had intended; but the courtesy shown in allowing her a choice in the matter worked a distinct change in her manner.
“I am much obliged to you for your kindness, Count,” she said, as she handed the papers back to Cyril. “I see that I misjudged you when I thought you had arranged this delay for the purpose of vexing me. My maid is a faithful servant, and I could not endure to see her badly treated.”