“And from whom?”
“Franz, Lieutenant Henry’s valet, when we were watching the horses beneath the big pines, while your honors waited in that roadside pavilion for the shower to pass over.”
“Is his information reliable?”
“Of course! As no one suspected him, the whole matter was discussed freely before him.”
“And he betrayed the secret?”
“Yes, because he greatly admires your honor and wasn’t willing to see you treated so.”
“Karl, give him ten ducats from my purse and tell him I will take him in my own service, for he has afforded me great pleasure. The outing to-morrow will be a hundred times more amusing than I had hoped—indeed more amusing than any I have ever undertaken in my life.”
“Your honor will go to Langführ, then!”
“Certainly, Karl. We will go together, and you shall see if I misled you when I promised you a delightful morning.”
As soon as Baron de Trenck had completed his toilet, he visited M. Scherer, the Russian resident, spent a few moments in private with him and then returned to his apartments for dinner.