"And going up to the weeping woman, she said: 'Ma—ma!'
"'Mamma!' stammered the little fellow, quite consoled.
"Susanna laughed, and promised to change her dress quickly; then she came to the table. The grief was already overcome; and she showed herself, in course of time, none too eager to regain the child's love. Anna Maria silently retained all the cares she had undertaken; but sometimes the young wife would embrace her child in a sudden outbreak of tenderness, and not let him out of her arms for hours.
"The summer did not flit away so quietly as it had begun; there were frequent visitors, and sometimes Susanna's laugh would echo, terribly clear, through the rooms. Anna Maria was sad; she fled to her room whenever a carriage full of guests arrived, or a pair of saddle-horses were led slowly up and down before the house. But Stürmer was now a daily guest; it really pained me when I saw him ride across the court.
"'Baron Stürmer is with Frau von Hegewitz,' Brockelmann announced one afternoon, as she came into Anna Maria's room, where I was sitting by the window. 'The baron inquired for the baby, and the Frau was just coming out of the salon; she took him in with her, laughing, and said I was to get the child.'
"Silently Anna Maria lifted him up from the carpet, where he had sat playing, and with a kiss gave him to the old woman. 'There, now, go to mamma and be good.'
"She then bent over her housekeeping book.
"'Will you not go down, Anna Maria?' I asked.
"She raised her head. 'Oh, aunt, I have something important to do now, and—he will not miss me. He will be here again often,' she added. And a faint, traitorous blush tinged her face. 'I think they still love each other.'
"I shook my head. 'Ah, Anna Maria, she still wears her widow's cap!'