"'He is here, Anna Maria,' replied her brother; 'does that startle you so?'
"She shook her head, but her looks belied her.
"'I have just received this note,' continued Klaus, and he read as follows:
"'My dear old Friend:
"'I landed here again two weeks ago, for the longing for home finally overcame me; and when one has wandered about for three years, it is time, for various reasons, to return to the ancestral home. I come from—but I will tell you all that when I see you. I have already been twice before your door, to say good-day, but—I am meanwhile of the opinion that the past should not interfere with our old friendly relations. I certainly came off conqueror! It will not be hard for Anna Maria to receive an old friend, which I have never ceased to be, and which I shall always endeavor to remain. May I come, then? To-morrow morning, after church, I had intended to make a call, if you permit it. My compliments to the ladies.
"'Ever yours,
"'Edwin Stürmer.'
"A deep pink flush had mounted to Anna Maria's cheeks as he read, and at the words 'I certainly came off conqueror! It will not be hard for Anna Maria to receive an old friend,' there was a quiver of pain on her delicate lips. When Klaus finished, she had quite recovered her self-possession. 'I shall be glad to see Edwin Stürmer again,' she said clearly; 'ask him to eat a plate of soup with us.'
"'That is lovely of you, Anna Maria!' cried Klaus, rejoiced. 'The poor fellow has gotten over it, it is to be hoped; meeting again for the first time is naturally somewhat painful, but you have done nothing so bad. How could you help it that he loves you, and you not him? Splendid old fellow, he——'
"Anna Maria's eyes wandered with a strange expression over the green trees outside; she kept her lips tightly closed, as if making an effort to repress a cry, and was still standing thus when Klaus sat down at the writing table near by, to answer Stürmer's note.
"'Where is Susanna?' she asked at last.
"'She must be asleep,' I replied.
"She turned and left the room.