"Very sorry, sir," replied the servant with a smile, "they are all occupied--you have a very good view here of the river."
Leuthold was silent. He seemed to have fallen into a trap. How had he come to choose in all this wide city the very house where dwelt his worst enemy? How did the fellow come here?
The servant Louis opened a charming room, looking out upon the water, and Gretchen could not suppress an exclamation of delight as she looked down from such a height upon all the beauty below them. It seemed like heaven to her. Louis lighted the candles, and awaited further orders.
"How long has Herr Meyer been head-waiter here?" Leuthold asked as if incidentally.
"For about a year," Louis replied, arranging his napkin upon his arm. "He is a relative of the proprietor of this house, who, when his only son died, sent for Herr Meyer, that the business might not pass into strange hands."
"Indeed--then will Herr Meyer succeed him?"
"I believe so,--yes, sir."
Leuthold walked to and fro upon the soft carpet.
"Will you have supper, sir?"
"Yes."