She closed her eyes as she spoke and, when Els bent to kiss her, tears
bedewed her cheeks.

Soon after Els went down into the entry to meet her lover's
brother-in-law. He had refused to enter the empty sitting-room. The
Countess von Montfort's unfriendly dismissal had vexed him sorely,
yet it made no lasting impression. Other events had forced into the
background the bitter attack of Cordula, for whom he had never felt any
genuine regard.

The experiences of the last few hours had converted the carefully
bedizened gallant into a coarse fellow, whose outward appearance bore
visible tokens of his mental depravity. The faultlessly cut garment was
pushed awry on his powerful limbs and soiled on the breast with wine
stains. The closely fitting steel chain armour, in which he had ridden
out, now hung in large folds upon his powerful frame. The long mustache,
which usually curled so arrogantly upwards, now drooped damp and limp
over his mouth and chin, and his long reddish hair fell in dishevelled
locks around his bloated face. His blue eyes, which usually sparkled so
brightly, now looked dull and bleared, and there were white spots on his
copper-coloured cheeks.

Since Countess Cordula gave him the insulting message to his wife he had
undergone more than he usually experienced in the course of years.

"An accursed night!" he had exclaimed, in reply to the housekeeper's
question concerning the cause of his disordered appearance.

Els, too, was startled by his looks and the hoarse sound of his voice.
Nay, she even drew back from him, for his wandering glance made her fear
that he was intoxicated.

Only a short time before, it is true, he had scarcely been able to stand
erect, but the terrible news which had assailed him had quickly sobered
him.

He had come at this unwontedly early hour to enquire whether the
Ortliebs had heard anything of his brother-in-law Wolff. There was not a
word of allusion to the broken betrothal.

In return for the promise that she would let the Eysvogels know as
soon as she received any tidings of her lover, which Els gave unasked,
Siebenburg, who had always treated her repellently or indifferently,
thanked her so humbly that she was surprised. She did not know how
to interpret it; nay, she anticipated nothing good when, with urgent
cordiality, he entreated her to forget the unpleasant events of the
preceding night, which she must attribute to a sudden fit of anger
on Herr Casper's part. Sh