Philip laughed bitterly.
“As if it were possible to talk to him! But I swear this shall be the last time. No man in the world would endure it if he were a hundred times his father.”
Philip was furious; he stormed at his father’s blindness and obstinacy. From what he could gather about the course of the interview, Reinhold could not quite justify his uncle, but he could not let pass the outrageous expressions of which the angry man made use.
“Are you going to begin now?” exclaimed Philip. “It is partly your fault. All that the old man said was only what you said to me yourself yesterday. What in the world induced you to set him against a project of which neither of you understand a word? He, in spite of his knowledge of business; you, in spite of your seamanship. What does it signify to you whether the harbour is east or north? Whether it is choked up in one place or goes to the devil in the other? Do you intend to invest your money in it? If others wish to do so, let them. Everyone can use his own eyes, and if he comes to grief it is his own lookout. The best of it is that none of you who set your faces against it can hinder the matter from coming to a conclusion; in fact, it is as good as concluded now. Count Golm has joined the Provisional Board; and it would be a good joke if a harbour on the east were decided upon, and Golm and the daughter of our principal opponent, General Werben, who is as obstinate as my father—good heavens! there is young Werben! I hope he did not hear!”
This conversation had taken place while they walked up and down between the blocks of marble in the courtyard. Ottomar had learnt at the house from Grollman that Reinhold was in the courtyard, and now came suddenly towards him from behind one of the blocks. He had heard nothing, although Reinhold feared at first that he had from his gloomy and embarrassed air. But his handsome young face cleared the next minute; he held out his hand to him with the greatest cordiality, and then to Philip with less cordiality.
“He had been meaning to come every day, but the worries of military duty! Quite unbearable, my dear fellow! You have no conception what it is; you, especially, my dear Schmidt; you never were in the army, for reasons best known to the doctors. If I had a hand in the matter you should serve your time yet in the Guards. But what brought me here in this hand-over-head fashion was to bring you this invitation from my father and the ladies, with a thousand excuses, but the card had somehow been mislaid yesterday; for this evening—quite a small party—a good many officers, of course, a few ladies, of course also. There will be a little dancing, my sister says, who counts upon you. Of course you dance; and my father, as he told me yesterday, wants very much to talk to you on important matters of which I know nothing; some question about the harbour, I fancy. You see it is absolutely necessary that you should accept. You will accept?”
“With much pleasure.”
“That is capital.”
Ottomar had during the last few words completely turned his back on Philip; he now turned round.
“It will not be quite so lively as it was the other day at your house, my dear Schmidt; it was quite delightful. I heard from Golm that there was no end of a row afterwards, and the ladies were quite off their heads. So sorry I could not come; but I had a fearful headache; and headache, champagne, and pretty girls I have never yet been able to stand in that order, though in the reverse order I have suffered from them only too often.”
“Bertalda was in despair,” said Philip, who was inwardly greatly irritated at the offhand manner of the young guardsman.
“Dear little thing!” said Ottomar, shrugging his shoulders. “She says just what comes into her head. She is a jolly little girl. I hope Golm will behave well to her. But is not Herr Anders’ studio in this courtyard? His Satyr with the young Bacchus—or is it Cupid?—has made a tremendous sensation. I have never been in a sculptor’s studio; would it be too much, my dear fellow, to ask you to get me admitted?”
Reinhold was quite willing. Philip remarked carelessly that if the other gentlemen had no objection he would take the opportunity of inquiring about the four marble statues which he had ordered of Anders for his staircase, and of which two must be finished by this time. He had inwardly hoped that Ottomar would be impressed by “the four marble statues.” Ottomar did not even appear to have heard him. He walked on in front, with his arm in Reinhold’s, to whom he spoke in so low a tone that Philip could not hear what he said, probably was not meant to hear.
“Generous to remind me of it—a petit souper—in honour of Count Golm, who appears to be very susceptible of such ovations—slipped in quite by chance—came away immediately. Don’t say anything about it.”
“Can you suppose—”
“One drops a word sometimes without thinking of it—and it arouses suspicion—the ladies and—ces dames!—a very different matter, thank goodness! My sister—your cousin—had the honour casually a few days ago. Should be in despair if a word—the young lady is an artist, my sister tells me. One can hardly picture to oneself an artist, and a lady artist. After you, I beg!”
Reinhold, who knew by experience that in consequence of the noise of hammers and chisels in Justus’s studio, a knock at the door was seldom heard, had gone before and opened the door at once, and had got some way into the room before he saw, in a corner before a
