The two anxious old men
followed her example, in wondering silence.
"Thou dost both the honor and modesty of Sigismund great injustice,
father;" resumed the maiden, after a pause, and speaking with a calmness
of manner that surprised even herself. "If thou and this excellent and
tried friend will give me your attention for a few minutes, nothing shall
be concealed."
Her companions listened in wonder, for they plainly saw that the matter
was more grave than either had at first imagined. Adelheid paused again,
to summon force for the ungrateful duty, and then she succinctly, but
clearly, related the substance of Sigismund's communication. Both the
listeners eagerly caught each syllable that fell from the quivering lips
of the maiden, for she trembled, notwithstanding a struggle to be calm
that was almost superhuman, and when her voice ceased they gazed at each
other like men suddenly astounded by some dire and totally unexpected
calamity. The baron, in truth, could scarcely believe that he had not been
deceived by a defective hearing, for age had begun a little to impair that
useful faculty, while his friend admitted the words as one receives
impressions of the most revolting and disheartening nature.
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