Page:Heavens!.djvu/163

 be undone, and the best thing would be to throw the whole disagreeable affair to the winds.

Thus the baroness quieted herself for the moment; but as she neared Labutín, care weighed her down again with renewed force. Why did Mundy keep his child in the immediate neighbourhood of Labutín? Evidently his love for Jenny must have deeper and stronger roots than in most cases of similar extravagancies amongst young noblemen. Perhaps he even intends to make this person his lawful wife in time; perhaps he is only waiting for the happy moment when his mother will expire, and not be any more in his way?

How was she to solve this mystery? What could she do to unravel this tangled knot? There was nothing for it but to find a bride for him, and get him properly married as soon as possible.

The baroness had had her eye upon several suitable young ladies for a long time; but none of them combined all the good qualities she wished her son’s future wife to have. Still, where was the use of being fastidious now? I would be foolish under the present circumstances.

She decided, therefore, to set about the delicate task without delay, and with all her energy. Of course, too great haste might also do harm in this matter; but the greatest harm of that sort would still be less than what might arise if Mundy remained single now, and married Jenny later.

Yet again new doubts arose in her mind about such proceeding. What if she were still mistaken after all; the infant at Záluz̓í was not Mundy’s child? How, how could she obtain undoubted certainty in the matter? To ask Mundy directly might fail; he might dissimulate shrewdly. Then—and here a thought flashed through the