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 “The Emperor at his departure asked me most courteously and decidedly to do so; it will be an insult to him if we do not come. A wish so urgently spoken by a sovereign is equal to a command. And besides that, only a little while ago you expressed a desire to speak to him; you could then do so at will.”

“I should provoke both you and myself at the court.”

“That shall not happen. If the honor of our family is concerned, then I understand no jesting, and will not allow any. I should not like to doubt that in that respect Miss Felsenburk is of the same opinion as her father.”

The Count emphasized the words with more severity than his daughter had ever before heard him use. Trembling all over, she sank into the chair from which, only a moment before, she had sprung joyfully to embrace him.

The Count, seeing that he had frightened his daughter, now tried to console her.