Chapter 32
"I do not know why," said he, "but nothing seems so good as usual to-day."
"It was just the same with me when I was a boy, I always thought my exercises were faultless till they came into the master's hands," said the Councillor.
"You really make too much of my small powers of criticising," said the Count in his best humour. "Why! are we not at the end yet?"
They were at the door of the dining-room, which the servants at that moment opened.
"You will find a few more pictures here," said Philip, "but before you look at them I must beg you to take some supper."
"Or the oysters will be cold," said Herr Lubbener.
"I begged there might be no ceremony," said the Count reproachfully as he took his place at table with the others.
"Not at all, Count Golm; the servants got the oysters from the nearest restaurant--and there is always a chicken to be found in a bachelor's kitchen."
"Long live the bachelors!" said the Councillor, lifting his gla.s.s.
"But how are they to do it?" cried Philip, swallowing an oyster.
"From hand to mouth!" said Herr Lubbener, who was busy in the same way.
"For heaven's sake, Lubbener!" cried Philip, "if you have no pity for us, at least spare Count Golm!"
"I think I can appreciate a good joke as well as the rest of you," said the Count.
"Listen to that!" exclaimed Herr Lubbener. "Come, Schmidt, forget your vexation! The fact is I came to tell him that with the best will in the world, I cannot allot him shares in the New Kaiserin-Konigin for more than about a hundred thousand."
"If you say another word about business you shall not have a drop more of my Chablis," cried Philip.
"I was just going to ask for a gla.s.s of Bordeaux," answered Herr Lubbener.
The Councillor laughed aside to the Count, and shrugged his shoulders as though to say, "Boys will be boys I they go on like that all day."
The Count returned the smile most courteously.
"At Rome one must do as the Romans do," said he. "I confess it would interest me very much to learn something authentic about the Kaiserin-Konigin Iron Company which is so much talked about now."
The Count had given the signal; he could not be surprised that for the next half hour nothing was talked but business, in fact he was so interested and excited, that he drank gla.s.s after gla.s.s, while the blood mounted to his forehead. They went from the Kaiserin-Konigin Company to the Lower Saxony Engine Manufactories; from that to the North Berlin Railway, and so arrived at the Berlin Sundin Railway. The other men were able to give him the most interesting details of the history of this railway, which after so glorious a beginning now stood on the verge of bankruptcy in the eyes of people who did not know that the stock had been artificially kept down in order to
Would Count Golm take any shares? Now was just the right moment! He had no spare money? Nonsense! Money had nothing to do with the matter. How much did the Count want--fifty thousand, a hundred thousand, a hundred and fifty? The Count had only to name the sum. It would be no gift to him. The statement that he would eventually be one of the directors of the Island Railway would be worth fifty thousand amongst friends!
"Take care that I do not take you at your word!" exclaimed the Count.
"Take care that we do not take you at your word!" answered Philip.
"By Jove! let us take each other at our word!" exclaimed Herr Lubbener.
"Had we not better put it in writing?" asked the Councillor.
"Are we not carrying the joke a little too far?" said the Count, with an uncertain, inquiring glance at the last speaker, who answered it with an encouraging smile.
But the right moment it seemed was past. For the first time there was a pause, which Philip a.s.sumed to think was caused by a servant bringing him a waiter, on which lay two visiting cards, and whispering something as he stood near him.
"Can't I have a moment to myself? Well, what is it?"
He took the cards from the waiter and broke into a laugh.
"This is a good joke!"
"May I ask what?"
"I hardly dare say, Count Golm, for fear of damaging my reputation as a serious man in the eyes of my friends here. I can show the cards to a man of the world."
"Then let us see the cards," said Herr Lubbener.
The Councillor looked astonished.
"Herr von Werben could not send in two cards!"
"But, good heavens!" exclaimed the Count, "don't let the ladies wait in the anteroom."
"Oh no. Ladies!" exclaimed Herr Lubbener.
"Two friends who are sometimes good enough to look in after the opera, or rather the ballet, to have a little supper," explained Philip. "I a.s.sure you, Lubbener, not what you are thinking of, so leave off grimacing, and imitate the deportment of our worthy friend the Councillor."
"Splendid fellow!" whispered the Councillor in Herr Lubbener's ear, as the gentlemen rose.
"He outdoes himself to-day," whispered Herr Lubbener in return.
Philip went to meet the two ladies, who stood in the doorway with well-acted dismay.
"Prisoners!" said he; "there is no use in resisting. Be reasonable!"
He seized them by the hands and drew them into the room.
"Permit me, Count Golm, to present you to Fraulein Victorine, the most beautiful mezzo-soprano that female throat can produce,--Fraulein Bertalda, called 'The Incomprehensible,' because no one can comprehend how she can jump so high off such little feet."
"You are intolerable!" said Victorine.
"For shame!" said Bertalda. "And give us something to eat instead, if you really won't let us go away again at once!"
"I will have another table laid," cried Philip. "Johann!"
"We will sit closer," said the Count, himself bringing a chair for Victorine, whose luxuriant beauty had delighted him from the very first moment. Bertalda seated herself opposite, between Philip and Herr Lubbener; two fresh places were laid in a moment; the Count had now nothing to say against champagne, which at first he had declined. He was already a little the worse for drink, and was the less likely to notice that the fumes were getting into his head; that since the entrance of these lively young ladies the tone of the party had become freer, and very soon got rather wild. It no longer surprised him that the young men called each other by their Christian names, to say nothing of familiar nicknames, such as "old fellow!" and "old boy!" and even the Councillor himself became a "dear old Councillor," and he thought it capital fun when Victorine drank off a full gla.s.s to Bertalda, saying, "Here's a b.u.mper to you, Bertie!" and Bertalda replied, "Right you are, Vicky!" Presently they all moved from their places, and the Count seized the opportunity to seat himself by Bertalda, whose beautiful and, as he thought, inviting eyes deserved this response. Victorine pretended to be very jealous, and, to the intense delight of the other gentlemen, exclaimed, "Ungrateful man! he has forsaken me! Ungrateful!" while Bertalda, by her fascinating airs and graces, and other gestures, showed that she meant to keep the captive knight fast in her net. The Count, thinking it necessary to support the beauty in her part, put his arm round her--a spirited idea--which was loudly applauded by the company, when Bertalda suddenly sprang up from her chair with a slight shriek, and hastened forward to meet a gentleman, who had entered unperceived by the rest.
"Is it possible? No! is it possible? Herr von Werben--Ot----"
"Are you mad!"