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"That child is back," said Hero as she looked out theof the reception roo unattended, at the height of thewhen half of Ae to accompany her" She frowned "No-wait; she&039;s not alone Gutesohnes is with her"
Ragoczy, at the secretary on the far side of this sunny chaes in his hands "Is he"
"I don&039;t know if his being with her is better or worse than if she alking alone Silly, isn&039;t it? Her own coachman would be more than acceptable, but I don&039;t think Gutesohnes is The Dutch aren&039;t as strict as the Austrians, but this is still beyond the acceptable bounds of what young single ladies may do," said Hero "Not that I am for all the limitations imposed on women: I am not Yet it is folly to flout theirls like her, soh spirits Still, if she wants to be careful of her reputation "
"That seeuardian, and one for which he is strangely lax," said Ragoczy, thinking back to the way Hyacinthie had behaved two nights ago,a display of herself while her uncle entertained four booksellers and Ragoczy in anticipation of the publication of his book
"Her uncle, if I may say so, pays little heed to Hyacinthie He is far more concerned for his book than for her"
"Without doubt," said Ragoczy
"It ly "To be attractive and yet to live in the shadow of her uncle&039;s study"
"And to live in the isolation of Ravensberg-no wonder she flaunts herself here, while she has the opportunity"
"She is a flirt," Hero declared, watching Hyacinthie twirl her parasol as she looked up at Gutesohnes
"Hardly surprising: she is young and her uncle is deterh-born-to that extent he is concerned for her at all" Ragoczy frowned as he said this, his sy wo to secure herself"
"If that is the case, she would do better not to flirt with the coachhed, a little sadly "But I understand you-she is practicing, isn&039;t she?"
Ragoczy put the pages aside and ca He lifted the curtain "Ah I see what you , indeed"
"Such a pretty child," said Hero "But so deter her to grief" She rounded on Ragoczy "She will probably try to engage your attention"
"She already has, upon two occasions at least," said Ragoczy with a single shake of his head
"She has?" Hero said, not entirely surprised
"Yes," he responded "I was certain you had noticed: once at the reception we attended, and once when she came with her uncle to Eclipse Press I would not be astonished to learn that her uncle encourages her"
Hero pulled the curtain out of his hand and settled back on the divan "She&039;s co a visit?" he ventured, and went on in a singularly neutral tone, "Howhow charave him a short, uncertain look "You&039;re displeased"
"I am uneasy," he said as he heard the knocker sound, and Kuyskill go down the hall to open the door
"Do you suppose she will-" Hero began, then fell silent as she heard Hyacinthie ask for Cooczy held up his hand in caution, and es he had been exa," Hyacinthie&039;s raised voice sounded from the entryway; she spoke in French
"I do not know that the Comte is home to visitors I will inquire" Kuyskill&039;s tonevisits without escorts "If you ait?" Giving her no ti on the front steps and caetically, "there is a caller, who clai Shall I adoczy "And bring a glass of lemonade to her On a warm day like this, she must be thirsty"
Kuyskill pokered up, but nodded "Of course, Comte" He turned to leave the room
"You see what I mean; the servants will call her a hoyden," said Hero quietly
"All but Gutesohnes," said Ragoczy, equally softly
"That will only make it worse," said Hero, and rose to welcome Hyacinthie to the house
Hyacinthie, her flower-patterned parasol furled, stood in the doorway, resplendent in a fashionable walking dress of sprigged muslin in a pale shade of lavender accented with knots of blue-green floss at the neck and cuffs Her bonnet was abbreviated, showingfor her age and position in society She bobbed a polite curtsy to Ragoczy, then to Hero as Kuyskill announced her in disapproving accents "Good ," she said when the steward had withdrawn from the reception roo French for everything but her title and name "To what do e this pleasure?"
"I have a note fro to you" She held out her lace- a soczy&039;s name had been written with a flourish "He instructed oczy inquired as he took the envelope and broke the seal
"Yes We are leaving the day after to s"
"A considerable journey," said Hero "Youeverything for us My uncle and his valet are supervising I was in the way until I was given this task to perform" She looked a bit forlorn "I will miss A to see new places and et to receive guests or travel" Hyacinthie sighed "Visitors co Except for the people who call in sothe same twenty faces And the servants, of course"
"Not an easy thing for a young woman," Hero sympathized
"Not what I would prefer," said Hyacinthie in a rush "It would be so o to parties and balls in Vienna, or even Salzburg But my uncle cannot spare the tiain, and now indicated the chair at the end of the divan; she did her best to irl feel welcome "Do have a seat, Hyacinthie, and tell me more about yourself We haven&039;t had much of an opportunity to beco your uncle&039;s note and he will prepare an answer for you to take back to hiement even as she noticed Hyacinthie&039;s ill-concealed disappointoczy&039;s attention "For how long have you lived with your uncle?"
"There is little to tell about my life," said Hyacinthie "My parents died when I was seven and my uncle took entle words there was an i hard that turned her remark bitter "Noill find me a husband He says he has to do so He has two other wards, younger than I a to Hyacinthie&039;s revelations by Kuyskill colass of lemonade and a plate of sweet biscuits on a tray He bowed as he put this on the occasional table between the divan and the chair, then withdrew, radiating disapproval
When the steas gone, Ragoczy said, "The Graf has kindly invited me to attend a celebration for the publication of his book in Nove to request that he send an invitation when he has set the time of the festivities, and if it is possible, to do " He drew a sheet of fine rag paper out of a shelf in the secretary and moved the stacks of paper aside so he could write a response to von Ravensberg
"Have your refreshments," Hero recommended to Hyacinthie "I don&039;t care for sweet biscuits, and the lelass, saying, "I ae that I prefer wine," before she took a sip "I&039;m sure you prefer wine, Colance at her host
Ragoczy was busy selecting a trimmed quill for his pen, so it took him a short while to answer "I am afraid I do not drink wine"
Hyacinthie blinked "Never?"
"Not since I was a very younglife flitting through his recollections; he retrieved the ink-well fro it in the rack provided for it
"Oh" She picked up one of the sweet biscuits, broke it in half, and chose the larger of the two to set down again "Your cookto write
"Wine doesn&039;t agree with hiain, and took a bite of her biscuit
"We will be leaving shortly, as well," Hero went on "I share your aversion to long hours in a coach, but I prefer it to the same hours on a horse or on foot"
Hyacinthie nodded When she had sed, she said, "It is so hot in the coach But it is probably just as hot riding or walking"
"Hotter, I fear," said Hero "When I traveled with ed for a coach We were lucky to have open wagons to transport us and our things"
Hyacinthie stared at her "Your father ith the army?"
"No, my father is a professor of antiquities He has been on many expeditions into Ottoer" In spite of herself, Hero found Hyacinthie&039;s fascination flattering "Before I was married, I sometimes traveled with him"
"Into Ottoman lands?" Hyacinthie&039;s voice rose four notes "Truly? What was it like? Did handsoardens surrounded by beautiful birds and pet tigers?"
"It was dusty," said Hero, feeling she owed it to the child to divest her experiences of any tinge of ro Muslio swathed and veiled as their women do, and the people most often avoided us because ere from Europe Many tiaining other supplies The local villagers would not sell food to us, and there were no hostelries for us, so we lived in tents My father could find no tobacco for his pipe The Muslims do not drink wine, just as the Co!" Hyacinthie gulped down half of the lerand! Not the lack of wine, of course, or the other proble else Hoonderful!"
"How hot and inconvenient," said Hero, correcting her "You wouldn&039;t enjoy it at all I didn&039;t"
"But you must have," said Hyacinthie in astonished reproach "Youwas extraordinary Didn&039;t you?"
Hero thought a moment "Well, yes, from a certain point of view, it was But in terms of hoe lived, it was far from pleasant or remarkable, except for the discommodation I would have traded half of the wonders for a reliable bath, a chance to wear my own clothes, and freedom from flies"
"Butyou must have liked some of it," Hyacinthie protested, then added, "Well, flies, yes No one likes flies"
"And we lived in tents that were stifling in the day and cold at night, and filled with dust" Hero slad to have seen as much of the world as I have, but I do not claiain Hyacinthie nodded "It may be that you didn&039;t appreciate all he had done for you"
"I believe I did," said Hero "At least sufficiently to knoasn&039;t the way I wanted to live all my days"
Hyacinthie drank the last of her leht such a splendid adventure I would thankso much for rateful I wouldn&039;t ignore ation to my father; I would ot to her feet while she struggled with her growing indignation
"My dear Fraulein Sieffert," said Hero quickly, holding out her hand to her guest "I had no intention of distressing you" She sat a bit straighter "I a me in his expedition I don&039;t think I could have endured having to stay in the care of relatives or the nuns But that doesn&039;t ht and wonders, or that it was an experience that I aer to repeat, for that would not be the case I am content to remain in Europe for the rest of my days rather than face the demands of an expedition in Ottoery, as daily life is for alainst your father, you know," Hyacinthie said forcefully "He has done you a great honor by pero with him on his travels"
"My father is a reland-he gave lish name because he liked it better than the Italian version-and he has published eight books, three in Italian, one in English, three in French, one in Geruise her pride in hihter"
"Very fortunate," said Hyacinthie darkly