He had not once said: "Things will be different after a
while." Brother and sister this time were entirely of one opinion about
her: it even seemed as if Kurt himself had caught a touch of the
friendship fever, as he used to call Mea's great devotion.
Apparently Bruno was of the same opinion, too. In all his free hours he
used to sit in a corner of the room with his books, paying no attention
to anything else, but since Leonore had come he always joined the merry
group and generally had something to relate or to show for Leonore's
entertainment. This he did in a quiet, gentler manner, such that it
seemed as if he would hardly have behaved otherwise.
Lippo felt so comfortable in Leonore's presence that he always kept as
close to her as possible. Even when he told his experiences at great
length, she never became impatient, but encouraged him to go on when his
brothers and sisters made sarcastic remarks about him.
From time to time he would confidentially say to her: "Just stay with us
always, Leonore. You are at home here now, even if you have no home
anywhere else." This was uttered in a spirit of utter conviction, as the
little boy had heard it from her own lips and was sure that this would be
the best for them all.
Leonore blushed a deep scarlet at these words, as if Lippo had pronounced
a thought she did not dare to foster in her own heart. Once his mother
had noticed this, so she told Lippo one evening, not to say this again.
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