Maezli in the meantime had eagerly pursued her way and was soon up on the
terrace. Glancing about from there, she saw the gentleman again,
stretched out in the shadow of the pine tree, as she had seen him first,
and the glinting cover was lying again on his knees. Maezli ran over to
him.
"How do you do, Mr. Castle-Steward? Are you angry with me because I have
not come for so long?" she called out to him from a distance, and a
moment later she was by his side. "It was only on account of Leonore,"
Maezli continued. "I should otherwise have come ages ago. But when the
others are all in school she can't be left alone. So I stay with her and
I like to do it because she is so nice. Everybody likes Leonore,
everybody likes her terribly; Kurt and Bruno, too. They stay home all
the time now because Leonore is with us. You ought to know how nice she
is. You would like her dreadfully right away."
"Do you think so?" said the gentleman, while something like a smile
played about his lips. "Is it your sister?"
"My sister? No, indeed," Maezli said, quite astonished at his error. "She
is Salo's sister, the boy who was with us and who had to go back to
Hanover. She has to go back to Hanover, too, as soon as she is well, and
mama always gets very sad when she talks about it. But Mea gets sadder
still and even cries. Leonore hates to leave us, but she has to. She
cried dreadfully once because she can never, never have a home.
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