A wealthy and great man--an intimate friend of the house of Frankenburg, who, though not noble, was nevertheless Hochwohlgeboren, had made proposals for the hand of Ernestine. The cloud of smoke in which the trio had enveloped themselves perhaps prevented the father and son from seeing the sudden contraction of Charlie's brow on getting this unpleasant information. 'Does it meet with your approval, Count?' he asked, with a violent effort to appear calm. 'In every respect.' 'And yours, Heinrich?' 'No, Carl.' 'Why?' 'Because the man is more than double her age,' replied the young Count. 'That is----' Charlie was about to say 'unfortunate;' but the fib remained unuttered. Then after a pause he asked, 'And what says the Grafine?' 'She dismissed him with kind words, certainly,' replied the Count, 'and well-bred wishes for his happiness. He then came to me, begging me to use my authority over her as a parent, which I shall certainly do.' 'Herr Graf!' exclaimed Charlie, who felt a keener interest in all this than his hearers imagined; for even Heinrich, in the absorption of his passion for his cousin, had not the faintest suspicion that his friend did more than admire his sister; 'Herr Graf, would you actually attempt to control your daughter's affections?' 'Der Teufel! attempt it? I shall do it!' replied the Count angrily, as he laid his hand emphatically on the arm of his chair. So this was the first intimation Charlie had of the coming storm. A rival in the field, and his leave of absence on the verge of expiry! The situation--with all his trust in Ernestine--was, to say the least of it, alarming. Would she actually be torn from him after all? Fearing to speak, he remained perfectly silent; but, as his curiosity was irrepressible, he asked after a time-- 'May I ask, Herr Graf, who this suitor is?' 'The Baron Grünthal, Oberdirector of the Consistory Court in Aix-la-Chapelle.' Then Charlie remembered that the Baron had been at the Schloss that morning, and been long in the Graf's 'study' in consultation, and that he failed to see Ernestine as usual, save at dinner, after which she had hastily left the table. It occurred now to Charlie, too, that she had seemed both disturbed and taciturn during the progress of the meal. Such an offer was deemed flattering, even for a daughter of the house of Frankenburg. Ernestine had dismissed the Baron; but, backed by her father's authority, he returned to the charge, and came the following day to dinner; and until the bell rang for that meal, Charlie, to his perplexity and annoyance, could see nothing of Ernestine, who remained sequestered in her room. Had her mother any suspicions? thought he; but as yet the Countess had none. On this day, in honour of the suitor, whose aspirations met with her full approval, her white hair was done over a _toupée_ that was higher than usual, her train was longer than ever, and she wore the best of the family diamonds.