That the castle remained unattacked was attributed
by the elder Baroness to its own merits; nor did Christina undeceive
her. They had no intercourse with the outer world, except that once
a pursuivant arrived with a formal intimation from their kinsman, the
Baron of Adlerstein Wildschloss, of his marriage with the noble
Fraulein, Countess Valeska von Trautbach, and a present of a gay
dagger for each of his godsons. Frau Kunigunde triumphed a good deal
over the notion of Christina's supposed disappointment; but the
tidings were most welcome to the younger lady, who trusted they would
put an end to all future taunts about Wildschloss. Alas! the handle
for abuse was too valuable to be relinquished.
The last silver cup the castle had possessed had to be given as a
reward to the pursuivant, and mayhap Frau Kunigunde reckoned this as
another offence of her daughter-in-law, since, had Sir Kasimir been
safe in the oubliette, the twins might have shared his broad lands on
the Danube, instead of contributing to the fees of his pursuivant.
Pages:
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212