The summons to the meal had been given for the third time, nearly all
the other members of the house-party were in the drawing-room when
Ada's door at last opened. Karl rushed forward and held out his hand
to her. She started, paused an instant on the threshold, then hurried
past him without turning her head, and swiftly vanished.
Karl stood as if he were turned to stone, gazing after her retreating
figure; then forgetting the banquet and everything else, he hastened to
his room and wrote Ada a letter, in which he repeated all the
expressions of love lavished upon her during the preceding night, and
begged for an explanation of her recent conduct. This missive he gave
to Ada's maid, with the urgent request to deliver it to her mistress
that very evening before she retired. Then he went out to try to
conquer his agitation by a walk in the park, and when he thought that
he had regained his composure, he returned to the drawing-room to see
and to talk with Ada. The meal was over, gaiety reigned throughout the
various groups, and a storm of reproaches for his absence from the
table assailed him on all sides.
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