Wilhelm was soon ready, and while they
were walking Paul was astonishingly quiet, and seemed sunk in deep
thought. He suddenly broke the silence, and when they were under the
trees, without any beating about the bush, asked his friend:
"Wilhelm, do you love Malvine?"
Wilhelm stood still, as if rooted to the ground, and in boundless
astonishment he said:
"Are you off your head, Paul?"
"I implore you, Wilhelm," said he in an anxious way, "just answer
'yes' or 'no,' because the happiness of my life depends on your
answer."
"But I never thought of it," cried Wilhelm, grasping Paul's hand.
"What put such an idea into your head?"
"Then you are not in love with Malvine?" asked Paul obstinately.
"No, I am not in love with Malvine, if you will have the answer in
that precise form."
"I thought as much, but I wished to have the answer from your own
lips;" and as they walked, he continued, "Do you see, Wilhelm, if
you had loved Malvine, I would have got out of your way; I would
have submitted to fate without any struggle or opposition."
"Have I been injudicious? Perhaps too intimate? Forgive me, Paul, if
it is so. It happened quite unintentionally. I only thought of her
as my friend's fiancee, and believed her also to be a friend of
mine.
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