"
"I don't mean that, Wilhelm; you have always behaved awfully well--
with great tact, and all that. But you have not seen how it has been
with Malvine; she is quite mad about you, especially since you have
been free."
"You imagine these things."
"Be quiet, you impatient baby, and hear what I have to say. I
believe it is not love Malvine has for you, but it only wants a word
or a look from you to turn it into love. If she were convinced that
you feel only as a friend for her, she would be contented to admire
you from a distance, and begin to care a little more for an inferior
specimen of mankind like myself."
"I feel quite in despair about it. How could I be so blind, so
stupid?"
"Never mind; it is not all over yet. I know Malvine. She is a
simple-minded girl, without a bit of sentiment in her, mentally and
morally healthy. If she knew she had nothing to expect from you, I
am perfectly certain that nothing would stand in the way of my
happiness."
"I will do whatever you wish--and first of all, I must put a stop to
my visits there."
"I must ask more from you than that, my poor Wilhelm. Merely staying
away is too passive. You must act. I want you to talk to Malvine,
and somehow explain to her that you don't love her.
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