Celia's eyes sparkled. Hard as she knew it would be to put a stop to these meetings by a frank confession, she was still resolved to make the sacrifice, but Kurt's words showed her that it would be useless; she was quite ready in a moment to convince herself that for the present it was best that her father should be ignorant of her meetings with Kurt, lest he should regard the warning with suspicion.
She raised her head, and looking at Kurt with a happy smile, said, "Anna will help us; we will tell her all. If she puts my father upon his guard and tells him that she cannot mention the source whence comes her information, but that she knows it to be correct, he will pay heed to her; he has the greatest confidence in her, and it never will occur to him that she could deceive him."
Kurt had no objection to urge to this. He consented that Celia should confide everything to her friend, both as regarded their daily meetings, and as to what Kurt had heard from the Assessor von Hahn.
Thus conversing, the time flew by so quickly that the lovers did not suspect the lateness of the hour. The outer world was forgotten, when suddenly they were recalled to it by an unfamiliar voice, that gayly interrupted their confidential talk with, "Found at last! I beg ten thousand pardons for disturbing you; I never suspected that I should find Herr von Poseneck in such charming society. Now I understand his sudden disappearance; but pray don't let me disturb you; I am thoroughly discreet; I will not boast of it, for discretion is a gift of nature; I possess it, and would not for worlds interrupt a delightful _tête-à-tête_."
Kurt and Celia, as soon as the voice fell upon their ears, started up from the bench, Celia looking down blushing, greatly confused, while Kurt, with anger flashing in his eyes, confronted the Assessor, who, in the best of humours, did not seem to perceive how unwelcome was his presence. This first appeared to occur to him when Kurt approached him, saying sternly, "Sir, what do you mean? how dare you thus follow me without my permission?"
The Assessor retreated a step, taught by the angry gleam in Kurt's eyes that his jesting remarks had been quite out of place. In much confusion he stammered, "I beg pardon; indeed nothing was farther from my intention than to intrude; I am inconsolable at having disturbed you."