A NEW CHAPTER ABOUT NEW THINGS
Fräulein Rottenmeier now came back into the room; she had not been able to overtake Dete, and was evidently very much put out; for she had wanted to go into more details concerning the child, and to convince Dete how misleading she had been, and how unfit Heidi was as a companion for Clara; she really did not know what to be about, or how to undo the mischief, and it made her all the more angry that she herself was responsible for it, having consented to Heidi being fetched. She ran backwards and forwards in a state of agitation between the study and the dining-room, and then began scolding Sebastian, who was standing looking at the table he had just finished laying to see that nothing was missing.
“You can finish your thoughts to-morrow morning; make haste, or we shall get no dinner to-day at all.”
Then hurrying out she called Tinette, but in such an ill-tempered voice that the maid came tripping forward with even more mincing steps than usual, but she looked so pert that even Fräulein Rottenmeier did not venture to scold her, which only made her suppressed anger the greater.
“See that the room is prepared for the little girl who has just arrived,” said the lady, with a violent effort at self-control. “Everything is ready; it only wants dusting.”
“It’s worth my troubling about,” said Tinette mockingly as she turned away.
Meanwhile Sebastian had flung open the folding doors leading into the dining-room with rather more noise than he need, for he was feeling furious, although he did not dare answer back when Fräulein Rottenmeier spoke to him; he then went up to Clara’s chair to wheel her into the next room. As he was
[107]
