On Tangled Paths (Penguin Classics) by Theodor Fontane

Author:Theodor Fontane [Fontane, Theodor]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780141392189
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Published: 2013-06-06T04:00:00+00:00

And now he came. Lene stood at the gate and received him as she usually did; there was not the smallest trace of reproach or even painful resignation in her face. She took his arm and they walked along the front-garden path.

‘You were right to come … I’m glad you’re here. And I hope you’re glad too.’

As she spoke they reached the house, and Botho made as if to step from the hallway into the large front room as usual. But Lene drew him away, saying, ‘No, Frau Dörr’s in there …’

‘Is she still angry with us?’

‘No, no. I’ve calmed her down. But what do we want with her today? Come on, it’s such a lovely evening, and we want to be alone.’

He agreed, and they passed through the hallway and across the yard towards the garden. Sultan did not stir, merely blinking at them as they walked up the broad middle path and then over to the bench between the raspberry bushes.

There they sat down. Other than some chirping coming from the fields all was quiet, and the moon stood above them.

She leant against him and said quietly and fondly, ‘So this is the last time I’ll hold your hand in mine?’

‘Yes, Lene. Can you forgive me?’

‘What questions you ask. What’s there to forgive?’

‘That I’ve made your heart ache.’

‘Yes, it does ache. That’s true.’

And then she was silent again and looked up at the pale stars filling the sky.

‘What are you thinking, Lene?’

‘How nice it would be to be up there.’

‘Don’t talk like that. You mustn’t wish your life away; from such a wish it’s only a step …’

She smiled. ‘No, I don’t mean that. I’m not like the girl who ran to the well and threw herself in because her sweetheart danced with someone else. Do you remember telling me about her?’

‘Why mention it then? It’s not like you to say something like that just for the sake of saying something.’

‘No, I did mean it seriously. And really,’ she said pointing upwards, ‘I’d like to be there. Then I’d be at peace. But I can wait … Come on, let’s go for a walk in the fields. I haven’t brought my shawl out with me and I’m getting cold just sitting still.’

And so they walked along the same field path that on the earlier occasion had taken them as far as the first row of houses in Wilmersdorf. Its steeple was clearly visible under the bright, starry sky, and only the meadow wore a thin veil of mist.

‘Do you remember,’ said Botho, ‘when we came this way with Frau Dörr?’

She nodded. ‘That’s why I suggested it. I wasn’t really cold at all, or hardly. Ah, what a beautiful day it was, and I’ve never been so cheerful and happy, not before or since. Even now my heart leaps at the thought of how we walked along singing Do you still remember? Yes, memories mean so much – everything. I’ve got memories that will stay with me and no one can ever take away.

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