Now, when Huldbrand unexpectedly reappeared, it spread joy among his
servants, and all the people generally, except Bertalda; for while the
others were pleased at his bringing with him such a beautiful wife,
and Father Heilmann to bear witness to their marriage, it could not
but grieve _her_: first, because the young Knight had really won her
heart; and next, because she had betrayed her feelings by so openly
lamenting his absence, far more than was now becoming. However, she
behaved like a prudent woman and suited her conduct to the
circumstances, by living in the most cordial intimacy with Undine--who
passed in the town for a princess, released by Huldbrand from the
power of some wicked enchanter of the forest. If she or her husband
were questioned about it, they gave evasive answers; Father Heilmann's
lips were sealed on all such idle topics, beside which, he had left
them soon after they arrived, and returned to his cloister: so the
citizens were left to their own wondering conjectures, and even
Bertalda came no nearer the truth than others.
Meanwhile, Undine grew daily more fond of this winning damsel. "We
must have known each other before," she would often say, "or else some
secret attraction draws us toward each other; for without some cause,
some strange, mysterious cause, I am sure nobody would love another as
I have loved you from the moment we met." Bertalda, on her part, could
not deny that she felt strongly inclined to like Undine,
notwithstanding the grounds of complaint she thought she had against
this happy rival.
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