means in his power. He had been fascinated by Clara, and had been madly
in love. They had met in the Bavarian highlands and had been married
two months later in Munich, with very little formality. Since that time
Greifenstein had always avoided going to Dresden, on account of the
painful associations the city must have for his wife, and had preferred
not to visit Berlin, which had been the scene of his brother's crime
and trial. The consequence was that neither of the two had ever been
among people who had known them previously.

The idea that two disgraced persons might come back from exile, instead
of one, was extremely disquieting to Greifenstein's peace of mind. He
knew well enough what to do with Rieseneck if he appeared. He would
shut the gates and let him shift for himself. But the other man would
be in search of Clara. He wondered who he might be, and what their
relations could have been, whether he would turn out to be a brother,
an uncle, or merely some man who had loved her in former days, a mere
rejected suitor. Even should he prove to be her brother, he could not
reproach her for her silence, since he found himself in exactly the
same situation. That contingency, however, was remote. It was extremely
unlikely that each should have a brother who had been convicted of evil
deeds in the revolution, considering how short a time the disturbance
had lasted. The theory that the man was a disappointed pretender to her
hand was infinitely more probable. In any case, Greifenstein made up
his mind that a person existed whose return Clara feared, and the
prospect of whose appearance was so painful as to affect her health.

For some time he hesitated as to the course he should pursue. He was
certainly free to tell her his suspicions, on condition that he told
her of his own apprehensions at the same time. To get her secret
without giving his in return would be unfair, according to his notions