I could not help being puzzled by this remarkable result of a decided
rejection of his suit, but as I had so plainly avoided my rival's
confidences in my embarrassment at the part I was playing, I could not
now attempt to regain them. I began to suspect that Kondjé-Gul's mother
had rehearsed her part imperfectly, and at last made up my mind to
question my aunt discreetly on this point.
"By the by, my dear aunt," I said to her one morning in a perfectly
unconcerned tone of voice, "you have not told me anything more about
Kiusko's intended marriage."
"Ah, there is no longer any question of it!" she answered me. "He
presented himself too late: the fair Kondjé-Gul's heart is occupied. She
is even engaged to one of her own relations I hear."
"Then he seems to me to be bearing his disappointment very easily."
"Oh, don't be too sure about that! Daniel is not one of those whining
lovers who publish their lamentations to the whole world. He loves her,
as I could see by his sudden paleness when I announced to him the
definite rejection of his offer; but he has an iron will, and you may be
certain that if he is so calm, that only shows he still cherishes some
hope. As for me, I won't believe in Kondjé-Gul's marriage with her
cousin, until I see them coming out of church together."
Now although it was of small consequence to me that Kiusko, in his
robust faith, still preserved a remnant of hope, I must admit that I
felt somewhat aggravated by his presumptuous pertinacity. As he had
formally declared his love, Kondjé-Gul could not henceforth feign to
ignore it. There was an offensive kind of impertinence to her about that
coolness of his, which affected to take no account of an engagement of
which she had informed him as a justification for her refusal. However
reserved he might be, and even if he never betrayed by a single word the
secret feeling which he concealed so carefully during our intercourse as
friends, it would be impossible for me not to feel the constraint of
such a situation. So far as he was concerned, it did not seem to trouble
him in the least. This demeanour, and this insolent confidence of
his--such as might be expected in a petty feudal tyrant--irritated me
inexpressibly; but an incident occurred, at first sight insignificant,
which diverted the current of my suspicions into quite a different
channel.