Ere her excited blood had time to cool, he had beckoned to her to follow him into the street, where a sedan chair was standing.
An elderly lady of dignified bearing looked out and met her eyes with a pleasant glance.

It was Frau Sophia, the widow of Herr Conrad Schurstab of the Council, one of the richest and most aristocratic noblewomen in the city.

Lienhard had told her about the charming prisoner who had been released and begged her to help him bring her back to a respectable and orderly life.

The lady needed an assistant who, now that it was hard for her to stoop, would inspect the linen closets, manage the poultry yard-her pride--and keep an eye on the children when they came to visit their grandmother.

So she instantly accompanied Lienhard to the tavern, and Kuni pleased her.