Teresa's cold, perpetually watchful eyes, always had a disquieting effect upon her; now she was freed from that restraint.
Fanny primly sipped her coffee, looking from time to time at her mother, who never once ceased praising her beauty and goodness, and would have compelled her to eat up every bit of breakfast if she could have had her way.
"Mamma," said the girl, taking her mother's hand (she was no longer afraid of her), "what was the name of that gentleman who was making inquiries about me ?" Mrs.Meyer's eyes began to sparkle villainously.

Ah ha! the timid creature was approaching the snare! If, however, she had regarded her daughter's face a little more attentively, she would have noticed that in putting the question she did not even blush, but remained cold and pale.
Looking round very mysteriously to make sure that nobody was within hearing distance, she drew her daughter's head down towards her, and whispered in her ear-- "Abellino Karpathy." "Oh, 'tis he, then!" exclaimed Fanny, with a peculiar, a very peculiar smile.
"Then you know him ?" "I have seen him once, a long way off." "Oh, what a handsome, refined, pleasant man he is! Never in my life have I seen such a figure of a man!" Fanny began brushing the crumbs off the table-cloth and playing with the coffee-spoon.
"Yes, mother; sixty thousand florins is a lot of money, isn't it ?" Ah, the hunted creature is already in the snare! Quick, quick! "Yes, my darling, a lot of money indeed; the legal rate of interest upon it is three thousand six hundred florins.

A poor man would have to put his nose to the grindstone for a long, long time before he could earn that." "Tell me, mamma, was papa's income as much as that ?" "Alas! no, my daughter.

It was much for him when it came to nine hundred florins, and that is only the fourth part of this.

Fancy, four times nine hundred florins!" "Now say, mamma, has Abellino really said that he would marry me ?" "He said he would give a solemn assurance to that effect any moment you like." Fanny appeared to be considering.