Gurdweill stood at the opposite end of the table, where Thea had been sitting, and observed the scene with intense interest, a grave expression on his face. Something was evidently not quite clear to him here. Why had Dr Astel suddenly gone over to stand next to Lotte? He should have been doing something else entirely!

In the meantime Lotte calmed down completely.

‘It doesn’t make sense,’ mumbled Gurdweill to himself. ‘No, it doesn’t make sense at all …’

He went up to Lotte, raised his finger in the air, and announced: ‘The night is made for joy! If you don’t laugh at night, you won’t laugh by day either!’

Lotte took a sip of wine and said, ‘Come and sit next to me, Gurdweill. You really are the most cheerful of us all …’

‘You shouldn’t drink, my dear,’ Thea exclaimed with a hidden sneer, ‘it’s bad for your nerves. Some people just can’t take it.’

Lotte pretended not to hear.

Dr Astel sat down at the piano and strummed a tune from some new operetta, playing softly because of the lateness of the hour, while Gurdweill kept time with his foot on the floor. He even began swaying clumsily where he stood, which made him look quite ridiculous, since he did not know how to dance. When Dr Astel finished playing, Thea, who was standing next to the piano, said loudly so that everyone would hear: ‘You wanted to show me your flat, Doktor! Do you want to do it now?’

And Dr Astel retired with Thea to the next room, while Lotte’s eyes followed them suspiciously. The sound of Thea’s laughter immediately breaking out cut dully into her flesh, like a blunt knife. Unable to sit still, she jumped up and went over to Gurdweill, who was still dancing on one spot, humming a tune to himself through his nose. In the next room the laughter died down abruptly.

Lotte seized Gurdweill’s hand and pulled him to the sofa. ‘Sit down with me, my dear. It’s so hard, so hard …’

Gurdweill sat down rather unwillingly and whispered, ‘Ah, yes, Lotte! Yes, of course …’

Mechanically he placed his hand on her head and began slowly stroking her hair, as if to console her for something. His stroking hand gave her a feeling of inexpressible pleasure, and she suddenly seemed about to burst into tears again. But she controlled herself. A heavy silence came from the next room.

‘Where did Thea go?’ asked Gurdweill.

‘Thea?’ Lotte flared up instantly. ‘You need Thea now? Don’t worry, she won’t get lost!’

She flung herself away from him. ‘You’re a fool, a hopeless fool! You deserve everything you get, and more! You’re all the same … You stick like leeches to whoever makes your lives most miserable!’

‘What?’ asked Gurdweill, who had not heard a word she said.