He took a gulp of beer and added, ‘But what else do I say? That’s not enough! A woman has to know that she’s got a husband: that’s what she has to know first of all!’ He seized his wife, who was sitting next to him, by the shoulder, and showed her to his guest, as if she were some inanimate object. ‘What do you say, Herr Doktor? Nice, eh? You’d like a bit of jam like that yourself, I dare say? … Hee-hee-hee!’ He let go of his wife and slapped his guest affectionately on the back. ‘Well, we’ll see! You mean a lot to me, Herr Doktor, because you’re a clever man — I saw it at once! Who knows, hee-hee, who knows … One day, Herr Doktor, one day, only because it’s you, mind … Franzl Heidelberger is your brother!’ And he burst into loud guffaws of laughter.

‘What nonsense you talk, Franzl,’ said Gustl, smiling coyly. ‘How can you say such things in front of visitors? What will the Herr Doktor think of us?’

As she spoke she did not take her eyes off Gurdweill, who was sitting opposite her, and it seemed to him that she even winked once or twice with a kind of sly promise.

‘Shut your mouth, Gustl!’ commanded her husband. ‘Don’t interfere in matters that are none of your business.’

Gurdweill was embarrassed. And in order to pretend that the whole thing was in jest, he said with a smile: ‘Not a bad joke, I must admit, not bad at all.’

‘A joke, you say?’ retorted Heidelberger. ‘Maybe it’s not a joke, who knows … When I say something, I mean it! You’re my friend, and when a man’s my friend, hee-hee … But she’s a nice bit of jam,’ he jerked his head in the direction of his wife, ‘you can’t deny it, eh?’

Gurdweill muttered with his eyes fixed on the table: ‘She … she’s very pretty, of course.’

‘So you see! And apart from that, hee-hee-hee …’

Gurdweill stood up and said that to his regret he would have to leave now as he was pressed for time. Heidelberger and his wife rose too. It was nearly eight o’clock, and evening was already seeping through the dark-blue window and filling the room with shadows. Heidelberger put his arm around his wife’s waist and cried with a rather hoarse laugh: ‘And now, Gustl, give the little lad a kiss! He won’t say no … Franzl’s got eyes in his head!’ And he pushed her towards the astonished Gurdweill and brought their heads together. Before Gurdweill could break away, Gustl planted a kiss on his lips, at the same time pressing herself against him so closely that he could feel every curve of her warm body.

‘That’s it, that’s it! Harder now, ha-ha-ha, my little Herr Doktor!’ bellowed her husband.