“Why are you being such a bore? She'll think you're scared.”

“Leave me out of it,” Törless said. “I'm not in the mood. You go ahead and have your fun with her. By the way, why does she keep on about your mother like that?”

“Since she's known my name she insists she was once in service with my aunt and knew my mother. I dare say there's some truth in it, but I'm sure the rest is a lie-she likes lying. Anyway, I can't quite see what the joke is.”

Törless blushed. A strange thought had just occurred to him. But at that moment Bozena came back with the gin and sat down on the bed again beside Beineberg. And she at once took the conversation up where it had been dropped.

“Yes, your Mamma was a good-looking girl. You don't take after her very much, really, with those ears of yours sticking out like that. She was a gay one, too. There were plenty of men after her, I dare say. How right she was.

After a pause, something particularly amusing seemed to occur to her. “You know your uncle, the dragoon officer... Karl was his name, I think, he was a cousin of your mother's. How he did pay court to her! But on Sundays, when the ladies were in church, he was after me. Every few minutes I had to be bringing something to his room for him. A stylish chap he was, I remember him well, but he didn't beat around the bush much, I must say. . .” And she laughed insinuatingly. Then she continued elaborating this theme, which apparently afforded her particular pleasure. Her manner of speech was impertinently familiar, and her tone was even more scurrilous than her words. “. . . It's my guess your mother had a liking for him too. If she'd only known about the goings-on! I dare say your aunt would have had to kick me out of the house, and him too. That's the way fine ladies are, and all the more when they haven't got a man yet. Dear Bozena here and dear Bozena there-that's the way it went all day long. But when the cook got in the family way, my word, you should have heard them! I'm sure what they think about the like of us is that we only wash our feet once a year.