"One night, I was just about to leave when Ekaterina came to me and told me with excitement that Stefania wanted to see me in her room. On my way to her room, I could hear the voices of the Count and their old butler cheering up and celebrating something. I entered Stefania's room and found her already in bed. She seemed to be more excited than her cousin. With a sign, she invited me to sit by her side on the bed and said that she had news for me that could not wait. She told me that her father had just received the confirmation from a renown Italian doctor that there might be a chance for her to walk again.
"I burst into screams of joy instantly, jumped off the bed and started dancing around while Stefania and Ekaterina were shedding tears of joy. For more than an hour, we were hugging each other and talking at the same time. Stefania then, moved back her head against the pillows and stared at me for a long moment with her beautiful smile. Her face reddened as she said:
- "I will walk again... and... and my first waltz will be with you." Before I could say anything, she drew my lips against hers and kissed me passionately. She loosened her grip, whispered 'I will walk again... for you.' and kissed me goodnight on the forehead.
"I was standing in the parlor in a sort of trance. No more of joy, but of fear. I realized that I had done something wrong again. Stefania had mistaken my feelings for something else. How could I tell her that my heart belonged to Ekaterina since the first time I'd laid eyes on her. I tried to remember, as far as I could recollect, what I had ever done or said to Stefania that would have led her to such a conclusion. I knew it was too late to try to fix things. I was in a terrible state of confusion. I'd hurt her dignity the first time we met and I was now going to break her heart when in her misfortune things seemed to be better.
"I was sitting in the parlor, holding my head when Ekaterina came up to me and asked what was wrong. I couldn't help telling her the truth about my feelings. Ekaterina became pale and kept shaking her head forcefully. She almost screamed at me to let me know that I must have been blind not to see that Stefania was desperately in love with me. I could see the fury in her eyes. Her look then changed into fear and I noticed that she wasn't looking at me anymore. She was staring at something behind me. I turned quickly and there, behind me, was Stefania leaning on her clutches, her legs and feet slightly on the side and behind her. I didn't know how long she had been listening to us, but her eyes said that she understood the situation.
"Stefania's distress and her internal struggles to control her emotions that night was something I would never be able to forget for the rest of my miserable life. She acted as if she was surprised to find us still in the parlor, asked Ekaterina if she had seen a book of hers and without waiting for an answer, hoisted herself back to her room. Ekaterina wiped away tears from her eyes full of hatred for me and followed her cousin to her room.
