Everybody was at the station, Effi, her mother, Cousin Briest; it was a warm reception and Effi’s was the warmest of all, and a world of things had been talked about by the time the carriage they had taken stopped outside the new apartment in Keithstrasse. ‘Oh, you’ve made a good choice here Effi,’ said Innstetten as he stepped into the vestibule, ‘no shark, no crododile, and I hope, no ghost.’ ‘No Geert, that’s all over now. It’s a new time, a new beginning, and I’m not afraid any more and I’m going to be better than I have been and behave more to your liking.’ All this she whispered to him as they climbed the carpeted stairs to the second floor. Cousin Briest escorted her mother. Upstairs some things were still missing, but a homely impression had been achieved nonetheless and Innstetten expressed his pleasure at this. ‘Effi, you’re a little genius you know,’ but Effi would have none of this praise and pointed to her mother, saying she was really responsible.
