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Chapter Four

Miss Burstner’s Friend

or some time after this, K. found it impossible to ex-
Fchange even just a few words with Miss Burstner. He
tried to reach her in many and various ways but she always
found a way to avoid it. He would come straight home from
the office, remain in her room without the light on, and sit
on the sofa with nothing more to distract him than keeping
watch on the empty hallway. If the maid went by and closed
the door of the apparently empty room he would get up af-
ter a while and open it again. He got up an hour earlier than
usual in the morning so that he might perhaps find Miss
Burstner alone as she went to the office. But none of these
efforts brought any success. Then he wrote her a letter, both
to the office and the flat, attempting once more to justify
his behaviour, offered to make whatever amends he could,
promised never to cross whatever boundary she might set
him and begged merely to have the chance to speak to her
some time, especially as he was unable to do anything with
Mrs. Grubach either until he had spoken with Miss Burst-
ner, he finally informed her that the following Sunday he
would stay in his room all day waiting for a sign from her
that there was some hope of his request being fulfilled, or
at least that she would explain to him why she could not