Page 93 - the-trial

we hardly know?” “Yes, you’re quite right, Mr. K.,” said Mrs.
Grubach, and then, to her misfortune, as soon as she felt
just a little freer to speak, she added something rather in-
ept. “I kept asking myself why it was that Mr. K. took such
an interest in Miss Burstner. Why does he quarrel with me
over her when he knows that any cross word from him and I
can’t sleep that night? And I didn’t say anything about Miss
Burstner that I hadn’t seen with my own eyes.” K. said noth-
ing in reply, he should have chased her from the room as
soon as she had opened her mouth, and he didn’t want to
do that. He contented himself with merely drinking his cof-
fee and letting Mrs. Grubach feel that she was superfluous.
Outside, the dragging steps of Miss Montag could still be
heard as she went from one side of the hallway to the other.
“Do you hear that?” asked K. pointing his hand at the door.
“Yes,” said Mrs. Grubach with a sigh, “I wanted to give her
some help and I wanted the maid to help her too but she’s
stubborn, she wants to move everything in herself. I wonder
at Miss Burstner. I often feel it’s a burden for me to have Miss
Montag as a tenant but Miss Burstner accepts her into her
room with herself.” “There’s nothing there for you to wor-
ry about” said K., crushing the remains of a sugar lump in
his cup. “Does she cause you any trouble?” “No,” said Mrs.
Grubach, “in itself it’s very good to have her there, it makes
another room free for me and I can let my nephew, the cap-
tain, occupy it. I began to worry he might be disturbing you
when I had to let him live in the living room next to you
over the last few days. He’s not very considerate.” “What an
idea!” said K. standing up, “there’s no question of that. You

The Trial