The young man replied that it was not necessary, that he believed all she said, and that he had as good as seen it; but the lady insisted on it, and, taking a flat candlestick, she escorted him to the other end of the house.
"This is the room--large, is it not? Two windows. The alcove is large enough for two beds, let alone for one," she added, with a glance at her daughter, who turned aside to shut a window.
And leaving the apartment, crossing a passage, and turning round a corner, they entered another room full of cupboards and lumber.
"Don't mind about the distance, for it is really next to the large room; it only wants a door of communication to be made between."
Gonzalo turned to his intended and said softly:
"Why does not mama thee and thou me as your papa does? Ask her from me--I do not like to."
Then Cecilia approached her mother's ear and said in a soft voice, which trembled with shyness:
"Gonzalo would like you to thee and thou him."
"What do you say, child?" asked Doña Paula, putting her hand to her ear.
Cecilia, with a great effort, raised her voice a little:
"Gonzalo asks why you do not thee and thou him as papa does?"
"Ah! I am glad the suggestion comes from him, otherwise I should not have ventured. Very well, then, when a door is made here in the wall, you will be able to go from the large room into this one without crossing the passage--do you like the room? Is it large enough?"
"Too large; my business at the present moment does not require much space."
Cecilia looked anxious, as if something were on her mind. She opened her mouth several times as if about to speak, and then lacked courage. At last, after a long pause, she ventured to say:
The girl hesitated, as if to gain courage, and then, in a trembling voice, she said:
"That's true. I never thought of that. Where was my head? There is no room about here--wait a moment--wait. We might put the pantry downstairs, and then there would be that little room, which, nicely furnished, would perhaps do. The only thing is, it does not communicate with the other rooms; he will have to cross the passage."
They then returned to the dining-room, and to the same seats in the corner. Presently Venturita came in, in a white peignoir, cut so as to show her alabaster throat and part of her beautiful neck; her hair hung loose over her shoulders, and her feet were shod with gorgeously embroidered Eastern slippers. She came to say "Good-night" before retiring to rest, and, approaching her mother, she gave her a kiss, making teasing faces at her sister the while, which Gonzalo could not see.