The next day Hildebrand again visited the city. He had not gone far, when, happening to look behind him, he found that the two vigilant cavaliers were on his heels once more. This brought him to a stand, and he resolved, since he could not shake them off, to let them pass him, and then return to his boat. They passed him without hesitation, and, having watched them a few yards, he turned quickly round, and made off. In his hurry, however, he took a wrong turning, and, instead of finding himself on the quay, he came to a halt in front of the cathedral.
There was no time for deliberation: to return, even if he could make out the way, would be but to seek the two persons who had been watching him; whereas, if he passed into the cathedral, he would find a covert for the moment, and, after a short interval, might return unobserved. This view of the matter no sooner occurred to him, than, with his accustomed decision, he resolved on the latter course; and straightway entered the cathedral.
High mass was in course of celebration at the moment of his entrance. The chapel in which the service was performed, being dedicated to our Lady, was in high favour with the people of Cadiz, and, therefore, was well attended. But though a small structure, it was not so full but that some seats were unoccupied; and Hildebrand, directly they incurred his notice, took possession of one of these without ceremony.
As he sat down, his side adjoined the chapel-aisle, which divided him, by only a few paces, from another row of seats, placed longitudinally. Thus, the occupiers of these seats, so far as they were opposite to him, faced Hildebrand, and could make no one movement that did not incur his observation.
One of these seats, a little in his advance, was occupied by a young lady and her duenna, who, at his very first entry, attracted Hildebrand’s whole attention. She was tall for a Spaniard, but this did not reduce, but rather augmented, the dignity of her mien, and gave a more bewitching grace to her exquisite proportions. From the manner in which she wore her mantilla, which, turned over the back of her head and shoulders, fell down over only one arm, these could be partly distinguished, and, certainly, the most fastidious taste could not but admire all that was visible. Her bust was rounded so accurately, in every turn of its outline, from her throat downwards, that the figure which painters call the line of beauty could be traced through all its proportions. But this incurred little notice, if one could gaze on the more attractive loveliness of her face. In her large eyes, indeed, there was a charm, dark and resistless as the frown of death, that fell on the eyes of others with a magnetic effect, and seemed to absorb all light in their own. Above, her arched eyebrows, though as black as night themselves, appeared to melt away into the full radiance of morning, which lent to her high forehead its most roseate colours, and most captivating sweetness. Then the light was again broken by her sparkling raven hair, which, parted in the middle, was turned in a profusion of curls behind her ears. It made itself visible, however, once more, on the side where her mantilla was raised, in its fall downwards, which brought a cluster of three or four ringlets on her neck and bosom. This rather added to, than weakened, the charm of her complexion, and its soft mellow tints derived from the contrast of light and shade a new fascination, and a more striking and bewitching beauty. Its general effect was, on a closer survey, also heightened by the warm blood that played in her cheeks, and by the more dazzling red of her lips, which
——Grew together,
Like to a double cherry, seeming parted;
But yet a union in partition,—
Two lovely berries moulded on one stem.
Hildebrand’s were not the only eyes that the young lady had captivated. Whether, however, it was owing to his tall person being more remarkable, or to the fact of his being a stranger, or to both causes combined, he alone had the good fortune, if such it were, to receive from the fair maiden any degree of encouragement. The first time her eyes met his, her glance was not, it is true, free from some savour of disdain; but it brightened as it passed over his handsome features, and gradually assumed a softer and responsive sparkle. Several times afterwards, in the course of the tedious service, he met her glance, and each time it wore a more tender tone, and brought to her warm cheeks a livelier blush. At last, the service was concluded, and the lady, together with her duenna, rose to retire. Hildebrand followed her with his eyes till she reached the church-porch. As she was making her egress, she turned round, and again bent her eyes on his.
Hildebrand was riveted to the spot: the next moment, the lady passed out; and, though he hastened after her, she had gone out of sight when he reached the church-porch, and left no vestige behind.
Hildebrand returned to his boat with some sense of disappointment. This was lessened, however, on reflection, as it occurred to him that his visit to the cathedral had, at least, had the effect of misleading the two persons who had been watching him, and with whose attendance he could well dispense. But he did not remember, what must have removed all sense of disappointment, that his stay in Cadiz could not be prolonged above a day or two, and, therefore, that he would have no opportunity of pursuing the adventure which his visit to the cathedral had opened. A thought of Evaline de Neville, it is true, pierced his bosom with something like the sting of self-reproach, but the remembrance of the last parting look of the fair Spaniard counteracted its effect, and made her alone the subject of his reflections.