The General eagerly repelled the charge and defended himself as valiantly as though in front of the enemy.
Meanwhile the servants were moving about handing various dishes, while others, bottle in hand, murmured in the ear of each guest, "Sauterne, Sherry, Margaux," in a hollow tone like that of a Carthusian monk muttering his memento mori.
"I drink nothing but iced champagne," Pepa Frias announced to the servant behind her.
"You need so much cooling," exclaimed Castro.
"You surely knew that," said the widow with a meaning look.
"To my sorrow!"
"Why, are you tired of Clementina?"
Fuentes was not happy under these conditions. It grieved him to lavish his wit in a tête-à-tête, so he seized the first opportunity of raising his voice and attracting the attention of the whole party.
"I saw you in the Carrera de San Jeromino yesterday morning, Fuentes," said the Condesa de Cotorraso, who sat three or four places lower down.
"That depends on what you call the morning, Condesa."