"Hold on, hold on!" said Miguel, catching her by one arm; "you don't escape me without wiping it off!"
"What! do you imagine that I am afraid to do it?" she asked, giving him a provoking smile.
And without further delay she began to rub it off with her handkerchief.
Miguel's eyes gleamed with an unnatural light, and as his lips were not far from the girl's head, he bent over quickly and touched them to her forehead.
Filomena straightened herself up with equal rapidity, and giving him a look that was half severe and half mischievous, said:—
"You had better be a little careful!"
When she had finished, Miguel said:—
"To reward you for this good deed I am going to offer you my arm to take you back to the parlor."
The girl took it without saying a word. After the kiss she had grown serious.
When they went in, everybody was there before them. Maximina, who was sitting on a sofa talking with Saavedra, looked at them with a mixture of surprise and desolation which would have touched Miguel if he had taken time to think about it.