"Pull, pull," she insisted, turning her back to him, and holding her hair before his face.
Gonzalo raised his hand to the hair, but he only ventured to touch it caressingly.
"What! it has not come off! That is because it is well tied on."
And she ran out of the room.
The private conclave was prolonged for some time, and many more points of their future life were touched upon; and as Cecilia listened to her mother descanting upon what they should do when once they were married, she could hardly conceal the tremor of emotion that possessed her. She had taken her mother's hand, and she pressed it and caressed it in a nervous way; sometimes she raised it to her lips and kissed it passionately.
Doña Paula looked at her with sympathy, and smiled kindly at the joy that filled her daughter's heart.
The clock in the dining-room struck half-past twelve.
"Oh, how late! What will Don Rosendo say?"
"He never goes to bed before this time," replied Cecilia.
"Yes; but you know he takes some time to lock up," returned Doña Paula.