This was true, for the little friend of the rich heiress having found a partner for the dance, Fernanda was sitting by herself.
"Yes, yes, you ought to go, Santos," said Manuel Antonio; "see, the girl has left an empty chair by her side; she could not give a stronger hint."
So saying, he winked at the count, who confirmed his statement by saying: "I think it would only be polite."
Garnet cast a sharp glance at the speaker and surlily returned:
"Then why don't you go yourself and sit by her side?"
"For the simple reason that we have nothing to talk about. But with you it is quite different."
"That is understood, Señor Conde. I am not a child," he murmured very crossly.
"Although you are not a child in age," said Amalia, intervening to prevent discord, "you are one in the frankness and spontaneity of your sentiments, and in the freshness of heart, that other people younger than you are remiss in. Children love with more simplicity and fervour than men."
"But men do something more heroic—they marry," said Paco Gomez, who was again standing near with his partner.
"There are occasions when they do not marry either," returned Manuel Antonio, making an imperceptible grimace, by which it could be seen that he was thinking of Maria Josefa.