“You ask me to have these men set at liberty, contesse; but if I were to do so, what object would be gained, as everything has been discovered?”
“They are our friends and we must save them. Their ruin will not help you.”
“Miralda is my friend, and I must save her.”
“But you will not help her by destroying them.”
“Why is Miralda kept a prisoner here?”
“She is not a prisoner, Mr. Donnington.”
“But she was not allowed to leave the house this morning.”
“Because after she had seen you we learnt other facts about her danger. She is not a prisoner, and she stayed because it was not safe for her to leave the house. That is all. You persuaded her to consent, but when I saw her afterwards she realized her mistake in having given you the promise. She will tell you so herself. She is as anxious as I am that you should do what Dr. Barosa requires.”
This was all part of her parrot-like lesson, of course, but it was no use to tell her that I knew that. So I tried another tack. “Do you know Major Sampayo’s history?”
“What has that to do with this?” she asked in surprise.