“Very good, Señor Pomares. I will give you my first instructions.”
“What are your wishes, Sir?” said the new steward in mellifluous tones and arching his eyebrows.
“That you walk out of my house, this instant.”
“Leon!” cried María, seeing with astonishment the wrath in her husband’s face.
“You have heard me. Take your baggage and be off without loss of time.”
“The lady—your wife sent for me,” said the old man with an attempt at firmness, feeling himself strong in his mistress’s support.
“I am the master of the house, and I order you to go,” said Leon in a voice that admitted of no reply, “and I warn you that if you ever set foot within this house again you will go out not by the door, but by the window.”
The man made a low bow and vanished.
“Good heavens!” cried María, folding her hands, “what a shame! To treat such a good, humble, respectable man in such a way!”