Going to the piano, she began playing snatches of old Spanish songs, in which one caught the tinkling of the guitar,—the gay sound of the castanets. But presently, she slipped gradually off into softer, more plaintive music. Music, it seemed to Alec, that must have been written by some exile, longing for the home he had left.
Blue Bonnet had quite forgotten him; when at last he spoke to her, and she turned to answer, it was to find her audience considerably enlarged.
“You are not going to stop, Señorita?” the General asked. He was not the only one to find both playing and player attractive.
Mrs. Clyde’s eyes were turned upon the slender, brilliantly clad, little figure opposite with an expression in them that made Miss Lucinda sigh softly to herself.
Between them all, they kept her there playing for them until Cousin Honoria declared it was quite unfair—the poor child would be tired out.
“But when you come to stay with us in Boston,” Cousin Augusta added, “we shall want you to play for us again. You will come for a week end some-time—even if we are all old people? We will try not to have it too dull for you. Tracy will show you his collections—he has several very fine collections.”
“I’d love to,” Blue Bonnet answered; she came to sit between the two little gentlewomen on the old-fashioned high-backed davenport. They were not in the least formidable; she thought she should like them very much.
Then she leaned forward with one of her eager movements; the talk had suddenly turned on Texas; Mr. Ashe was telling of ranch life out there.
Closing her eyes, Blue Bonnet could almost fancy herself back in the big ranch house living-room. How the wind would be howling about the weather-stained house to-night. And how lonesome Uncle Joe Terry and Benita must be without Uncle Cliff and her.
It occurred to Blue Bonnet that she had not given much thought to that side of the question. She would write a good long letter to them both to-morrow, telling them all about her day, and how she had worn her Spanish dress, and how everyone liked Uncle Cliff so much.