“They live very modestly. In ten years the fortune will double itself. He is a great man for business, the Leonese. A poor creature, a simpleton, in everything else; in politics he sees no further than his nose, but he has succeeded in making a fortune. This girl is his only child, and he adores her.”
“And don’t you think it likely that the girl may have formed some attachment already?”
“Bah, she is too young! The moment you present yourself—with your good address and your experience in such affairs——”
“Probably she is a ninny, and ugly into the bargain.”
“Her father was a magnificent-looking fellow in his youth, and her mother a handsome brunette,—why should the girl be ugly? No one is ugly at fifteen. She will need polishing, it is true; but between you and a dressmaker that is a question of a month. Women are much more readily civilized and polished than men. The desire to please teaches them more than a hundred masters could do.”
“And what would all my friends say of me—especially in Leon—if they saw me marry the daughter of the Leonese?”
“Bah! bah! that is simply a question of making a change. After you are married, petition privately to be transferred to some other position. The old man will remain there, taking care of the property, and you and the girl will go live where nobody will know whether her father was an archduke or the executioner. After the marriage, you and your bride can take a little trip to the continent and in this way you will escape gossip during the first few months. And be quick about it before you begin to grow rotund, and your hair—— Ah, how time passes! It is sad to think how old we are getting.”
Miranda gazed at the point of his elegant tan-colored boot in silence, thoughtfully scratching his forehead.
“Find me an excuse to visit the house,” he said at last, with resolution. “They are unaccustomed to society, and it will be necessary to have one. I shall not be required to parade the girl through the streets, I suppose.”
“You will make them a visit in my name. The old man will give you a warmer welcome than if you were the king himself!”