"Yes. After it was mine."
"It pleases you to be very mysterious," said Orsino with a smile.
"Oh no! It does not please me at all," she answered, turning her face away again. "And least of all with you—my friend."
"Why least with me?"
"Because you are the first to misunderstand. You cannot help it. I do not blame you."
"If you would let me be your friend, as you call me, it would be better for us both."
He spoke as he had assuredly not meant to speak when he had entered the room, and with a feeling that surprised himself far more than his hearer. Maria Consuelo turned sharply upon him.
"Have you acted like a friend towards me?" she asked.
"I have tried to," he answered, with more presence of mind than truth.
Her tawny eyes suddenly lightened.