"Silence, blasphemer! The God you dare to defy can, if He pleases, crush you in a moment."
"Let Him do so then, and I will believe in Him." And he raised his head and looked up defiantly at the heavens. "But, no," he added a moment after, "all these things are falsehoods invented by the priests to hold men in awe. You are here in my power, I repeat, and no power, human or divine, will liberate you; but, as I said, it is easy for you to leave this place in freedom within an hour, if you please."
"After insult, mockery, that is the right way," she said contemptuously.
"I am no more mocking you now than I insulted you before; I am speaking frankly, and offering you an honourable bargain, which you can accept or refuse as you please."
"A bargain," she murmured in a hollow voice.
"Yes," he continued, "a bargain; and why not? Listen to me. I hate your family, madam, with all the hatred that a human heart can hold; but you personally never offended me, and I have, therefore, no reason to wish you harm. Then, there is another thing which pleads in your favour; why should I conceal it any longer? I love your daughter."
"Villain!" Doña Emilia exclaimed, as she rose and walked toward him.
Doña Diana threw herself wildly into her mother's arms, and buried her face in her hands, crying desperately.
"Mother, mother, save me!"
"Fear nothing, daughter," she replied; "this man can insult us, but he will never succeed in humiliating us to his own level."