"I repeat that you ought to keep nothing from me, for I am your oldest, perhaps your only friend."
"It is true, oh! It is true, Diana," he exclaimed, as he clasped his hands with passionate fervour, "you are my only friend."
"Why then keep a secret from me?"
"A secret!" he exclaimed, as he recoiled in horror.
"Yes, a secret; and I have discovered it, though you fancied you had locked it up in your heart."
The young man turned pale.
"Oh! Take care, Niña," he exclaimed, "this secret I dare not confess to myself."
"That is the very reason why I discovered it, Melchior," she answered, with an adorable expression.
"Oh! It is impossible, Diana; you cannot know—"
"That you love me!" she interrupted him with an outburst. "Why not, since I love you?"