“I will not meet him alone,” said Margaret decidedly.
“That is awkward,” answered Inez, “as I think he has words to say to you which he does not wish others to hear, especially the señora yonder,” and she nodded towards Betty.
“I will not meet him alone,” repeated Margaret.
“Yet, if things are to go forward as we have arranged, you must meet him, Dona Margaret, and give him that answer which he desires. Well, I think it can be arranged. The court below is large. Now, while you and the marquis talk at one end of it, the Señora Betty and I might walk out of earshot at the other. She needs more instruction in our Spanish tongue; it would be a good opportunity to begin our lessons.”
“But what am I to say to him?” asked Margaret nervously.
“I think,” answered Inez, “that you must copy the example of that wonderful actor, the Señor Peter, and play a part as well as you saw him do, or even better, if possible.”
“It must be a very different part then,” replied Margaret, stiffening visibly at certain recollections.
The gentle Inez smiled as she said:
“Yes, but surely you can seem jealous, for that is natural to us all, and you can yield by degrees, and you can make a bargain as the price of yourself in marriage.”
“What exact bargain should I make?”