“That is a riddle, but I think I see an answer at any rate to half of it. Then the marriage would still take place, but with another bridegroom.”
“Another bridegroom! Who?”
“Your humble and devoted adorer.”
Elsa shuddered and recoiled a step.
“Ah!” he said, “I should not have bowed, you saw my white hairs—to the young a hateful sight.”
Elsa’s indignation rose, and she answered:
“It is not your white hair that I shrink from, Señor, which in some would be a crown of honour, but——”
“In my case suggests to you other reflections. Be gentle and spare me them. In a world of rough actions, what need to emphasise them with rough words?”
For a few minutes there was silence, which Ramiro, glancing out of the lattice, broke by remarking that “The snowfall was extraordinarily heavy for the time of year.” Then followed another silence.
“I understood you just now, dear lady, to make some sort of suggestion which might lead to an arrangement satisfactory to both of us. The exact locality of this wealth is at present obscure—you mentioned some clue. Are you in a position to furnish such a clue?”