"Ah! perhaps a connection by marriage?"
"Well, no—not exactly a connection, either—"
"Well, you see, señor, in Spain etiquette is very strict, and our ladies are under more restraint than with you. I must treat this lady in accordance with my own feelings, and a Spanish gentleman would feel as if he were slighting a lady if he were to act out of accordance with Spanish etiquette."
"Oh," said Harry, earnestly, "she is an English lady."
"But I am a Spanish gentleman."
Harry drew a long breath. He was in despair. Oh, how he longed to be Katie's third cousin for a few minutes.
"I am very sorry," said Lopez, "but you see I have to be guided by my own sense of propriety. I suppose you are a very old friend, señor; yet I have been quite intimate with the señorita myself, and never heard her mention your name."
"Well," said Harry, "I have not known her very long."
"She used to speak freely of all her English friends," continued Lopez; "for you see she had not many, having lived so long in Spain; and so I was surprised to hear you speak of her as so intimate a friend."
"Well," said Harry, "my acquaintance with her is not of very long standing."