Morando looked straight at the señora. "Señora Valentino, I love the Señorita Mendoza with every fiber of my being. I shall never cease to love her. I could not bear to stay here and see her the wife of another man. Therefore I have resolved to go away.
"But, my dear Captain, time has worked wonders. It may do so for you."
Morando shook his head. "Nothing can alter my love for the señorita doña."
"Ah, Captain! You believe that the señorita doña fulfills your ideal; yet you cannot wed her. There may be another destined to fit into the high place to which you, not knowing, have called this child. Think, my friend, may it not be so?"
"It cannot be. Señora Valentino, now that I have lost Señorita Mendoza, the memory-pictures of her come to me with tenfold intensity. I saw her, as if near me, on the battlefield. I dreamed of her in the short hours of sleep that have been mine since I last saw her. Yes, dear friend, even now, as you sit by, with words of comfort for me, I see plainly the face and form of Carmelita Mendoza. She seems even more present to me than are you."
The señora arose.
He stood beside her. "I thank you for listening to me. Wheresoever I may be I shall never forget you."
"Let us again be seated."
"Thank you, señora."
"I soon return to Europe," the señora said. "My work here is really done. Great Britain gains another province, and will be correspondingly thankful to her who was useful in bringing about the transfer. Good Captain, I have other claims on Great Britain's good will. Should you desire some important post on the continent, or elsewhere, I can see to it that the diplomatic interest of England is used to secure it for you. Since you feel you must leave here, my Captain, return to Europe, take what good fortune sends you, and again you will be the knight of the Lady of the Window Pane, and she will rejoice in the victories you win for her."