"The hidalgo is by nature an ardent nationalist, as you know. Born into that atmosphere, with every breath I imbibed its spirit. That you should lose this pride of nation fired me with indignation. Yes, José, even when love forced me to try to bring you back, my very soul was lifted against you. Time, and the irony of fate, revolutionized my views."
They became silent, their thoughts busy.
"I too became a foreigner," she went on presently, as if no break had occurred in the conversation.
She related her journeying to Bombay with her father, a few years later, and of meeting there a young native prince who was in part of Portuguese extraction, his mother having been a member of a powerful family of that nationality residing in Goa.
The prince's father, a Christian, had been maharajah of Rajput, one of the great principalities of British Hindustan. The Mohammedan portion of the maharajahship had engendered rebellion. In attempting to suppress it by armed force the father was killed. The son, also a Christian, attained high position in English officialdom in Bombay.
This youthful Hindustanee, whose Latin name was Lusciano Osuna do Castello Branco, became very friendly with the daughter of the Spanish representative, Ambassador Altamira, of Castile.
"My father died suddenly," said the Lady Romalda. "The prince paid court and won my hand. We were married.
"My husband was a citizen of Great Britain. I became a British subject by my marriage. My son, known here as Padre Lusciano Osuna, was born in Bombay, and was given his father's name in baptism, Lusciano Osuna do Castello Branco."
She told of her son's school days in England, whither the English government had sent him, of his graduation from a military academy, and his return to India.
"The Mohammedan maharajah was deposed by the British. My husband was placed on the throne. I lived in Rajput, a princess. My husband fell in suppressing insurrection, as had his father before him. Lusciano, my son, commanded in his father's stead, and through his efforts the rebellion was overcome. Great preparations were under way to honor the young prince, the present padre, when he should take the throne. Great Britain promised him unlimited support. His father's enemies, even, swore allegiance to him. All looked forward to a reign of prosperity and peace.