“And love also,” the little señorita said, bowing her head.
“Love, also!” said Doña Catalina.
“Ha!” Don Carlos cried, with a gale of laughter. “It is love now, is it? And when first Don Diego came wooing, the girl would have none of him, even to better the family fortunes. He was dull, he yawned, and she wanted a man of hot blood and romantic. But when it was learned that he was Señor Zorro— That made a difference! Love, also! It is well!”
Señorita Lolita blushed again, and fumbled at a soft garment upon her lap. There came a pounding at the door, and one of the servants opened it. Don Carlos glanced up to find a man of the village there.
“It is a message, señor,” he said.
“From whom?” Don Carlos asked.
“From Don Diego Vega, to the little señorita.”
Señorita Lolita dimpled, and her black eyes flashed as she bent over the heap of garments again. Don Carlos stood up and stalked majestically toward the door.
“I take the message,” he said, and he took it, and handed it to Doña Catalina, that she might read it first. “Don Diego Vega is not wed to my daughter as yet. It is not proper that he send her sealed messages.”
His eyes were twinkling as he turned away. Señorita Lolita pouted and pretended indifference, and Doña Catalina, her mother, unfolded the message, and read it with a smile upon her lips.