"That is the object of my visit to-day, señor."
"You—you are asking my permission to pay addresses to my fair daughter?"
"I am, señor."
Don Carlos's face beamed, and again he sprang from his chair, this time to bend forward and grasp Don Diego by the hand.
"She is a fair flower," the father said. "I would see her wed, and I have been to some anxiety about it, for I did not wish her to marry into a family that did not rank with mine. But there can be no question where a Vega is concerned. You have my permission, señor."
Don Carlos was delighted. An alliance between his daughter and Don Diego Vega! His fortunes were retrieved the moment that was consummated. He would be important and powerful again!
He called a native and sent for his wife, and within a few minutes the Doña Catalina appeared on the veranda to greet the visitor, her face beaming, for she had been listening.
"Don Diego has done us the honor to request permission to pay his respects to our daughter," Don Carlos explained.
"You have given consent?" Doña Catalina asked: for it would not do, of course, to jump for the man.
"I have given my consent," Don Carlos replied.