"She delights to honor him," said one lady to another, in the queen's ante-chamber.
"Count Basterio says that he will be made prime minister within a twelvemonth."
"The count is always extravagant," replied the other, "and I think that General Bezan richly merits the honors he receives. He is so modest, yet brave and unassuming.
"That is true, and I'm sure I don't blame the queen for repaying his important services. But he doesn't seen to have any heart himself."
"Why not? He treats all with more than ordinary courtesy, and has a voice and manner to win almost any heart he wills. But some dark hints are thrown out about him."
"In what respect, as having already been in love?" asked the other lady.
"Yes, and the tender melancholy that every one notices, is owing to disappointed affection."
"It is strange that he should meet with disappointment, for General Bezan could marry the proudest lady of the court of Madrid."
"O, you forget when he came home to Spain he was only an humble captain of infantry, who had seen little service. Now he is a general, and already distinguished."
They were nearer right in their surmises than even themselves were aware of. It was very true that Captain Bezan, the unknown soldier, and General Bezan, the queen's favorite, honored by orders, and entrusted with important commissions, successful in desperate battles, and the hero of the civil war, were two very different individuals. No one realized this more acutely than did Lorenzo Bezan himself. No step towards preferment and honor did he make without comparing his situation with the humble lieutenant's birth that he filled when he first knew Isabella Gonzales, and when his hopes had run so high, as it regarded winning her love.