"Well?"
"Because I love you, Signor," said the boy, while his whole face, a moment before so pale, grew vivid crimson.
Louis looked at him in surprise.
"And what have I done for you, that you should love me so?" he asked, at length.
"Do we only love those who have conferred favors upon us, Signor?"
"Well, generally speaking, among men it is so. If you were a woman, now, it would be different," said Louis, laughing.
"Would you love me, if I were a woman?" asked the boy, in a tone so abrupt and startling, that Louis gazed at him in wonder.
"Not more than I do now. One cannot love two women at a time, as you will find out when you grow older."
"Then the signor is already in love?" asked Isadore, raising his dark eyes, now filled with dusky fire.
There was no reply. Louis turned aside restlessly, so that the boy could not see the expression of his face. And Isadore, paler than before, seated himself in silence, and fixed his burning black eyes steadily on the ground.