So far this man whom he abhorred—whom he recognized as the intruder of the night before—for this man the very marriage was stayed, and he, the grandee, left his hall for his ramparts. And soon there was heard the clicking of the lowering portcullis, and the raising of the drawbridge.
As he left the great hall the gentlemen followed him; and the only man left in the room was the false pilgrim, standing in the midst of the frightened women.
Their chief, the Donna Elvira, motioned them away, and soon she stood alone with the robber.
“Ernani—Ernani—they told me thou wert dead!”
“And thou didst believe them.”
“Yet I hoped—I would have hoped even to the altar.”
“And then—then thou wouldst have sworn to love Don Ruy.”
For all answer she showed him the dagger she had wrested from the king. So, she would have hoped till living death were forced upon her, and then she would have welcomed death itself.
“The king—the king!”
Again the cry was heard, “The king was at the gate.” The king demanded that it should bow to him, and again the clicking sound was heard as the bridge was lowered before the king.