"Yes," he answered simply.
"Why?"
"He's her friend and a relative."
It seemed to Gordon that there was a touch of defiance in the eyes that held to his so steadily. She was going to find out the truth, no matter what he thought.
"Is that all—nothing more than a friend or a relative?"
The miner's boyish laugh rippled out. "You'd ought to have been a lawyer, Miss Kate. No, that ain't all Don Manuel doesn't make any secret of it. I don't know why I should. He wants to be prince consort of the Valdés kingdom."
"Because of ... the estate?"
"Lord, no! He's one man from the ground up, M. Pesquiera is. In spite of the estates."
"You mean that he ... loves Valencia Valdés?"
"Sure he does. Manuel doesn't care much who gets the kingdom if he gets the princess."