Part 8 (2/2)
And as little suspected she when one of the house doe orna the State ar it open she drew out an eilded card--a ticket It ca Dona Luisa Valverde to be present in a grand procession, which was to take place on the following day; inties would be at the disposal of herself and party
There were but few ladies in the city of Mexico ould not have been flattered by such an invitation; all thethe naned by himself, with the added phrase ”con estima particular”
But little cared she for the flattery Rather did it cause her a feeling of disgust, with so akin to fear It was not the first time for the ruler of Mexico to pay complilanced over, she let the despised thing fall, al it at her feet; and onceher glance along the side of the aqueduct to assure herself that her er had not in the meanwhile rounded the corner
He had not, and she continued to watch i as h she had never received it
Notintruded on This time, however, by no do and beautiful, but beauty of an altogether different style Though of pure Spanish descent, Luisa Valverde was a _guera_; her coht, with hair of sunny hue Such there are in Mexico, tracing their ancestry to the shores of Biscay's famous bay
She who now appeared upon the azotea was dark; her skin showing a tinge of golden broith a profusion of black hair plaited and coiled as a coronet around her head A crayon-like shading showed upon her upper lip--which on that of awhiter by contrast teeth already of dazzling whiteness; while for the same reason, the red upon her cheeks was of the deep tint of a damask rose The tones of all, however, were in perfect harmony; and distributed over features of the finest mould produced a face in which soft fee picturesqueness, ether a rare bewitching face; part of its witchery being due to the _raza Andalusiana_--and beyond that the Moriscan--but asfrom the ancient blood of Anahuac--possibly fro lady delineated was the Condes Almonte--descended from one of Conquistadors who had wedded an Aztec princess--the beautiful Ysabel Almonte whose charms were at the time the toast of every _cercle_ in Mexico
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
A MUTUAL MISAPPREHENSION
Luisa Valverde and Ysabel Almonte were fast friends--so fondly inti one another and exchanging confidences They lived in the sah nouardian For, besides being beautiful and possessed of a title--one of the few still found in Mexico, relics of the old _regime_--Ysabel Almonte was immensely rich; had houses in the city, _haciendas_ in the country, property everywhere She had a will of her own as well, and spent her wealth according to her inclinations, which were all on the side of generosity, even to caprice By nature a lighthearted, joyous creature, gay and ht birds of her country, it was a rare thing to see sadness upon her face And yet Luisa Valverde, looking down from the mirador, saw that now There was a troubled expression upon it, exciteestures, while her bosom rose and fell in quick pulsations True, she had run up the _escalera_--a stair of four flights--without pause or rest; and thatBut not for the flush on her cheek, and the sparkle in her eyes These cah the sa stairithout pausing to take breath
She had not enough now left to declare it; but stood panting and speechless
”_Madre de Dios_!” exclaimed her friend in an accent of alarasped the Condesa ”Oh, Luisita! what do you think?”
”What?”
”They've taken him--they have him in prison!”
”He lives then--still lives! Blessed be the Virgin!”
Saying which Luisa Valverde crossed her arms over her breast, and with eyes raised devotionally towards heaven, see
”Still lives!” echoed the Condesa, with a look of led surprise and perplexity
”Of course he does; surely you did not think he was dead!”
”Indeed I knew not what to think--so long since I saw or heard of hih in a prison; for while there's life there's hope”
By this the Condesa had recovered breath, though not coed from the look of trouble to one of blank astonish in a prison? For all the while she was thinking of a _hiain as an echo, then re dazed-like
”Yes, Ysabel; I had almost despaired of him But are you sure they have him here in prison? I was in fear that he had been killed in battle, or died upon the reat prairies of Texas--”
”_Carra Countess, who, free of speech, was accusto it with her country forms of exclamation
”What's all this about prairies and Texas? So far as I know, Ruperto was never there in his life”