"But you are not of the cold-blooded English," Don Carlos objected,
skilfully guiding her through the maze of dancers. "I have heard that
the Irish are as warm-blooded as the Latins, and can love and hate with
the same passionate intensity. You, I feel sure, dear lady, would be
capable of loving wonderfully were your heart really awakened. And
some instinct tells me it is I who will awaken your heart and kindle
the fires of passion dormant within you."
The words, spoken in a low, caressing tone, thrilled Myra anew, but she
made pretence of being shocked and offended.
"You flatter yourself, señor," she said, with a disdainful glance and a
note of contempt in her sweet voice. "Unless you are entirely ignorant
of English conventionalities, your remarks are unpardonable. Would you
care to repeat to Mr. Standish, to whom I am engaged to be married,
what you have just said?"
"Yes, if you so desire," responded Don Carlos calmly.
"Conventionalities--English or otherwise--do not concern me. I follow
the dictates of my heart in all things, and I am master of my own
destiny. Shall I tell your Mr. Standish that I fell in love with you
the first moment I saw you, and that I mean to take you from him by
hook or by crook?"
"I think you must be crazy!" exclaimed Myra, at heart just a little
scared, but more than a little fascinated. "Surely even in the wilds
of Spain it is considered dishonourable to attempt to make love to a
girl who is betrothed to another man?
"Not if one is prepared to fight the other man," Don Carlos replied,
with a sudden smile. "I am quite prepared to fight for you, believe
me. As for making love, dear lady, I have not even yet begun to make
love to you in earnest. My love is a raging torrent which will
overwhelm you and sweep you off your feet, a raging fire which will set
your heart aflame in sympathy."
"I'm thinking, Don Carlos, that you must be a bit Irish yourself to mix
up torrents and flames, and the sooner you let the torrent put your
fires out the better I'll be pleased," said Myra, with forced
lightness, after a pause, during which she decided it would be best to
treat the whole matter as a joke. "Incidentally, you are carrying your
jest too far, and I shall be seriously annoyed if you persist in this
nonsense."