"
"Yet I could give you evidence that should convince you."
"Then so you shall. It is your sacred duty, lest you become an
abettor of heresy, and yourself liable to the extreme penalty."
It would be a half-hour later, perhaps, when she quitted the
Convent of St. Paul to return home, with Hell in her heart,
knowing in life no purpose but that of avenging the parent her
folly had destroyed. As she was being carried past the Alcazar,
she espied across the open space a tall, slim figure in black, in
whom she recognized her lover, and straightway she sent the page
who paced beside her litter to call him to her side. The summons
surprised him after what had passed between them; moreover,
considering her father's present condition, he was reluctant to
be seen in attendance upon the beautiful, wealthy Isabella de
Susan. Nevertheless, urged on by curiosity, he went.
Her greeting increased his surprise.
"I am in deep distress, Rodrigo, as you may judge," she told him
sadly. "You will have heard what has befallen my father?"
He looked at her sharply, yet saw nothing but loveliness rendered
more appealing by sorrow. Clearly she did not suspect him of
betrayal; did not realize that an oath extorted by violence--and
an oath, moreover, to be false to a sacred duty--could not be
accounted binding.
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