It scarcely needed her eloquence in
pleading to consummate this object, for the queen already
prepossessed in the young soldier's favor, only desired to know how
she might serve him best, in order to do so at once. In her
shrewdness she could not but discover the state of the countess's
heart; but too delicate to allude to this matter, she made up her
mind at once as to what should be done.
She wondered not at the countess's love for Lorenzo Bezan; she could
sympathize with her; for had he been born in the station to have
shared the throne with her, she would have looked herself upon him
with a different eye; as it was, she had delighted to honor him from
the first moment they had met.
"Your wish shall be granted, countess," said the queen; "he shall
return to Cuba, and with honor and distinction."
"Thanks, a thousand thanks," was the reply of the fair friend.
"You have never told me before the particulars of his returning
home."
"It was but lately that I learned them, by his own lips," she
answered.
"His life is full of romance," mused the queen, thoughtfully.
"True, and his bravery, has he opportunity, will make him a hero."
"The lady's name-did he tell you that?" asked the queen.
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