ng upward. He was glad that he had withheld his
refusal; but this matter was so important that the prudent young man,
after warmly thanking Don Luis for his good opinion, requested some time
for consideration.

True, Quijada could assure him that, for the sake of his wife, Dona
Magdalena de Ulloa, whom from childhood she had honoured with her
special favour, the regent would place no obstacle in the way of his
retirement from her service. But Wolf begged him to have patience with
him. He was not a man to make swift decisions, and nowhere could he
reflect better than in the saddle during a long ride. He would inform
him of his determination by the first messenger despatched from Brussels
to the Emperor. Even now he could assure him that this generous offer
seemed very tempting, since solitude always had far more charm for him
than the noisy bustle of the court.

Quijada willingly granted the requested delay, and, before bidding him
farewell, Wolf availed himself of the opportunity to deliver into his
hands the papers collected by his adopted father, which he had on his
person. They contained the proof that he was descended from the legal
marriage of a knight and a baroness; and Don Luis willingly undertook
to have them confirmed by the Emperor, and his patent renewed in a
way which, if he accepted his proposal, might also be useful to him in
Spain.

So Wolf took leave of the major-domo with the conviction that he
possessed a true friend in this distinguished man. If the regent did
not arbitrarily detain him, he would show himself in Villagarcia to be
worthy of his confidence.

On the stairs he met the Emperor's confessor, Don Pedro de Soto. Wolf
bowed reverently before the dignified figure of the distinguished
Dominican, and the latter, as he recognised him, paused to request
curtly that he would give him a few minutes the following day.

"If I can be of any service to your Reverence," replied Wolf, taking
the prelate's delicate hand to kiss it; but the almoner, with visible
coldness, withdrew it, repellently interrupting him: "First, Sir Knight,
I must ask you for an explanation. Where the plague is raging in every
street, we ought to guard our own houses carefully against it."

"Undoubtedly," replied Wolf, unsuspiciously. "But I shall set out early
to-morrow morning with her Majesty."

"Then," replied the Dominican after a brief hesitation, "then a word
with you now."

He continued his way to the second story