"Was she, too, an orphan?" Gonzague asked.
"Yes," said Flora; "but she had a guardian who loved her like a father."
The gypsy girl could not guess what raging passions were masked by the
changeless serenity of Gonzague's face. "Who was that?" he asked, as he
might have asked the name of some dog or some cat.
And he got the answer he expected from the girl: "A young French
soldier."
Perhaps, again, Gonzague's voice was keener with his next question:
"Whose name was--"
In this case Flora, suddenly recalling her conversation with Gabrielle on
the previous day, became as suddenly cautious. "I have forgotten his
name," she said, and looked as if nothing could rekindle her memory.
Gonzague affected to be busy with some of the papers that lay before him,
and then, at a venture, and as if with no particular purpose in his
thoughts, he said: "I wish I could get this Gabrielle to be your
companion, child."
Flora clapped her hands, and forgot her caution in her joy at the
prospect. "Well, that might be done. I will tell you a secret. Gabrielle
and her guardian are in Paris."
Underneath the table, and hidden from the girl's sight, Gonzague's hands
clinched tightly, as if they were clinching upon the throat of an enemy;
but his face was still quite tranquil as he said, carelessly: "Where are
they?"
Flora's voice was full of regret. "Ah! I do not know; but they were at
the fair where we were playing, and I know that they are coming to
Paris."
Gonzague rose to his feet and took both the girl's hands affectionately
in his. His eyes looked affectionately into hers, and his voice was full
of kindness. "If your friend can be found, be sure that I will find her
for you. And now go. I will send for you when the time comes for the
meeting with your mother."
Flora clasped her hands nervously. "My mother! Oh, what shall I say to
her?" she cried.
Gonzague's smile soothed her fears. "Hide nothing from her, for I am sure
you have nothing to hide. Speak the loving words that a mother would like
to hear."
With a grateful look at her newly found protector, Flora darted from the
room, and Gonzague was left alone.