For days and weeks Lianor kept to her rooms, seeing no one except her
father and Sampayo, whom she looked upon as the avenger of Luiz.
Long and tenderly was her lover's memory sorrowed over, until the once
beautiful girl was but a mere wraith.
A few weeks later Don Garcia himself was taken ill, and one day,
feeling slightly better, he sent for his daughter, to whom he wished
to speak on important business.
He was not kept long waiting. Lianor soon appeared, looking like a
crushed flower in her somber robes.
"You wished to see me, papa?"
"Yes, Lianor; but you can almost guess for what. You know how much I
desire to see you wedded to my friend; a man who loves you and will
make you happy. I shall not live long, of that I feel sure. Manuel
Tonza has waited patiently, and I think it is only right you give him
hope. To-day you will accept his hand, and in another week, with my
consent, you will become his wife."
Lianor reeled against the bed, and held firmly to the silken curtains
to prevent herself falling.
"Do you mean this, father? His wife--when he murdered Luiz?"
"What nonsense are you saying, child? Do not let me hear you speak
like this again. What motive could a wealthy man like Tonza have in
getting rid of one of his own employes? Grief has turned your brain.
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