The old woman will have no idea that I,
an Irishman, would not have a Spanish niece, and indeed I do not
suppose that she has any idea that I am not a Spaniard. I will open
the church myself and perform the service late in the evening, so
that no one will be aware of what is going on. Of course I can put
up your friend too. Then you can stay quietly here as long as you
like."
"That will do admirably, Denis; but I think we had best go on the
next morning," Gerald said, "although it will be a day or two before
there is anything like an organized pursuit. It will be supposed
that she is in Seville, and inquiries will at first be confined to
that town. If she leaves a note behind saying that she is determined
even to take the veil rather than marry the man her father has
chosen for her, that will cause additional delay. It will be supposed
that she is concealed in the house of some friend, or that she has
sought a refuge in a nunnery, and at any rate there is not likely
to be any search over the country for some days, especially as her
father will naturally be anxious that what he will consider an act
of rebellion on the part of his daughter shall not become publicly
known."
"All this, of course, is if we succeed in getting her clear away
during the fete. If we have to fall back on the other plan I was
talking of and carry her off by force on the way home, the search
will be immediate and general.
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