Page 257 - A Knight of the White Cross

When Claudia shortly afterwards left the room, he said to the countess,
"Excuse me for breaking in, Agatha, but I felt that it was much better to

agree with her, and not to make overmuch of the matter; she is just of an
age to make some one a hero, and she could hardly have chosen a better

subject for her worship. In the first place, he is a knight of St. John; in the
second, he is going away in a few days, perhaps tomorrow, and may never
cross her path again. The thought of him will prevent her fancy from

straying for a time, and keep her heart whole until you decide on a suitor
for her hand."

"Nevertheless, I would rather that it had not been so. Claudia is not given to
change, and this may last long enough to cause trouble when I bring

forward the suitor you speak of."

"Well, in any case it might be worse," Caretto said philosophically. And
then, with a smile in answer to her look of inquiry, "Knights of the Order
have, ere now, obtained release from their vows."

"Fabricius!" the countess exclaimed, in a shocked voice.

"Yes, I know, Agatha, that the child is one of the richest heiresses in Italy,
but for that very reason it needs not that her husband should have wide

possessions. In all other respects you could wish for no better. He will
assuredly be a famous knight; he is the sort of man to make her perfectly

happy; and, lastly, you know I cannot forget that I owe my liberation from
slavery to him. At any rate, Agatha, as I said before, he may never cross her
path again, and you may, a year or two hence, find her perfectly amenable

to your wishes."