f, young and beautiful, but
beauty of an altogether different style. Though of pure Spanish
descent, Luisa Valverde was a _guera_; her complexion bright, with hair
of sunny hue. Such there are in Mexico, tracing their ancestry to the
shores of Biscay's famous bay.

She who now appeared upon the azotea was dark; her skin showing a tinge
of golden brown, with a profusion of black hair plaited and coiled as a
coronet around her head. A crayon-like shading showed upon her upper
lip--which on that of a man would have been termed a moustache--
rendering whiter by contrast teeth already of dazzling whiteness; while
for the same reason, the red upon her cheeks was of the deep tint of a
damask rose. The tones of all, however, were in perfect harmony; and
distributed over features of the finest mould produced a face in which
soft feminine beauty vied with a sort of savage picturesqueness, making
it piquantly attractive.

It was altogether a rare bewitching face; part of its witchery being due
to the _raza Andalusiana_--and beyond that the Moriscan--but as much of
it coming from the ancient blood of Anahuac--possibly from the famed
Malinche herself. For the young lady delineated was the Condes
Almonte--descended from one of Conquistadors who had wedded an Aztec
princess--the beautiful Ysabel Almonte whose charms were at the time the
toast of every _cercle_ in Mexico.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN.

A MUTUAL MISAPPREHENSION.

Luisa Valverde and Ysabel Almonte were fast friends--so fondly intimate
that scarcely a day passed without their seeing one another and
exchanging confidences. They lived in the same street; the Condesa
having a house of her own, though nominally owned by her grand-aunt and
guardian. For, besides being beautiful and possessed of a title--one of
the few still found in Mexico, relics of the old _regime_--Ysabel
Almonte was immensely rich; had houses in the city, _haciendas_ in the
country, property everywhere. She had a will of her own as well, and
spent her wealth according to her inclinations, which were all on the
side of generosity, even to caprice. By nature a lighthearted, joyous
creature, gay and merry, as one of the bright birds of her country, it
was a rare thing to see sadness upon her face. And yet Luisa Valverde,
looking down from the mirador, saw that now. There was a troubled
expression upon it, excitement in her eyes, attitude, and gestures,
while her bosom rose and fell in quick pulsation