We were in the room; the door closed.
At first it seemed an empty great chamber. Then from
behind a square of stretched cloth came a man's head, followed
by the figure pertaining to it. The full man was clad
after a rich fancy and he held in his hand a brush and
looked at us at first dreamily and then with keenness.
He knew me, differently arrayed though I was, and looked
from me to Don Enrique. "Master Manuel Rodriguez,"
said the latter, "I would stop for good talk and to admire
the Queen's likeness, but duty calls me out of palace!
Adios!" He made toward the door across from that by
which we had entered. The painter spoke after us. "That
door is bolted, Don Enrique, on the other side. I do not
know why! It is not usually so."
Don Enrique, turning, hurried to the first door and very
slightly opened it. A humming entered the large, quiet room.
He closed the door. "The Queen is coming up the great
stair. The Archbishop of Granada is with her and a whole
train beside!" He spoke to the painter. "I have no
audience, and for reasons would not choose this moment as
one in which to encounter the least disfavor! I will stay here
before your picture and admire until landing and stairways
are bare."
"If to be invisible is your desire," answered Manuel
Rodriguez, "you have walked into trouble! The Queen is
coming here.
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