"She will have a different view in the convent," replied the Emperor.
"Quijada shall talk with her to-morrow, and De Soto and the pious nuns
here will show her where she belongs. The child--that matter is settled
--will be taken from her."

The execution of the imperial will began on the very next morning.
First the confessor De Soto appeared, and with convincing eloquence
showed Barbara how happily she could shape her shadowed life within the
sacred quiet of the convent. Besides, the helpless creature whose coming
she was expecting with maternal love could rely upon the father's
recognition and aid only on condition that she yielded to his Majesty's
expressed will.

Barbara, though with no little difficulty, succeeded in maintaining her
composure during these counsels and the declaration of the servant of the
Holy Church. Faithful to the determination formed during the night, she
imposed silence upon herself, and when De Soto asked for a positive
answer, she begged him to grant her time for consideration.

Soon after Don Luis Quijada was announced. This time he did not appear
in the dark Spanish court costume, but in the brilliant armour of the
Lombard regiment whose command had been entrusted to him.

When he saw Barbara, for the first time after many weeks, he was
startled.

Only yesterday she had seemed to Wolf Hartschwert peerlessly beautiful,
but the few hours which had elapsed between the visit of the physician
and the major-domo had sadly changed her. Her large, bright eyes were
reddened by weeping, and the slight lines about the corners of the mouth