Although, perhaps, he had never defined them very clearly, even to himself, Juan de Montalvo had two aims in life:  first to indulge his every freak and fancy to the full, and next—­but this was secondary and somewhat nebulous—­to re-establish the fortunes of his family.  In themselves they were quite legitimate aims, and in those times, when fishers of troubled waters generally caught something, and when men of ability and character might force their way to splendid positions, there was no reason why they should not have led him to success.  Yet so far, at any rate, in spite of many opportunities, he had not succeeded although he was now a man of more than thirty.  The causes of his failures were various, but at the bottom of them lay his lack of stability and genuineness.

A man who is always playing a part amuses every one but convinces nobody.  Montalvo convinced nobody.  When he discoursed on the mysteries of religion with priests, even priests who in those days for the most part were stupid, felt that they assisted in a mere intellectual exercise.  When his theme was war his audience guessed that his object was probably love.  When love was his song an inconvenient instinct was apt to assure the lady immediately concerned that it was love of self and not of her.  They were all more or less mistaken, but, as usual, the women went nearest to the mark.  Montalvo’s real aim was self, but he spelt it, Money.  Money in large sums was what he wanted, and what in this way or that he meant to win.

Now even in the sixteenth century fortunes did not lie to the hand of every adventurer.  Military pay was small, and not easily recoverable; loot was hard to come by, and quickly spent.  Even the ransom of a rich prisoner or two soon disappeared in the payment of such debts of honour as could not be avoided.  Of course there remained the possibility of wealthy marriage, which in a country like the Netherlands, that was full of rich heiresses, was not difficult to a high-born, handsome, and agreeable man of the ruling Spanish caste.  Indeed, after many chances and changes the time had come at length when Montalvo must either marry or be ruined.  For his station his debts, especially his gaming debts, were enormous, and creditors met him at every turn.  Unfortunately for him, also, some of these creditors were persons who had the ear of people in authority.  So at last it came about that an intimation reached him that this scandal must be abated, or he must go back to Spain, a country which, as it happened, he did not in the least wish to visit.  In short, the sorry hour of reckoning, that hour which overtakes all procrastinators, had arrived, and marriage, wealthy marriage, was the only way wherewith it could be defied.  It was a sad alternative to a man who for his own very excellent reasons did not wish to marry, but this had to be faced.

Thus it came about that, as the only suitable partie in Leyden, the Count Montalvo had sought out the well-favoured and well-endowed Jufvrouw Lysbeth van Hout to be his companion in the great sledge race, and taken so much trouble to ensure to himself a friendly reception at her house.