Page:History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella the Catholic Vol. I.djvu/271

DEATH OF HENRY IV. 127 royal treasure, was intrusted to Andres de Cabrera, chapter IV. an officer of the king's household. This cavalier, '- — influenced in part bj personal pique to the grand master of St. James, and still more perhaps by the importunities of his wife, Beatriz de Bobadilla, the early friend and companion of Isabella, entered into a correspondence with the princess, and sought to open the way for her permanent reconciliation with her brother. He accordingly invited her to Segovia, where Henry occasionally resided, and, to dispel any suspicions which she might entertain of his sincerity, despatched his wife secretly by night, disguised in the garb of a peasant, to Aranda, where Isabella then held her court. The latter confirmed by the assurances of her friend, did not hesitate to comply with the invitation, and, accom- panied by the archbishop of Toledo, proceeded to 1473. Segovia, where an interview took place between her and Henry the Fourth, in which she vindicated her past conduct, and endeavoured to obtain her broth- er's sanction to her union with Ferdinand. Henry, who was naturally of a placable temper, received her communication with complacency, and, in order to give public demonstration of the good under- standing now subsisting between him and his sis- ter, condescended to walk by her side, holding the bridle of her palfrey, as she rode along the streets of the city. Ferdinand, on his return into Castile, hastened to Segovia, where he was welcomed by the monarch with every appearance of satisfaction. A succession of fetes and splendid entertainments, at which both parties assisted, seemed to announce an Dee.