Give
me Veranilda. I take upon myself all the peril. It shall be made to
appear that I have all along kept her in hiding, and that you knew
nothing of her. Be advised before the worst comes upon you. I will
escape with her to a place of safety that I know of; _you_ will be
declared innocent, and no one will care to ask what has become of
Aurelia. Think well; you spoke of prisons, but the Greeks have worse
than imprisonment for those who incur their wrath. Will Bessas
forego revenge when, after much trouble, he has wrested the captive
from your hands? Think!'
Petronilla's countenance, fixed as a face in marble, still suggested
no thought save one of scorn; but there was a brief silence before
she replied.
'I would not have believed,' she said calmly, 'that a man could be
so besotted with foolish passions. Listen, you in turn. Where those
women are, I know as little as do you yourself. I think, and have
good reason for thinking, that the Goth is already on her way to
Constantinople, but I have no certainty of it. The one thing I do
surely know, is that you are hoodwinked and baffled by the man you
trust.
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