So I spoke with the woman, who,
though in poverty, is of noble blood, and when I had offered to make
her welcome, she gladly came with me, and straightway we returned to
Rome. And I brought with me oil from the lamp of the saint,
wherewith, at the hours of prayer, I cross my forehead, that no evil
may befall me. So, you have heard. Believe or not, as you list, O
Basil.'
Whether true or not, Basil had no choice but to accept the story. He
looked helplessly about him. If by killing this woman he could have
obtained liberty to search through every chamber of the great house,
his dagger would have leapt at her breast; and that Petronilla well
knew; whence the defiant look in her eyes as they watched his
slightest movement.
'What is your next question?' she said. 'I am at leisure for a
little longer.'
'If Veranilda is in the hands of the Greeks, where is Aurelia?'
'I should be glad to think,' replied the lady, 'that she has
withdrawn from the world to expiate her sins.'
'Would you have me believe that Marcian knows that secret also?'
'I respect your innocence,' answered Petronilla, with a smile, 'and
will say no more.
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