At a respectful distance from him, his followers
had assembled, ready for departure. The soldiers who had come with
Venantius, a score in number, were eating and drinking outside the
gates. Within, all was quiet. Half an hour elapsed, and Venantius
again came forward. Seeing Basil in the shadow of the portico, he
went and sat beside him, and began to speak with rough but
well-meaning solace. Why this heaviness? If he surmised aright,
Basil had but avenged himself as any man would have done. For his
own part, he had never thought enough of any woman to kill a man on
her account; but such little troubles were of everyday occurrence,
and must not be taken too much to heart. He had seen this Gothic
damsel of whom there had been so much rumour, and, by Diana I (if
the oath were not inappropriate) her face deserved all that was said
of it. His rival being out of the way, why should not Basil pluck up
cheer? Totila would not deal harshly in such a matter as this, and
more likely than not he would be disposed to give the maiden to a
Roman of noble race, his great desire being to win all Romans by
generosity.
Pages:
433
434
435
436
437
438
439
440
441
442
443
444
445
446
447
448
449
450
451
452
453
454
455
456
457