FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   388   389   390   391   392   393   394   395   396   397   398   399   400   401   402   403   404   405   406   407   408   409   410   411   412  
413   414   415   416   417   418   419   420   421   422   423   424   425   426   427   428   429   430   431   432   433   434   435   436   437   >>   >|  
aced me heartily, when we were alone, and talked with his habitual mask of jocularity. "Three times dead, Caius," he said, "and still alive and fit. Dying seems to agree with you, whether it is military execution, rural assassination, or drowning at sea. I am still incredulous that you are really alive; we had the most circumstantial accounts of the loss of poor Libo's yacht with all on board." "That is odd," I said, "Rufius Libo survived and succeeded to his uncle's property." "I knew he inherited all Nonius left," Tanno stated, "but I had no idea that Nonius had Rufius with him here in Rome and that he was on the yacht; I thought he was in Carthage all the while. Certainly every account we had specified that no one was rescued from that yacht." I told him that Rufius had promised me to write him of my survival and that I had despatched at least a score of letters to him and as many to Vedia. He was as puzzled as I that not one had reached either of them. I gave him an account of my life since he had seen me and he approved of my disguise as much as had Agathemer and laughed at it even more heartily. He said: "Poor Flavius Clemens is in a daze. He cannot conjecture what has gone wrong with his wooing again a second time. He behaved very tactfully after his first rebuff ensuing on Galen's tip to me and mine to Vedia. He was so cautious about not thrusting himself on Vedia that their acquaintance, quite naturally, warmed again gradually into mutual interest and romantic affection and was ripening into love when the sight of you yesterday annihilated his excellent chances of marrying her. He was just about to buy for her a two-million-sesterce pearl necklace. If she had accepted the gift it would have been tantamount to a public pledge to marry him. Poor fellow!" When he left he gave me a letter from Vedia, a letter as loving as a lover could wish for. She declared that she would not marry Flavius Clemens nor anybody except me and would wait for me as long as might be necessary or stay unmarried until the end of her days, if, by any misfortune, the end came to her before she and I were free to marry. She said that we must avoid each other as much as possible and that I must not spoil my chances of safety either by relying too recklessly on my disguise or through risking arousing suspicion in Falco by any attempt at confining myself to my apartment, which would have been altogether incongruous with the c
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   388   389   390   391   392   393   394   395   396   397   398   399   400   401   402   403   404   405   406   407   408   409   410   411   412  
413   414   415   416   417   418   419   420   421   422   423   424   425   426   427   428   429   430   431   432   433   434   435   436   437   >>   >|  



Top keywords:

Rufius

 

disguise

 
account
 

letter

 

Nonius

 

heartily

 

chances

 

Clemens

 

Flavius

 
romantic

interest

 

mutual

 
accepted
 

acquaintance

 

warmed

 
naturally
 

gradually

 

million

 

sesterce

 

excellent


marrying

 
annihilated
 

ripening

 

thrusting

 

yesterday

 
necklace
 

affection

 
relying
 

safety

 
recklessly

risking
 

arousing

 

altogether

 
incongruous
 

apartment

 

suspicion

 
attempt
 

confining

 

declared

 
loving

public

 

pledge

 
fellow
 

cautious

 

misfortune

 

unmarried

 
tantamount
 
survived
 

circumstantial

 
accounts