Lycias, the gladiator, would try to save them.
Perhaps he could succeed; there was a little hope. In any case, he
would try. Aurelius and Claudia, with herself, would go to a quiet
place near the marble quarry, and wait for them. If they did not come,
all was lost, and there remained nothing but to return to this house.
If they came, there was a chance of escape for them all. She told him
of the ship belonging to Alyrus, his porter, now a freedman. It was he
who had wrought the mischief. If possible--God only knew!--they would
all sail away together. Whither, who could tell? Away from Rome, away
from all this trouble and sorrow.
Lidia possessed a lovely voice, thrilling sweet. As she talked, the
lawyer's brain cleared. He was more himself than he had been since the
children had disappeared. Now, he knew the worst. Sometimes certainty,
even though bad, is better than the agony of suspense. There was a
chance, and if they escaped--a thought came to him.
"Thou wilt dress thy Lady."
Lidia nodded.
"And gather together the jewels. Bring the diadem sent by the emperor
to Virgilia and the necklace, the gift of Adrian.
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