CHAPTER VI.
THE FALSE LOVE.
Fie, fie, upon her; There's a language in her eye, her cheek, her lip; Nay, her foot speaks, her wanton spirits look out At every joint and motive of her body. TROILUS AND CRESSIDA.
About three hours later than the scene in the Campus Martius, which hadoccurred a little after noon, Catiline was standing richly dressed in abright saffron(13) robe, something longer than the ordinary tunic,flowered with sprigs of purple, in the inmost chamber of the woman'sapartments, in his own heavily mortgaged mansion. His wife, AureliaOrestilla, sat beside him on a low stool, a woman of the most superb andqueenly beauty--for whom it was believed that he had plunged himself intothe deepest guilt--and still, although past the prime of Italian womanhood,possessing charms that might well account for the most insane passion.
A slave was listening with watchful and half terrified attention to theinjunctions of his lord--for Catiline was an unscrupulous and severemaster--and, as he ceased speaking, he made a deep genuflexion and retired.
No sooner had he gone than Catiline turned quickly to the lady, whoselovely face wore some marks of displeasure, and said rather shortly,
"You have not gone to her, my Aurelia. There is no time to lose; the youngman will be here soon, and if they meet, ere you have given her the cue,all will be lost."
"I do not like it, my Sergius," said the woman, rising, but making nomovement to leave the chamber.
"And why not, I beseech you, madam?" he replied angrily; "or what is therein that which I desire you to tell the girl to do, that you have not donetwenty times yourself, and Fulvia, and Sempronia, and half Rome's noblestladies? Tush! I say, tush! go do it."
"She is my daughter, Sergius," answered Aurelia, in a tone of deeptenderness; "a daughter's honor must be something to every mother!"
"And a son's life to every father!" said Catiline with a fierce sneer. "Ihad a son once, I remember. You wished to enter an (14)_empty_ house onthe day of your marriage feast. I do not think you found him in your way!Besides, for honor--if I read Lucia's eyes rightly, there is not much ofthat to emperil."
When he spoke of his son, she covered her face in her richly jewelledhands, and a slight shudder shook her whole frame. When she looked upagain, she was pale as death, and her lips quivered as she asked--
"Must I, then? Oh! be merciful, my Sergius."
"You must, Aurelia!" he replied sternly, "and that now. Our fortunes, nay,our lives, depend on it!"
"_All_--must she give all, Lucius?"
"All that he asks! But fear not, he shall wed her, when our plans shall becrowned with triumph!"
"Will you swear it?"
"By all the Gods! he shall! by all the Furies, if you will, by Earth, andHeaven, and Hades!"
"I will go," she replied, something reassured, "and prepare her for thetask!"
"The task!" he muttered with his habitual sneer. "Daintily worded, fairone; but it will not, I fancy, prove a hard one; Paullus is young andhandsome; and our soft Lucia has, methinks, something of her mother'syielding tenderness."
"Do you reproach me with it, Sergius?"
"Nay! rather I adore thee for it, loveliest one; but go and prepare ourLucia." Then, as she left the room, the dark scowl settled down on hisblack brow, and he clinched his hand as he said--
"She waxes stubborn--let her beware! She is not half so young as she was;and her beauty wanes as fast as my passion for it; let her beware how shecrosses me!"
While he was speaking yet a slave entered, and announced that PaullusCaecilius Arvina had arrived, and Curius, and the noble Fulvia; and as hereceived the tidings the frown passed away from the brow of theconspirator, and putting on his mask of smooth, smiling dissimulation, hewent forth to meet his guests.
They were assembled in the tablinum, or saloon, Arvina clad in a violetcolored tunic, sprinkled with flowers in their natural hues, and Curius--aslight keen-looking man, with a wild, proud expression, giving a sort ofinterest to a countenance haggard from the excitement of passion, in oneof rich crimson, fringed at the wrists and neck with gold. Fulvia, hisparamour, a woman famed throughout Rome alike for her licentiousness andbeauty, was hanging on his arm, glittering with chains and carcanets, andbracelets of the costliest gems, in her fair bosom all too much displayedfor a matron's modesty; on her round dazzling arms; about her swan-likeneck; wreathed in the profuse tresses of her golden hair--for she was thatunusual and much admired being, an Italian blonde--and, spanning thecircumference of her slight waist. She was, indeed, a creature exquisitelybright and lovely, with such an air of mild and angelic candor pervadingher whole face, that you would have sworn her the most innocent, thepurest of her sex. Alas! that she was indeed almost the vilest! that shewas that rare monster, a woman, who, linked with every crime and basenessthat can almost unsex a woman, preserves yet in its height, one eminentand noble virtue, one half-redeeming trait amidst all her infamy, in herproud love of country! Name, honor, virtue, conscience, womanhood, truth,piety, all, all, were sacrificed to her rebellious passions. But to herlove of country she could have sacrificed those very passions! That frailabandoned wretch was still a Roman--might have been in a purer age aheroine of Rome's most glorious.
"Welcome, most lovely Fulvia," exclaimed the host, gliding softly into theroom. "By Mars! the most favored of immortals! You must have stolenAphrodite's cestus! Saw you her ever look so beautiful, my Paullus? You dowell to put those sapphires in your hair, for they wax pale and dimbesides the richer azure of your eyes; and the dull gold in which they areenchased sets off the sparkling splendor of your tresses. What, Fulvia,know you not young Arvina--one of the great Caecilii? By Hercules! myCurius, he won the best of the quinquertium from such competitors asVictor and Aristius Fuscus, and ran twelve stadii, with the heaviestbreast-plate and shield in the armory, quicker than it has been performedsince the days of Licinius Celer. I prithee, know, and cherish him, myfriends, for I would have him one of us. In truth I would, my Paullus."
The flattering words of the tempter, and the more fascinating smiles andglances of the bewitching siren, were not thrown away on the young noble;and these, with the soft perfumed atmosphere, the splendidly voluptuousfurniture of the saloon, and the delicious music, which was floating allthe while upon his ears from the blended instruments and voices of unseenminstrels, conspired to plunge his senses into a species of effeminate andluxurious languor, which suited well the ulterior views of Catiline.
"One thing alone has occurred," resumed the host, after some moments spentin light jests and trivial conversation, "to decrease our pleasure:Cethegus was to have dined with us to-day, and Decius Brutus, with hisinimitable wife Sempronia. But they have disappointed us; and, saveAurelia only, and our poor little Lucia, there will be none but ourselvesto eat my Umbrian boar."
"Have you a boar, my Sergius?" exclaimed Curius, eagerly, who was addictedto the pleasures of the table, almost as much as the charms of women. "ByPan, the God of Hunters! we are in luck to-day!"
"But wherefore comes not Sempronia?" inquired Fulvia, not very muchdispleased by the absence of a rival beauty.
"Brutus is called away, it appears, suddenly to Tarentum upon business;and she"--
"Prefers entertaining our Cethegus, alone in her own house, I fancy,"interrupted Fulvia.
"Exactly so," replied Catiline, with a smile of meaning.
"Happy Cethegus," said Arvina.
"Do you think her so handsome?" asked Fulvia, favoring him with one of hermost melting glances.
"The handsomest woman," he replied, "with but one exception, I ever hadthe luck to look upon."
"Indeed!--and pray, who is the exception?" asked the lady, very tartly.
There happened to be lying on a marble slab, near to the place where theywere standing, a small round mirror of highly polished steel, set in aframe of tortoiseshell and gold. Paullus had noticed it before she spoke;and taking it up without a moment's pause, he raised it to her f
ace.
"Look!" he said, "look into that, and blush at your question."
"Prettily said, my Paullus; thy wit is as fleet as thy foot is speedy,"said the conspirator.
"Flatterer!" whispered the lady, evidently much delighted; and then, in alower voice she added, "Do you indeed think so?"
"Else may I never hope."
But at this moment the curtains were drawn aside, and Orestilla enteredfrom the gallery of the peristyle, accompanied by her daughter Lucia.
The latter was a girl of about eighteen years old, and of appearance soremarkable, that she must not be passed unnoticed. In person she wasextremely tall and slender, and at first sight you would have supposed herthin; until the wavy outlines of the loose robe of plain white linen whichshe wore, undulating at every movement of her form, displayed theexquisite fulness of her swelling bust, and the voluptuous roundness ofall her lower limbs. Her arms, which were bare to the shoulders, where hergown was fastened by two studs of gold, were quite unadorned, by any gemor bracelet, and although beautifully moulded, were rather slender thanfull.
Her face did not at first sight strike you more than her person, as beingbeautiful; for it was singularly still and inexpressive when atrest--although all the features were fine and classically regular--and wasalmost unnaturally pale and hueless. The mouth only, had any thing ofwarmth, or color, or expression; and what expression there was, was notpleasing, for although soft and winning, it was sensual to the lastdegree.
Her manner, however, contradicted this; for she slided into the circle,with downcast eyes, the long dark silky lashes only visible in reliefagainst the marble paleness of her cheek, as if she were ashamed to raisethem from the ground; her whole air being that of a girl oppressed withoverwhelming bashfulness, to an extent almost painful.
"Why, what is this, Aurelia," exclaimed Catiline, as if he were angry,although in truth the whole thing was carefully preconcerted. "Whereforeis Lucia thus strangely clad? Is it, I pray you, in scorn of our nobleguests, that she wears only this plain morning stola?"
"Pardon her, I beseech you, good my Sergius," answered his wife, with apainfully simulated smile; "you know how over-timid she is and bashful;she had determined not to appear at dinner, had I not laid my commands onher. Her very hair, you see, is not braided."
"Ha! this is ill done, my girl Lucia," answered Catiline. "What will myyoung friend, Arvina, think of you, who comes hither to-day, for the firsttime? For Curius and our lovely Fulvia, I care not so much, seeing theyknow your whims; but I am vexed, indeed, that Paullus should behold youthus in disarray, with your hair thus knotted like a slave girl's, on yourneck."
"Like a Dryad's, rather, or shy Oread's of Diana's train--beautiful hair!"replied the youth, whose attention had been called to the girl by thisconversation; and who, having thought her at first unattractive ratherthan otherwise, had now discovered the rare beauties of her lythe andslender figure, and detected, as he thought, a world of passion in herserpent-like and sinuous motions.
She raised her eyes to meet his slowly, as he spoke; gazed into them forone moment, and then, as if ashamed of what she had done, dropped themagain instantly; while a bright crimson flush shot like a stream of lavaover her pallid face, and neck, and arms; yes, her arms blushed, and herhands to the finger ends! It was but one moment, that those large lustrousorbs looked full into his, swimming in liquid Oriental languor, yetflashing out beams of consuming fire.
Yet Paullus Arvina felt the glance, like an electrical influence, throughevery nerve and artery of his body, and trembled at its power.
It was a minute before he could collect himself enough to speak to her,for all the rest had moved away a little, and left them standing together;and when he did so, his voice faltered, and his manner was so muchagitated, that she must have been blind, indeed, and stupid, not toperceive it.
And Lucia was not blind nor stupid. No! by the God of Love! an universe ofwild imaginative intellect, an ocean of strange whirling thoughts, an Etnaof fierce and fiery passions, lay buried beneath that calm, bashful,almost awkward manner. Many bad thoughts were there, many unmaidenlyimaginings, many ungoverned and most evil passions; but there was alsomuch that was partly good; much that might have been all good, and highand noble, had it been properly directed; but alas! as much pains had beentaken to corrupt and deprave that youthful understanding, and to inflamethose nascent passions, as are devoted by good parents to developing theformer, and repressing the growth of the latter.
As it was, self indulged, and indulged by others, she was a creature ofimpulse entirely, ill regulated and ungovernable.
Intended from the first to be a tool in his own hands, whenever he mightthink fit to use her, she had in no case hitherto run counter to the viewsof Catiline; because, so long as his schemes were agreeable to herinclinations, and favorable to her pleasures, she was quite willing to behis tool; though by no means unconscious of the fact that he meant her tobe such.
What might be the result should his wishes cross her own, the archconspirator had never given himself the pains to enquire; for, like thegreater part of voluptuaries, regarding women as mere animals, vastlyinferior in mind and intellect to men, he had entirely overlooked hermental qualifications, and fancied her a being of as small moral capacity,as he knew her to be of strong physical organization.
He was mistaken; as wise men often are, and deeply, perhaps fatally.
There was not probably a girl in all Italy, in all the world, who would soimplicitly have followed his directions, as long as to do so gratified herpassions, and clashed not with her indomitable will, to the sacrifice ofall principle, and with the most total disregard of right or wrong, asLucia Orestilla; but certainly there was not one, who would have resistedcommands, threats, violence, more pertinaciously or dauntlessly, than thesame Lucia, should her will and his councils ever be set at twain.
While Paullus was yet conversing in an under tone with this strange girl,and becoming every moment more and more fascinated by the whole tone ofher remarks, which were free, and even bold, as contrasted with thebashful air and timid glances which accompanied them, the curtains of theTablinum were drawn apart, and a soft symphony of flutes stealing in fromthe atrium, announced that the dinner was prepared.
"My Curius," exclaimed Catiline, "I must entreat you to take charge ofFulvia; I had proposed myself that pleasure, intending that you shouldescort Sempronia, and Decius my own Orestilla; but, as it is, we will eachabide by his own lady; and Paullus here will pardon the youth and rawnessof my Lucia."
"By heaven! I would wish nothing better," said Curius, taking Fulvia bythe hand, and leading her forward. "Should you, Arvina?"
"Not I, indeed," replied Paullus, "if Lucia be content." And he looked tocatch her eye, as he took her soft hand in his own, but her face remainedcold and pale as marble, and her eye downcast.
As they passed out, however, into the fauces, or passage leading to thedining-room, Catiline added,
"As we are all, I may say, one family and party, I have desired the slavesto spread couches only; the ladies will recline with us, instead ofsitting at the board."
At this moment, did Paullus fancy it? or did that beautiful pale girlindeed press his fingers in her own? he could not be mistaken; and yetthere was the downcast eye, the immoveable cheek, and the unsmiling aspectof the rosy mouth. But he returned the pressure, and that sosignificantly, that she at least could not be mistaken; nor was she, forher eye again met his, with that deep amorous languid glance; wasbashfully withdrawn; and then met his again, glancing askance through thedark fringed lids, and a quick flashing smile, and a burning blushfollowed; and in a second's space she was again as cold, as impassive as amarble statue.
They reached the triclinium, a beautiful oblong apartment, gorgeouslypainted with arabesques of gold and scarlet upon a deep azure ground work.A circular table, covered with a white cloth, bordered with a deep edge ofpurple and deeper fringe of gold, stood in the centre, and around it threecouches, nearly of the same height w
ith the board, each the segment of acircle, the three forming a horse-shoe.
The couches were of the finest rosewood, inlaid with tortoiseshell andivory and brass, strewed with the richest tapestries, and piled withcushions glowing with splendid needlework. And over all, upheld by richlymoulded shafts of Corinthian bronze, was a canopy of Tyrian purple,tasselled and fringed with gold.
The method of reclining at the table was, that the guests should placethemselves on the left side, propped partly by the left elbow and partlyby a pile of cushions; each couch being made to contain in general threepersons, the head of the second coming immediately below the right arm ofthe first, and the third in like manner; the body of each being placedtransversely, so as to allow space for the limbs of the next below infront of him.
The middle place on each couch was esteemed the most honorable; and themiddle couch of the three was that assigned to guests of the highest rank,the master of the feast, for the most, occupying the central position onthe third or left hand sofa. The slaves stood round the outer circuit ofthe whole, with the cupbearers; but the carver, and steward, if he mightso be termed, occupied that side of the table which was left open to theirattendance.
On this occasion, there being but six guests in all, each gentlemanassisted the lady under his charge to recline, with her head comfortablyelevated, near the centre of the couch; and then took his station behindher, so that, if she leaned back, her head would rest on his bosom, whilehe was enabled himself to reach the table, and help himself or his fairpartner, as need might be, to the delicacies offered in succession.
Curius and Fulvia, he as of senatorial rank, and she as a noble matron,occupied the highest places; Paullus and Lucia reclined on the right handcouch, and Catiline with Orestilla in his bosom, as the phrase ran, on theleft.
No sooner were they all placed, and the due libation made of wine, with anoffering of salt, to the domestic Gods--a silver group of statues occupyingthe centre of the board, where we should now place the _plateau_ and_epergne_, than a louder burst of music ushered in three beautiful femaleslaves, in succinct tunics, like that seen in the sculptures of Diana,with half the bosom bare, dancing and singing, and carrying garlands intheir hands of roses and myrtle, woven with strips of the philyra, orinner bark of the linden tree, which was believed to be a specific againstintoxication. Circling around the board, in time to the soft music, theycrowned each of the guests, and sprinkled with rich perfumes the garmentsand the hair of each; and then with more animated and eccentric gestures,as the note of the flute waxed shriller and more piercing, they boundedfrom the banquet hall, and were succeeded by six boys with silver basins,full of tepid water perfumed with costly essences, and soft embroiderednapkins, which they handed to every banqueter to wash the hands beforeeating.
This done, the music died away into a low faint close, and was silent; andin the hush that followed, an aged slave bore round a mighty flask ofChian wine, diluted with snow water, and replenished the goblets ofstained glass, which stood beside each guest; while another dispensedbread from a lordly basket of wrought gilded scroll work.
And now the feast commenced, in earnest; as the first course, consistingof fresh eggs boiled hard, with lettuce, radishes, endive and rockets,olives of Venafrum, anchovies and sardines, and the choicest luxury of theday--hot sausages served upon gridirons of silver, with the rich gravydripping through the bars upon a sauce of Syrian prunes and pomegranateberries--was placed upon the board.
For a time there was little conversation beyond the ordinary courtesies ofthe table, and such trifling jests as were suggested by occurrences of themoment. Yet still in the few words that passed from time to time, Paulluscontinued often to convey his sentiments to Lucia in words of doublemeaning; keenly marked, it is true, but seemingly unobserved by the wilyplotter opposite; and more than once in handing her the goblet, or loadingher plate with dainties, he took an opportunity again and again ofpressing her not unwilling hand. And still at every pressure he caughtthat soft momentary glance, was it of love and passion, or of merecoquetry and girlish wantonness, succeeded by the fleeting blush pervadingface, neck, arms, and bosom.
Never had Paullus been so wildly fascinated; his heart throbbed andbounded as if it would have burst his breast; his head swam with a sort ofpleasurable dizziness; his eyes were dim and suffused; and he scarce knewthat he was talking, though he was indeed the life of the whole company,voluble, witty, versatile, and at times eloquent, so far as the topics ofthe day gave room for eloquence.
And now, to the melody of Lydian lutes, two slaves introduced a hugesilver dish, loaded by the vast brawn of the Umbrian boar, garnished withleaves of chervil, and floating in a rich sauce of anchovies, the dregs ofCoan wine, white pepper, vinegar, and olives. The carver brandished hisknife in graceful and fantastic gestures, proud of his honorable task; andas he plunged it into the savory meat, and the delicious savor rushed upto his nostrils, he laid down the blade, spread out his hands in anecstacy, and cried aloud, "ye Gods, how glorious!"
"Excellent well, my Glycon," cried Curius, delighted with the expressivepantomine of the well skilled Greek; "smells it so savory?"
"I have carved many a boar from Lucania and from Umbria also; to saynothing of those from the Laurentian marshes, which are bad, seeing thatthey are fed on reeds only and marsh grass; most noble Curius; and neverput I knife into such an one as this. There are two inches on it of purefat, softer than marrow. He was fed upon holm acorns, I'll be sworn, andsweet chesnuts, and caught in a mild south wind!"
"Fewer words, you scoundrel," exclaimed Catiline, laughing at the fellow'svolubility, "and quicker carving, if you wish not to visit the pistrinum.You have set Curius' mouth watering, so that he will be sped with longing,before you have helped Fulvia and your mistress. Fill up, you knaves, fillup; nay! not the Chian now; the Falernian from the Faustian hills, or theCaecuban? Which shall it be, my Curius?"
"The Caecuban, by all the Gods! I hold it the best vintage ever, and yoursis curious. Besides, the Falernian is too dry to drink before the meat.Afterward, if, as Glycon says, the boar hath a flavor of the south, itwill be excellent, indeed."
"Are as you as constant, Paullus, in your love for the boar, as theseother epicures?" cried Fulvia, who, despite the depreciating tone in whichshe spoke, had sent her own plate for a second slice.
"No! by the Gods! Fulvia," he replied, "I am but a sorry epicure, and Ilove the boar better in his reedy fen, or his wild thicket on the Umbrianhills, with his eye glaring red in rage, and his tusks white with foam,than girt with condiments and spices upon a golden dish."
"A strange taste," said Curius, "I had for my part rather meet ten on thedining table, than one in the oak woods."
"Commend me to the boar upon the table likewise," said Catiline; "still,with my friend Arvina at my side, and a good boarspear in my hand, I wouldlike well to bide the charge of a tusker! It is rare sport, by Hercules!"
"Wonderful beings you men are," said Fulvia, mincing her words affectedly,"ever in search of danger; ever on the alert to kill; to shed blood, evenif it be your own! by Juno, I cannot comprehend it."
"I can, I can," cried Lucia, raising her voice for the first time, so thatit could be heard by any others than her nearest neighbor; "right well canI comprehend it; were I a man myself, I feel that I should pant for thebattle. The triumph would be more than rapture; and strife, for its ownsake, maddening bliss! Heavens! to see the gladiators wheel and charge; tosee their swords flash in the sun; and the red blood gush out unheeded;and the grim faces flushed and furious; and the eyes greedily devouringthe wounds of the foeman, but all unconscious of their own; and the playof the muscular strong limbs; and the terrible death grapple! And then thedull hissing sound of the death stroke; and the voiceless parting of thebold spirit! Ye Gods! ye Gods! it is a joy, to live, and almost to diefor!"
Paullus Arvina looked at her in speechless wonder. The eyes so waveringand downcast were now fixed, and steady, and burning with a passionateclear light; there was a fie
ry flush on her cheek, not brief andevanescent; her ripe red mouth was half open, shewing the snow white teethbiting the lower lip in the excitement of her feelings. Her whole formseemed to be dilated and more majestic than its wont.
"Bravo! my girl; well said, my quiet Lucia!" exclaimed Catiline. "I knewnot that she had so much of mettle in her."
"You must have thought, then, that I belied my race," replied the girl,unblushingly; "for it is whispered that you are my father, and I think_you_ have looked on blood, and shed it before now!"
"Boar's blood, ha! Lucia; but you are blunt and brave to-night. Is it thatPaullus has inspired you?"
"Nay! I know not," she replied, half apathetically; "but I do know, thatif I ever love, it shall be a hero; a man that would rather lie in waituntil dawn to receive the fierce boar rushing from the brake upon hisspear, than until midnight to enfold a silly girl in his embrace."
"Then will you never love me, Lucia," answered Curius.
"Never, indeed!" said she; "it must be a man whom I will love; and thereis nothing manly about thee, save thy vices!"
"It is for those that most people love me," replied Curius, nothingdisconcerted. "Now Cato has nothing of the man about him but the virtues;and I should like to know who ever thought of loving Cato."
"I never heard of any body loving Cato," said Fulvia, quietly.
"But I have," answered the girl, almost fiercely; "none of _you_ love him;nor do I love him; because he is too high and noble, to be dishonored bythe love of such as I am; but all the good, and great, and generous, dolove him, and will love his memory for countless ages! I would to God, Icould love him!"
"What fury has possessed her?" whispered Catiline to Orestilla; "what ailsher to talk thus? first to proclaim herself my daughter, and now to praiseCato?"
"Do not ask me!" replied Aurelia in the same tone; "she was a strange girlever; and I cannot say, if she likes this task that you have put uponher."
"More wine, ho! bring more wine! Drink we each man to his mistress, eachlady to her lover in secrecy and silence!" cried the master of the revel."Fill up! fill up! let it be pure, and sparkling to the brim."
But Fulvia, irritated a little by what had passed, would not be silent;although she saw that Catiline was annoyed at the character theconversation had assumed, and ere the slave had filled up the beakers sheaddressed Lucia--
"And wherefore, dearest, would you love Cato? I could as soon love thestatue of Accius Naevius, with his long beard, on the steps of theComitium; he were scarce colder, or less comely than your Cato."
"Because to love virtue is still something, if we be vicious even; and, ifI am not virtuous myself, at least I have not lost the sense that it weregood to be so!"
"I never knew that you were not virtuous, my Lucia," interposed hermother; "affectionate and pious you have ever been."
"And obedient!" added Catiline, with strong emphasis. "Your mother, myLucia, and myself, return thanks to the Gods daily for giving us so good achild."
"Do you?" replied the girl, scornfully; "the Gods must have merry times,then, for that must needs make them laugh! But good or bad, I respect thegreat; and, if I ever love, it will be, as I said, a great and a goodman."
"I fear you will never love me, Lucia," whispered Paullus in her ear,unheard amid the clash of knives and flagons, and the pealing of a freshstrain of music, which ushered in the king of fish, the grand conger,garnished with prawns and soused in pungent sauce.
"Wherefore not?" she replied, meeting his eye with a furtive sidelongglance.
"Because I, for one, had rather watch till midnight fifty times, in thehope only of clasping Lucia, once, in my embrace; than once until dawn, tokill fifty boars of Umbria."
She made no answer; but looked up into his face as if to see whether hewas in earnest, with an affectionate and pleading glance; and then pressedher unsandalled foot against his. A moment or two afterward, he perceivedthe embroidered table cover had been drawn up, with the intent ofprotecting her dress from the sauces of the fish which she was eating, insuch a manner as to conceal the greater part of her person.
Observing this, and excited beyond all restraint of ordinary prudence, bythe consciousness of her manner, he profited by the chance to steal hisarm about her waist; and to his surprise, almost as much as his delight,he felt his hand clasped instantly in hers, and pressed upon her throbbingheart.
The blood gushed like molten fire through his veins. The fascinations ofthe siren had prevailed. The voice of the charmer had been heard, charminghim but too wisely. And for the moment, fool that he was, he fancied heloved Lucia, and his own pure and innocent and lovely Julia was forgotten!Forgotten, and for whom!
Catiline had not lost one word, one movement of the young couple; and heperceived, that, although there was clearly something at work in thegirl's bosom which he did not comprehend, she had at least obeyed hiscommands in captivating Paullus; and he now doubted not but she wouldpersevere, from vanity or passion, and bind him down a fettered captive toher will.
Determined to lose nothing by want of exertion, the traitor circulated nowthe fiery goblet as fast as possible, till every brain was heated more orless, and every cheek flushed, even of the women, by the inspiringinfluence of the wine cup.
All dainties that were known in those days ministered to his feast;oysters from Baiae; pheasants--a rarity but lately introduced, sincePompey's conquests in the east--had been brought all the way from Phasisupon the southern shores of the Black Sea; and woodcock from the valleysof Ionia, and the watery plains of Troas, to load the tables of theluxurious masters of the world. Livers of geese, forced to an unnaturalsize by cramming the unhappy bird with figs; and turbot fricasseed incream, and peacocks stuffed with truffles, were on the board of Catilinethat day, as on the boards of many another noble Roman; and the wines bywhich these rare dainties were diluted, differed but little, as wisestcritics say, from the madeiras and the sherries of the nineteenth century.For so true is it, that under the sun there is nothing new, that in the_foix gras_ of Strasburg, in the _turbot a la creme_, and in the _dindonsaux truffes_ of the French metropolis, the gastronomes of modern days haveonly reproduced the dishes, whereon Lucullus and Hortensius feasted beforethe Christian era.
The day passed pleasantly to all, but to Paullus Arvina it flew like adream, like a delirious trance, from which, could he have consulted hisown will, he would never have awakened.
With the dessert, and the wine cup, the myrtle branch and the lute wentround, and songs were warbled by sweet voices, full of seductive thoughtsand words of passion. At length the lamps were lighted, and the womenarose to quit the hall, leaving the ruder sex to prolong the revel; but asLucia rose, she again pressed the fingers of Arvina, and whispered arequest that he would see her once more ere he left the house.
He promised; but as he did so, his heart sank within him; for dearly as hewished it, he believed he had promised that which would prove impossible.
But in a little while, chance, as he thought it, favored him; for seeingthat he refused the wine cup, Catiline, after rallying him some time, goodhumoredly said with a laugh, "Come, my Arvina, we must not be too hard onyou. You have but a young head, though a stout one. Curius and I are oldveterans of the camp, old revellers, and love the wine cup better than thebright eyes of beauty, or the minstrel's lute. Thou, I will swear it,wouldst rather now be listening to Lucia's lyre, and may be fingering itthyself, than drinking with us roisterers! Come, never blush, boy, we wereall young once! Confess, if I am right! The women you will find, if youchoose to seek them, in the third chamber on the left, beyond the innerperistyle. We all love freedom here; nor are we rigid censors. Curius andI will drain a flagon or two more, and then join you."
Muttering something not very comprehensible about his exertions in themorning, and his inability to drink any more, Paullus arose, delighted toeffect his escape on terms so easy, and left the triclinium immediately inquest of his mistress.
As he went out, Catiline burst into one of his sn
eering laughs, andexclaimed, "He is in; by Pan, the hunter's God! he is in the death-toilalready! May I perish ill, if he escape it."
"Why, in the name of all the Gods, do you take so much pains with him,"said Curius; "he is a stout fellow, and I dare say a brave one; and willmake a good legionary, or an officer perhaps; but he is raw, and a fool toboot!"
"Raw, but no fool! I can assure you," answered Catiline; "no more a foolthan I am. And we must have him, he is necessary!"
"He will be necessary soon to that girl of yours; she has gone mad, Ithink, for love of him. I never did believe in philtres; but this is wellnigh enough to make one do so."
"Pshaw!" answered Catiline; "it is thou that art raw now, and a fool,Curius. She is no more in love with him than thou art; it was allacting--right good acting: for it did once well nigh deceive me who devisedit; but still, only acting. I ordered her to win him at all hazards."
"At all hazards?"
"Aye! at _all_."
"I wish you would give her the like orders touching me, if she obey soreadily."
"I would, if it were necessary; which it is not. First, because I have youas firmly mine, as need be; and secondly, because Fulvia would have herheart's blood ere two days had gone, and that would ill suit me; for thesly jade is useful."
"Take care she prove not too sly for you, Sergius. She may obey yourorders in this thing; but she does so right willingly. She loves the boy,I tell you, as madly as Venus loved Adonis, or Phaedra Hyppolitus; shewould pursue him if he fled from her."
"She loves him no more than she loves the musty statue of my stoutgrandsire, Sergius Silo."
"You will see one day. Meanwhile, look that she fool you not."
While they were speaking, Paullus had reached the entrance of the chamberindicated; and, opening the door, had entered, expecting to find the threewomen assembled at some feminine sport or occupation. But fortune againfavored him--opportune fortune!
For Lucia was alone, expecting him, prepared for his entrance at anymoment; yet, when he came, how unprepared, how shocked, how terrified!
For she had unclasped her stola upon both her shoulders, and suffered itto fall down to her girdle which kept it in its place about her hips. Butabove those she was dressed only in a tunic of that loose fabric, a sortof silken gauze, which was called woven air, and was beginning to be wornvery much by women of licentious character; this dress--if that indeedcould be called a dress, which displayed all the outlines of the shape,all the hues of the glowing skin every minute blue vein that meanderedover the lovely bosom--was wrought in alternate stripes of white andsilver; and nothing can be imagined more beautiful than the effect of itssemi-transparent veil concealing just enough to leave some scope for theimagination, displaying more than enough for the most prodigal of beauty.
She was employed in dividing her long jet-black hair with a comb ofmother-of-pearl as he entered; but she dropped both the hair and comb, andstarted to her feet with a simulated scream, covering her beautiful bustwith her two hands, as if she had been taken absolutely by surprise.
But Paullus had been drinking freely, and Paullus saw, moreover, that shewas not offended; and, if surprised, surprised not unpleasantly by hiscoming.
He sprang forward, caught her in his arms, and clasping her to his bosomalmost smothered her with kisses. But shame on her, fast and furiously ashe kissed, she kissed as closely back.
"Lucia, sweet Lucia, do you then love me?"
"More than my life--more than my country--more than the Gods! my brave, mynoble Paullus."
"And will you then be mine--all mine, my Lucia?"
"Yours, Paul?" she faltered, panting as if with agitation upon his bosom;"am I not yours already? but no, no, no!" she exclaimed, tearing herselffrom his embrace. "No no! I had forgotten. My father! no; I cannot, myfather!"
"What mean you, Lucia? your father? What of your father?"
"You are his enemy. You have discovered, will betray him."
"No, by the great Gods! you are mad, Lucia. I have discovered nothing; norif I knew him to be the slayer of my father, would I betray him! never,never!"
"Will you swear _that_?"
"Swear what?"
"Never, whatever you may learn, to betray him to any living man: never tocarry arms, or give evidence against him; but faithfully and stedfastly tofollow him through virtue and through vice, in life and unto death; tolive for him, and die with him, unless I release you of your oath andrestore you to freedom, which I will never do!"
"By all the powers of light and darkness! by Jupiter Omnipotent, and Plutothe Avenger, I swear, Lucia! May I and all my house, and all whom I loveor cherish, wretchedly perish if I fail you."
"Then I am yours," she sighed; "all, and for ever!" and sank into hisarms, half fainting with the violence of that prolonged excitement.