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[16]
Thanks to Giton, we found supper ready, and we were
making a hearty meal, when a timid knock sounded at the door.
We turned pale and asked who it was. “Open the door,” said a voice,
“and you will see.” While we were speaking, the bar slipped and
fell of its own accord, the door suddenly swung open, and let in our visitor. It was
the veiled woman who had stood with the countryman a little while before. “Did
you think you had deceived me?” she said. “I am Quartilla's maid.
You intruded upon her devotions before her secret chapel. Now she has come to
your lodgings, and begs for the favour of a word with you. Do not be uneasy; she
will not be angry, or punish you for a mistake. On the contrary, she wonders how
Heaven conveyed such polite young men to her quarter.” We still said
nothing,
Petronius Arbiter. Petronius. Michael Heseltine. London. William Heinemann. 1913.
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