"
"Thy father might be won, if thou hast but courage. Thou art a
Giustinian; it is thy duty to speak in time of peril, and thy words
would make others brave to follow thee. Thus shalt thou save Venice."
"If thou didst but know, carina, how the Senate and the Ten are set
against this wish of thine! I should not speak of this matter to thee,
for it is secret--but to calm thee and help thee understand."
"How shall it calm me to know that the people and the city are rushing
under the ban? If this terrible resolution passes, if our child--our
tender child--were to die to-morrow he would go without burial--a little
wandering soul! Marco, thou lovest our child?"
Her pauses and her desperate struggle for control were full of
inexpressible horror.
"Calm thyself, my darling; it shall not be," he answered, reassuringly.
"Oh, Marco mio! And thou wilt give thy vote against it? And thou wilt
use thine influence in the Council? Promise me!"
She clung to him, sobbing and exhausted.
He soothed her for a moment silently; should he leave her under such a
misunderstanding? It would be easier for them both, but he had intended
no untruth.
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