"
"Yes, Marco mio," she answered to the love in his voice, struggling to
repress every accent of dissent; for in her heart she told herself that
the chapel of the palazzo Giustiniani was his, not hers, since their
faith was divided; "and for me only, not for him, to worship there is
sin. And the beautiful day together, alone on the island with the
flowers--it is the gift of the Holy Mother to help me endure!"
And her husband, as he left her, carried with him a smile that satisfied
him.
But, turning in the doorway for another glance--so sweet it was to have
her all his own again--a pang shot through him, for the glory was gone
from her face--or was it the shadow that made it so wan and gray?--and
no smile hid the questioning anguish of her eyes. Nay, he himself was
fanciful, for it was too far to see, and he could not shake off the
sadness of the days that were past. But he must teach himself to forget
them. For Marina had smiled at him, radiantly, as in the sweet, old
days; and together they would deck the chapel for a benediction!
XXVI
Fra Paolo was fast becoming a centre of romance, so many were the
attempts from suspicious quarters to manage private interviews which the
Senate had thought necessary to frustrate; and the fact that he was
known to have declined the escort of guards which the Senate urged upon
him as means of safety endowed him with a sort of heroic halo in the
eyes of the lesser multitude.
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