very marriageable man within
reach. But I never had anything to do with her, never called on her by
myself, never so much as talked to her alone. I went to her dinners, of
course. All widowers and bachelors of our district went to her dinners.
But her dinners were the pattern of propriety in every way. Your own
grandmother's famous dinners were not more decorous. Except for being a
guest, with others, at her dinners, I never was at her villa. I lent my
carriage not to her but to her bridegroom, Marcus Martius, a prosperous
gentleman of my neighborhood, of whom you have often heard me speak, a
friend of my uncle's and a friend of mine since boyhood. The fights, as
Tanno explained to you, had nothing to do with Marcia and her involvement
in them was as accidental as mine."

Vedia did not look a particle mollified.

"You men," she said, "are all alike. You will philander about your nasty
jades. But, at least, when you vow that you love one woman and one only,
and use every artifice to induce her to marry you, you should feel it
incumbent on you to keep away from such creatures as this Marcia of yours.
But you must needs dangle about her and go to her dinners. That was bad
enough. But, while wooing me, to arrange a mock marriage for her with a
local confederate and then positively bring her to Rome with you was
infinitely worse. I am insulted, of course. But, above and beyond your
treachery to me, I am insulted at your bungling your clumsy intrigues and
flaunting the minx in the face of all the world and setting all
fashionable Rome to gossiping about you and your hussy and to wondering
how I am going to act about it.

"I'll show them and you how I am going to act! I'm angry at your double-
dealing; at your lies I am furious. I hate you. I hope I'll never set eyes
on you again. The sooner you are gone, the better I'll like it. And I'll
give orders to ensure your never darkening my doors again!"

I tried to argue with her, to persuade her, to convince her, to induce her
to listen to me.

She raged at me.

Dazed, I groped my way to my litter and, once in it, lost consciousness
entirely, not in a faint, but in the sleep of total exhaustion.

As I rolled into my litter, feeling utterly unfit to enjoy a bath with any
natural associates, I had ordered my bearers to take me home.

There I rested a while, for I waked before I reached home. Then I bathed,
ate a simple dinner, alone with Agathemer, and went at once to bed.