e for sale. Now Ambrogiuolo of Piacenza was come
thither with much merchandise on board a Venetian ship and hearing the
captain of the guard ask whose the trinkets were, came forward and
said, laughing, 'Sir, the things are mine and I do not sell them; but,
if they please you, I will gladly give them to you.' Sicurano, seeing
him laugh, misdoubted he had recognized him by some gesture of his;
but yet, keeping a steady countenance, he said, 'Belike thou laughest
to see me, a soldier, go questioning of these women's toys?' 'Sir,'
answered Ambrogiuolo, 'I laugh not at that; nay, but at the way I came
by them.' 'Marry, then,' said Sicurano, 'an it be not unspeakable,
tell me how thou gottest them, so God give thee good luck.' Quoth
Ambrogiuolo, 'Sir, a gentlewoman of Genoa, hight Madam Ginevra, wife
of Bernabo Lomellini, gave me these things, with certain others, one
night that I lay with her, and prayed me keep them for the love of
her. Now I laugh for that I mind me of the simplicity of Bernabo, who
was fool enough to lay five thousand florins to one that I would not
bring his wife to do my pleasure; the which I did and won the wager;
whereupon he, who should rather have punished himself for his
stupidity than her for doing that which all women do, returned from
Paris to Genoa and there, by what I have since heard, caused her put
to death.' Sicurano, hearing this, understood forthwith what was the
cause of Bernabo's anger against his wife[134] and manifestly
perceiving this fellow to have been the occasion of all her ills,
determined not to let him go unpunished therefor. Accordingly he
feigned to be greatly diverted with the story and artfully clapped up
a strait acquaintance with him, insomuch that, the fair being ended,
Ambrogiuolo, at his instance, accompanied him, with all his good, to
Alexandria. Here Sicurano let build him a warehouse and lodged in his
hands store of his own monies; and Ambrogiuolo, foreseeing great
advantage to himself, willingly took up his abode there. Meanwhile,
Sicurano, careful to make Bernabo clear of his[135] innocence, rested
not till, by means of certain great Genoese merchants who were then in
Alexandria, he had, on some plausible occasion of his[136] own
devising, caused him come thither, where finding him in poor enough
case, he had him privily entertained by a friend of his[137] against
it should seem to him[138] time to do that which he purposed. Now he
had already made Ambrogiuolo re