“Yes, dearest, never mind now. But is there any more hope that things will end peaceably for Florence, that the Republic will not get into fresh troubles?”
Tito gave a shrug.
“Florence will have no peace but what it pays well for; that is clear.”
Romola’s face saddened, but she checked herself, and said, cheerfully,
“You would not guess where I went today, Tito. I went to the Duomo, to hear Fra Girolamo.”
Tito looked startled; he had immediately thought of Baldassarre’s entrance into the Duomo; but Romola gave his look another meaning.
“You are surprised, are you not? It was a sudden thought. I want to know all about the public affairs now, and I determined to hear for myself what the Frate promised the people about this French invasion.”
“Well, and what did you think of the prophet?”
“He certainly has a very mysterious power, that man. A great deal of his sermon was what I expected; but once I was strangely moved—I sobbed with the rest.”