‘Bid him wait, and be patient for a while.’
‘What was I to do? I bade her tell him to come no more—to give her up as unfitting. He refused, and I went to Rome to find thee.’
‘Aha! Hast been to the great city, Masthlion, a-seeking me—well?’
‘I could not find you, nor yet Balbus, with whom you dwelt.’
Cestus grinned.
‘No, it is not likely, for Balbus is not there.’
‘I did my best; I was in despair, and could not but let things go as they were fated. You never came nigh all these years—it was reasonable to suppose that you were dead.’
‘And nearly dead I have been.’
‘Even as you were entering, he was pressing me for her marriage.’
‘I came just pat, did I not?’