He drew her close, speaking low and earnestly:
“And our children will be citizens also. They will inherit. In the new city my sons shall hold up their heads.”
When Nikander came in a half hour later he found the two lovers bending over a pottery tile on which was a map.
Theria leaped up, clapping her hands like a child.
“He will go, he will go,” she cried.
“Did I not tell you that he would?” answered Nikander quietly.
CHAPTER XLV
THE MARRIAGE
In the pleasant sunset hour there was great excitement in Delphi village. Men and women of the aristocratic families of the town were all upon the street. Since women were abroad, it could be nothing other than a wedding. Nikander’s daughter to be married! And the circumstances were so unusual that not one relative would miss it. Nikander was marrying her to a foreigner, a strange choice where Delphic youths abounded. But it was said that the choice was the girl’s own, that she loved the young man.
She had managed to see him, and the young man had seen Theria’s face not once, but twice. This, however, was stoutly denied by the nearest of kin. The bridegroom had some wealth. That was a comfort; but he was as peculiar as the girl herself.