she was much importuned by the scholar, sent word to him by her maid, that never since he had assured her of his love, had occasion served her to do him pleasure, but that next Christmastide she hoped to be with him; wherefore, if he were minded to await her in the courtyard of her house on the night of the day next following the feast, she would meet him there as soon as she could.  Elated as ne’er another, the scholar hied him at the appointed time to the lady’s house, and being ushered into a courtyard by the maid, who forthwith turned the key upon him, addressed himself there to await the lady’s coming.

Now the lady’s lover, by her appointment, was with her that evening; and, when they had gaily supped, she told him what she had in hand that night, adding:—­“And so thou wilt be able to gauge the love which I have borne and bear this scholar, whom thou hast foolishly regarded as a rival.”  The lover heard the lady’s words with no small delight, and waited in eager expectancy to see her make them good.  The scholar, hanging about there in the courtyard, began to find it somewhat chillier than he would have liked, for it had snowed hard all day long, so that the snow lay everywhere thick on the ground; however, he bore it patiently, expecting to be recompensed by and by.  After a while the lady said to her lover:—­“Go we to the chamber and take a peep through a lattice at him of whom thou art turned jealous, and mark what he does, and how he will answer the maid, whom I have bidden go speak with him.”  So the pair hied them to a lattice, wherethrough they could see without being seen, and heard the maid call from another lattice to the scholar, saying:—­“Rinieri, my lady is distressed as never woman was, for that one of her brothers is come here to-night, and after talking a long while with her, must needs sup with her, and is not yet gone, but, I think, he will soon be off; and that is the reason why she has not been able to come to thee, but she will come soon now.  She trusts it does not irk thee to wait so long.”  Whereto the scholar, supposing that ’twas true, made answer:—­“Tell my lady to give herself no anxiety on my account, until she can conveniently come to me, but to do so as soon as she may.”  Whereupon the maid withdrew from the window, and went to bed; while the lady said to her lover:—­“Now, what sayst thou?  Thinkst thou that, if I had that regard for him, which thou fearest, I would suffer him to tarry below there to get frozen?” Which said, the lady and her now partly reassured lover got them to bed, where for a great while they disported them right gamesomely, laughing together and making merry over the luckless scholar.