An unpleasant misunderstanding had embittered his parting from Gorgo; old Damia, as she held his hand had volunteered a promise that she and her granddaughter would from time to time slay a beast in sacrifice on his behalf.  Perhaps she had had no spiteful meaning in this, but he had regarded it as an insult, and had turned away angry and hurt.  Gorgo, however, could not bear to let him go thus; disregarding her grandmother’s look of surprise, she had called him back, and giving him both hands had warmly bidden him farewell.  Damia had looked after him in silence and had ever afterwards avoided mentioning his name in Gorgo’s presence.

After the victory over Maximus, Constantine, though still very young, was promoted to the command of the troop in the place of Columella, and he had arrived in Alexandria the day before at the head of his ’ala miliaria’.

     [The ala miliaria consisted of 24 ‘turmae’ or 960 mounted troopers
     under the conduct of a Prefect.]

Gorgo had never at any time ceased to think of him, but her passion had constantly appeared to her in the light of treason and a breach of faith towards the gods, so, to condone the sins she committed on one side by zeal on another, she had come forth from the privacy of her father’s house to give active support to Olympius in his struggle for the faith of their ancestors.  She had become a daily worshipper at the temple of Isis, and the hope of hearing her sing had already mere than once filled it to overflowing at high festivals.  Then, while Olympius was defending the sanctuary of Serapis against the attacks of the Christians, she and her grandmother had become the leaders of a party of women who made it their task to provide the champions of the faith with the means of subsistence.

All this had given purpose to her life; still, every little victory in this contest had filled her soul with regrets and anxieties.  For months and years she had been conspicuous as the opponent of her lover’s creed, and the bright eager child had developed into a grave girl a clear-headed and resolute woman.  She was the only person in the house who dared to contradict her grandmother, and to insist on a thing when she thought it right.  The longing of her heart she could not still, but her high spirit found food for its needs in all that surrounded her, and, by degrees, would no doubt have gained the mastery and have been supreme in all her being and doing, but that music and song still fostered the softer emotions of her strong, womanly nature.

The news of Constantine’s return had shaken her soul to the foundations.  Would it bring her the greatest happiness or only fresh anguish and unrest?