CHAPTER XII.

The young soldier was heartily welcomed by his friends of the merchant’s family; but old Damia was a little uneasy at the attitude which he and Gorgo had taken up after their first greeting.  He was agitated and grave, she was eager and excited, with an air of determined enterprise.

Was Eros at the bottom of it all?  Were the young people going to carry out the jest of their childhood in sober earnest?  The young officer was handsome and attractive enough, and her granddaughter after all was but a woman.

So far as Constantine was concerned the old lady had no personal objection to him; nay, she appreciated his steady, grave manliness and, for his own sake, was very glad to see him once more; but to contemplate the ship-builder’s son—­the grandson of a freedman—­a Christian and devoted to the Emperor, even though he were a prefect or of even higher grade—­as a possible suitor for her Gorgo, the beautiful heiress of the greater part of her wealth—­the centre of attraction to all the gilded youth of Alexandria—­this was too much for her philosophy; and, as she had never in her life restrained the expression of her sentiments, though she gave him a friendly hand and the usual greeting, she very soon showed him, by her irony and impertinence, that she was as hostile to his creed as ever.

She put her word in on every subject, and when, presently, Demetrius—­ who, after Dada’s rebuff, had come on to see his uncle—­began speaking of the horses he had been breeding for Marcus, and Constantine enquired whether any Arabs from his stables were to be purchased in the town, Damia broke out: 

“You out-do your crucified God in most things I observe!  He could ride on an ass, and a stout Egyptian nag is not good enough for you.”

However, the young officer was not to be provoked; and though he was very well able to hold his own in a strife of words, he kept himself under control and pretended to see nothing in the old woman’s taunts but harmless jesting.

Gorgo triumphed in his temperate demeanor, and thanked him with grateful glances and a silent grasp of the hand when opportunity offered.

Demetrius, who had also known Constantine as a boy, and who, through Porphyrius, had sold him his first charger, met him very warmly and told him with a laugh that he had seen him before that day, that he had evidently learnt something on his travels, that he had tracked the prettiest head of game in all the city; and he slapped him on the shoulder and gave him what he meant to be a very knowing glance.  Constantine could not think where Demetrius had seen him or what he meant; while Gorgo supposed that he alluded to her, and thought him perfectly odious.

Porphyrius pelted the prefect with questions which Constantine was very ready to answer, till they were interrupted by some commotion in the garden.  On looking out they saw a strange and unpleasing procession, headed by Herse who was scolding, thumping and dragging Dada’s Egyptian slave, while her husband followed, imploring her to moderate her fury.  Behind them came Orpheus, now and then throwing out a persuasive word to soothe the indignant matron.  This party soon came up with the others, and Herse, unasked, poured out an explanation of her wrath.