In less than an hour he descended from his litter, and, resting on
the arms of two servants, was conducted to the chamber of the dying
man. Andreas had just administered the last rites; whether the fixed
eyes still saw was doubtful. At a murmur of 'the bishop' those by
the doorway reverently drew aside. On one side of the bed were
Aurelia and the deacon; on the other, Petronilla and Basil and
Decius. Though kneeling, the senator's daughter held herself
proudly. Though tears were on her face, she hardly disguised an air
of triumph. Nor was the head of Petronilla bent; her countenance
looked hard and cold as marble. Leander, a model of decorum, stepped
with grave greeting towards the prelate, and whispered a word or
two. In the stillness that followed there quivered a deep breath.
Flavius Anicius Maximus had lived his life.

When the bishop, supported by Leander and Andreas, rose from prayer,
he was led by the obsequious clerics to a hall illumined by several
lamps, where two brasiers gave forth a grateful glow in the chill of
the autumn morning. Round about the walls, in niches, stood busts
carved or cast of the ancestors of him who lay dead. Here, whilst
voices of lamentation sounded from without, Leander made known to
the prelate and the presbyter the terms of the will. Basil was
instituted 'heir'; that is to say, he became the legal
representative of the dead man, and was charged with the
distribution of those parts of the estate bequeathed to others.
First of the legatees stood Aurelia. The listeners learnt with
astonishment that the obstinate heretic was treated as though her
father had had no cause of complaint against her; she was now
mistress of the Surrentine estate, as well as of the great house in
Rome, and of other property. A lamentable thing, the deacon admitted
suavely; but, for his part, he was not without hope, and he fixed