"Madonna, do not heed him."
"I pray you let be, my good Gonzaga," she answered soothingly, and
Gonzaga, ready to faint from spite, obeyed her.
"Leave him there, and go," was Paolo's next order to the men, and they
departed, leaving the astonished Fortemani standing alone, unbound and
sheepish.
"Now mark me well, Messer Fortemani," Francesco admonished him. "You did
a cowardly thing, unworthy of the soldier that you would have men believe
you. And for that, I think, the punishment you received at my hands has
been sufficient, in that the indignity to which I submitted you has
shaken your standing with your followers. Go back to them now and
retrieve what you have lost, and see that in the future you are worthier.
Let this be a lesson to you, Messer Fortemani. You have gone perilously
near hanging, and you have had it proved to you that in moments of peril
your men are ready to raise their hands against you. Why is that?
Because you have not sought their respect. You have been too much a
fellow of theirs in their drinking and their brawling, instead of holding
yourself aloof with dignity."
"Lord, I have learnt my lesson!" answered the cowed bully.
"Then act upon it. Resume your command, and discipline your men to a
better order. Madonna, here, and Messer Gonzaga will forget this thing.
Is it not so, Madonna? Is it not so, Messer Gonzaga?"
Swayed by his will and by an intuition that told her that to whatever end
he might be working, he was working wisely, Valentina gave Fortemani the
assurance Francesco begged, and Gonzaga was forced grudgingly to follow
her example.
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