Chapter 79

He felt desperate, wounded badly in both heart and pride. It was not so much for love of Valentine Visconti--that had ever been more fancy than aught else--it was the sense of failure--of self-humiliation; a bitter sense of how Visconti laughed at him. Far better a fine, romantic death than disgrace one side, defeat the other. In fact a fine, romantic death in a lady's cause would be decidedly gratifying. With this new thought of it struggling in his mind, Count Conrad suddenly turned from the wall and forced lusti…