to keep him if only he could make a good Turk of him, intended to give
him his choice between impalement and the renunciation of his faith.
Thereupon he so addressed himself to his master, the governor who had
taken him prisoner, that he persuaded him to release him on parole. His
master named, however, a much higher ransom than he thought could be
raised by a man of such little wealth, and then, without speaking to the
King, he let him go.

When Amadour reached the Court of the King of Spain, he stayed there but
a short time, and then, in order to seek his ransom among his friends,
he repaired to Barcelona, whither the young Duke of Cardona, his mother,
and Florida had gone on business. As soon as Avanturada heard that her
husband was returned, she told the news to Florida, who rejoiced as
though for love of her friend. Fearing, however, that her joy at seeing
Amadour might make her change her countenance, and that those who did
not know her might think wrongly of her, she remained at a window in
order to see him coming from afar. As soon as she perceived him she went
down by a dark staircase, so that none could see whether she changed
colour, and embracing Amadour, led him to her room, and thence to her
mother-in-law, who had never seen him. He had not been there for two
days before he was loved as much as he had been in the household of the
Countess of Aranda.

I leave you to imagine the conversation that he and Florida had
together, and how she complained to him of the misfortunes that had come
to her in his absence. After shedding many tears of sorrow, both for
having been married against her will and also for having lost one she
loved so dearly without any hope of seeing him again, she resolved to
take consolation from the love and trust she had towards Amadour. Though
she durst not declare the truth, he suspected it, and lost neither time