He must overcome her doubt of him by seeming supremely confident.

He said, "Then, for your own protection, you will teach me everything I
need to know."

And if Christians moved closer to Tartars despite intrigue and
persuasion, he and Baibars had already considered more desperate
measures. The risk of failure would be greater and the consequences more
dire. He would not tell Tilia about these more drastic steps. If his
presence and intentions already frightened her and Ugolini, it was best
they not know the lengths he was prepared to go to.

He hoped he would not have to attempt such things. The complexities and
difficulties of making them happen, the likelihood of things going
disastrously wrong, all made these courses too daunting.

Insh'Allah, if it be God's will, he would manage, with the help of such
allies as he found in Orvieto, to oppose and obstruct and delay the
alliance until the project died of old age, or the Tartar ambassadors
themselves died.

_Time fights for Islam_, Baibars had told him. _The Tartar empire is
beginning to break apart, and the Christians are losing their eagerness
for crusading. Only delay this alliance long enough, and their
opportunity to destroy us will be lost._

Tilia broke in on his thoughts, holding out her hands to him. "Help me
up. My legs are getting cramped. I feel hungry. Do you have anything to
eat?"

He was not surprised that she asked for food. Mustapha al-Zaid, the
chief eunuch of Baibars's harem, was monstrously fat, and was always
eating.

He sprang to his feet and pulled her up. The cross on her bosom swung
and flashed. The top of her head came only to the middle of his chest,
but he suspected that she weighed as much or more than he did.

She smiled at him. "You are strong, and you move like a warrior."

Ignoring the flattery, he said, "Sophia has bread and cheese that we
bought at a village called Bagnioregio. And some red wine to wash it
down."

Tilia laughed. "Bagnioregio? Then you must have passed near the ruins of
Ferento--the town that was destroyed for the heresy of displaying a
statue of Christ on the cross with open eyes."

"What? I saw no ruins. Open eyes?"

"The ruins are off the road. But that will give you an idea of how
careful one must be where religion is concerned. I cannot imagine that
anyone makes decent wine in Bagnioregio. There is another town near
here, Montefiascone, where they make the best wine in the world. Wait
until