him in the eyes of the world, and twice he had been
prevented from marrying the woman of his choice because of Count
Amalric's legacy of wickedness.

Well, the devil take all of them. If they would not accept him as a
member of the noblesse, then he was not obliged to behave as one.

Surely his mother and father, considering the way their own marriage had
come about, would understand and approve his choice.

And somehow he doubted that Cardinal Ugolini would raise any objection
to his marrying his niece, Sophia.

XXXVII

_An open letter from Fra Tomasso d'Aquino of the Order of Preaching
Friars to the Christian sovereigns of Europe, from Orvieto, 7th day of
November A.D. 1263_

Let us leave these wild beasts, Tartars and Muslims alike, to devour
each other, that they may all be consumed and perish; and we, when
we proceed against the enemies of Christ who remain, will slay them
and cleanse the face of the earth, so that all the world will be
subject to the one Catholic Church and there be one Shepherd and one
fold.

* * * * *

When Simon and Friar Mathieu climbed the stone steps into Fra Tomasso's
cell, pushing up a trapdoor to enter, he was bent over a scroll. He held
the two rolled-up ends apart with his fingertips, and as he read he very
gently pushed down the bottom part of the roll, allowing the part he had
read to roll up. The scroll looked very old, and the Dominican friar
handled it as if it might fall apart in his hands.

He did not look up at his two visitors. His large head moved ever so
slightly from side to side as he scanned the lines of writing, and Simon
could hear his loud breathing just as he had a week ago in the
cathedral. Simon and Friar Mathieu stood quietly and waited for Fra
Tomasso to stop reading and notice them.

It had taken Friar Mathieu's Franciscan superiors a week of delicate
negotiations after Alain's funeral to arrange an audience with the
Dominican philosopher for Friar Mathieu and Simon. Simon prayed, feeling
the sweat break out on his forehead, that their intrusion would not
annoy Fra Tomasso. He desperately hoped that they could persuade him to
change his mind about the alliance.

It was really up to Friar Mathieu, he thought. That Simon could have any
effect on such a brilliant philosopher was unthinkable.

Simon noticed a single deep crease between the great Dominican's
eyebrows. His forehead bulged on