the most stubborn man in the world. If I simply give him
whatever he wants, there is no guarantee that he will give me what I
want."

Simon took a deep breath. What he was about to say might offend the pope
deeply.

"Your Holiness, you have said it yourself. There is no more time for
haggling. You must make your best offer and hope it is enough."

The pope shut his eyes and slumped in his chair. Simon's heart went
cold, thinking for a moment that the old man had suffered a seizure.

But then Urban said very softly, "Help me to turn my chair around."

Now Simon's heart beat faster as he moved the pope's chair so that it
faced his desk. Urban took a gleaming blank sheet of parchment from the
pile on his desk, dipped a quill, shook it, and began to write.

Simon stood by the wall, his heart pounding with exhilaration. Could it
actually be that his words had moved the pope himself? It seemed
impossible, as if he had stood in the path of a mighty river and
diverted its course.

"The Tartars," the old man said with a sigh sometime later, when he had
covered two sheets of parchment. "I hope I am not making a terrible
mistake. I still think Fra Tomasso was right in what he first said about
them." He dropped wax at the bottom of the letter, stamped it with his
ring, and blew on the wax to cool it. Then he folded the parchment and
sealed it again.

"Ride to King Louis as quickly as possible." Urban turned, again half
rising from his chair, and handed Simon the letter.

"Shall I carry the king's answer to Perugia, Holy Father?"

Urban shrugged. "Oh, yes, I shall surely be in Perugia by the time you
come back. But God will take me before the first of Charles d'Anjou's
knights sets foot in Italy." He raised a pale hand to silence Simon's
polite protest, and there was actually a twinkle in his eye. "Whatever
my successor thinks, he will have a hard time undoing the decisions I
have made today. By the time the next pope is elected, he will have a
French army to help him destroy the Hohenstaufen. Whether he wants to or
not."

"What of the Tartar ambassadors, Your Holiness?" Simon asked, thinking
that it would be best to hasten those negotiations, too, lest the next
pope disapprove of them. "Should I take them with me to the king?"

"No," said Urban firmly. "Then you would have to take a troop with you
to guard them. You may have to travel far to find King Louis. He is
setting out on a royal progress through his kingdom.