y hard for him to hold on to what he
has conquered this day. Anjou will not thank you if he learns it was you
who turned me loose."

"See that he does not learn it, then."

Lorenzo frowned. "You won the battle for Charles. Now you seem willing
to do him all sorts of mischief." He leaned across the table and fixed
Simon with his piercing, dark eyes. "Why?"

Sophia leaned forward, too, eager to hear Simon's answer.

Simon sighed and smiled. "Because today at last I saw through Charles's
double-dealing with me in the matter of the Tartars." His smile was a
very sad one. "And I want to help you, out of what I still feel for
Sophia."

Sophia felt the tide of sorrow rise again within her. Her mouth trembled
and her eyes burned. Simon was looking down at the table now, to her
relief, and did not see her response to his words. He might have been
looking away, she thought, to hide the tears in his own eyes.

Lorenzo stood up briskly. "I am going to try to find an empty bed or a
soft carpet for a few hours' sleep. Tomorrow we leave early, and we
travel far."

After he and Scipio had gone, Simon said, "I loved you. At least, I
loved a woman who had your face and form, but did not really exist.
Against my will, I have asked myself, since I saw you again tonight, if
there is any way that dream of mine could be salvaged. Have you thought
about that?"

Sophia shook her head. In her heart there was room for nothing but pain.

She said, "Just as you wish you had not been the cause of Daoud's death,
so I wish I had not hurt you so. But that is all I can say. Simon, a
dream may be very beautiful, but it is still only a dream."

"I suppose we are lucky that we can sit here and talk about it, you and
I, and that we are not trying to kill each other."

"That is not luck, that is because of who we are. Simon, one thing hurts
me very much. I do not know what happened to Daoud after he died. Is
there any way I could--see him?"

His eyes big and dark with sadness, he shook his head. "Even if you
could, the body of a man dead many hours, of wounds, is a terrible
sight. And then that would be your last memory of him. You would not
want that. _He_ would not want that. And if you went near the bodies of
Manfred's dead, you would be in great danger. Someone might recognize
you. Remember that many who served Manfred will be eager to get into
Charles's good graces. You must protect yourself."

She did not care about protecting herself.