lliance succeed. But I did that for King Louis and for my own
honor more than because I believed the alliance was a good thing.
Indeed, I often had doubts. I pray my people will never take part in
such horrors as the Tartars have committed."

Sophia shook her head. "If you are right, then I only wish Daoud could
have known before he died that his purpose was accomplished."

The thought came to Simon that Daoud might be aware of that, in the next
world, but it seemed a childish fancy in the face of her sorrow, and he
said nothing.

Even now, she thought only of Daoud.

Oh, why could not everything be different? Why could she not be the
cardinal's niece, the lovely woman he had fallen in love with? Why must
she be a stranger with a Greek name he had already forgotten because he
had heard it only once, a plotter, a spy, an enemy?

He looked at the jagged blue mountains, mostly bare rock, that rose
behind Sophia, and in despair thought of climbing up there and throwing
himself off a cliff. The road she would be taking led into those
mountains.

Celino, mounted on a sturdy brown mare, held Sophia's chestnut horse for
her. Ugolini and Tilia Caballo, dressed in dark peasants' clothes, sat
together on the driver's seat of Celino's cart, Tilia holding the reins.
Where were those two going, Simon wondered. When he said good-bye to
them he had not thought to ask. No place in Sicily would be safe for
them. Well, they probably would not have wanted to tell him.

Rachel, sitting on a powerful-looking black mule, gave Simon a little
smile and a nod when he glanced her way. He smiled back.

_May you find a good man, Celino's son or another. And may the rest of
your life be entirely happy._

"You are going back to Constantinople, then?" he said to Sophia. He had
to drag the words out of himself.

She nodded. "I can get a ship from Palermo. Rachel has kindly offered to
pay my passage. Lorenzo found the chest full of gold she got from the
Tartar, right where he buried it out in the woods. So Rachel is still
rich. As for me, I am quite destitute."

_God's mantle! That never occurred to me. What an idiot I am._

"Would you--"

She raised a hand to silence him and shook her head. "I would not."

He shrugged and nodded. "Take this from me at least--a warning to your
emperor. Charles wants Constantinople. He has a claim to the crown of
Byzantium. He told me just today that he means to do to Michael what he
did to Manfred."