The Saracen: Land of the Infidel

by Robert Shea

  XVI

  The door leading from Cardinal Ugolini's private cabinet to the solarswung back, and David came in. As always when she first caught sight ofDavid, Sophia felt her heart give a little jongleur's somersault. Sheloved the look of his hard eyes with their suggestion of weariness athaving seen too much.

  But now those eyes were turned toward her, and they were narrowedangrily.

  "Why were you rude to him?"

  His harsh tone, when she was so pleased to see him, hurt her. She had noready answer for him. To give herself time to think, she walked to thesmall chair Simon had occupied and sat down in it.

  Cardinal Ugolini, sitting at his carved oak table, spoke up.

  "Sophia put him in his place by demonstrating to him that she couldspeak his language better than he could speak Italian, David. There isno end to the arroganzia of these French."

  David was still looking at Sophia. The midday light streaming throughthe white panes of glass threw sharp shadows under his cheekbones,giving him the gaunt look of a desert saint.

  _God's breath, how I would like to paint his picture. At least I couldhave that much of him._

  "Do you think I wanted you to meet him so that you could teach himbetter manners?" David demanded.

  "Of course not," she said, "but you do not understand men."

  David's laugh was as harsh as the planes of his face.

  "Oh, yes," Sophia went on impatiently, "you have always lived with men,and you lead men and fight against men. But you do not understand howChristian men, especially Frenchmen and Italians, feel about women. Youknow nothing, for example, of l'amour courtois."

  "Yes," said Ugolini. "The head of every young French nobleman is full oftwo things, honor and l'amour courtois."

  David looked from Ugolini to Sophia and back again. "What is thisl'amour courtois?" he demanded. "I should know about it. Why have younot told me?"

  Ugolini lifted his shoulders in a gesture that reminded Sophia of ashopkeeper on the Mese.

  "My dear fellow, we cannot guess where the gaps are in your knowledge ofthe Christian world. That is why it is so dangerous for you to go aboutin public."

  David held out his hands in appeal.

  "You have seen me testify before the pope himself. How can you still beafraid?" He curled his fingers in toward himself, inviting Ugolini to goon. "Tell me about courtly love."

  _How graceful his gestures are._

  "It was begun many years ago by a number of noble ladies of France, andespecially Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine, who led an absolutely scandalouslife," Ugolini said. "She married the King of France, accompanied him oncrusade. Costumed as an Amazon, rode bare-breasted in Jerusalem.Jerusalem! Divorced the King of France, married the King of England. Hadlovers uncounted besides."

  _If I had been born into the nobility, I might have been a woman likethat_, Sophia thought wistfully.

  David shook his head as if buzzing flies circled it. "But what has thisto do with Simon de Gobignon?"

  "As His Excellency said, this Simon comes out of a world shaped bycourtly love," Sophia answered. "There are many strict rules about howmen and ladies should behave toward one another. One of the mostimportant is that the woman rules the man."

  David smiled thinly. She had rarely seen a full open smile on his face,but she remembered what a glorious sight it had been and wished he wouldsmile that way now.

  "So, by scorning the way he spoke Italian, you believe you are makingyourself more attractive to him?"

  "Far better than I would by letting him put his foot on my neck, the wayyour harem women do."

  "You know nothing about our women." But his eyes were crinkled withlaughter. "Less than I do about your courtly lovers. And what do youthink of _my_ Italian?"

  "Better than his," she said, and was rewarded with a broader smile.

  She felt a warmth inside as if her heart were melting. Trained fromchildhood to hide her feelings, she turned her gaze toward the wallpaintings of the nude Adam and Eve.

  A loud knock shook the outer door of the solar. At Ugolini's summons thedoor swung inward. Sophia briefly saw the tops of the sun-dappled palmand lemon trees in the inner court, beyond the arches and columns of thegalleria. Then the door closed again behind Lorenzo, Scipio at his side.He carried a small parchment scroll in his hand.

  "I met the Count de Gobignon at the entry way just now," he said. "Threedays ago I was bringing men back from Castel Viscardo, and I encounteredhim, not knowing then who he was, on the road."

  David muttered something in the Saracen tongue. It could have been acurse or a prayer. But before he could speak, Ugolini's fist struck thedesk.

  "He saw you bringing bravos to Orvieto?" he cried at Lorenzo. "You willget us all killed. I see it now. De Gobignon did not come here topersuade me to change my mind about the Tartars. He came here to spy onus." His voice was shrill with fear.

  Scipio growled at the cardinal, and Lorenzo slapped him sharply on thehead, then on the rump. The dog fell silent at once and trotted off tothe corner of the room farthest from Lorenzo. Ugolini and David botheyed the animal with distaste.

  "Perhaps the count should be killed, then," said David, "before he canuse against us what he has learned."

  _Oh, no, please don't kill him!_

  Sophia felt an urge to cry out, to do something to protect Simon. Andwith that protective feeling she saw him again--the glossy, dark brownhair that hung in waves almost to his shoulders--the startling blue eyesin an angular, intelligent face. The tall, slender body.

  And that name--Simon. Was there an omen of some sort in that? Did notthis Simon even look somewhat like her painting of Saint Simon Stylites,carried with her all the way from Constantinople? As the saint mighthave looked when he was a young man?

  As Sophia Orfali meeting the Count de Gobignon, she had felt almost halfin love with Simon.

  "How can you talk of killing him?" Ugolini cried, his voice almostcracking. "The French cardinals and their men-at-arms would tear thecity apart. It might be enough to bring Charles d'Anjou or King Louishimself down here with an army. Sooner or later they would trace it backto us. And then, if you want to know your fate"--his finger moved inturn from David to Lorenzo to Sophia--"go see what they do in the Piazzadel Cattedrale to that poor wretch this count captured."

  Sophia felt a sickening, falling sensation in her stomach at thisreminder of the danger she was in. Usually she managed to keep calm byrefusing to think about what would happen if she were caught. She cursedUgolini for taking her defenses by surprise.

  Lorenzo whirled suddenly on Ugolini. "Get hold of yourself, Cardinal.How can a man think, with you shrieking away like a crazy old nonna?"

  _Good for you, Lorenzo_, she thought.

  "I am a prince of the Roman Catholic Church," Ugolini shouted. "You willshow respect!"

  Unabashed, Lorenzo turned to David. "Despite his hysterics, I do thinkthe cardinal is right. If de Gobignon were murdered, the city would bein an uproar. We could not go on with our work."

  "Dear God, why did You send these people into my life?" Ugolini groaned.

  Lorenzo offered the scroll in his hand to David. "This prince of theChurch has been making such a commotion, I nearly forgot this. A manwith a clerical tonsure brought it to the door just after the youngcount left."

  David's dagger seemed to leap into his hand. The man could move so fast,Sophia thought. He cut the black ribbon tying the scroll and slipped thedagger back into its scabbard. He unrolled the parchment and studied itwith a frown.

  "This is in Latin," he said, handing the scroll to Ugolini.

  Red-faced and breathing heavily, Ugolini took the scroll and read it,moving his finger along the lines. He shut his eyes as if in pain.

  Whatever this message was, thought Sophia, it was upsetting him stillmore.

  Ugolini looked up with fear-haunted eyes. "It is from Fra Tomassod'Aquino. He invites you to visit him at the convent of the Dominicans.He says he wants to hear more about your travels."

&nbs
p; David nodded. "Excellent. I have been wanting to find a way to meetprivately with him."

  Ugolini threw the paper to the floor and shook both fists. "Mother ofGod! Do you not understand that this is a trap? The Dominicans are incharge of the Inquisition. They are called the domini canes, the houndsof the Lord. They can _smell_ heresy."

  David laughed. "They will not smell it on me. I am a good Muslim."

  Though Sophia felt inclined to share Ugolini's fear, she delighted inDavid's humorous courage. She could not take her eyes from his goldenhead as he stood in the middle of the room with the light from thewindow shining on him.

  "That, d'Aquino will find even easier to detect than heresy," saidUgolini.

  A small, amused smile played about David's lips. "Do you not think Ihave prepared myself for such a conversation? We need a respected manwho can write letters and give sermons warning Christendom against theTartars. If Fra Tomasso can be convinced the Tartars are dangerous, andif I can offer him something he wants badly enough, he might be theman."

  "He and his fellow Dominicans will eat you alive," Ugolini moaned.

  "I can accomplish nothing hiding here in your palace." David gazed downat the cardinal, unruffled.

  Sophia sat perfectly still, hands folded in her lap, looking down atUgolini's beautiful Persian carpet. But the quarreling made her writheinwardly. If they could not agree, if they were not careful in theirplanning, if they started to hate one another, they surely would end bybeing torn to pieces on the public scaffold.

  "Let us speak about the young French count," she said. "He, too, mightbe a man we can use. I did my best to attract him to me today."

  _If he thinks there is hope of my seducing Simon, he will not be soquick to want to kill him._

  David's eyes held hers for a long moment. "That is what I want you todo. That was why I was angry, not understanding this courtly love." Hisface was somber. "That is what I brought you here for."

  She nodded, thinking, _If only you could be my lover. There would benothing courtly about it, and it would bring us both great happiness._

  But only a moment ago, had she not been thinking of Simon, fearing forSimon's life? Had she not almost felt love for him?

  _What is happening to me?_

  Her hands in her lap clutched at each other. She felt dizzy. It hadhappened so easily, so quickly. Was she becoming more than one person,like someone possessed by spirits? How could you know who you wereunless you had a place and were firmly attached to other people?

  Now, looking at David, she was aware of the feelings Simon had arousedin her as if they were the feelings of another person. SophiaKaraiannides wanted David. Her longing for him had been growing in herever since their eyes first met in Manfred's audience hall monthsbefore.

  "What is troubling you?" David said, frowning.

  She felt flustered. "Nothing." When he looked skeptical, she added, "Iam not certain how he feels about me."

  David glowered at her. She tried to read his expression. He lookedangry. Was he angry at her for being willing to take Simon as a lover?

  _He probably thinks I am nothing but a whore._

  She liked to think of herself as a woman who was able to move easily inmany circles, a woman who involved herself in affairs of state. But wasshe not deceiving herself? Was it not that all men valued her for washer body in bed? And David did not even want that; he just wanted to useher body to ensnare Simon de Gobignon.

  Then why did he look at her so angrily?

  "How will you find out what he feels for you?" David said. "Will youwait for him to make the next move?"

  "I will send him a small favor, something he recognizes as mine. Then wewill see how interested he is."

  "Good," said David briskly.

  As if dismissing her, he turned to Lorenzo. "Speaking of ladies andlove, our young friend Rachel is still living here. I want you to escorther to Madama Tilia's house this afternoon."

  Sophia stifled a gasp. She felt as if she had been struck from behind.She wanted to cry out in protest, but she knew it was useless.

  "Must I?" said Lorenzo, and Sophia saw pain in his eyes.

  "Remember your promise to me in Rome," David said, fixing him with agrim stare.

  Lorenzo sighed. "I remember."

  Sophia's heart, already bruised by her gloomy thoughts about herself,ached even harder for Rachel. She had tried to save her from being sentto Tilia's, but there was no more she could do. If Ugolini was rightabout their being in such terrible danger, Rachel might be safer atTilia's than here.

  How could she help Rachel, she thought desolately, when she herself wasa stranger among strangers?