“Yes!”
“It is treason,” he cried, hoarsely. “I will have none of it.”
“Who,” she asked, “is a greater traitor than Ughtred of Tyrnaus?”
He was silent.
“Who,” she cried, “is better beloved in Theos?—who could rule the people more wisely than you, Nicholas? It would save our country from conquest and pillage. It is—the only way. Is it not what we have spoken of before—have not you yourself pointed upwards to that motto, whose writing is surely no less clear to-day? Oh, Nicholas, you cannot hesitate.”
He walked to the window and looked out towards the hills, where the red lights still flared and the guns made sullen music. Her words were like poison to him.
“Listen, Nicholas,” she said. “While Ughtred of Tyrnaus is king no help will come to us from any other nation, and without help how can Theos hold out against a hundred thousand Turks? We have few soldiers and fewer guns. Our population will be decimated, our country laid waste, and the end will be slavery. It is for you to save us all. It is you who can save Theos.”
He looked at her with cold, stern eyes.
“How long have you been the confidante of Domiloff?”