'Here?' Andronicus was taken by surprise. 'Here?' he repeated in wonder.
'Yes, here,' Zoë answered, 'and soon. He has business here to-night.'
'The girl is mad,' said the Emperor, looking towards the ministers.
'Quite mad, your august Majesty,' said one.
'Evidently out of her mind, Sire,' echoed the other. 'It will be well to put out her eyes and let her go.'
The one who had spoken first, the fawning Greek, made a sign to an officer near him, and the latter gave an order to one of the running footmen who stood waiting. The latter instantly ran in through the great open doorway of the palace. Where Andronicus was, the torturer was never hard to find.
'And pray,' asked the Emperor, with an ugly smile, 'what possible business can a Venetian merchant have here at this hour? Will you please to tell us?'
'A business that will be soon despatched, if God will,' answered Zoë.
She could not look away from the man who had murdered Michael Rhangabé, and though she knew what she was risking if she did not gain time, the longing for just vengeance was too strong for her, so that she could not control her speech, and in her clear young voice Andronicus heard an accent that struck terror to his heart.
'She is not mad!' he exclaimed in sudden anxiety. 'She knows something! Make her speak!'