"Oh, the devil fly away with the priests! I'll handle the Arians when we're in power. For the Catholics, you have influence with the Bishop of Bologna, I hear, and that means with the Pope."
"I don't mean the churches. I mean my personal convictions."
"A practical fellow like you? Nonsense. You're using them as an excuse—"
Padway, seeing the fires about to flare up again, interrupted: "Now, Mathaswentha, you don't want to start a religious argument, do you? You let my creed alone and I'll say nothing against yours. Oh, I just thought of a solution."
"What?"
"I'll send a messenger to America to find out whether my wife is still alive."
"How long will that take?"
"Weeks. Months, perhaps. If you really love me you won't mind waiting."
"I'd wait," she said without enthusiasm. She looked up sharply. "Suppose your messenger finds the woman alive?"
"We'll worry about that when the time comes."