Ugolini shook his head, whiskers fluttering. "Fra Tomasso is neutral and wants to stay that way."
But if I can, I intend to push Fra Tomasso away from his neutrality.
"Surely he could not have failed to be moved by what he heard last night," said Daoud. "I could see that he was."
"It will take more than one incident to move Fra Tomasso," said Ugolini.
Now I have him! Daoud glanced at Lorenzo, who nodded encouragingly.
Daoud leaned forward, pressing both hands on the table. "There! You yourself have said the very thing I have been trying to tell you. Last night was just one incident. It was not enough to move Fra Tomasso or the cardinals or the pope. We must do more. You can accomplish everything we want by persuasion and cunning and subterfuge. If you do, I will never have to put my hand to my dagger, and you will have nothing to fear." He shook his open hand at Ugolini. "Take the lead yourself."
Ugolini sat staring at the skull while Daoud held his breath.
The little cardinal pulled at his whiskers and looked up at Daoud. "What must I do?"
Daoud let his breath out. Strength surged back into his body, and despair fled before it.
"Tell me," he said, "if Fra Tomasso were to turn against the Tartars, what do you think the Franks would do about it?"