No! Impossible! I love her. I could not love her if she were on the side of evil.
Simon struck his knee with his fist. "I must find out the truth. I must go after her."
"After Sophia?"
"Yes. If she is in Manfred's kingdom, I will find her and get her out."
"Whatever Sophia has done, she has already done, Simon. You cannot undo it, or simply pretend that she has done nothing at all."
Simon lurched to his feet. Staggering in his agony, as if those knives were still striking him from all sides, he reached the railing of the loggia and gripped it. The sky had deepened to violet, and a single silvery star glowed in the west. He remembered the magic his mother had taught him of wishing on a star. He could not wish this awful pain away.
"I do not know what she has done. And I refuse to believe ill of her until I have spoken to her."
"But you cannot go into Manfred's kingdom and look for her. You are certain to be caught and imprisoned. You could very well be killed."
Simon turned. Friar Mathieu was a dim figure huddled in the deep shadows of the loggia, his beard a light patch in the darkness.
"You think Manfred is behind all this," Simon said.