Joy lit up his thin face, and she despised herself. "I will find you, Sophia. I will be gone for months. But I will ride like the wind, and when I come back it will be to Perugia."
He must be going to France! He was traveling with but one man, so as to go faster. The Tartars had nearly been killed in the Filippeschi uprising, but he would be leaving them for months.
Only one thing could be more important to Simon than the lives of the two Tartars, and that was what the Tartars represented.
The pope must be offering to approve the alliance. Simon must be carrying the message.
When I tell David about this, he will ride after Simon and kill him.
Her thoughts began to race. Even if Simon were stopped, was it not still too late to keep the Franks and the Tartars from joining forces? No, probably not, because the pope was dying. If this alliance were not settled now, the talking and deciding would have to begin all over again, with a new pope.
Could she seduce Simon into abandoning his mission altogether, running off with her? No, he would never betray so great a trust, not even for love of her.
"I swear to you, I will find you, I will see you again, Sophia," he was saying. "Believe me."
You will not live long enough.
"I do believe you, Simon." Her loathing for herself grew stronger.