Simon nodded. "He could not have known it would be you, but he made sure
they would be in harm's way. Charles is very good at using people. My
mother warned me about him long before I let him persuade me to come to
Italy to guard the Tartars, but I did not listen. But now, how are we
going to get all of you safely out of Benevento?"
He kept coming back to that, Sophia thought. He seemed determined to
save them from Charles d'Anjou's vengeance.
"We may still have the wagon I hid out in the forest," Lorenzo said.
"And if you truly mean to help us, you might appropriate a horse or two.
There are many horses hereabouts whose owners will never need them
again."
"I can write you a genuine safe-conduct that will get you past Charles's
officials and agents," Simon said. "If you travel quickly enough, you
may get ahead of them into territory still friendly to you. There may be
no army left to oppose Charles, but it will take him some time to get
control of all the territory he has won. Where might you go?"
Sophia took Rachel's hand again, and they sat on the bed. Remembering
that she and Daoud had shared this bed last night, Sophia felt the
heaped stones of sorrow weigh heavier still.
_I will never hold him again._
To distract herself from her pain, she tried to listen to what people
around her were saying.
"To Palermo first," said Lorenzo decisively. "At a time like this, with
the king gone, every family must fend for itself. I want to get to mine
at once." He turned to Rachel, and his mustache stretched in one of the
smiles Sophia had seen all too rarely. "My wife, Fiorela, and I would be
honored to have you as a member of our family, Rachel."