_Well she might_, thought Simon.
The contessa's face turned scarlet as she recounted her injuries. "Now
that canaglia Marco would surely love to finish us by killing Vittorio
and me. But he is not man enough. And one day I will cut out _his_
tongue and _his_ heart."
"Might the Filippeschi attack John and Philip, thinking it would hurt
you?" Simon asked.
The contessa thought for a moment and nodded. "Ah, that is very clever
of you. Certainly, they would treat any guest of mine as an enemy of
theirs." She smiled. "At any rate, you need not worry about protecting
the Tartars today. They are not here."