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"Nay, fear not on e yet" He took the cup of wine froestured to a servant to refill it "I pray you, beloved, let ue? Do you fear I will carry tales to Theophanu?"

If her youthful teasing irritated hi disturbed on any account, since heIf I am the only o no farther than me"

She did not retreat easily from the field "This frater--as he calls himself--may carry tales farther than I ever would, Helue"

The horrible fear that they, who had the poould take froht Zacharias like a vise His legs gave out and he sank to his knees It was hard not to start begging for ue, Leoba," replied Villam patiently "But I will have solitude in which to interview hih clearly a woranddaughter and therefore, whatever equality in their stations in life, had to bow to the authority that age granted hih, kissed hio Zacharias recognized the gleam in his eyes The sin of concupiscence, a weakness for the pleasures of the flesh, afflicted high- and lowborn alike

Once she was gone, the old rave returned immediately to the matter at hand "I do not wish to know your naht to uards regarding the whereabouts of Prince Sanglant"

"You seem to me a reasonable man, my lord Now that I am thrown into the lion’s den, I lant Is he here?"

"Nay, he is not He has as good as declared open revolt against King Henry’s authority I feel sure that aunderstands what a serious offense that is"

"Ah," said Zacharias, for a ue, and he kne to phrase a question to protect hi information "Yet a man, even a prince, cannot revolt alone"

"Truly, he cannot" Villam knew this ploy as well "Do you mean to join his retinue, such as it is?"

"Nay, my lord I have not followed him with any such intention, nor have I at any time known of any plan to revolt My interests lie not in earthly struggles but with the colory of creation In truth, my lord, I have never spoken with the prince"

"Then why did you co about his whereabouts?"

"I hed delightedly "I am smothered in words Yet you trouble me, frater, with your talk of the heavens Do you knohat lant is?"

"What do you mean, my lord?"

"I pray you, do not play the innocent with me You look rather less artless and ue Prince Sanglant is no man at all but a half blood, born of a huht you wish to ask froerous ground Nor had Villae of Kansi-a-lari’s whereabouts, even though Zacharias knew she had walked north with her son

"Very well," he said after a long silence "I shall tell you the truth I walked east to bring the word of God to the Qu the last escaped This is the tale I bring to you: the Qu an arh, Bulkezu, and theyparties burn villages and murder and mutilate our countryfolk You kno the Quman treat their victims I have seen many a corpse without a head Your own lands in the east are at risk, my lord"

"Princess Sapientia was sent east with an arria"

"That I had not heard, my lord"

"Yet we’ve had no news froh I pray that is not the case This chieftain, Bulkezu, has plagued Wendish lands before Yet why seek Prince Sanglant? Here is the king and his court Surely your plea is best voiced before the king"

"Truly, it is," said Zacharias, thinking fast "But I have heard ’s a cannot march both south and east At the salant’s prowess in battle Is the regnant’s bastard firstborn not raised to be captain of the King’s Dragons? If the king hiainst the Quman, then it would take such an are and reputation, to defeat them"