a. The podesta was here, but he had to
leave."

"And what are you doing? Just standing about? Have you left that poor
man's body to hang there since mid-afternoon, where women and children
could see it? Take him down at once. Are you not Christians? How can you
treat the dead with such disrespect?"

In the midst of her own horror, Sophia took comfort from Tilia's display
of strength, and wondered how the stout little woman felt inside.

Sophia had hated her at times, and still thought Tilia had done a
horrible wrong to Rachel. But what she felt for her now was mostly
admiration.

After all, all of them were equally guilty of what had happened to
Rachel. The blame should not fall on Tilia alone.

The beak-nosed officer called orders to others nearby. But his
expression as he turned back to Tilia was surly.

"There might be some question about whether _he_ was a Christian,
Madama. This is, after all, a house of ill repute."

"Ill _repute_!" Tilia blustered. "This is--this was--the handsomest
house of pleasure in Orvieto. And our patrons occupied the very highest
levels in the Church. You would be wise to have a care how you speak of
my house."

Sophia felt herself smiling. Amazing, when there was so much to weep
over.

"Would I?" The officer thrust his nose at Tilia. "Perhaps you can tell
me why such a splendid bordello with such fine customers needed a
torture chamber in the cellar? Or why you had to keep piccioni on the
roof?"

Sophia's body went cold. If they found out those were carrier pigeons
and where they went, the trouble here might be deep indeed.

"So that is what you have been doing!" Tilia stormed. "Looting my home!
And how much did you steal after the Tartars left? And no doubt
harassing my ladies, as if they had not been through enough already. And
leaving my Cassio to swing from a rope. My God, there has been murder,
kidnapping, rape, and theft done here, and you prattle of piccioni. What
have you done about catching the _bestioni_ who did this?"

Now the officer did look intimidated. "Madama, we are not certain who
did these things--"

"Not certain!" Tilia shook her fist at him. "Everyone in Orvieto knows
who did this. It was the French cardinal, Paulus de Verceuil, and the
Tartar ambassadors to the pope. Why are you here, standing about like
fools, when you could be pursuing them and bringing them to justice?"

The French, thought Sophia. If Simon had been here, would he have
allowed t