ndoing the laces down the front of her gown, then taking his
hands and holding them against her naked breasts. He nearly fainted with
the wonder of it.

And while he held her breasts, unable to take his hands away, her hands
moved downward, fumbling at his clothing and at her own, her body
sliding against him, her hand seizing his manhood, her legs opening to
receive him.

He groaned and squeezed his eyes shut, and she cried out with delight as
he entered her. She pushed herself upward, pressing her hands against
his shoulders, arching her back. His hands moved in gentle circles over
her breasts, her hard nipples pressing into his palms. Her hips thrust
against him furiously. He felt waves of pleasure rising to a crest in
his loins. His eyes came open and he saw, under the olive skin of her
face and neck and bosom, a deep crimson flush.

Her joyous scream echoed cross the lake.

* * * * *

"You shall come with me to Gobignon," he whispered in her ear. They lay
wrapped in his cloak, legs entangled, clothing in disarray, the wind
rattling the bare branches overhead. He heard his palfrey and her horse
in the brush nearby stamping and snorting restlessly. The horses must be
hungry.

"You shall marry me," he said.

She lay motionless, her head under his, resting on his arm. "I will not.
I cannot." Her tone was leaden, despairing.

After what had just happened, how could she still refuse him? Was she
ashamed? Did she feel she had sinned?

"We are as good as married now."

"Oh, Simon." She sounded as if she were talking to a hopelessly innocent
boy.

"There will be a new pope, and the alliance will be sealed, and my work
will be done," he said. "I agreed to do this, and I will see it through.
But I do not have to be a part of the war between Count Charles and the
king of Sicily, and neither do you. All I want is to go home and to take
you with me. With you beside me, my home will be all of the world that I
want."

Her arms were tight around him, but she was silent. It did not matter if
she did not answer him. After what had just happened between them, he
felt as if he knew her mind as fully as he knew her body. She loved him
and would marry him. He was sure of it.

Overhead, wild geese called.

LX

_Why did I ever make love to him?_

Sophia had asked herself the same question countless times since that
day by the wooded lake. For two months she had managed to keep aw