Antichrist_A Novel of the Emperor Frederic II by Cecelia Holland
Author:Cecelia Holland [Holland, Cecelia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Historical Fiction
Goodreads: 7057763
Publisher: Atheneum
Published: 1970-01-01T00:00:00+00:00
âTommaso, let me in.â
Behind the servant at the door Tommaso whirled and stared. âMy God. Leone, let him in. Hurry.â
The servant stepped back, still scowling, and Frederick barged through the door. Tommaso knelt briefly. âSire. What are youââ
Leone gasped and fell to his knees. Frederick nudged him with his toe. âYouâve got a suspicious doorman. Iâm glad you decided to come byâhe wasnât going to let me in.â
âLeone, go to the kitchens.â With a glance outside, Tommaso himself shut the door. âYou came alone? No wonderâ We have to be suspicious; Acre is full of burglars. Sire, what the devil are you doing all the way out here?â
âWhatâs wrong? Canât I go for a walk?â Frederick went on through the antechamber into the next room. The lamps werenât lit yet and it was nearly dark. âI wanted to talk to you.â
âYou should have sent for me.â Tommaso pulled a bellrope. âI wouldnât advise walking around Acre, Sireââ
âNobody knows who I am. It was fun. I came through the bazaar.â He stripped off his cloak, enjoying Tommasoâs flustered efforts to pull himself together. âEverythingâs gone wrong today.â
âNobody knew you. Trailing a Saracen and talking with a Sicilian accent, nobody knew you.â Servants rushed in, and he turned to order them around, to light lamps, to bring something to drink. Frederick sat down and studied the mosaic on the floor. âWhat went wrong today?â
âOhâtwo Franciscans and the Patriarch showed up at noon before weâd done anything at all about the command situation and spent the afternoon telling me I donât belong here.â The restless, uneasy depression came back to him. I feel wrong. âIn very clear terms.â
âWhy didnât you kick them out?â
âThe Patriarch and a pair of envoys from the Pope?â
âYouâre already excommunicatedâhe canât do anything more to you.â Tommaso headed for a chair, remembered he hadnât been given permission to sit, and looked over. Frederick nodded.
âYouâre always telling me I have to be nice to them.â
âNot that nice. What have you decided about the command? Anything?â
âOh. Hermann and I mulled it over this morning. I think Iâll arrange it so that the orders all come from the Grand Master or you or a council of all the commanders. Where is al-Kamil?â
âAt Nablus. With an immense army. But he isnât doing anything. Iâd wager heâll make a foray sometime soon, just to test you. Whom are you sending to him?â
âOne of Pieroâs bright young men. Just to conduct messages.â
âUmmm.â Tommaso rubbed his finger along his cheek. âDo you like Acre?â
âI like the bazaar. This one up the street with all the arches over it.â He kicked his shoes off. âThe rest of the city makes me nervous. Is it always this closed up and empty?â
âItâs not empty, make no mistake. There are tens of thousands of people in Acre, and every last one of them is looking out for himselfâthatâs all.â
âMaybe itâs just the way the buildings are.â The high walls, without windows, the towers and the guarded gates. Beyond one wall
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