forces and the loser does not get to dictate terms to the winner. When he demanded that Saladin honor the pact as agreed upon, the Saracens went off to consult with their lord. He sent word back that he was not willing to turn over the Cross, the prisoners, or the money unless we either freed the garrison now or handed over hostages of our own. After that, the meeting ended in acrimony and mutual accusations of bad faith.”
“But we already have Saracen hostages—the Acre garrison,” Berengaria pointed out. “It does not make sense to release them and then replace them with other hostages. I do not see how that benefits Saladin. Do you, Joanna?”
“No, I do not.” Joanna had begun to pace. “But a delay would be very much to his benefit. The longer he can keep Richard and our army at Acre, trying to resolve these issues, the more time he has to refortify the coastal cities and castles. Richard thinks that is his real objective. You know the man, Lord Humphrey. Do you agree?”
As she looked intently into his face, Joanna was struck anew by how very handsome this man was; his dark eyes were wide-set, his skin smooth and clean-shaven, his full mouth shaped for smiles and songs. But he would not make a good husband for a queen; his beauty could not compensate for the lack of steel in his spine. He was a poulain, though, born and bred in the harsh splendor of the Holy Land, and she thought that made his opinion worth hearing.
Humphrey seemed to be weighing his words, like a man striving to be fair. “Yes, it is indeed in the sultan’s interest to delay as long as possible. He knows how desperately we want the True Cross, and he may well think that we will let him drag the negotiations out because there is so much at stake for us.”
Joanna’s eyes searched his. “Yet you still say he is a man of honor?”
“I do, my lady,” he said firmly, but then he gave her a charming, rueful smile.
“But it has been my experience that honor is often the first casualty in war. Saladin deserves our respect, is a finer man in some ways than many of my Christian brethren. He is still our enemy, though, and he is pledged to what they call the ‘lesser jihad,’ war against the infidel. I’ve always found it interesting that their holy men preach that Muslims who fight in the jihad will be granted admission to Paradise, just as the Holy Father promises that those who take the cross will be absolved of their sins.”
They both were staring at him. “Surely you are not equating Christianity with beliefs offensive to God?” Berengaria said, with unwonted sharpness in her voice.
“No, of course not, Madame.” Humphrey was accustomed to having to offer such reassurances, for his was a world in which intellectual curiosity was not viewed as a virtue, not when both Christians and Muslims were convinced that theirs was the only true faith. “I am simply trying to understand Saracen thinking. We are sure we are doing God’s bidding, yet Saladin is sure of that, too. He is not by nature a cruel or heartless man. But he will do what he thinks necessary to expel us from the Holy Land.”
“Just as my brother will do what he must to recover Jerusalem,” Joanna said proudly. “And he will prevail, for God truly is on our side.”
The women withdrew soon afterward, leaving Humphrey alone in the courtyard. He wished he could share their certainty. But he did not think Joanna and Berengaria understood how cleverly the sultan was boxing the Christians in. How could the English king give up an opportunity to recover the True Cross? Saladin could have found no better bait than the holiest relic in Christendom. Yet they could not remain in Acre much longer without jeopardizing the entire campaign. Moreover, if the Saracen garrison were not ransomed, what was to be done with them? He sat down on the rim of the fountain, watching as the sky began to redden. He would normally have taken pleasure in such a splendid sunset, for he had an artist’s eye as well as a poet’s soul. But tonight he could think only of the day’s troubling impasse and the danger it posed to his homeland.
THE NEXT DAY, the Duke of Burgundy returned from Tyre with the rest of the Saracen hostages, Conrad having grudgingly yielded