"I have made some inquiries. There are people who may be able to tell me more."
Sensing his reluctance, Anastasius said nothing more of it but started to point out some of the landmarks on the dark outline of the opposite shore, beyond which lay Nicea.
Giuliano continued in his quest for hard facts that pointed to the likelihood of a crusade by sea stopping here for provisions and support, rather than going by land, a choice that still allowed for the possibility of passing the city before crossing to Asia and south.
If only Michael could persuade his people to yield to Rome! No crusader would dare attack the sovereign realm of a Catholic emperor! No crusader or pilgrim would gain absolution for that, whatever shrines he visited afterward.
But as Giuliano watched, weighed, and judged, he still felt like a man assessing the chances and profits of war, and he was ill at ease with himself for doing it.
Toward the end of the month, he received a message from Zoe Chrysaphes saying that she had managed to learn some facts about Maddalena Agallon. She was not certain that he would wish to hear them, but if he did, she would be pleased to receive him in two days' time.
Of course he went. Whatever the news was, he was compelled to hear it.
When he arrived at Zoe's house and was admitted by her servants, he was struggling to keep a veneer of composure. She pretended to notice nothing.
"Have you seen more of the city?" she asked conversationally, leading him again toward the magnificent windows. It was early evening, and the light was soft, blurring the harsher lines.
"I have," he answered. "I have taken time to visit many of the places you spoke of. I have seen some views lovely enough to hold me spellbound. But nothing as good as this."
"You flatter me," she said.
"Not you-your city," he corrected with a smile, but his tone allowed that the distinction was minimal.
She turned to look at him. "It is cruel to stretch out the response." She gave a slight shrug. "Some people find spiders beautiful. I don't. The silken thread which traps flies is clever, but distasteful."
He felt his pulse beating so hard, he was surprised she did not see it in his temples. Or perhaps she did.
"Are you certain you wish to hear?" she asked quietly. "You do not have to. I can forget it and tell no one, if you prefer."
His mouth was dry. "I want to hear." In that instant he was not sure if he meant it, but he would be a coward to retreat now.
"The Agallons were an excellent family, with two daughters," she began. "Maddalena, your mother, eloped with a Venetian sea captain, Giovanni Dandolo, your father. It seemed at the time that they were very much in love. But after less than a year, in fact only a matter of months, your mother left him and returned to Nicea, where she married a Byzantine of considerable wealth."
He should not have been surprised; it was what he had expected. Still, to hear it in words so clear in this exquisite room was the end of all denial, all escape into hope.
"I'm sorry," Zoe said quietly. The muted light from the window removed all lines from her face, and she looked as she must have in her youth. "But when Maddalena's new husband discovered that she was already with child, he threw her out. He would not raise another man's son, and a Venetian's at that. He had lost his parents and a brother in the sacking of the city." Her voice cracked, but she faltered for only a moment. "She did not want the responsibility and the burden of a child, so she gave you away. News of it must have reached your father, and he came and found you, and took you with him back to Venice. I wish I could have told you something less cruel, but you would have learned this sooner or later, if you had persisted in searching. Now you can bury it, and not think of it again."
But that was impossible. He was barely aware of thanking her or of struggling through the rest of the evening. He did not know what time it was when he finally excused himself and fumbled his way out into the night.
Chapter 40-42
Forty
THREE MONTHS LATER, GIULIANO ARRIVED BACK IN VENICE to report to the doge. Even more important for him was the need to recapture the