'True. But verses occur in it.' Corsario kept his patience with difficulty in the face of such irritating mistaken assurance. When Bellarion laughed his assertion to scorn, he went off in a pet to fetch the book, so that he might finally silence and shame this ignorant disputant. Bellarion took his way to the terrace above, where the Princess Valeria sauntered. She observed his approach with stern eyes; and when he bowed before her she addressed him in terms that made of the difference in their ranks a gulf between them. 'I do not think, sir, that I sent for you.' He preserved an unruffled calm, but his answering assertion sounded foolish in his own ears. 'Madonna, I would give much to persuade you that I am your servant.' 'Your methods do not change, sir. But why should they? Are they not the methods that have brought you fame?' 'Will you give your ladies leave a moment, while I speak two words with you. Messer Corsario will not be absent long. I have sent him off on a fool's errand, and it may be difficult to make another opportunity.' For a long moment she hesitated. Then, swayed, perhaps, by her very mistrust of him, she waved her ladies back with her fan. 'Not in that direction, highness,' he said quickly, 'but in that. So they will be in line with us, and any one looking from the Palace will not perceive the distance separating us, but imagine us together.' She smiled a little in disdainful amusement. But she gave the order. 'How well equipped you are!' she said. 'I came into the world, madonna, with nothing but my wits. I must do what I can with them.' Abruptly, for there was no time to lose, he plunged into the business. 'I desire to give you a word of warning in season, lest, with your great talent for misunderstanding, you should be made uneasy by what I hope to do. If I succeed in that which brings me, your brother will be sent hence to-morrow, or the next day, to my Lord Facino's care at Alessandria.' That turned her white. 'O God! What now? What villainy is meant?' 'To remove him from the Regent's reach, to place him somewhere where he will be safe until the time comes for his own succession. To this end am I labouring.' 'You are labouring? You! It is a trap! A trap to ... to ...' She was starkly terrified. 'If it were that, why should I tell you? Your foreknowledge will no more assist than it can hinder. I do this in your service. I am here to propose an alliance between my Lord Facino and Montferrat. This alliance was suggested by me for two purposes: to serve Facino's immediate needs, and to ensure the Regent's ultimate ruin. It may be delayed; but it will come, just as surely as death comes to each of us. To make your brother safe while we wait, I shall impose it as a condition of the alliance that the Marquis Gian Giacomo goes to Facino as a hostage.' 'Ah! Now I begin to understand.'