Trembling, Sordello knelt by Daoud's bed. "I feared for you, Messer David. I am happy to see you looking so well." Would Sordello give up the pleasures of hashish and the promise of a paradise with beautiful women? What reward could Simon de Gobignon offer him that could be more enticing? _Yet, I have always known that this man was a two-edged sword that could turn in my hand._ "The Monaldeschi were prepared for us," said Daoud. "They were armed and on their battlements when we came. Someone warned them." "You do not suspect me, Messer David?" Sordello, crouched on the floor by Daoud's bed, looked up slyly sideways at him. "I would be a fool to injure one who has been so great a benefactor to me." Daoud felt rage boil up inside him at Sordello's false abjectness. He glared at the old bravo and saw a faint tremor in his jaw. Propping himself up on one elbow, he leaned toward Sordello. "Your fawning insults me. I think you lie." Hatred briefly twisted Sordello's face. Then a knowing smile made it even uglier. "Messer David, if I had told the Count de Gobignon what I know about you, you would surely be dead by now." Daoud forced himself to his feet. The pain shot through him like a lightning bolt, but in his fury he ignored it. He bent down and seized Sordello's throat with his right hand. He fell back sitting on the bed, pulling the popeyed bravo toward him so that his good knee pressed into the Sordello's chest. Somewhere, nearby, he heard Sophia cry out in protest, but he paid no attention. "Confess that it was you, and I will kill you quickly," Daoud whispered. "I have shown you paradise, and I can show you hell. If you do not give yourself up now, and I find out later that it was you, I will inflict torments of mind and body on you beyond your imagining." "David, stop, you will kill him!" Sophia screamed. She gripped Daoud's arm, digging her nails into his muscle. Gradually Daoud released his hold on the corded throat. With his eyes alone, employing the Hashishiyya "look that imprisons," he held Sordello fast. The bravo's eyes were bloodshot and red-rimmed. He was glad Sophia had stopped him. She must have realized that he would regret it if he killed Sordello in a fit of rage. If Sordello had not betrayed them, his false reports to Simon de Gobignon would still be useful. And in any case his sudden disappearance immediately after the attack on the Monaldeschi palace would draw de Gobignon's attention. "If it is not you, then there is another among us who told Simon de Gobignon about my plans. If you want to save your life, you will find out who it is." "I promise you, Messere." Sordello's voice was a hoarse croak. "Whoever the escremento is, I will deliver his life into your hands." Sordello stood up, then turned to Sophia and bowed. "Madonna," Sordello gasped. "My eternal gratitude--" "Just get out," Sophia snapped.