"...Palermo seethed with tidings. Each newcomer brought a new story." (p. 374)
But the stories confirm that King Roger is victorious so:
"Sicily rejoiced." (ibid.)
The Patrol cannot rejoice yet. Manse Everard must ask even more than before of agent-in-place Emil Volstrup. While Volstrup's face pales:
"Outside, wind whooped and a dash of rain blew from wolf-gray heaven." (p. 376)
The sky is a threatening colour. A dash of rain could be the start of a downpour. While the city seethes, wind whoops. Of course. Poul Anderson knows how to set the scene for the greatest temporal crisis yet.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
And it wasn't just rebels and a hostile Papacy which King Roger had to contend with. The Byzantine Empire bitterly resented how the Hautevilles had wrested both Sicilies from it. The Emperor Manuel I (r. 1143-80) was to make determined if unsuccessful efforts to regain southern Italy during the reign of Roger's son William I (r. 1154-1166).
Ad astra! Sean
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