“I’m still confused. They provide information on the Donation of Constantine. But I believe my father discovered something strange in the text.”
Alcuin coughed and looked taken aback. “In that case it’s best I deal with this codex,” he decided. “And now, try to finish your work. I will keep searching for your father.”
When the monk left, she felt abandoned, and longed for a shoulder to lean on, for someone she could trust. Without intending to, she thought of Izam. He was so different than Hoos! Ever attentive and polite, always willing to help. She felt a little dirty thinking of him in such a way, but it was not the first time her thoughts had turned to him. His deliberate way of speaking, his warm voice, his kind eyes… Though she loved Hoos, sometimes she caught herself thinking of Izam, and it made her feel uncomfortable.
She considered Hoos’s strange conduct again, wondering why he was behaving in such a way. She trusted him. She truly loved him. She thought they would go to Fulda together, where they would start a family, and have strong and healthy children who she would raise and educate. Perhaps they would buy a large stone house, with stables outside, even. She even thought about decorating it with drapes so that Hoos would find it comfortable, and perfuming the rooms with rosemary and lavender. She wondered whether he had thought about such things, or if there was another woman, and that perhaps he had forgotten about Theresa’s love. Finally she turned to her parchments to continue copying, but she only got to the second line before thinking of Hoos again, and she knew that until she spoke to him, she would not be able to do anything well. She stopped writing, cleaned her instruments, and left the scriptorium intent on reclaiming the man she loved.
The soldier guarding the scriptorium informed her that Hoos Larsson could be found in the tunnel that connected the storehouses to the fortress. When Theresa arrived, she found him loading sacks of wheat onto a cart. At first Hoos appeared reticent to talk, but when she insisted, he stopped what he was doing and turned to her.
She spoke of her hopes and her needs. She told him that she dreamed of waking up beside him each morning, sewing his clothes, cleaning the house, and tending the vegetable garden, learning to cook so she could serve him as he deserved. She even asked him to forgive her, lest—without intending it—she had done something wrong.
Hoos acted distant, however, and impatient for her to finish. When she demanded a response, he said only that he had slept too few hours because he had been searching for her father. He told her he had interrogated half the city, scoured every nook and cranny, but it was as if he had been swallowed by the earth.
His words moved her. “So, you still love me?”
His only response was to kiss her, making all her fears fade away. Theresa felt happy. Still in his arms, she told him what had happened with Zeno and how he’d shown her to the crypt.
“Why didn’t you tell me before?” he said, stepping back in surprise.
Theresa argued that he was always busy. And she was terrified that someone might overhear and attempt to capture her father.
“He’s accused of murder,” she added as a reminder.
Hoos nodded, but Theresa insisted that her father was innocent. Zeno had amputated his arm and could testify to it. Then she began to cry inconsolably. Hoos was attentive, embracing her tenderly. He stroked her hair and promised her that from that moment on everything would change, he even asked her to forgive him for his foolish behavior. He explained that events had overwhelmed him, but that he loved her with all his soul and would help her find Gorgias.
“I’ll visit the crypt you speak of. Does anyone else know its location?”
She told him that only Alcuin was aware of its existence.
Hoos shook his head, repeating to her that she should not trust the monk. Then he asked her to go back to the scriptorium, promising that as soon as he discovered anything, he would come for her.
On the way to the scriptorium, Theresa recalled that, according to Alcuin, Genseric was already dead when he was stabbed, and she thought to herself that Hoos should be made aware of this fact. She had sworn to Alcuin that she would not tell anyone, but in reality that oath concerned the document, and not a matter that might prove vital for finding her father.
Turning around, she returned to the part of the tunnel where she had left Hoos, but all she discovered were a few abandoned sacks of grain. Surprised, she looked around and saw a side door, through which she could hear voices. She pushed the door open and walked down a narrow corridor, at the end of which she thought she could make out two faintly illuminated figures. One of the appeared to be a cleric. The other was Hoos Larsson. She continued until, to her surprise, she heard them arguing about her.
“I’m telling you, that girl is a problem. If she knows where the crypt is, she could tell anyone. We must eliminate her,” the cassocked man asserted.
Theresa’s heart thumped.
“And the rest of them? The girl trusts me and will do what I say. She doesn’t know about the twins—or about her father and the mine,” said Hoos. “When she has finished the document, then we’ll get rid of her.”
The cleric shook his head, but then agreed.
Hoos Larsson brought their conversation to a close, and without saying good-bye he made for the door.
When Theresa realized he was heading her way, she ran down the corridor toward the exit. But as she ran, she tripped over a sack of grain and fell to the floor. When she tried to stand up, Hoos was there.
He reached down and grabbed hold of her arm. “What are you doing here?” he asked without releasing her.
“I came back to tell you I love you,” she lied, trembling.
“From the floor?” Hoos had noticed the door that she had left ajar, but he said nothing.
“In the darkness, I tripped.”
“Tell me then.”
“Tell you what?” she asked, red-faced.
“That you love me. Wasn’t that why you came back?”
“Ah, yes!” She was shaking as she forced a smile.
Hoos pulled her to him without letting go of her arm. He kissed her on the lips, and she didn’t protest.
“Now get back to the scriptorium.”
When at last he released her, Theresa’s soul was filled with hatred for that man and his serpent tattoo.