Pope Joan_ A Novel - Donna Woolfolk Cross [206]
“Where there is one mistake, there may be others,” Joan responded. “Let us return to your testimony. You say you heard every word that was spoken while you were standing outside the door?”
“Yes,” Daniel answered slowly, mistrustful now.
“You have sharp ears, Magister Militum. Please demonstrate this extraordinary acuity for us by repeating this feat.”
“What?” Daniel was completely at a loss.
“Go stand outside the door, as you were before. The superista will speak a few words. When you come back, tell us what he said.”
“What kind of trumpery is this?” Anastasius objected hotly.
Lothar looked at Joan disapprovingly. “Surely, Holiness, the use of jongleur’s tricks undermines the gravity of these proceedings.”
“Majesty,” Joan replied, “what I have in mind is no trick, but a test. If Daniel is telling the truth, he should be able to hear the superista as well now as he did then.”
“My liege, I protest!” Anastasius said. “Such a thing is contrary to all the customary proofs of law”
Lothar considered the matter. Anastasius was right; the use of evidence to prove or disprove an accusation was a strange and novel idea. On the other hand, Lothar had no reason to believe Daniel was lying. No doubt he would pass Pope John’s unusual “test”—and that would lend greater credence to his testimony. Too much rested on the outcome of this trial for there to be any question afterward as to its fairness.
Lothar waved his hand imperiously. “Let the test proceed.”
Reluctantly Daniel crossed the length of the great hall and stood on the other side of the door.
Joan put a finger to her lips, signaling Gerold to keep silent. “Ratio in lege summa justitia est,” she said in a high, clear voice. “Reason is the highest justice in law.” She nodded to the guard at the door. “Bring Daniel back.
“Well,” she asked when he stood before her again. “What did you hear?”
Daniel groped for a likely answer. “The superista repeated his protestation of innocence.”
Those who had come forward to stand witness for him cried out in shocked dismay. Anastasius turned away in disappointment. Lothar’s perpetual dark frown deepened even more.
Joan said, “Those are not the words that were spoken. And it was not the superista but I who spoke them.”
Cornered, Daniel burst out angrily, “What difference does it make if I actually overheard the conversation or not? Your actions have demonstrated your true sympathies! Did you not ordain the Greek Nicephorus as bishop?”
“Ah!” Joan said. “That brings us to the last of the questions: Cur. Why? Why did you make false report of such a conversation to the Emperor? You were not motivated by truth, Daniel, but by envy— because your own son was passed over for the position Nicephorus received!”
“Shame!” a voice shouted from the crowd, and was quickly echoed by others. “Traitor!” “Liar!” “Rogue!” Even Daniel’s own sacramentales joined in the torrent of abuse, eager to dissociate themselves from him now.
Joan raised a hand, silencing the assembly. Expectantly they waited for her to pronounce sentence against Daniel. For so serious a crime, the punishment would surely be very great: first the tongue that had uttered the treasonous lie would be cut out, then Daniel would probably be drawn and quartered.
Joan had no inclination to exact so terrible a price. She had accomplished what she wanted, which was to vindicate Gerold. There was no need to take Daniel’s life; he was an unpleasant little man, spiteful and covetous, but no worse or more wicked than others she had known. And, Joan was certain, in this instance he had been little more than a tool in Anastasius’s hands.
“Magister Militum Daniel,” she said gravely. “From this moment forward, you are stripped of your title with all its lands and privileges. You will leave Rome today and remain forever banished from the Holy City and its sacred shrines.”
The crowd was hushed by this astonishing display of caritas. Eustathius,