He sat there, fighting off sleep, until he heard a clatter of footsteps and saw Count Ugo arriving with the guard. He spotted Mauro and a look of cold fury came on to his ghost-like face.

‘What is this dirty peasant doing in here?’ he said.

‘He’s with me,’ said James.

‘You should not bring your servant in here,’ said Ugo. ‘He is filthy. Look at him.’

‘He’s not my servant, he’s my friend,’ said James and he shook Mauro, telling him to wake up.

As Mauro got groggily to his feet Ugo spoke to him viciously in Italian.

Mauro looked half asleep and confused, not sure where he was or what was going on. He’d been through a lot and his face was still horribly bruised from the fight.

‘Pastore,’ he muttered to James and sniggered.

Ugo snapped at him, yelling now. Mauro replied, equally angrily, and James saw the Count’s eyes go wide and his nostrils flare.

He slapped Mauro hard across the face. Then, before James could do anything, the boy snorted, and spat once at Ugo’s feet, leaving a sticky gob of saliva on the tiled floor.

Ugo shrank back and put a hand to his mouth, gagging. ‘Look what he has done!’ he screamed at James. ‘How dare he spit on my floor! He is a disgusting peasant. I will beat him for this.’

‘No,’ said James. ‘You shouldn’t have slapped him. He’s not your servant. He’s with me.’

‘I am going to hurt that boy so badly.’

‘No,’ said James again. ‘You will do nothing to him.’

Ugo glared at James, and for the first time James saw colour in his chalk-white face. His cheeks and neck were flushed red.

‘How dare you give me orders,’ he said quietly.

Thank God, Zoltan came back at that moment.

‘Come now, Ugo,’ he said casually. ‘It is not so bad.’ He pulled out a handkerchief and quickly wiped up the mess. ‘There,’ he said. ‘It is gone.’

But Ugo hadn’t finished with James.

‘This is your fault, boy,’ he said coldly. ‘You should have more control of your servants.’

Before James could speak Zoltan put his good arm across his shoulders. ‘Really, Ugo,’ he said. ‘He is just a boy. And he is looking for his cousin. Come along, James, I think I know where he is.’

Zoltan said this all in a rush and ended by sweeping James and Mauro out of the building.

‘Keep walking and don’t look back,’ he said. ‘I think the more distance we put between ourselves and Count Ugo, the better.’

‘Thanks for helping me,’ said James.

‘My pleasure.’ Zoltan smiled at him. ‘But I think you should get your friend well away from here. Ugo is a dangerous man when he is angry.’

‘I have to find Victor,’ said James. ‘Do you really know where he is?’