“His wife soon heard what happened. She disguised herself as a traveling musician, a troubadour, for she had a quick wit and could compose verses as easily as walk. She armed herself with only her lute and a little pouch of money. And she made her way alone, if you can believe it, from the heart of her own kingdom to the palace of the Saracen king, halfway across the world. There she played sweet music for him, which made the king, a famed warlord, weep like a child. He said before she left his court that he would grant her a wish, anything in the world so long as it was in his power. So, she stood on the palace’s pavilion, which overlooked the fields where the slaves worked, pointed at her husband, and asked the king to free him, to give the prisoner a single chest of treasure, and send him back on the fastest ship to his own country. And the king obeyed her, though he was sad to part with the musician, whom he had begun to consider his friend.

“Of course, the knight knew nothing about this. He thought it a miracle that his enemy had had a sudden change of heart. He was put on a ship and returned to his château, where all of his servants were waiting to greet him. Everyone except his wife, who, his steward informed him, had disappeared shortly after hearing of his capture, and this, as you can imagine, made him angry. He thought, So this is how my love is repaid! How fickle the heart of woman is!

“Yet only a few days later, his wife, who had taken a much slower ship back home, appeared before her husband. And the knight did not recognize her. She was so changed. Her hair cut like yours, Joan, but in a slightly improved style and much cleaner, without lice or any fleas. She wore men’s clothes, and even the manner in which she walked was different. She had become famous around the world for her verses and music. Every prince and king had invited her to court to play her lute and sing for them, but she had decided to come home. She missed her husband and had always been a good mistress to her servants.”

Joan waits. You cannot end the story there, her expression says. That would be cruel.