XLIIWhen she understood that her last bid had failed, Lystra shrugged her shoulders and tried to smile, as though the whole affair was one of little importance in any case. Bedwyr merely stared back at her impassively, waiting for the signal from outside. Lystra could hear the crowds in the amphitheatre talking with wild excitement now. That terrible silence had broken at last. At first she even wondered whether they were going to revolt and rescue her. Then she listened more intently. Her face hardened, for these were the sounds of men who are expectant of blood, not those of men smitten with horror or the desire for mercy.
She began to tear off her fine gown, then stopped as though she had suddenly remembered the presence of Bedwyr. She smiled at him calmly, though her heart was throbbi
