The funeral rites were already underway when Paris entered the courtyard.
The women and children had been moved earlier. Those gathered around Queen Hecuba's bier were soldiers, priests, elderly citizens, and officials who had remained behind to serve the city.
Hector stood beside the bier, one hand resting against the wood.
He had not spoken since the procession entered the courtyard.
Beneath the eastern colonnade, Paris kept his mother's list hidden beneath his cloak. He had already shown it to Hector and Lysander in the war room. The names were not proof of treason, but they were the people Hecuba had been watching before her death.
One of them stood near the western columns.
The harbour official wore a dark sash and carried a clay tablet beneath his arm. He spoke with two guards, yet his eyes kept drifting toward the temple entrance.
Paris crossed the courtyard.
Lysander was watching both the ceremony and the temple.
"The harbour official," Paris said.
