The Historian

Helen rests while Paul visits the Topkapı Palace, Sultan Mehmed II’s great commission. He reflects on Dracula and the sultan—both violent leaders—and sees danger everywhere he looks. When he returns to the inn, Helen says that her aunt has found a conference for them to attend, so that their visit to Hungary will appear legitimate. Paul will present a lecture; Helen offers to write it with him when he responds with anxiety. He holds her arm in affection.

Barley and the narrator are finally on the train bound for Perpignan.

Helen and Paul arrive in Budapest. He is overwhelmed by the vastness of its history. He worries that, as an American in a communist nation, he might present political problems to Aunt Éva or Helen. Nevertheless, they head for the university. A meeting of historians is taking place, and Helen introduces Paul to Géza József, another professor—one whom Helen clearly dislikes. Paul thinks that perhaps the two had once engaged in an ill-fated affair, and he grows jealous of the handsome professor. His thoughts are interrupted by the arrival of Aunt Éva.