The next morning, Bedouin's army approaches the city of Achmoun, which is on the coast of Mansoura, in the south-east of France. The king has been trying to cross the river, but he has been unable to do so for many months. He asks william if he knows of a ford that will allow the king to cross. william tells him that there is one, and that the king's men will accompany him to it. He also tells them that the guards have been reduced in numbers and that they must hurry to attack the citadel. He says that he sometimes asks himself who his side he is on, and he tells himself that he is attacking the citadel, now that no resistance is at all. It is almost disappointing, he says, that they have not been able to hold the citadel while they occupy the mosque. He tells his son that the women have led the men astray, and they must hold their hands. He explains that he understands the language of the pagans, but that the woman is not hiding from them, but rather from "some sort of evil." william says that if he were the emir, he would be the one leading the charge against the city, and no one would need help from him. He wonders if the whole army of the Franks is in the city. pelagio says that the count wanted to do his brother's bidding, but william was able to prevent it without revealing it to him.