Princess Sophie.

　　Sophie felt hollow as she listened to the clicking of Teabing's crutches fade down the hallway.

　　Numb, she turned and faced Langdon in the deserted ballroom. He was already shaking his head asif reading her mind.

　　"No, Sophie," he whispered, his eyes reassuring. "The same thought crossed my mind when Irealized your grandfather was in the Priory, and you said he wanted to tell you a secret about yourfamily. But it's impossible." Langdon paused. "Saunière is not a Merovingian name."Sophie wasn't sure whether to feel relieved or disappointed. Earlier, Langdon had asked an unusualpassing question about Sophie's mother's maiden name. Chauvel. The question now made sense.

　　"And Chauvel?" she asked, anxious.

　　Again he shook his head. "I'm sorry. I know that would have answered some questions for you.

　　Only two direct lines of Merovingians remain. Their family names are Plantard and Saint-Clair.

　　Both families live in hiding, probably protected by the Priory."Sophie repeated the names silently in her mind and then shook her head. There was no one in herfamily named Plantard or Saint-Clair. A weary undertow was pulling at her now. She realized shewas no closer than she had been at the Louvre to understanding what truth her grandfather hadwanted to reveal to her. Sophie wished her grandfather had never mentioned her family thisafternoon. He had torn open old wounds that felt as painful now as ever. They are dead, Sophie.

　　They are not coming back. She thought of her mother singing her to sleep at night, of her fathergiving her rides on his shoulders, and of her grandmother and younger brother smiling at her withtheir fervent green eyes. All that was stolen. And all she had left was her grandfather.

　　And now he is gone too. I am alone.

　　Sophie turned quietly back to The Last Supper and gazed at Mary Magdalene's long red hair andquiet eyes. There was something in the woman's expression that echoed the loss of a loved one.

　　Sophie could feel it too.

　　"Robert?" she said softly.

　　He stepped closer.

　　"I know Leigh said the Grail story is all around us, but tonight is the first time I've ever heard anyof this."Langdon looked as if he wanted to put a comforting hand on her shoulder, but he refrained.

　　"You've heard her story before, Sophie. Everyone has. We just don't realize it when we hear it.""I don't understand.""The Grail story is everywhere, but it is hidden. When the Church outlawed speaking of theshunned Mary Magdalene, her story and importance had to be passed on through more discreetchannels... channels that supported metaphor and symbolism.""Of course. The arts."Langdon motioned to The Last Supper. "A perfect example. Some of today's most enduring art,literature, and music secretly tell the history of Mary Magdalene and Jesus."Langdon quickly told her about works by Da Vinci, Botticelli, Poussin, Bernini, Mozart, andVictor Hugo that all whispered of the quest to restore the banished sacred feminine. Enduringlegends like Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, King Arthur, and Sleeping Beauty were Grailallegories. Victor Hugo's Hunchback of No............