I looked back at James, feeling like I wanted to ask him something -- though I wasn't even clear what I wanted to say. But before I could speak, we both heard a noise.

Echoing from the other side of the great courtyard, around the curve of the tower, came a long, heartfelt cry, half a scream and half a moan, with an intensity in it like I had never heard before.

James' eyes lit up. "Come on," he told me. "This will be something valuable for you to see."

He began to lead me along a path between small gardens and groves of trees, heading towards the sound. The...