A Flame in Byzantium aoc-1
Page 28
"Captain?" the older scholar ventured.
"I'm sorry," said Drosos, coming back to himself. "I was attempting to assess the—"
"—the magnitude of the task," the younger scholar supplied enthusiastically. "Yes, it must be a challenge to find the most effective means to burn such large buildings."
"A challenge," Drosos echoed as if he did not comprehend the word.
By the time Drosos left, the moon was down and the streets were wholly deserted. He set a brisk pace for his Guard and would not speak to them as they made their way back to the small palace where the Byzantine garrison was housed. Once there, he dismissed the soldiers and went back to his reception room, black despair in his heart.
"Captain." Chrysanthos shook his head and got unsteadily to his feet, a yawn concealed behind his hand.
"Chrysanthos," Drosos exclaimed angrily. "What are you doing here?"
"You wanted me to stay," Chrysanthos reminded him sleepily.
"And I wakened you." His face showed no emotion.
"I was drowsing," Chrysanthos admitted. "But I'm awake now."
Drosos had gone to the window, drawn by the dark mass of the Library. He stood as if transfixed by the sight, though it. was now impossible to make out anything more than an irregular shape where he knew the buildings to be. "Only one will be left when we're through," he said after a little time.
Chrysanthos heard the pain in Drosos' words and had no anodyne to offer. "At least there will be one."
"They'll probably be rid of that, one day," Drosos said unhappily. "It's like that, once the burning starts."
"Captain." He was not sure Drosos had heard him, but he went on doggedly. "Captain, you asked for wine. I brought two skins with me. They're right here."
Drosos turned heavily. "Wineskins." He laughed harshly. "Why not?"
"And I have two cups," Chrysanthos said, taking them from a narrow shelf by the door. "Choose the one you wish."
"Oh, I leave that to you," Drosos said, coming away from the window at last. "Just so long as you keep it full. I want to be drunk as a barbarian whore." He threw himself down into his chair and looked at Chrysanthos expectantly.
"On good Cypriot wine?" Chrysanthos pretended to be scandalized at the suggestion.
"On any wine," Drosos said with determination. "God, God, God, I want to forget tonight." He sighed suddenly and deeply.
"Drosos—"
"Pour the wine," he ordered. "When we've drained a cup or two, I might say something. But then it will only be maundering, and it won't matter; you'll be drunk, too, and you won't care what I say." He braced his arm on the table at his side. "Hurry up there, Chrysanthos."
As Chrysanthos poured out the first generous measures of wine, he said, "Did you take that Egyptian slave to bed with you at last?"
Drosos stopped in the act of loosening the buckles that held his lorica and said, "I decided against it. She's tempting enough but… I never trust a slave in bed. Who knows why they're there?"
Chrysanthos held out the larger of the two cups to Drosos and lifted the other. "Well, here's to forgetfulness."
"Amen," said Drosos as he took the cup. He drank greedily, a little thread of wine sliding down his chin from the corner of his mouth. He wiped this away on his cuff. "No, I changed my mind about the Egyptian girl."
"You miss your Roman widow," Chrysanthos said, making the suggestion a teasing one; in Drosos' mercurial mood he did not know how he would react to such a remark.
"Yes," he said after taking a second draught. "That is just what I need," he told Chrysanthos.
"The wine or the widow?"
"Either. Both." He picked up the cup a third time but did not drink at once. "She would understand."
"Then it's a pity she's not here," said Chrysanthos, feeling his way with his Captain.
"Yes, a great pity." He drank and held out his cup for more.
They sat together until the sun came up; gradually their words became slurred and indistinct and their thoughts no longer held together. But though Drosos drank with single-minded determination, the anguish remained at the back of his eyes and nothing he could do or say touched it.
* * *
Text of a letter from Captain Ghornan to Pope Sylvestros .
To Pope Sylvestros, currently in Puteoli, Captain Ghornan sends greetings and thanks for his perseverance.
The tables and chests you found for me when we last dealt together have brought a higher price than we expected, and I have paid the monies to your wife's family, as you requested. You will find that they are more pleased with your absence now than they were a year ago.
However, I must warn you that the Emperor has ordered that more inspections for contraband be carried out on ships landing in Byzantion, and therefore I am considering marketing our goods elsewhere. There is a good market in Nicopolis which is not as profitable as that of Konstantinoupolis, but has the advantage that there are very few questions to answer and no soldiers to seize questionable items. It might mean that we do not realize as much gold, but we will have our hands and our ears which means much to me.
You mentioned that you found a villa near Vivarium that has eight fine chairs inlaid with ivory. That would be a treasure, but something that distinctive might be too risky for us just now. We've had some cargo identified as smuggled, and we had better save those until later. If you still have space in that warehouse in Ostia, it might be worth taking the chairs there and storing them for a while until a suitable market may be found for them. The same is probably true of those statues you mentioned, although shipping them is difficult. As to your suggestion that we take the last of the couches from that villa near Roma, I would recommend that you stay away from there for the time being since I have learned that the owner was able to identify some of the pieces when we offered them for sale in Konstantinoupo-lis.
It might be wisest if you were to return to your church in Konstantinoupolis for a short while. Your continued absence might create more questions than you or I wish to answer, and I for one do not want to come under suspicion, for then we will all have to be circumspect in a way that has not been necessary before. When you return, you need only claim that the battles in Italy were too costly for you to be able to continue your ministry without great risk. It might be fashionable to court martyrdom, but your metropolitan will endorse your prudence if you are not foolish about it.
The jewels you discovered in the villa near the Via Valeria are more promising than some of the other discoveries you have made, for they are small and it is not likely that the owners survived the onslaught of Totila's men. You can put the jewels into large barrels and fill the rest with grain or some other anonymous substance and the chances are excellent that it will go undetected through the inspections that are being imposed upon us all. You can indicate that you are bringing grain or something similar to your family or the poor who come to your church and it is certain that you will be unscathed.
Let me also remind you that once you are back with your wife and your church that it will be necessary for you to have a consistent tale to tell them all. You can prepare that in advance, but once you have decided on it, you must memorize it and hold to it, or there are those who will be prepared to leave your name with the officers of the Censor and then you would be in a very bad position. As harsh as the magistrates are being with sailors accused of smuggling, they are more severe with popes who take advantage of their cloth and calling to turn the service of their faith to profit. In your case, they might want to make an example of you. Guard yourself well, you Orthodox heretic.
As soon as it is safe, we will deal together again, but not, I think, in Konstantinoupolis. If you think of a market we might exploit, let me know of it.
This by my own hand and with the recommendation that you not keep it in your possession for more than a day or two since it would go hard for us both if it were discovered,
Ghornan
9
When Eugenia came into the vestibule of
her house she was startled to discover Simones waiting for her. "Is… has something happened to your mistress?" she asked, unable to account for his presence and wanting her majordomo to hear whatever it was that the eunuch had come to tell her.
"She is doing much the same," said Simones as he made a reverence to Eugenia.
"The General then? Has there been a change in his condition?" She felt puzzled and worried and when she spoke again, her words came faster than before. "You are disturbing me, Simones."
"Perhaps you might spare me a little time, great lady." He sounded so self-deprecating that Eugenia nearly called him insolent.
"I have other tasks," she said, starting to move away.
"It is important, or I would not have come." He looked at her directly, without any apology. "There are some questions that I hope you will answer for me."
"What questions are those?" Her voice was sharp.
"They are only for your welfare, great lady. You need not fear my motives." He glanced at her majordomo. "If you were to grant me a little time and privacy… ?"
"Oh, if you're determined," she said, her mouth turning down with irritation. "The smaller reception room is this way." She indicated the way as she said to her majordomo, "Isa, leave us alone until I send for you.
There is more than enough work for you and the others. Tend to that while I discover why this slave has come."
"As you speak it is done, great lady," said Isa, making his reverence and withdrawing quickly.
"Very well; tell me." Eugenia was following Simones down the hallway, her patience already wearing thin.
"That is my intention," said Simones as he entered the smaller reception room and closed the door behind Eugenia so that they were alone. "You have not called at the house of my master of late."
"Your mistress is ill," said Eugenia bluntly.
"My mistress is no longer influential," Simones corrected her. "If she had kept her position, you would not have let her illness keep you away."
"Of all the brazen—" Eugenia began indignantly.
"Great lady, if you insist on these performances we will accomplish little." Simones had folded his arms over his wide, muscular chest and he waited while she turned startled eyes on him and fell silent. "You have not come to see Antonina, and she finds this troubling."
"I'm sorry to hear that, but she understands my predicament. She would tell you that herself." Eugenia smiled beguilingly. "If that is what you were sent to tell me, I'm sorry to tell you that Antonina and I have—"
Simones moved a few steps closer to Eugenia. "I think it would be very wise of you to resume your visits."
Eugenia laughed in disbelief. "You think that, do you? You? A slave?"
"Yes. It would be sensible for you to write Antonina a letter, telling her that you have heard that she is not well and that you wish to spend some time with her in spite of the risk you run in terms of making the match you wish to have."
"You are not to speak to me that way!" Eugenia ordered him.
"I will speak to you as I wish," said Simones with contemptuous calm. "And you will listen to me and thank me for what I tell you."
"What nonsense are you—" Eugenia was angry and she spat out the words quickly, her face ugly.
"And you will be rewarded for what you do." He was unperturbed by her outburst.
"By you?" she scoffed.
"By the officers of the Court Censor," said Simones, and waited while Eugenia considered his statement.
Eugenia started toward the door and then stopped. "The Court Censor?"
"Yes."
"What would a slave like you be doing to aid the Court Censor?" She had intended this to be sarcastic, but instead the tone was speculative. Her soft vixen's face grew crafty, almost predatory.
"Think of who I am, great lady, not what I am." He gave her time again. "There are many who want to know what transpires in the house of Belisarius, and there is no direct way they can find out. A man in my position knows many things and the officers of the Censor know this."
"But a slave—" she said with less certainty.
"Who better? You do not think that the Censor finds his servants only among those who are free. I might not be able to testify before magistrates, but what I learn can make investigations possible, and there are others to swear to the accuracy of what I say." He came closer to her, standing less than an arm's length from her. This was a serious breach of correct behavior and was reason enough for Eugenia to have him whipped. "Listen to me, great lady. You and I, working together, can do much. And we will be rewarded."
"If you think I would conspire with a slave, Simones," she warned him, her breath coming faster, "then you have a poor opinion of my character."
Simones laughed outright. "Be as indignant as you want; you will aid me or I will see that the shadow that falls over Antonina falls over you as well."
"You're threatening me?" Her head came up and her gentleness disappeared.
"No, great lady. A slave would never threaten one such as you. I am telling you what will happen, keeping you informed as an honorable slave ought to do." He made a malicious reverence to her. "Do not suppose that I won't, or that I will not be believed."
"You're ridiculous. If this weren't so absurd, I would have you thrashed for offending me." She moved away from him, pulling the folds of her paenula more closely about her.
"Go ahead, if you are willing to throw my assistance away," he offered her with mock generosity. "But you might reconsider, great lady. Who else is there who can aid you now? You are a widow and your means are limited. You have only your sponsor, and he cares little for what happens to you as long as your husband's estate is protected. You have no lover just now—ever since you dismissed Chrysanthos you have not had a lover for more than a few days. Your means are straitened and your prospects are not good." He revealed these unpleasant truths in a conversational way, strolling toward her as he spoke. "You could make good use of the Censor's gratitude. There would be money, undoubtedly. There would also be introductions and endorsements. You do not need me to tell you the advantages that would bring you. You are not going to be lovely forever, and you should keep that in mind when you deal with me."
Eugenia had turned slightly pale at Simones' recitation, but she rallied. "You talk as if I were about to become a pauper and a hag at once."
"Not at once," he said, speaking with great care. "But suppose you were implicated in the conspiracy that my master is suspected of leading? What then? Do you think you could find anyone but an ambitious merchant to marry you? And do you think your sponsor would continue to pay for your support if he thought you had dishonored your husband's memory?" He let his hand trail down Eugenia's arm. "What would you do then, great lady?"
"There is no conspiracy," Eugenia said, pulling away from his touch.
"If the Censor and the Emperor say there is a conspiracy, then, great lady, there is one." He reached out for her again.
"Don't," she snapped.
He sank his fingers into her upper arm. "You can earn the good opinion of the Emperor or you can lose all favor. It is up to you."
"And presumably to you," she added. "Let go of me."
"All in good time, great lady," said Simones, and he smiled at her. "They did not make a girl of me, Eugenia. There is still enough man left of me that you and I could both derive benefit from it." He held her firmly as she tried to rake his face with her nails. "That is foolish."
"Release me!" She struggled in his grip.
"Not just yet, Eugenia." His hands tightened painfully. "You will have bruises if you persist. Stand still and listen to me."
She tried to kick him, but in the long, trailing folds of her garments the impact made little impression. "You cur! You offal!"
"Eugenia," he said as he dragged her close against him. "You will be my ally or you will be nothing."
Whatever additional insults she had been about to speak were silenced. She closed her eyes. "You are humiliating me."
"Please," she begged.
"You will be my ally," he repeated. "You will do what I require of you when I require it, and in the end you will be rewarded. Think of it, Eugenia. You will have a comparatively short time of this—perhaps a year at most—and then you will be free to find yourself another husband, and to enjoy the favor and approval of the Emperor. You will not need a friend like Antonina used to be to obtain introductions and other favor." This time he kissed her with calculated fervor; he opened her mouth with his tongue and he pressed her against him. Only when he felt her respond did he stop.
"You disgust me," Eugenia said.
"You'll get over it," he informed her. "Wait and see; you may even come to like me." He slid his hand down her arm and grasped her hand, drawing it between them. "There; is that enough for you?"
She tried to pull her hand away. "You're very large."
"When they docked me, they left the best part." His expression was smug. "There are great ladies who prefer eunuchs like me. We are the safest lovers. You will never get a child off of me, and I will outlast any whole man, who eventually spurts and withers." He smiled. "Do not try to hurt me, Eugenia. If you do, I will hurt you."
Her eyes were bright with fear and another unnamed and unadmitted emotion. "Why are you doing this to me?"
"I need your help. And I have wanted you a long time." At last he let her go. "You had better consider everything I have said. Everything."
"But… what…" She rubbed her arms where his hands had been.
"Think of the advantages I offer you. Or do you think that a mere eunuch slave cannot do the things I have said?" His face darkened. "Well?"
"You are being unkind to me, Simones." She said this wistfully, a little of her languishing sensuality coming back into her manner.
"I will be worse than unkind if you refuse to work with me. I will make you regret your refusal more than you can imagine."