back, I say again: so what? He may be Rome’s best general, but he’s not the only good one. You yourself are currently unemployed, except for those parade ground duties that bore you to death.”
She paused. A particularly garish tapestry hanging on the wall opposite caught her eye. Even in the seriousness of the moment, she found it difficult not to laugh. Her employer had obviously been the model for the heroic figure portrayed in the tapestry. A mounted cataphract in full armor, slaying some kind of monstrous beast with a lance.
“Is that a lion?” she asked lightly.
Sittas glared at the tapestry.
“It’s a dragon,” he growled.
“I didn’t realize dragons were furry,” commented Antonina idly. She and Irene exchanged a quick, amused glance. Sittas began to snarl something, but Belisarius cut him off.
“Let’s get back to the point,” he said firmly. “I think Irene’s suggestion is a good one. We might be able to get Sittas assigned to replace me in command of the army in Syria. That would put him close to the estate where Antonina’s doing her work. With Sittas nearby, she’d still have access to expert military expertise when she needed it.”
Irene drove over Antonina’s gathering protest.
“ You are not thinking, woman! You’re worrying over Belisarius’ safety and fretting over his prolonged absence.” The spymaster was suddenly as cold as ice. “You are being a fool, Antonina. The worst danger to Belisarius isn’t in India. It’s right here in Constantinople. Better he should be gone for a year or so in India, than gone forever in a grave.”
Startled, Antonina stared at her husband. Belisarius nodded.
“She’s right, love. That’s part of my thinking. Justinian.”
Antonina now looked at the spymaster. Irene grimaced.
“At the moment,” she said, “the greatest danger to Belisarius does come from Justinian. There’s nothing the Emperor dreads so much as a great general. Especially one as popular as Belisarius is today, after his victory over the Persians.”
“An expedition to India would be perfect, from that point of view,” chimed in Belisarius. “Get me out of Constantinople, away from the Emperor’s suspicions and fears.”
Irene brushed back her hair, thinking.
“Actually, if the whole thing’s presented properly, Justinian will probably jump at it. He’s not insane, you know. If he can avoid it, he’d much rather keep Belisarius alive. You never know when he might need a great general again, after all. But sending him to India, off and away for at least a year-oh, yes, I think he’d like that idea immensely. Get Belisarius completely out of the picture for a time, until the current hero worship dies down.”
Antonina’s face was pinched. “How soon?” she whispered.
“Not for at least six months,” said Belisarius. “Probably seven.”
Antonina looked relieved, but puzzled.
“Why so long?” she asked.
“The trade with India,” replied her husband, “depends on the monsoon seasons. The monsoon winds blow one way part of the year, the other way during the other part. You travel from India to the west from November through April. You go the other way-my way, that is-from July through October.”
He held up his hand, fingers outspread, and began counting off.
“We’re in the beginning of October. It’s too late to catch the eastward monsoon for this year. It’s almost over, and it would take at least a month or two to reach the Erythrean Sea. That means I can’t leave for India until the beginning of July, next year. Mind you, that refers to the part of the trip beginning at the south end of the Red Sea. Figure another month-no, two-to get from here through the Red Sea.”
He began to calculate; Irene cut him short.
“You won’t be leaving Constantinople for India until April, at the earliest. Probably May. Which, incidentally, is when Venandakatra has already announced he plans to return to his homeland.”
Antonina’s initial relief vanished.
“But-Irene, from what you’ve already said, now is the most dangerous time for Belisarius to be in Constantinople. Six months! Who knows what Justinian might do in six months?”
Irene brushed back her hair. “I know, I’ve been thinking about it while Belisarius was explaining the maritime facts of life. And I think I have a solution.”
She looked at Belisarius.
“Are you familiar with Axum?”
“The kingdom of the Ethiopians?” asked Belisarius. “No, not really. I’ve met a few Axumites, here and there. But-I’m a general, so there’s never been any occasion for me to encounter them professionally. Rome and Axum have gotten along just fine for centuries. Why?”
“I see a chance to kill two birds with one stone. As it happens, Venandakatra’s is not the only foreign mission in Constantinople at the moment. There’s also an Axumite embassy. They arrived two months ago. The embassy is officially headed by King Kaleb’s younger son, Eon Bisi Dakuen. He’s only nineteen years old. Barely more than a boy, although I’ve heard that he’s made a good impression. But I think the actual leader of the embassy is Eon’s chief adviser, a man named Garmat.”
“So?”
“So-this Garmat, by all accounts, is quite a canny fellow. And, I’ve heard, he’s been dropping hints here and there of the desire of the Axumites to forge closer ties to Rome.”
She paused, savoring the little bombshell.
“I didn’t think much of it, when I first heard. But it seems the Axumites are concerned over developments in India. Which, they are suggesting, pose long-term problems for Rome. And Garmat is quite frustrated that he’s getting no reception to his message. Apparently, he’s already announced that he’ll be returning to Axum shortly.”
She allowed the silence to continue for a moment.
“So, I have reason to think that the Axumites would welcome a friendly overture from some notable Roman figure. Such as a famous general who’s invited them to tour Syria on their way back to Ethiopia. A tour which he would present to Emperor Justinian as the first leg of a very lengthy mission which would eventually take him to India. After spending a few months visiting Axum, which, conveniently enough, is located right on the way to India.”
“The perfect place to wait for the monsoon,” mused Belisarius. “Out of sight, out of mind. Axum’s as remote as India, as far Justinian cares.”
He rose and began pacing again. His eyes narrowed, and he peered sharply at Irene.
“There’s more.”
Irene nodded. “Yes. First of all, such a tour would give you and Antonina a chance to return to your estate and spend some time there before you went on. I imagine that would be useful, for your armaments project.”
“And?”
“And-in light of what I’ve learned today, I think Rome should take Axum’s warning very seriously. And Axum itself. The truth is, we don’t really know much about them. Other than the fact that they’ve always had good relations with us, and that they’ve been Christians for two centuries, and that they have a naval capability.”
“Aren’t they at war in Arabia now?” asked Sittas.
“Yes,” replied the spymaster. “They invaded southern Arabia three years ago. They overthrew the King of Hymria, Yusuf Asar Yathar. The ostensible reason was that King Yusuf had adopted Judaism and was persecuting the Christian Arabs.” She chuckled harshly. “That does not, of course, explain why they conquered the rest of southwestern Arabia.”
“You think they might be allies?” asked Belisarius. “Against India?”
Irene shrugged. “That’s for you to find out, General. On your way to India.”
Belisarius was silent, for a time. Pacing.
“I think that’s it, then, for the moment,” he said at length.
He turned to Antonina.
“See if you can arrange a meeting with Theodora, love. I think that would be the best way to broach the subject to Justinian.”
