Panaigios dismissed this with a wave of his hand. 'When we have learned all that we require, then a decision will be made regarding you, but not until that time.' He waited. 'Tell me more about this material.'
'It shows that my master was part of a conspiracy. I will be happy to produce it as soon as I am assured that I will not suffer the same fate as my master and his household. I want a promise of manumission and I want the assurance that I will be paid for what I supply.' He leaned back. 'Until these things are arranged, I will not show you this material.'
Panaigios sighed. 'I cannot give you any such assurance. It isn't my place to do so. If you think that you must have some guarantee, then the Censor must be the one to decide it.' He started to gather up the vellum sheets. 'I will speak of this to my master.'
'If you do not give me the things I ask for, the material will disappear.' Simones gave another of his lupine smiles.
'What?' Panaigios stopped his work and stared at Simones. 'Are you threatening to destroy proof of treason?'
'Unless I obtain what I want.' Simones raised his head, his strong jaw more prominent than usual.
Panaigios stacked all the sheets together, watching his hands as he did. 'Let me warn you, slave, that you are placing yourself in grave danger.'
Simones chuckled. 'I have been in danger from the start of this. It is nothing new to me.'
'Then you have not considered your role in this. You have convinced yourself that you are indispensable to our investigation, and you are not. You are a slave and you have been convinced that your assistance—assistance, not direction—is needed in order to determine what your master's part has been in any plot against the Emperor. To imagine otherwise is a grave mistake. You are not the person who guides this inquiry, the Court Censor is, and all of us are his tools.' He said the last in a lowered tone, but with an expression that was both severe and desolate.
Simones heard this out with a mixture of impatience and rancor. 'You are his tool as well, of course,' he said at last, intending to insult Panaigios.
'Certainly. We are all his tools, and he is the tool of the Emperor.' Panaigios waited a moment, then said more briskly, 'If you have knowledge, not suspicion but knowledge, which can link Belisarius directly to a conspiracy, then you must give it to me at once, for to withhold it is a greater treason than the action that inspired it.'
'What?' Simones said, for the first time frightened of the Censor's secretary.
Panaigios nodded twice. 'If you do not produce this material, whatever it is, and do so at once, then you are knowingly aiding those who oppose the Emperor, and that is a treasonable act.'
Simones drew back, disliking the firm attitude Panaigios was showing now. 'I… I am not quite certain that I can put my hands on the material.'
'You had better be, or your accusations will be relayed to your master and he can deal with your insubordination.' Panaigios stood up. 'You have two days to accomplish this. If you do not, then I will have to review your position with this investigation. Whatever the decision, you will not be permitted to act as independently as you have in the past, for it is obvious that like most slaves, you cannot handle any authority.'
'You are wrong!' Simones said with force as he got to his feet. His face had darkened and his eyes were huge. 'You came to me, and you gave me orders that required I act against my master. It was on your orders that I have done the things I've done, and you are the one who must be responsible for whatever I have done and whatever I will do.' He was breathing hard, as if he had just run a long way.
'You are a slave.' Panaigios stepped back. 'I dismiss you until you have considered your situation closely and have made up your mind what you intend to do. I will not stop you from making any decision you wish, but I warn you now that there is very little chance you will be excused if it turns out that your allegations are false. The malice of slaves is well-known, and you are no exception to that rule.' He indicated the outer door. 'I hope you will not dawdle.'
It took all the control Simones had learned over the years for him to leave the room without smashing his fist into Panaigios' face. He made a reverence and touched his collar in a gesture of submission, then turned sharply on his heel. 'I will find the material,' he vowed, wishing now that he had taken the time to plant such a document within Belisarius' house. There might not be a chance now that the Censor's men were on the alert. He cursed Panaigios and himself as he strode from the palace of the Censor.
Panaigios did not hurry to Kimon Athanatadies' quarters at once, although he was aware his duties required him to report to his superior immediately. Instead he sought out the smallest chapel in the palace and took time to pray, for he was terribly afraid. He wanted to seek out Thekla again, to listen to her strange prophecies and try to determine his course from her cryptic statements, but he knew he was being watched, and such an action now might be construed as a ploy to secure a higher position within the government, which the Court Censor would view as highly questionable. There had been too many instances lately when Athanatadies had asked Panaigios awkward things, and he knew his answers had been far from satisfactory.
By the time Panaigios rose from his knees, Simones was halfway to Eugenia's house, his thoughts growing sterner with every step he took. He was determined to show himself to be trustworthy if he had to counterfeit the proof of Belisarius' treachery himself.
At Eugenia's house he was made to wait while she prepared herself to receive him. This only served to make him more aggravated than he already was, so that when Eugenia entered her larger reception room, Simones was glowering with ire.
'Lord protect us,' Eugenia said, trying to find the right note to take with Simones. 'You look as if half the mules in the market had stepped on your feet.'
'I don't find that amusing,' Simones said, coming to her side and putting his arm around her. 'Find another way to amuse me.'
She became very still. 'Simones, there are slaves in my house who will defend me.'
'Summon them,' he offered, almost eager for the opportunity to have direct conflict with someone. 'I will resist, but that mustn't bother you. You would like to be fought over, wouldn't you? It would be better if those fighting weren't slaves, but that is better than nothing.' He put his hand under her chin and forced her to look at him. 'Go ahead; summon your help.'
'Not yet,' she said, fearful of what might happen.
'Disappointing, but wise.' He released her. 'Sit down. I must talk with you.'
'Simones—' she began in protest.
'I said sit down. Unless you want it known what you have done at my behest.' He pointed to the smaller bench near the window. 'Now.'
Slowly Eugenia did as she was told. 'Now what?' she asked when she had folded her hands in her lap.
'Now I must know if you have any letters or notes written by my master to you or to friends here?' He braced his hands on his hips.
'I don't think so,' she said, puzzled at his remark.
'Are you certain?'
Eugenia shook her head. 'It would not be proper for Belisarius to write to me, in any case, unless at the request of his wife. Since Antonina is able to read and write, there is no reason for her husband to send anything to me.' She fiddled with the edge of her paenula. 'I can only think of one man who received any word from Belisarius while he was here, and he has not been… to visit me for well over a year. He was one of Belisarius' officers in Italy.'
'Drosos?' suggested Simones.
'No; Chrysanthos. He is going to be posted abroad soon, or so he was told by his superiors. They're doing that with a good number of Belisarius' former officers, you know. Most of them are on the frontiers, but a few have… disappeared entirely. They might as well have ceased to exist.' She was twisting a section of the edge of her paenula now. 'I don't remember any other—'
'Chrysanthos won't do,' Simones cut her off. 'He's too well-connected for my purposes. I need someone who is not highly placed and has few friends near the Emperor. It's a shame you aren't a friend of Drosos. He would be ideal. He's regarded as a rogue ever since his protest.'
'I don't know Drosos, except for the few times I saw him at your master's house,' said Eugenia.
'You might try to renew the acquaintance,' Simones said, his tone more thoughtful.
'I doubt it,' she replied. 'I was never able to catch his attention. He was always enthralled by Olivia Clemens, the Roman widow who—'
