As for what you call orgies, I have no doubt this Legation has seen worse.
‘Whatever the case, he’s no fool. I saw straight through your Dispensator on that point, and I’ve now had over a month of personal observation. If he is to be of any use at all, he will need careful management – and that must come entirely from me.’
Theophanes moved deep inside the room. I think he stood opposite the Permanent Legate, but his voice came up to me clear though faint.
‘I grow tired of the repetition,’ he said, impatience now mingling with contempt. ‘Justinus told him nothing. The boy didn’t even touch the letter. As for Justinus, he was in a coma when he arrived at the Ministry. I left him dead in his cell. Had he spoken, it would be different. But his letter said nothing to the uninitiated.
‘So long as you stay locked in here, Silas,’ Theophanes said with finality, ‘your safety is guaranteed. But withdrawal means total seclusion. You will not receive anyone but me. You will not receive the Master of the Offices. You will not receive Phocas himself, should he come calling. You will certainly have no dealings with that lunatic Priscus. If he comes knocking, you will send at once for me.
‘You will remain out of sight. You will also ensure that Dem etrius does not leave the Legation. If I see him in public, I will have him taken in and flogged.’
‘You’ll do no such bloody thing!’ The Permanent Legate’s outburst came clearly through the window. Theophanes brushed him aside.
‘I do not want any repetition of the game you tried with such idiocy to play in Ephesus,’ he said flatly. ‘If the report of the investigating magistrates hadn’t landed first on my desk, you and I might have found ourselves swinging side by side from the City walls.’
Theophanes must now have been standing opposite the Permanent Legate. Whatever the case, his voice was low and fast, and I couldn’t hear the burst of conversation that followed. The next thing I clearly heard was about the younger Heraclius.
‘He’s stuck in Cyprus,’ Theophanes said with a laugh. ‘Remember the deal brokered by old Heraclius in Carthage between son and nephew – whichever gets here first to depose Phocas and become Emperor? That is a weakness in the whole scheme. Heraclius and Nicetas have been racing each other from the West like drunken charioteers.
‘Nicetas has Egypt, and virtually the whole Army of the East is now in his hands. But he can’t get here soon without ships, and Heraclius can’t easily move from Cyprus without military support. If either of them does arrive between now and Christmas, everything will be in place.’
Theophanes began another sentence that might have gone some way towards explaining things. But he broke off suddenly.
‘Did you hear that noise?’ he hissed, his voice a mixture of malevolence and alarm.
It was me. I’d lain so long in one place, you see, that sweat had dissolved the bird shit under my body. At first, it had been as hard and rough as concrete. Then, without warning, it had turned into a rather gritty lubricant. I’d slid forward and to the left. My left leg was trailing over with no support.
Again, I’d looked into the darkness. Then my hands had closed over the edges of the gutter. This time, though, it wasn’t a matter of restoring equilibrium. I had to hold myself continually in position. If I relaxed, I’d slide again. With a loud creak, the lead of the guttering bent outward. I’d moved my hands sharply left, to grab at it. The gutter held, but I couldn’t say how much noise I’d made.
Theophanes was back at the window. He pushed his head out, looking furiously to right and left. He ignored the dog that had started barking again in the distance. It was obvious he was looking for something much closer.
Thank God he didn’t look up. He’d have seen straight into my terrified face!
By the time he did think to look upwards – and I could hear his panicky breathing barely inches away – I’d managed to pull my head back. My fingers were still clamped hard on the outer edge of the gutter. But although Theophanes must have been too dazzled by the lamps inside the room to see those two tight lumps, he knew there was someone above.
‘I want you over here, Silas,’ he said softly. ‘I’m going for Alypius. If you see or hear anything, call out at once.’
I heard the quiet turning of a key in its lock. In a moment, Theophanes would be making his way along the right arm of the Legation, to see what he could from one of the far windows. And I could then expect Alypius underneath me, poking up with a sword as his master directed him.
I’d learned little enough from listening in to the conversation. But the fact that I knew of it must have made it worth putting me out of the way. A soft heart doesn’t get you far if you want to run an Empire.
It was lucky for me there was no balcony on this side of the dome. The only windows I could see from my position on the ledge were at the end of the right arm. By standing, of course, I’d see more, but I would be equally visible to anyone able to look in my direction. But if keys were needed – and there was always the need for secrecy – discovery was still some way off.
I slithered back along the ledge until I was on dry lead again. Too frightened of discovery even to think about falling, I got up as carelessly as if the drop had been only a few inches. In the same way, I turned and walked quickly back to the dome. There was a momentary rush of fear as I felt my heels projecting over the narrower ledge. But, body arched forward, I was shuffling quickly to the right.
The moon was now fully up. Unlike on my way out, I didn’t continually stop to feel my way, but kept moving further and further to the right – that is, increasingly out of view. As I moved, the patterns of light and shadow on the brickwork of the dome seemed to race past an inch from my nose.
As the furthermost windows of the Legation’s right arm disappeared behind the bulk of the dome, I heard the outward swing of shutters and a hissed command in the language Theophanes had spoken in the library.
If I jumped straight down to the balcony at the first safe point and dodged inside, I might not be seen.
17
‘And where the fuck have you been?’
His face making up for any lack of volume, Authari stood on the balcony. He must have been watching me all the way back from the dome.
Normally, you expect a certain dignity where exchanges with slaves are concerned. But these weren’t normal circumstances, and Authari wasn’t a normal slave.
‘Let’s get inside,’ I whispered. ‘I think we can be seen out here.’
As we stepped into the dim light of my office, I looked back once. Far over, in one of the last rooms of the Legation right arm, there was still a light burning.
Was that a face looking back at me? It might have been a trick of the moonlight.
‘You’re back early, Martin,’ I said, trying to sound nonchalant. I glanced at the wine jug to see if it had been refilled. No such luck!
‘I’m back late, Aelric – very late,’ Martin said. His face was ghastly in the moonlight that streamed into the room. Was that his blue robe he was wearing? I wondered vaguely to myself. I thought he’d gone out in the yellow one.
But he continued: ‘We’ve been hunting the place down for you. If I hadn’t seen you staggering round like a drunk on that ledge, we’d have raised the alarm. We were terrified for you up there. Please don’t do this again.’
I ignored the slight on my balancing abilities. Before I could think of a reply, Martin spoke again: ‘Did you see the Permanent Legate?’
‘No,’ I said. I thought briefly whether to say more and I decided not to. There had been a thawing of relations lately between Martin and Authari. On the one hand, it had saved me the endless trouble of mediating their spats. On the other, I was beginning to appreciate the value of ‘divide and rule’.
Besides, I needed time to sit down and think all this through. I was like a fisherman who’d set out to catch a meal and had pulled up a feast.
‘Do you know how dirty you are, Master?’ Authari asked, his temper back under control.
