"Why is that good?" demanded Eon. "That fear will lead him-"
"To what? To avoid the Roman personally? Oh, to be sure. The Emperor has underlings to do that work. But do you think he will avoid the Roman politically? Quite the contrary, Eon. Once the Emperor settles his nerves, you can be sure he will raise suborning Belisarius to the highest priority."
Eon frowned. "Why?"
Garmat answered: "It's simple, Prince. A potential traitor is attractive in direct proportion to his stature. Until now, I suspect, none of the high Malwa beyond Venandakatra have seen Belisarius as anything other than an insignificant foreigner. For all their sophistication, Indians as a rule-and Malwa in particular-are a rather provincial people. Or, it might be better to say, so taken by their own grandeur that they tend to underestimate outlanders."
Shakuntala nodded firmly. Garmat continued:
"I cannot be sure, of course-I am hardly privy to the Malwa's high councils-but I suspect that Venandakatra has found it heavy going to convince the imperial court that this"-a contemptuous flutter of the fingers-"bizarre barbarian is worth much attention. It cannot have escaped your notice that the Emperor has kept us at a great distance ever since we arrived. To the point of gross rudeness."
Garmat spread his arms, smiling. "I can assure you that is no longer true. The reason for that little charade today was that the Emperor finally decided to let Venandakatra prove his argument. Which Venandakatra did, if to his own great personal chagrin."
Another collective chuckle. Ousanas added:
"Listen to your adviser, boy. You think too much of Venandakatra, that is your mistake. Venandakatra is furious, yes, with all the lividity of an embarrassed egomaniac. But even he-once he calms himself-will realize that the debacle can serve his interests. After all, he was right, wasn't he? Is not this grotesque semisavage foreign general-impressive?" The dawazz laughed gaily. "Oh, yes-the Emperor was quite impressed! But, what is even more important, so were his other advisers. As I said, I watched them very closely. Once they recovered from the surprise"-another laugh-"and made sure their precious slippers were safe, their eyes were riveted on Belisarius. With great interest, boy. Oh, very great. The kind of interest that a miser shows, when he discovers that a pebble is actually a nugget."
Eon was still frowning. Garmat sighed, tried again.
"Listen to me, Eon. I speak with the experience of an Arab nomad, who was haggling over trade goods from the time I was four. If you want to get the best price for your commodity-which is treason, in the case of Belisarius-you must do more than indicate that you simply have a price. That, Belisarius had already done, in the hints he's given to Venankatra these past months, and in his acceptance of the Emperor's gold. But then-then-you must show that your price is very high. Because the higher the price, the more valuable must be the commodity."
Still frowning.
"Fool boy!" snapped Ousanas. "The Emperor thought to buy himself another torturer-of which he has myriads already. Belisarius showed him the truth, when he ordered that execution. If the Emperor wants him, he can have him-so long as he is prepared to pay the price for a general. Of which, judging from the evidence, he has precious few."
Again, the beaming grin.
"Oh, yes, boy-be sure of it. This very night, even as we speak, others are speaking in the Emperor's pavilion. Urging him to pay the price."
Chapter 8
"What did you think he would do, Venandakatra?" snarled Lord Tathagata. "Curry the great Skandagupta's favor by carving off the nose of the Ranapur dog with his own sword? Rape the dog's bitches in public?"
The high commander of the Malwa army drew himself up in his chair. "The man is a general, you fool. Not a mahamimamsa." Haughtily: "I would have done the same myself."
From the distance of his position, seated with the lesser officials to one side, Rana Sanga examined the heavy figure of Lord Tathagata. The high commander, along with the Empire's other top officers and highest officials, was ranged in a semicircle of chairs facing the Emperor on his throne.
Stinking liar, he thought. You would have cheerfully tortured the lord of Ranapur. And raped his wife as well as his daughter. And his sons, too, for that matter. Assuming, of course, that you could have managed an erection.
Nothing of these thoughts showed on his face, but Sanga found the sight of Lord Tathagata so repugnant that he looked away. In his opinion, Tathagata was no improvement over Lord Harsha. Slightly less incompetent perhaps, as a general; but even more vile, as a man.
His gaze fell on Lord Jivita, the Malwa empire's second-ranked military officer-briefly, then slid away. Jivita was cut from the same cloth. He transferred the gaze to a man seated at the very end of that little row. Here, his eyes lingered. Of all the Malwa kshatriya who monopolized the top military positions in the Malwa Empire, Lord Damodara was the only one for whom Sanga felt genuine respect.
The Rajput looked away, sighing faintly. Unfortunately, for all his ability, Damodara was only distantly related to the Emperor. Sanga was surprised, actually, that Damodara had even managed to reach his current position-ranked sixth in the army, as Malwa reckoned such things. He would rise no further, unless unexpected casualties or military disasters overwhelmed the Malwa dynastic sensibilities.
Which they might, he mused, when we attack Persia and Rome. Especially if-
To his surprise, he heard his name spoken. By Lord Damodara.
"I would like to hear Rana Sanga's opinion on this matter. Other than Lord Venandakatra, he has had far more contact with this Belisarius than any of us. And he is a general himself, with great military accomplishments to his credit."
Spluttering, Venandakatra began to squawk outrage at the idea of calling for the opinion of mere Rajput in such august company, but the Emperor himself called him short.
"Be silent, Venandakatra!" grumbled Skandagupta. "I myself would like to hear Rana Sanga's opinion."
Venandakatra, abashed, slunk back to his chair.
Rana Sanga advanced to the center of the pavilion. After prostrating himself before the Emperor, he rose and stepped back a few paces, so that he could be seen by both the Emperor and his top advisers.
"What is your opinion, then?" repeated Damodara.
Sanga hesitated for a split second. Then, squaring his shoulders, spoke firmly. He was a Rajput.
"I do not see where Belisarius could have acted in any other manner. For three reasons." If it's to be done, do it well. "First, his honor. No general worthy of the name can allow his honor to be sullied. To have tortured the prisoners, under those circumstances-even to have ordered his soldiers to do so-would have been to stoop to the level of-" Careful. They cherish their filthy mahamimansa. "-a mere servant. A menial. You might as well have asked him to clean the Emperor's stables."
He paused. Nods of agreement came from the Malwa.
"Two. His reputation. On the other hand, for him to have refused to deal with the prisoners would have sullied his reputation for decisiveness, determination, and willingness to spill blood. No general can allow such a stain on his reputation. Certainly not one such as Belisarius who, if some of you are not aware, has a towering reputation in his own land. And the lands of his enemies."