There was a hint of amusement in Belisarius' broad and usually solemn face. He answered: "Call out your paymaster and have him pay the men's wages. Better give them a little bonus for winning the battle. Detail an officer to round up some physicians to tend the wounded; at least I don't suppose a barbarian army like this has its own medical corps. There ought to be a man whose duty it is to check the rolls. Find out about it. I hear the commander of the Rome garrison was killed. Appoint a man in his place, and have the garrison returned to barracks. Tell the commanders of the other contingents to find what lodging they can for their men. If they have to board at private houses, say the owners will he compensated at standard rates. You can find those out later. But first you ought to make a speech."
"Me make a speech?" hissed Padway in horror. "My Gothic is lousy—"
"That's part of the business, you know. Tell them what fine soldiers they are. Make it short. They won't listen very closely anyway."
CHAPTER XI
After some searching Padway located Thiudahad in the Ulpian Library. The little man was barricaded behind a huge pile of books. Four bodyguards sprawled on a table, a bench, and the floor, snoring thunderously. The librarian was glaring at them with a look compounded of hydrofluoric acid and cobra venom, but did not dare protest.
Thiudahad looked up blearily. "Oh, yes, it's the publisher chap. Martinus, isn't it?"
"That's right, my lord. I might add that I'm your new quaestor."
"What? What? Who told you so?"
"You did. You appointed me."
"Oh, dear me, so I did. Silly of me. When I get engrossed in books I really don't know what's going on. Let's see, you and Liuderis were going to fight the Imperialists, weren't you?"
"Hoc ille, my lord. It's all over."
"Really? I suppose you sold out to Belisarius, didn't you? I hope you arranged for an estate and an annuity from Justinian for me."
"It wasn't necessary, my lord. We won."
"What?"
Padway gave a resume of the last three days' events. "And you'd better get to bed early tonight, my lord. We're leaving in the morning for Florence,"
"Florence? Why, in heaven's name?"
"We're on our way to intercept your generals, Asinar and Grippas. They're coming back from Dalmatia, having been scared out by the Imperial general, Constantianus. If we can catch them before they get to Ravenna and learn about Wittigis, we might be able to get your crown back."
Thiudahad sighed. "Yes, I suppose we ought to. But how did you know that Asinar and Grippas were coming home?"
"Trade secret, my lord. I've also sent a force of two thousand to re-occupy Naples. It's held by General Herodianus with a mere three hundred, so there shouldn't be much trouble."
Thiudahad narrowed his watery eyes. "You do get things done, Martinus. If you can deliver that vile usurper Wittigis into my hands—aaah! I'll send clear to Constantinople for a torturer, if I can't find one ingenious enough in Italy!"
Padway did not answer that one, having his own plans for Wittigis. He said instead: "I have a pleasant surprise for you. The pay chests of the Imperial army—"
"Yes?" Thiudahad's eyes gleamed. "They're mine, of course. Very considerate of you, excellent Martinus."
"Well, I did have to dip into them a little to pay our troops and clear up the army's bills. But you'll find the rest an agreeable addition to the royal purse. I'll be waiting for you at home."
Padway neglected to state that he had sequestered over half the remainder and deposited the money with Thomasus. Who owns the pay chests of a captured army, especially when the captor is a volunteer theoretically serving one of two rival kings, was a question that the legal science of the time was hardly equipped to decide. In any event Padway was sure he could make better use of the money than Thiudahad. I'm becoming quite a hardened criminal, he thought with pride. Padway rode up to Cornelius Anicius' home. Its rhetorical owner was out at the baths, but Dorothea came out. Padway had to admit that it made him feel pretty good to sit on a powerful horse in a (to him) romantic get-up, with cloak and boots and all, and report to one of the prettier girls of Rome on his success.
She said: "You know, Martinus, father was silly at first about your social standing. But after all you've done he's forgotten about that. Of course he is not enthusiastic about Gothic rule. But he much prefers Thiudahad, who is a scholar, to that savage Wittigis."
"I'm glad of that. I like your old man."
"Everybody's talking about you now. They call you 'Mysterious Martinus.'"
"I know. Absurd, isn't it?"
"Yes. You never seemed very mysterious to me, in spite of your foreign background."
"That's great. You're not afraid of me, are you?"
"Not in the least. If you made a deal with Satanas as some people hint, I'm sure the Devil got the worst of it." They laughed. She added: "It's nearly dinner time. Won't you stay? Father will be back any time."
"I'm sorry, but I can't possibly. We're off to the wars again tomorrow."
As he rode off, he thought: If I should change my mind about the expediency of marriage, I'd know where to begin. She's attractive and pleasant, and has what passes for a good education here . . .
Padway made one more attempt to shake Belisarius, but without success. He did, however, enlist five hundred of the Imperial cuirassiers as a personal guard. His share of the Imperialist loot would suffice to pay them for some weeks. After that he'd see.
The trip to Florence was anything but pleasant. It rained most of the way, with intermittent snow squalls as they climbed toward the City of Flowers. Being in a hurry, Padway took only cavalry.
In Florence he sent his officers around to buy warmer clothes for the troops, and looked in on his business. It seemed to be thriving, though Fritharik said: "I don't trust any of them, excellent boss. I'm sure the foreman and this George Menandrus have been stealing, though I can't prove it. I don't understand all this writing and figuring. If you leave them alone long enough they'll steal everything, and then where'll we be? Out in the cold, headed for a pair of nameless graves."
"We'll see," said Padway. He called in the treasurer, Proclus Proclus, and asked to see the books. Proclus Proclus instantly looked apprehensive, but he got the books. Padway plunged into the figures. They were all nice and neat, since he himself had taught the treasurer double-entry bookkeeping. And—his employees were astounded to hear Padway burst into a shout of laughter.
"What . . . what is it, noble sir?" asked Proclus Proclus.
"Why, you poor fool, didn't you realize that with my system of bookkeeping, your little thefts would stick up in the accounts like a sore toe? Look here: thirty solidi last month, and nine solidi and some sesterces only last week. You might just as well have left a signed receipt every time you stole something!"
"What . . . what are you going to do to me?"
"Well—I ought to have you jailed and flogged." Padway sat silent for a while and watched Proclus Proclus squirm. "But I hate to have your family suffer. And I certainly oughtn't to keep you on, after this. But I'm pretty busy, and I can't take the time to train a new treasurer to keep books in a civilized manner. So I'll just take a third of your salary until these little borrowings of yours are paid back."
"Thank you, thank you kindly, sir. But just to be fair—George Menandrus ought to pay a share of it, too. He—"
"Liar!" shouted the editor.
"Liar yourself! Look, I can prove it. Here's an item for one solidus, November 10th. And on November 11th George shows up with a pair of new shoes and a bracelet. I know where he bought them. On the 15th—"