When Alexius had finished his chores, and could think of nothing else to do, he called the magister to him and asked if there was anything he had neglected to do that day. 'By your leave, Basileus,' the magister answered, 'allow me to remind your highness that the Latin lords await an audience with the emperor. They are standing in the anteroom even now.'
'Ah, so they are,' agreed Alexius affably. 'Have they waited long?'
'Reasonably long, Basileus. They arrived early this morning.'
'Well then, if there is nothing else, allow them to come in. We will see them now.'
'At your command, Basileus.' The magister backed away from the throne, reached the screen and indicated to the guardsmen to open the door. A few moments later, he led two very anxious and unhappy noblemen, and an irate bishop, into the emperor's private audience chamber.
Alexius greeted them warmly as they came to stand before him, and asked why they had come. The two lords glanced at one another, and Raymond, at Stephen's prompting, replied, 'I have come to make my pledge, Lord Emperor.'
'Well and good,' Alexius replied, 'but we fear it is too late.'
'Too late?' wondered Raymond. His eyes shifted accusingly to Stephen.
'Forgive me, Lord Emperor,' said Stephen, speaking up. 'But I was given to believe that if I could persuade Lord Raymond to take the oath, we would be able to continue the pilgrimage.'
'That is so,' answered the emperor. 'But if you will recall, we said the oath must be signed before the ships finished the crossing.' Turning to the magister officiorum, the emperor asked, 'Is that not what we said, magister?'
The magister consulted the wax tablet on which he recorded all official transactions, replied, 'It is so, Basileus. That is what was said.'
'We are sorry,' Alexius said placidly. 'If only you had come to us sooner.'
'We have waited all day!' exclaimed Bishop Adhemar, unable to contain himself any longer. 'This is intolerable.'
Alexius grew steely. 'And yet it will be tolerated. Lord Raymond has had ample time in which to make up his mind. Or did you think the world would wait for his decision? I assure you, the world waits for no man.'
'I stand ready to make my pledge now,' Raymond insisted, the colour rising to his face.
'And we are telling you it is too late.'
'Too late!' growled Raymond.
'The ships are needed elsewhere. We have compromised the protection of other provinces in order to accommodate the demands of the crusade, but that cannot continue indefinitely.' The emperor gazed implacably at the three before him. 'The fleet requires maintenance and repair; the ships must be readied for their departure. Any delay would be too costly to contemplate.'
Raymond, speechless with frustration, glared rancorously at the emperor. Adhemar drew breath to speak again, but the cooler-tempered Stephen prevailed.
'If you please, Lord Emperor,' said Stephen quickly, 'perhaps I might suggest a remedy.'
'If you know any,' Alexius replied, 'we would welcome it.'
'If the imperial fleet's departure could be postponed a few days, we might hire the ships to take our armies across. We can pay in gold.'
The emperor frowned. 'We have gold aplenty. What we lack is ships to keep the imperial waters safe.' He stared at the noblemen, and drummed his fingers on the armrests of his throne. 'Something else comes to mind,' Alexius said slowly, as if considering it for the first time.
'Yes, Lord Emperor?'
'It occurs to us that we have made good on promises to provision and transport the pilgrims through imperial lands and beyond, and borne the cost out of our own treasury. This we have been happy to do for the liberation of the Holy Land, and for the sake of the lands to be returned to the empire if you are successful.'
'With God's help,' Bishop Adhemar declared, 'we will be victorious.'
'We pray for your every victory, lord bishop,' Alexius told him. 'In view of that, it seems only fair that we should have an imperial emissary to lend aid to the enterprise, and attend to matters arising from the reinstatement of imperial rule.'
Stephen understood the offer the emperor was making and, before his companions could object, happily agreed. 'Of course, in recognition of the emperor's generosity in extending the use of imperial ships, we would be pleased to welcome an envoy of the emperor's choosing to offer counsel, and look after the special interests of the empire. I am embarrassed we did not suggest it ourselves.'
Raymond stiffened; he did not like the notion of an imperial factotum nosing around in the affairs of the crusaders.
'Good.' Alexius gestured to the magister. 'We accept your offer to hire the ships, and to include our imperial emissary among your advisors.' Extending his hand towards the magister, Alexius took up the parchment containing the oath which all the other crusading lords had signed, and passed it to Raymond.
The reluctant lord stood clutching the document, but made no move to unfold it. Instead, he looked helplessly to Stephen.
'As it happens, Lord Emperor,' Count Blois began hesitantly, 'I was meaning to suggest that Lord Raymond should be allowed to pledge an oath of his own devising.'
Alexius stared at the two noblemen. Was there no end to their impudence? At last, he said, 'We should have you bound in chains and dropped in the Bosphorus, except that we are curious to know why you think Raymond should be allowed this singular distinction -his voice rose as he spoke, 'when all the other lords, including yourself, have seen the wisdom of compliance. Illuminate us if you can.'
Stephen shifted uneasily on his feet. 'The suggestion arises out of the unique position which Lord Raymond enjoys as leader of the pilgrimage. If I may speak for him, it is that he feels placing himself under loyalty to the emperor would be an abrogation of the fealty already sworn before the papal throne.'
'So we have heard.' Alexius waved the objection aside with an impatient flick of his hand.
'Therefore,' Stephen continued hurriedly, 'I have proposed to Count Toulouse that he make the pledge his countrymen use when affirming their devotion to an acknowledged superior.'
The Emperor of All Christendom, Elite of the Elect, and Equal of the Apostles, frowned as he contemplated his choices. If he sent the bothersome lord away, he would only make more trouble for the empire – more than two thousand citizens had been inadvertently killed on the march already, before the Pecheneg escort put a stop to it. On the other hand, if Raymond and his rabble were allowed to resume the pilgrimage, the problem might go away-at least for a time, and perhaps forever, if the Seljuqs defeated them, which in all likelihood they would.
If, by a miracle, the crusaders should emerge victorious, the cost of exterminating the Seljuq pestilence would have been well worth the price-although, Alexius concluded gloomily, the more he saw of the pilgrims passing through his realm, that miracle seemed ever more remote. So far, it appeared he was merely making the best of an increasingly poor bargain.
The emperor regarded the tall, gaunt nobleman before him. Hard-eyed, his jaw set, doubtless he had never willingly surrendered anything to anyone in all his life and was not about to begin now. Thus, Stephen's suggestion represented the best offer Alexius would receive from the proud and principled Count of Toulouse and Provence. With an air of weary resignation, he wisely accepted. 'What is this oath of his countrymen?' Alexius asked, wanting nothing more than to see the backs of the pilgrims once and for all.
'Allow me, Lord Emperor,' Raymond interrupted, and began to speak out a wordy vow which amounted to a promise to honour the emperor, respecting his life and rank, never maligning him, nor causing him to come to injury or harm, whether in word or deed, through any action, or inaction, on doughty Lord Raymond's part.