‘If you doubt the truth, let me examine our adopted son, a gathering in which I would want to include Photius.’
‘I cannot imagine Antonina welcoming his presence, and besides, he is not in Constantinople.’
‘He is, on my orders, on his way.’
That changed the imperial mood abruptly; her nostrils flared again and the expression on her face seriously deepened the lines of her age. ‘Flavius, I have tried persuasion and I tire of it. You seem blind to the needs of my friend as well as those of the empire, which shows to me a selfishness of which I thought you incapable.’
‘Selfishness!’
That outburst was ignored, and the voice as she continued was emphatic.
‘I speak not as a person who was once her companion but in my capacity as Empress, and in this I also speak for the Emperor. He wishes that you be reconciled with Antonina as much as I do and for the very same reasons, added to which there might be doubts about your ability to lead our armies with such a burden gnawing at your soul.’
‘You and the Emperor have discussed my private affairs?’
‘As an imperial servant you have no private affairs.’ Her hands came up to produce a sharp slap and that summoned a servant who, on a nod from Theodora, departed without speaking.
‘I have just summoned Antonina to join us, Flavius, and this is a demand from those to whom you owe everything you have and all that you might achieve in the future. Greet her fondly or-’
She did not complete the sentence, which was a clever way of allowing him to range over all the possible consequences without the need for a direct threat. Flavius was about to openly allude to warnings about mobs and the unpopularity of the imperial couple when the door opened once more to admit Antonina, who barefoot, skipped lightly across the marble floor in a manner more suitable to a young girl than a mature matron.
She had dressed simply for this occasion, in a white garment of billowing soft material that showed the contours of her still impressive figure as she moved and Flavius was fleetingly reminded of the attraction he had felt for her on first acquaintance. Then in a display so contrived it nearly made him shout, she dropped to her knees at his feet and, grabbing both his hands, brought them together to repeatedly kiss them.
‘If I have behaved less than well I beg your forgiveness, Husband. I admit to being a weak creature who is barely worthy of you.’
Again the tone was unbecoming for a woman her age, pitched too high as if her years had fallen away and she was yet to reach puberty. He was not looking at her, but at the agate eyes of Theodora, who had a forbidding smile on her face.
‘What a heart of stone you must have, Flavius, if you can ignore such a plea.’
‘Surely, Father, you did not forgive her?’
Rarely discomfited in the company of anyone, Flavius was that now and the incredulity in the voice of his stepson only made that more acute and that robbed his response of any veracity.
‘If a person pleads, am I not allowed to grant such a thing?’
‘Absolution for a whole raft of sins?’
‘Had you been present, Photius, you too might have melted.’
‘No, and for one very profound reason. My mother prevailed upon Theodora to command that Theodosius return to Constantinople.’
‘You cannot know that.’
‘I do because the culprit himself told me so.’
‘You have seen Theodosius?’
Photius ignored the surprise on his stepfather’s face, his own taking on a gloat that matched the tone of his voice. ‘More than seen him, I have taken him prisoner. He could not run from me this time and I swear when he found me and my men outside his door he soiled himself.’
‘Prisoner?’
‘Yes. Right now he is in a cell which he shares with the rats, and all that money he stole I have given away. All I require now is an order from you and I will return and slit his gullet.’
Photius mistook the silence, not aware that Flavius was too shocked to speak, and he began to pace as he told a tale that clearly excited him, speaking quickly in short, near breathless bursts.
‘I alerted him to his impending fate. He grabbed my knees and wept like a mewling baby. It was only luck that I caught him before he departed. The instruction from Theodora was in writing so he could not deny it. He did try, saying he intended to ignore it, as if he would. The man is not only an ingrate he is a cowardly weakling who lacks the will to die like a man.’
‘Photius, stop. What you have done was not wise.’
‘I have done that which is necessary. I will not see you humiliated any more.’
‘Rather I was humiliated than that you should cross Theodora.’
‘Damn Theodora!’
‘No, Photius,’ was the sad reply. ‘More likely you have damned us both.’
The tale of what he had done was not long in spreading; Theodora had sent a second demand to Ephesus that Theodosius should obey her summons only to have the messenger return with the story of what had occurred, Photius having shown no discretion in his actions; the taking of Antonina’s paramour had been noisy and well witnessed.
Photius was arrested as soon as that messenger related his tale, while a body of Excubitors was sent to the bucellarii encampment to take up those who had aided him in the enterprise. They were brought back to Constantinople in chains and sent straight to the torture chamber where they revealed every detail, not that they could add much to what had already been extracted from Photius.
Flavius did not have to think too hard to discern what it was these torturers were after, a question that would have been put to them by Theodora. Had he ordered his stepson to act, or had it been done without his knowledge? To compound his discomfort, Theodosius was also back in the capital city having been rescued, and on the horns of a dilemma – he would himself be questioned – he had no one in the palace to whom he could confide the problem.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
There was no call to face either Justinian or Theodora. The act of enquiry was left to Narses and was carried out in an informal manner designed to put him at his ease. In that it failed: he was as nervous and alert as a cat.
‘It is necessary to know the answer, Flavius Belisarius, a simple yes or no. Did you order your stepson to imprison your adopted son with the eventual aim of murdering him?’
If only I knew which one to give, Flavius thought. Say it was all the doing of Photius might put his life in danger but there was no way of knowing if that was true. Say he had ordered his stepson to act, as a means of saving him, was equally fraught for both of them. The game was a deadly one and he knew he was not well equipped to play it.
‘Would I be allowed to ask what Photius faces?’
‘You would if it had any bearing, but it does not.’
He had to assume that his stepson had taken all the blame upon himself, otherwise this interview would have been conducted in a different manner. It was the truth, yet if he agreed with that he might be condemning a young man whom he loved to an execution.
‘Perhaps, Narses, given your circumstance, you might fail to appreciate the passions that can be aroused by what has taken place. Both Photius and I have been shamed.’
‘Did you order Photius to kill Theodosius?’
‘Is that a question you would answer?’
‘I am not being examined.’
Flavius made a point of looking around the empty chamber, his eyebrows raised. ‘So it seems, neither am I. Where are the judges?’
‘Allow that I will suffice.’
‘I cannot do that without knowing what the outcome will be.’
‘Strange justice when you require the sentence before the trial.’
‘If there is to be a trial, then I will answer any question put to me. But you will forgive me, Narses, if I decline to tell a courtier, however powerful, that which I might impart in confidence to my emperor.’
‘A person with too much to consider to be saddled with this.’