“Being one of Justinian’s favored generals does not make him a confidant, Anthony. Rather the reverse. He is shrewd enough to want capable generals, and then suspects the use that capability would be put to. So he tells his generals nothing until the last moment.”
Belisarius waved his hand. “But we are getting side-tracked. Later, I would be interested in hearing more from you regarding Justinian’s western ambitions. But not now. And you are mistaking my question. I was not asking if we needed to keep our conspiracy secret from Justinian. Obviously, if we conspire, we must do so. The question is: do we need to conspire at all? Can we not simply bring him into our confidence? For all Justinian’s obvious faults, he is one of the most capable men who ever sat upon the imperial throne.”
Antonina drew in a sharp breath. Cassian glanced at her and shook his head.
“No. Absolutely not. Justinian must know nothing. At least, not until it is too late for him to do more than simply acquiesce in what we have done.” He made a rueful grimace. “And, then, we will have to hope he doesn’t remove our heads.”
Belisarius seemed still unconvinced. Cassian pressed on.
“Belisarius, have no delusions. Suppose we told Justinian. Suppose, further, that he accepted all that we told him. Suppose, even-and here I tread on fantastical ground-he did not suspect our motives. What then? ”
Belisarius hesitated. Antonina answered.
“He would insist on placing himself at the head of our struggle. With all of his competence. And with all of his pigheaded stubbornness, his petty vanities, his constant intrigues, his overweening pride, his endless petty meddling and fussing, his distrust of anyone else’s competence as well as loyalty, his-”
“Enough!” cried Belisarius, chuckling. “I am convinced.” He laced his fingers together and leaned forward, his elbows on his knees, staring down at the floor. Again, the simple tiles received an unaccustomed scrutiny.
Cassian’s voice broke into his thoughts.
“Are you familiar, Belisarius, with India? Or you, Antonina?”
Antonina shook her head. Belisarius, still gazing absently at the floor, shrugged and said:
“I know a bit about that distant land, from hearsay, but I have never even met-”
He stopped in midsentence, gasping. His head snapped erect.
“What am I saying? I know an enormous amount about India. From my vision! I spent thirty years in an unending struggle against India. Against the Malwa tyranny, I should say. And I always had the shrewd advice of Raghunath Rao to fall back on.” His face grew pale. “God in Heaven. Anthony, you are right. We must conspire, and bury the conspiracy deep. I only hope it is not too late already.”
“What are you talking about?” asked Antonina.
Belisarius looked at her. “One thing I remember now, from my vision, is that the Malwa Empire has the most extensive and developed espionage service in the world. An enormous apparatus, and highly skilled.” His eyes lost their focus for a moment. “It was one of the deadly blows they inflicted on us, I remember. By the time we finally awoke to the full scope of the danger, the Roman Empire was riddled with Indian spies and intriguers.”
He focused on Cassian. “Do you think-”
The bishop waved his hand. “I do not think we need concern ourselves, Belisarius. I am quite certain Michael was not seen coming here. And I am a frequent guest, so my presence will not be noteworthy. We will have to be careful when Michael leaves, of course, but that is not difficult.”
The bishop stroked his beard vigorously. “In the future, however, the problem will quickly become severe. But let us come back to that problem. For the moment-I can provide us with a place to establish our initial base. Where we can create an arms foundry-a ’weapons project,’ as you called it. And, if we can uncover the secret of the Malwa weapons, begin to forge an army to wield them. Recently, as it happens, a wealthy widow bequeathed her entire inheritance to the Church, with the specific stipulation that I was to have control of its disposition. She died three months ago. Among her many possessions was a large estate not far from Daras. Near the Persian border.
“The villa at the estate is quite large, with more than enough buildings to serve our purpose. And the peasants who till the land are borderers. Syrians and Monophysites, down to the newborn babes.”
Belisarius nodded. “I know the breed well, Anthony. Yes, that would be splendid. If we can gain their trust and confidence, they will be impossible to infiltrate.” He frowned pensively. “And might very well make-let me think on that.”
“All right,” said Antonina. “But what will we tell these peasants? And John of Rhodes? And we will need to engage the services of a number of artisans. And then, if we meet with any success, we will need to recruit men who can learn to use the new weapons. If we do not tell these people about the jewel, how will we explain to them the source of the knowledge we give them?”
“I think the solution to the problem is obvious,” said Cassian. The bishop shrugged. “We simply tell them nothing. Everyone knows Belisarius-and Sittas-are among Justinian’s favorite generals. And you, Antonina, are known to be a close friend of the Empress. If we simply act mysterious, but emphasize the imperative necessity of maintaining complete secrecy, then John of Rhodes and all the others will assume they are involved in a project which has the highest imperial authority.” He smiled. “And my own frequent presence will assure them that the work has the blessing of the Church, as well.”
Michael spoke up. “I will also speak to the peasants. I have some small authority among them.”
Cassian laughed gaily. “ Small authority? That’s a bit like Moses saying he had some tentative suggestions to make.”
Michael glared at him, but the bishop was not abashed. “That will do wonders, actually. In truth, Michael’s word will carry greater weight with Syrian common folk than anyone else’s. If he gives the work his blessing, and bids them maintain silence, be assured they will do so.”
“That still does not solve the problem of keeping our work secret from the world at large,” said Antonina. “Even if all who are engaged in the work at the estate keep silent, it will be noticed by others that there is a constant traffic of outsiders coming to and fro. We cannot do this work in isolation, Cassian. Not for long.”
Cassian glanced at Belisarius. The general’s thoughts seemed far away. The bishop spoke:
“No, but it will help. As for the rest-”
“It is the simplest thing in the world,” said Belisarius. His voice seemed cold, cold.
The general rose to his feet and walked about, accompanying his words with stiff little gestures.
“It will work as follows. Michael will quietly rally the common folk to our side. Cassian, you will serve as our intriguer within the church. Sittas, once he is brought into our conspiracy, will serve as our intriguer within the imperial court and the nobility. Unlike me, he is of the most impeccable aristocratic lineage. I will, as I must in any event, maintain my military responsibilities.”
He stopped, gazed down at Antonina.
“And Antonina will be the center of it all. She will set up residence at this villa near Daras and stay there. She will no longer accompany me with the army. She will assemble and oversee the weapons work. She will, when the time comes, take charge of training a new army.”
He waved down her developing protest. “I will help, I will help. But you are more than capable of all this, Antonina. You are at least as intelligent as any man I ever met. And these weapons are new to all of us. The methods of using them, as well. I will help, but I will not be surprised if your untrained intelligence does a better job of devising new forces and methods than my well-trained experience does. You will not have your eyes blinkered by old habits.”
He took a deep breath. “Finally, you are the perfect conduit through which all of our disparate efforts may be kept aligned and coordinated. Through you, we can all communicate, with no one suspecting our true purpose.”