Flavius would be aboard one of the larger vessels and so that everyone should know where their general was in such a vast argosy he had his sails and those of the ships carrying his staff dyed with red stripes. He also worked out a special arrangement of lanterns that, set on the upper mast, would identify their leader at night. Unintended dispersal had to be avoided, though, as was common, they would rarely be out of sight of land.
To supply and keep fed such a force required skills that had nothing to do with fighting; Flavius recruited Archelaus, acknowledged as the best quartermaster in the empire and it was he who arranged for the necessary horses to be gathered from the imperial Thracian herds and brought to the port of Abydos. He also had to fetch to the embarkation ports food and wine as well as weapons, the same being required along a route that would take them first across the Aegean then south to weather the southern tip of Greece.
In this task Archelaus was required to deal with John the Cappadocian and the frustration of that wore him down, for the man who held the purse strings of supply was not going to release funds or empty the imperial storehouses unless some of the value came into his personal possession. Flavius complained to Justinian: he promised to act, but nothing changed.
Of course the Emperor was busy on other matters. He had secured peace in the east by withdrawing the administrative centre of dux Mesopotamiae from Dara and paying Kavadh a fortune in gold for what was called an Eternal Peace. Rapacious as the Sassanid ruler was, he had to be bought off; the expedition in the west could not be launched without him being passive on the eastern frontier and with enough money he would concentrate on controlling his own borders further east where he always faced difficulties with nomadic raiders.
There were other and equally vital diplomatic moves to attend to, not least the need to deprive Gelimer of allies by the sending of a set of demands he must refuse, such as the release of his brother Hilderic from prison and the despatch of him and his supporters to Constantinople. Since to comply would be fatal — Hilderic would seek support to oust him — it was no surprise he declined.
Aid and promises had to be despatched to those rebelling against Gelimer in Sardinia and Tripolitania. The expedition needed to land in Sicily for supplies and this could only be achieved with the permission of the present ruler of Italy, Amalasuintha, Theodoric’s youngest daughter, mother and regent for Theodoric’s grandson and heir Athalaric, who was many years away from his majority.
Far from secure in her position, Amalasuintha had been seeking support from Constantinople to shore up her position, she being surrounded by Goth warlords who could, if too many of them combined, overthrow her and murder her son. Besides that she had a personal grudge against the Vandals who had badly treated one of her sisters. Thus Sicily was open to the forces from the east. Letters had been sent to the King of the Visigoths in Hispania, seeking an alliance that would debar the Vandals from seeking their aid, but as yet no response had come.
With all in place Flavius, Antonina beside him and with Procopius in attendance, waited on the harbour mole at Constantinople for the imperial couple to bid them farewell. Justinian and Theodora arrived with the kind of pomp more suited to an eastern despot, in a gilded four-horse carriage, gorgeously canopied to keep out the sun and escorted by a troop of the Scholae Palatinae. Their presence, as if it were not already obvious, was announced by blaring trumpets that had many on the quayside kneeling in obeisance.
Flavius stayed on his feet and waited for the pair to come to him and it was noticeable that whereas the Empress seemed unfazed by the purpose upon which they were engaged, the blessing of an expedition that carried the hopes of the empire, her husband was pallid and fidgety which had Flavius whisper to Antonina.
‘He is like that. The plotting and scheming make him happy but the prospect of fruition brings out his nerves in case it all goes wrong.’
‘Theodora seems not to care.’
‘She cares, Antonina. If what we are about to embark on fails, the blame will not only lie with us.’
‘Us? How can I be blamed?’ she pouted.
‘Only for failing to keep me happy.’
These were the last words he could impart before Justinian was too close and he greeted him with due but not excessive deference, a sharp drop of the head that got a cold response from Theodora.
‘You carry the hopes of the empire in your hands, Flavius Belisarius.’
The formality jarred slightly and it was not the first time he had been exposed to it since the day of his marriage, much as he told himself it was imagination. He had ceased to be merely Flavius and he was no longer treated to those warm encompassing smiles. It was as if she had reverted to her previous demeanour, where her reservations about him were very thinly veiled.
‘How can you think her jealous of you?’ had been Antonina’s response when he hinted at it.
‘I did not say jealous,’ he had protested. ‘I just don’t think she likes Justinian having me as a friend. The ways she looks when we talk to each other is, for Theodora, too familiar. The lady wants Justinian to herself.’
Antonina had a quick reply. ‘Fear not, Flavius, she will cosset you because she loves me.’
Which got the rejoinder that it was perhaps he who should be jealous.
‘I have dreamt of this as you know, Flavius,’ Justinian croaked, signifying a dry throat.
‘The first step, Highness, one, to be hoped, of many.’
‘The hardest to bear,’ came the quiet reply. ‘I find it hard to sleep, so many of my dreams being full of disturbing images.’
Rumours abounded that Theodora had suggested he lead the army himself, that she could mind the empire while he garnered the kind of glory that had not attended the throne since the days of Julian the Apostate. The same sources told that Justinian had insisted he had chosen the right leader, which seemed not to sit well with his wife.
Justinian stepped forward to embrace Flavius, something he had not done even prior to assuming his title. He had never been a demonstrative fellow, all his intimacies had been with the other sex and Flavius had often wondered if he would have benefited from being more at home in male company. He had been an Excubitor officer once but made no secret of the fact that he found the barrack room camaraderie not to his taste.
As if not to be outdone, Theodora likewise embraced Antonina before kissing her on both cheeks. Flavius, now free of the imperial clinch, felt the presence of Procopius at his side and he effected an introduction, not without close examination to see if there had been previous contact. Justinian practically ignored him; all Procopius got was a nod before the Emperor took the arm of his commanding general and led him towards the gangplank that would take him aboard ship.
Neither man saw the furious, though hurriedly suppressed reaction of Procopius, who felt slighted by being treated in such a peremptory fashion. He was still seething when they were aboard the ship and the cables had been cast off, it being poled clear of the harbour wall as the sails were lowered to take a decent wind.
‘Having seen the Emperor close up, General, I wonder at how someone so seemingly anxious can achieve such a high office. His nerves are very obvious.’
‘Do not underestimate him, Procopius,’ came a distracted response. ‘His mind is sharper than you or I could manage and the anxiety only whets that.’
‘Of course, one would need to be in his company for some time to see the whole man.’