'Princess Sofia,' a familiar voice called, and she turned. It was Longo. 'I was sorry to see you leave. I had hoped to speak with you.'
Sofia blushed. 'And what did you wish to speak about, Signor Giustiniani?'
'Please, do not stand on formality. Call me Longo.'
'I should not even be speaking to you here, alone,' Sofia said. 'And besides, you will surely be missed.'
Longo shrugged. 'Nobody will miss me; their eyes are on the dancing girls. But if you do not wish to speak, then I understand. Please, forgive my impertinence.' He turned to go, but Sofia touched his arm, stopping him.
'No, stay,' she said. 'I wished to speak with you as well. And I can surely trust the honour of a married man.'
'You can trust my honour, Princess, but I am not married. Julia died in childbirth more than a year past.'
'I am sorry. She was so young.'
'Too young,' Longo agreed. 'But perhaps it is all part of God's plan. Were it not for her death, I might not be here. She was the last link holding me to Genoa.'
'And now that you are free, you have come to honour your promise to Constantine?'
Longo paused. 'Yes, that is why I am here,' he said finally and looked away. They both fell silent. 'But what of you?' he eventually asked. 'Is one of the men you sat beside your husband-to-be?'
Sofia laughed, thinking of the boorish Metochites and drunk Archbishop Leonard. 'Fortunately, no,' she said. 'I am engaged to Megadux Lucas Notaras.'
'He is a lucky man,' Longo said. He took a step towards her, so that no more than a foot remained between them. Sofia's heart began to pound in her chest and her breathing quickened. 'I wished to speak with you about Corsica,' Longo said. 'I have thought much about that night.'
'As have I,' Sofia replied.
'Ahem!' It was Notaras, stepping into the hallway behind them. Longo and Sofia stepped quickly apart. 'Signor Giustiniani, I see that you have met my betrothed, the Princess Sofia. I am the megadux, Lucas Notaras, the commander of the emperor's forces.'
'I am most pleased to meet you, Megadux,' Longo told him, and the two men clasped hands. 'The Princess Sofia spoke well of you.'
'Did she?' Notaras said. 'I was not aware that you two were on familiar terms.'
'We met briefly, in Italy,' Longo explained.
'Ah, very interesting,' Notaras said. 'You will have to tell me all about it, Sofia. Come. I will take you to your quarters. It is not proper for a young princess to walk the halls unescorted.' He took Sofia by the arm. 'Signor Giustiniani, good night.' The emperor greeted Longo as soon as he stepped back into the great hall. 'Signor Giustiniani,' Constantine said, 'I need to speak with you alone. Come with me.' Constantine led Longo through the passageway behind the hall and out into an interior garden. The garden was quiet, the many flowers silver in the moonlight, the air filled with their heady perfume. The emperor picked a rose blossom as they walked and examined it. 'It is wonderful, is it not, that flowers know neither peace nor war, only sunshine and rain. An enviable state, no? This rose bush blooms as it has every spring. It would bloom just as beautifully for a sultan as for an emperor.' In the distance, they could hear the occasional boom of Turkish cannons. The emperor dropped the flower and turned to face Longo. 'I have asked you here so that we may talk freely.'
'And what is it that you wish to speak of, Emperor?'
'First, I wish to thank you, man to man, for coming to our aid. The endless bombardment and this infernal waiting have been driving us mad. The soldiers quarrel daily. The Venetians and the Genoese cannot abide one another, and many of my Roman troops refuse to fight beside either of them. Your victory today has lightened our spirits and inspired us all. Romans, Venetians and Genoese were all united in celebration of your arrival. It is truly a blessing.'
'I told you long ago that my sword was at your service should you ever have need of it,' Longo said. 'I am a man of my word. I would not leave you to fight this battle alone.'
'I am glad that you have come, for I do indeed have need of your sword, and your wisdom too, Signor Giustiniani,' Constantine said. 'I understand that you have experience with siege warfare.'
'I was at the siege of Belgrade in 1440, where we held off the armies of the sultan. If you need counsel, then I will be happy to offer it.'
'I need more than your counsel, Signor. I need your leadership. None of my men knows the Turks as you do, nor can they rally men as you did today. I want you to take command of the defence.'
'But My Lord, for all that I love Constantinople, I am foreign to these lands,' Longo protested. 'Surely your people would be more willing to follow one of their own. If none of your men are able, then you should lead them. It is your right and duty as their emperor.'
Constantine shook his head. 'I am a soldier, Longo, but I am no strategist. I will take my place on the wall and lead my men in battle. I will die defending this city if I must. But I am not the one to organize its defence. The one siege that I led was a disaster. My men were slaughtered and I barely escaped with my life. I do not wish to see the same happen to Constantinople.'
'And what of the megadux, Lucas Notaras?' Longo asked.
'Ah yes, Notaras,' Constantine sighed. 'He is brave, it is true, but also rash and headstrong. I fear he would sacrifice this city if it meant saving his own honour.'
'I too am a man of honour, Emperor.'
'Yes, I know,' Constantine said. 'But you understand that sometimes true honour requires sacrificing one's pride for a greater good. I am not sure that Notaras does. And besides, he bears little love for the Latins. They will never follow him the way that they would follow you. You, Longo, are our best hope. God has sent you to us for a reason.'
'If it is truly your will, then I accept,' Longo said.
'It is settled then.' Constantine clapped Longo on the back. 'You will stay nearby, close to the walls. One of the Venetian merchants who fled the city left a fine house. You shall have it. And once we are victorious, you shall have the island of Lesbos as your reward.'
'Thank you, Emperor.'
'Now come. Let us introduce my people to the new commander of Constantinople.'
Chapter 15
Mehmed stood outside his tent, watching the artillery flash in the pre-dawn light as he did each morning. He saw a cannonball strike the base of a tower along the Mesoteichion. The tower shook, then toppled forward, and Mehmed smiled. He had been to look at the walls the previous day, and the amount of damage was even greater than he had hoped. The outer wall along the Mesoteichion had been almost entirely reduced to rubble. The time to strike had come.
'Your Excellency seems pleased,' Halil remarked, stifling a yawn as he joined Mehmed. 'Is it good news, then, that you wish to discuss with me at this ungodly hour?'
'Very good news, Halil. Tomorrow night, under the cover of darkness, we will attack. You will distribute ladders and torches and make sure that the men have everything they need.'
'Do you think an attack wise, Your Excellency? Perhaps another week of bombardment, as we had agreed, would make success more certain. Patience is, after all, the principal virtue in siege warfare.'
'Patience will not feed my men, Halil,' Mehmed said. 'You know better than anyone how difficult it is to keep an army of this size in the field. I had thought that you would be happy to finish the siege early. It will mean an end to your ceaseless search for supplies.'
'I would be only too happy, your Excellency. But the walls of Constantinople, even weakened, will not be easy to take. We must be patient and allow your other plans to bear fruit. After all, think of what a defeat now might do to the morale of the army.'
'There will be no defeat,' Mehmed said curtly. 'I am not a fool or a child who you need lecture, Halil. The walls of Constantinople are only lightly manned at night. We will strike quickly, sending the bazibozouks north and south to distract the defence while the janissaries focus their attack near the Lycus, where the walls are weakest. They will overrun the defenders before they are able to rally more troops, and Constantinople will be ours.'