The Eternal Empire (17 page)

Laetus looked at the governor. He could
sense there was more.

"Go on," he said, "want
can you do?"

The governor looked away from the two
men and made as though he was studying the hills.

"You noticed that there is no
naval blockade?" said the governor. They nodded. It had surprised them at
first, but as they were not expecting any outside help they assumed that the
Empire had deemed it an unnecessary expense.

The Governor continued, whilst still
surveying the view to the north. "If the people whom the Emperor is keen
to prosecute aren't around when the city surrenders, then they can't be brought
to trial, can they?"

"You're saying we should run
away?" said Gallicus, entering the negotiations for the first time.

"Not so much run away as relocate
to a new life."

"Like where?" asked Laetus,
seeing a possible solution.

The governor turned to face the two men
again. "That's up to you, but in your shoes I would consider the United
Provinces. I fancy that they'll prove sympathetic to rebels such as you."

Gallicus and Laetus exchanged glances.
It made sense. The United Provinces had been colonies of the empire across the
Atlantic that had rebelled and broke free over a century ago. They would
certainly welcome others who shared their desire to be free from imperial rule.

"I think it's got potential,"
said Laetus guardedly. In fact Laetus thought it was a brilliant idea, solving
all their problems. "When would this take place?"

The governor produced a paper from his
cloak. "This document states that the city of Tarraco surrenders
unconditionally to imperial forces." He handed the papers to Gallicus.
"It allows three days for the city authorities to disarm their forces and
to prepare the city for occupation. Three days should be sufficient for all the
leaders of the rebellion and their families to be well on their way across the
Atlantic."

"When do you need an answer?"
asked Gallicus.

"I can give you twelve hours. Then
Constantinople will order me to assault the city."

"You will have our reply by
then," replied Gallicus.

10th
March 1920

Constantinople

Marcus Metellus was about to leave the
assembly chamber to have lunch when Magnus Lepidus came rushing up to him.

"Have you heard the news?" he
asked.

"About the surrender of
Tarraco?" replied Marcus. "Yes, excellent isn't it, no bloodshed and
the leaders of the rebellion have 'disappeared' sparing us an embarrassing
trial."

"No!" snapped Magnus,
"about Exanzenus, he's been appointed the new chief minister!"

"What!" exclaimed Marcus,
"how do you know?"

"An imperial edict has just been
published. I saw them putting it up at the main entrance."

"But there have been no
discussions with assembly leaders," countered Marcus, who did not want to
believe what Magnus had just told him. It had become accepted practice for the
Emperor to consult with the leaders of all the parties in the assembly before
appointing a new chief minister.

"I know that some of the leaders
have definitely not been involved," said Magnus looking over his friends
shoulder. Marcus turned around and saw John Phocas with the leaders of the
Radical, Equestrian and Federalist parties in a heated discussion on the other
side of the chamber. Obviously they had also just heard about the edict.

"There's going to be
trouble," stated Marcus, "Exanzenus is not renowned for compromising
or for co-operating with those who disagree with him, let alone those who
actively despise him! What was Alexander thinking of when he appointed
him?"

  "We'll know soon enough," said
Magnus, "the edict appointing Exanzenus as chief minister also announced
that the Emperor would be making a formal address to the assembly at the end of
the month."

"A formal address - that sounds
ominous." When the Emperor made a formal address it was generally to
announce major policies, a declaration or cessation of war, or a constitutional
change.

"Yes it does." Magnus looked
up at the ornate clock that was mounted above the huge carved wooden doors that
led into the assembly chamber. "But now it's time for lunch. I think that
having that vicious snake Exanzenus appointed as chief minister is a good
enough reason to get blind drunk. Come on Marcus, let's go and drown our
sorrows at Attila's place. I think it's your turn to pay anyway."

13th
March 1920

Minden,
Saxony

Cornelius was getting to know his way
around the Saxon Capital and what it had to offer and after finding a Moving
Picture Theatre a few streets away from the embassy he invited Katherine to a
show one evening. It was an historic drama set during the crusades against the
Turks in Eastern Europe with both Saxons and Romans on the same side which
Cornelius hoped would play well and avoid any potential for arguments, not that
Katherine was prone to take offense easily. After the performance they went to
a nearby coffee shop.

“Well Cornelius, what did you think for
the show?” Katherine took a large forkful of apple pie that she had purchased
along with her coffee and waited for his response. 

“It was a good story, but the Legionary
solders that they showed were totally wrong for the period – those uniforms and
weapons were 100 years out of date!” Cornelius shook his head in mock disgust
at such an error.

“How typical of you to spot that – what
amused me was how they mixed up all the events and dates. The massacre of
Breslau took place years before the battle of Pisek not 2 weeks after and it
was a Polish army that relieved Prague not a Burgundian one! And as for the
heroine of the story, Princess Natasha she would only have been 2 years old at
this time - rather young to seduce Count Otto and persuade him to charge to the
rescue of Prague!”

They happily continued to pick holes in
the picture show as they finished their coffee and pie, then as it was not too
late and the evening dry if still chilly they went for a walk by the river.

“Your German seems to be coming along.
You did not seem to have any problems reading the captions.” Remarked Katherine
as they strolled arm in arm along the embankment.

“No, I can read German pretty well now
but understanding it when it is spoken can still be a bit hit and miss.”

“That will make future trips to the
Moving Picture Theatre a bit tricky once they convert over to all ‘talkies’ –
no captions between scenes. I believe that show was one of the last silent
moving pictures made.”

“In that case I had better practise my
spoken German more often. Can I depend on you to teach me?”

Katherine laughed and said something in
German.

“I didn’t quite understand all of that,”
said Cornelius with a suspicious but amused look. “I could make out ‘payment’
and ‘lessons’ but not the rest.”

“You picked up enough,” she said and
gave him a lingering kiss. “Basically I will be taking payment in kind for
providing private German lessons.”

“Sounds fair enough,” he said as he
manoeuvred her into the shadows by one of the many statues that lined the
river. “I think I would like to make a payment in advance.”  

17th
March 1920

Minden,
Saxony

Cornelius helped himself to one of the
mugs of steaming brown liquid from the silver tray on the side board and walked
over to the windows. Not wanting to burn his tongue he sipped the drink
cautiously. The chocolate was delicious and the hot fluid warmed his cold body.

The current session of trade talks was
being held at Count Maleric's country house where he had first met Katherine.
The sudden cold spell that had begun last night had caught the household staff
by surprise and consequently the central heating had not yet warmed the house
to what Cornelius considered a civilised temperature.

Looking out of the windows, Cornelius
could see the vast gardens that lay between the house and the woods surrounding
it. It was mid-morning but there was still a sheen of frost on the grass of the
well groomed lawn, and a line of footprints showed where a guard or gardener had
taken a short cut.

The talks were going well. The
ambassador had incorporated the proposal to solve the issue of the timber sales
and this had led to other areas being resolved in a similar manner. The thorny
question of the level of tariffs and fees for trade goods between the two
countries was next on the agenda. If this problem could be sorted out
satisfactorily then this round of trade talks could go down in history as the
event that opened up the economies of an entire continent.

"The chocolate is good, isn't
it."

Cornelius turned to see Count Maleric,
who was also looking out of the window.

"Yes, very good," agreed
Cornelius, "much better than we get in the Empire."

"We've excellent relations with
the Aztecs," explained Maleric, "we get first pick of their crop of
cocoa beans."

"You can certainly taste the
difference," agreed Cornelius taking another sip, "it's a pity that
the Empire's trade relations with the Aztecs aren't as good as yours."

"Yes, you Romans have a habit of
annoying the people you want to do business with." Count Maleric gave
Cornelius a mischievous grin. "However," he added, "if all goes
well here - and it looks good so far - I'm sure that the Saxon government can
put in a good word for you with the Aztec Empire!"

Cornelius smiled back. He liked
Frederick Maleric and enjoyed talking to him. He was every bit as tough in
negotiations as Isaac Taronites had said, but he was also honest, fair and
willing to compromise to find a solution.

"Katherine sends her
regards," said the Count abruptly changing the subject, "and hopes to
see you again soon."

Cornelius was surprised by the
unexpected shift in the conversation, but quickly recovered.

"My responsibilities and
Katherine's studies have conspired against us meeting more often," said
Cornelius, "but we hope to visit some of the historical sites in the area
when the weather improves."

Count Maleric's expression changed
slightly. He was no longer the jovial Count, he was now the concerned older
brother.

"Katherine has taken quite a
liking to you Cornelius."

"We get on very well
together," agreed Cornelius guardedly, "we have much in common. I
hope you don't disapprove?"

No, Cornelius," replied the Count,
"I don't disapprove, although there are those who would."

Cornelius thought back to the old
soldier who had accosted Katherine at the castle museum and nodded his
understanding.

"All I'm concerned about",
continued Maleric, "is that Katherine is happy and doesn't get hurt again.
She's a strong willed and confident young woman, but for all that she's very
sensitive and her feelings are easily hurt. I hope you won’t hurt her
Cornelius."

Hurt again? Cornelius wanted to
question the Count on that but prudently decided that this was not the best
time for a discussion on his sister's past romances.

Looking into the Count's silver grey
eyes, he could see the family resemblance; Katherine's were exactly the same.
He also saw a man who had been both father and brother to Katherine for many
years. When he asked Cornelius not to hurt his sister, it was both a plea and a
threat.

"I'm also very fond of
Katherine," admitted Cornelius, "and I would never knowingly do
anything to hurt her."

Maleric's face relaxed and the friendly
Count returned. "Thank you Cornelius," he said, "I know you to be
an honourable man. I just hope that you don't hurt her 'unknowingly'
either."

23rd
March 1920

Exanzenus
Villa, Near Adrianople, Thrace

Demetrius Exanzenus stepped up out of
the hot water pool and took a towel from the silent attendant standing at the
top of the marble steps. He dried himself briefly as he walked over to a table.
There was a silver goblet of his favourite wine, chilled to the temperature he
preferred on the table. He tied the towel around his waist and took a drink
from the goblet, savouring the cold sweet wine. He looked up at the clock that
hung on one of the large pillars that part supported and part decorated his
bath house. They will be here by now, he thought, but they can wait. Exanzenus
habitually kept people waiting to emphasis his power.

Exanzenus sat down and relaxed,
enjoying his wine as his body finished drying in the warmth of the bath house.
A servant silently brought a silver plate of sweet meats and put them on the
table. Exanzenus neither thanked nor even acknowledged the servants presence.
He had done the job that he was paid to do, why should he be thanked as well?