Galatea appeared again immediately, accompanied by a little
round-backed man, who looked much older than his forty-years justified.
His wise, but pinched features, piercing eyes, and cunning mouth, made
a disagreeable impression on all who observed him.
Theodora returned his creeping salutation by a slight nod. Galatea
began to paint her eyebrows.
"Empress," the new-comer began, "I wonder at your courage. If I were
seen here! A moment's rashness would render vain the prudence of nine
years!"
"But you will not be seen, Petros," said Theodora quietly. "This is the
only hour in which I am secure from Justinian's importunate tenderness.
It is his hour of prayer. I must profit by it as much as I can. God
preserve his piety! Galatea, my wine. What! Surely, thou dost not fear
to leave me alone with this dangerous seducer?"
The old woman left the room with a hateful grin upon her lips, and soon
returned with a jug of sweet heated Chian-wine in one hand, and a cup
of honey and water in the other.
"I could not arrange our meeting in the church as usual, where, in the
dark confessional, you look exactly like a priest. The Emperor will
call you before church-time, and you must be thoroughly instructed
beforehand."
"What is then to be done?"
"Petros," answered Theodora, leaning comfortably back and sipping the
sweet mixture which Galatea now handed to her, "the day has come which
will reward all our years of patience, and make you a great man."
"It is time, indeed!" observed Petros.
"Do not be impatient, friend.--Galatea, a little more honey.--In order
to put you into the right humour for to-day's business, it will be well
to remind you of the past, of the manner in which our--friendship
originated."
"What mean you? Wherefore----"
"For many reasons. To begin. You were the cousin and adherent of my
deadly enemy, Narses. Consequently, you were my enemy too. For years
you acted against me in your cousin's service, hurting me but little,
and still less benefiting yourself. For Narses, your virtuous friend,
considers it a point of honour never to do anything for his relations;
so that, unlike other courtiers of the realm, he may never be accused
of nepotism. Out of pure friendship and virtue, he left you unpromoted.
You remained a simple writer and a poor man. But a clever man like you
knows how to help himself. You forged--you doubled the amount of the
Emperor's dues. Besides what was demanded by the Emperor, the provinces
paid another tax, which Petros and the tax-gatherers shared amongst
themselves. For a time all went on smoothly. But once----"
"Empress, I beseech you!"
"I shall soon have finished, friend. But once you had the misfortune to
have a new tax-gatherer, who valued the favour of the Empress more than
the share of booty which you promised him. He entered into your plans,
allowed you to forge the documents--and showed them to me!"
"The wretch!" murmured Petros.
"Yes, it was bad enough," said Theodora smiling, and setting down her
glass. "So I had the neck of my sly enemy, the confidant of the hated
eunuch, under my foot; and, I must confess, I had a great desire to
trample upon him. But I sacrificed a short revenge for a great and
enduring advantage. I called you to me, and told you to choose whether
you would die or serve me for life. You were kind enough to choose the
last, and, still the greatest enemies in the eyes of the world, we have
secretly worked together for years. No sooner has Narses formed a plan,
than you reveal it to me. I have rewarded you well. You are now a rich
man."
"Not worth mentioning."
"Oh, indeed, ungrateful man! My treasurer knows better. You are _very_
rich."
"Yes, but without dignity or rank. My fellow-students are patricians,
great men in the East and West; like Cethegus in Rome, and Procopius
here."
"Patience! From this day you will quickly climb the ladder of ambition.
It was necessary to keep something in reserve. Listen; to-morrow you go
as ambassador to Ravenna."
"As imperial ambassador!" cried Petros, rejoiced.
"Through my influence. But that is not all. You will receive
circumstantial directions from Justinian to undermine the kingdom of
the Goths, and smooth the path of Belisarius in Italy."
"Shall I obey these directions, or not?"
"Obey them. But you will receive another order, which Justinian will
particularly recommend to your notice; that is, to save the daughter of
Theodoric from the hands of her enemies at any price, and bring her to
Byzantium. Here is a letter from me to her, which presses her to take
refuge in my arms."
"'Tis well," said Petros, taking the letter. "I will bring her here
immediately."
Theodora, like an angry snake, started up on her couch with such
impetuosity, that Petros and Galatea retreated in affright.
"No, no, Petros! no!" she exclaimed. "For this reason I send you. She
must _not_ come to Byzantium! She must not live!"
Confounded, Petros let the letter fall.
"Oh, Empress!" he whispered; "murder?"
"Peace!" cried Theodora, in a hoarse voice; and her eyes sparkled
cruelly. "She must die!"
"Die? Oh, Empress! wherefore?"
"There is no need for you to know that. But stay; I will tell you, for
it will give the spur to your courage. Listen." She seized his arm
wildly, and whispered in his ear, "Justinian, the traitor, has
conceived a passion for her!"
"Theodora!" cried Petros, startled.
The Empress fell back upon her couch.
"But he has never seen her," stammered Petros.
"He has seen her portrait. He already dreams of her. He has fallen in
love with her picture."
"You have never yet had a rival."
"No; nor ever will."
"You are so beautiful."
"Amalaswintha is younger."
"You are so wise; you are Justinian's counsellor the confidant of his
most secret thoughts."
"It is just this which annoys him. And"--she again caught his
arm--"remember, she is a King's daughter, a born ruler; and I--am the
plebeian daughter of a lion-keeper! Ridiculous and insane though it be,
Justinian, in his purple, forgets that he is the son of a shepherd from
the Dardanelles. He has imbibed the madness of Kings; he, himself an
adventurer, chatters about innate majesty, about the mystery of royal
blood! I have no protection against such whims. I fear nothing from all
the women in the world. But this King's daughter----" She angrily
started up, and clenched her small fist. "Beware, Justinian!" she
cried, pacing the room. "With this eye and hand I have subdued lions
and tigers; let us see if I cannot keep this fox in royal purple at my
feet." She re-seated herself. "In short, Amalaswintha dies," she said,
suddenly becoming quite cool again.
"Yes," said Petros, "but not through me. You have bloodthirsty servants
enough; send them. I am a man who will talk----"
"You are a man who will die if you do not obey! You, my supposed enemy,
must do it. None of my friends can venture it without arousing
suspicion."
"Theodora," said Petros, forgetting himself, "take care! To murder the
daughter of Theodoric, a born Queen----"
"Ha, ha!" said Theodora, in a rage, "you, too, miserable man, are
dazzled by the 'born Queen!' All men are fools, still more than
rascals! Listen, Petros--the day when the news of her death arrives
from Ravenna, you shall be a senator and a patrician."
The man's eyes sparkled, but cowardice or conscience were still
stronger than ambition.
"No," he said decidedly, "I would rather lose the court and all my
plans."
"You will lose your life, wretch!" cried Theodora. "Oh, you think you
are safe, because I burnt the forged documents before your eyes! You
fool! they were false! Look here; here I hold your life in my hands!"
She dragged a yellow parchment from a roll of documents, and showed it
to Petros, who, completely subdued, fell upon his knees at her feet.
"Command me!" he stammered, "I obey." Just then a knocking was heard at
the principal door.
"Away!" cried the Empress, "take my letter to the Queen from the
ground, and think over what I have said: patrician if she dies, torture
and death if she lives. Go!"
Galatea pushed the bewildered man through the secret entrance, turned
the statue into its place again, and went to open the great door.