A Struggle for Rome, v. 1

  "It is time, indeed!" observed Petros.

  "Do not be impatient, friend.--Galatea, a little more honey.--In orderto put you into the right humour for to-day's business, it will be wellto remind you of the past, of the manner in which our--friendshiporiginated."

  "What mean you? Wherefore----"

  "For many reasons. To begin. You were the cousin and adherent of mydeadly enemy, Narses. Consequently, you were my enemy too. For yearsyou 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 accusedof 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 youknows how to help himself. You forged--you doubled the amount of theEmperor's dues. Besides what was demanded by the Emperor, the provincespaid another tax, which Petros and the tax-gatherers shared amongstthemselves. 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 tohave a new tax-gatherer, who valued the favour of the Empress more thanthe 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 herglass. "So I had the neck of my sly enemy, the confidant of the hatedeunuch, under my foot; and, I must confess, I had a great desire totrample upon him. But I sacrificed a short revenge for a great andenduring advantage. I called you to me, and told you to choose whetheryou would die or serve me for life. You were kind enough to choose thelast, and, still the greatest enemies in the eyes of the world, we havesecretly 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 richman."

  "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 Procopiushere."

  "Patience! From this day you will quickly climb the ladder of ambition.It was necessary to keep something in reserve. Listen; to-morrow you goas ambassador to Ravenna."

  "As imperial ambassador!" cried Petros, rejoiced.

  "Through my influence. But that is not all. You will receivecircumstantial directions from Justinian to undermine the kingdom ofthe 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 willparticularly recommend to your notice; that is, to save the daughter ofTheodoric from the hands of her enemies at any price, and bring her toByzantium. Here is a letter from me to her, which presses her to takerefuge in my arms."

  "'Tis well," said Petros, taking the letter. "I will bring her hereimmediately."

  Theodora, like an angry snake, started up on her couch with suchimpetuosity, that Petros and Galatea retreated in affright.

  "No, no, Petros! no!" she exclaimed. "For this reason I send you. Shemust _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 sparkledcruelly. "She must die!"

  "Die? Oh, Empress! wherefore?"

  "There is no need for you to know that. But stay; I will tell you, forit will give the spur to your courage. Listen." She seized his armwildly, and whispered in his ear, "Justinian, the traitor, hasconceived 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 inlove 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 hismost secret thoughts."

  "It is just this which annoys him. And"--she again caught hisarm--"remember, she is a King's daughter, a born ruler; and I--am theplebeian daughter of a lion-keeper! Ridiculous and insane though it be,Justinian, in his purple, forgets that he is the son of a shepherd fromthe Dardanelles. He has imbibed the madness of Kings; he, himself anadventurer, chatters about innate majesty, about the mystery of royalblood! I have no protection against such whims. I fear nothing from allthe women in the world. But this King's daughter----" She angrilystarted up, and clenched her small fist. "Beware, Justinian!" shecried, pacing the room. "With this eye and hand I have subdued lionsand tigers; let us see if I cannot keep this fox in royal purple at myfeet." 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 servantsenough; 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 arousingsuspicion."

  "Theodora," said Petros, forgetting himself, "take care! To murder thedaughter of Theodoric, a born Queen----"

  "Ha, ha!" said Theodora, in a rage, "you, too, miserable man, aredazzled by the 'born Queen!' All men are fools, still more thanrascals! Listen, Petros--the day when the news of her death arrivesfrom Ravenna, you shall be a senator and a patrician."

  The man's eyes sparkled, but cowardice or conscience were stillstronger than ambition.

  "No," he said decidedly, "I would rather lose the court and all myplans."

  "You will lose your life, wretch!" cried Theodora. "Oh, you think youare safe, because I burnt the forged documents before your eyes! Youfool! 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 itto Petros, who, completely subdued, fell upon his knees at her feet.

  "Command me!" he stammered, "I obey." Just then a knocking was heard atthe principal door.

  "Away!" cried the Empress, "take my letter to the Queen from theground, and think over what I have said: patrician if she dies, tortureand death if she lives. Go!"

  Galatea pushed the bewildered man through the secret entrance, turnedthe statue into its place again, and went to open the great door.