The emperor leaned back against the cushions of his throne. "Never fear, we will not command you against your will. It is your loyalty we are most anxious to procure, not your obedience." The emperor smoothed the purple silk of his robe with his hands.
"Your pilgrimage has not been in vain, brother priest. You are well placed to be of service to us. It may be that the chore we have in mind is the very task to which God himself has called you. Hear us, Brother Aidan; your work has only begun."
"Sovereign lord," I replied, my thoughts roiling in confusion, "command me how you will, I am your servant."
Basil smiled a lipless smile of thin satisfaction. "Good. We are pleased, brother monk." Beckoning me closer, he said, "Listen carefully, this is what we would have you do."
I attended with utmost care while the emperor explained that the whole of the imperial attention was concentrated upon the embassy to Trebizond. It was, he said, a matter of utmost delicacy. "Naturally, the empire has enemies of many kinds-enemies whose aims are not always easy to discern. Therefore, we must avail ourselves of every protection for the good of the empire." He looked at me with disarming candour and said, "Secrecy has its uses, brother priest. If you know how to keep a secret, we would welcome your presence in Trebizond. More, we would reward it."
I replied that discretion was a virtue, and one which had served me well in the abbey. The emperor then shared his secret concern and asked me to be his eyes and ears in Trebizond, to observe all that took place and report to him upon my return to Byzantium. When he finished, he asked if I understood. Upon receiving my assurance, he stood abruptly. The Farghanese all moved back one pace. Making a gesture of dismissal, the emperor said, "Come to us when your journey is completed."
"As you will, basileus." I bowed my head and stepped backwards as I had seen the others do.
The emperor summoned the magister to usher me from the palace. "The gateman," Basil said, "is he still with us?"
"He awaits your pleasure in the anteroom, basileus," replied the white-robed courtier.
"Tell him that he is to return this man to his ship," the emperor commanded, adding as he thought of it, "but there is no hurry, we believe, so tell the guard that he is to show our servant whatever he wishes to see and experience of our city." Glancing at me, he said, "And by all means, he is to feed the man. Give him a solidus for this purpose, magister."
"As you will, sovereign lord," replied the courtier.
Once again, I was dismissed and led from the hall. Basil allowed me to reach the door before calling, "God grant you a safe voyage, brother priest, and a swift return. Until then, let us both anticipate the pleasure of discussing what you will do with your freedom."
Upon emerging from my audience, I found Justin waiting alone in the anteroom; all the others had gone. The magister beckoned him to us and placed a gold coin in his hand, charging him with the emperor's orders. The magister then turned and disappeared into the vestibule, and we were left to make our way out of the palace.
"So!" exclaimed Justin as we stepped outside at last. "This is one day I will not soon forget."
I agreed heartily that I had never experienced anything like it before.
"You are a remarkable fellow, my friend." He regarded me with genuine admiration. "The quaestor sent to the mines, and the barbarian hired as a mercenary-my scholarii will never believe me." He stopped and looked at the coin the magister had given him. "A whole solidus," he said, drawing a deep breath, "and there is still daylight! Now then, what pleasures will you command this evening? By the emperor's command, I am at your service."
"It has been a very long time since I set foot inside a chapel. If it is not too difficult, I would like to go to church and pray."
"The only difficulty will be to choose which church to favour with our presence-there are hundreds in Constantinople. We could go to Saint Stephen's," he indicated the nearest cross rising beyond the wall, "where the emperor and his family pray on certain days. Or, I could take you to the Hagia Sophia-every visitor to the city wants to go there."
"Please, if it is not too much trouble, I would like to go where you pray."
"Where I pray?" wondered Justin. "It is only a small church near my home. There is nothing at all remarkable about it. You have all of Constantinople to choose from, my friend." Though he protested, I could see that he was pleased with my choice. "Let me take you to Saint Sophia's."
"I would rather see your church. Will you take me there?"
