The Spring of the Ram - Dorothy Dunnett [226]
“Indeed he must,” said the Emperor. Today, relaxed in the garden, he wore a loose robe of silk which accommodated his girth, and his fair skin was flushed by the sun under the tall hat with its wings of curled feathers. He said, “And you will entrust yourself to the seas, in the hands of these paragons. You could not do better. So this is your ship-master?”
The audience was deliberate and formal, so the Empress asked formal questions. That she wished to ask others was obvious; as was her desire to be done with display and return to the labours of departure. Beneath the paint, the whole archaeology of her features stood exposed in the sun. At her side, the dark, oval face of her daughter Anna, fourteen years old, reflected the same muffled anxiety. The Emperor, feeling it, seemed to grow impatient and presently gave his consort and her ladies permission to leave. Their place was filled by the men, and by the Treasurer George Amiroutzes. The Emperor said, “She wishes to make this trifling voyage; one would not detain her. Ourselves, we see little need.”
Nicholas said, “Your magnificence sent an embassy to the West. Has the need lessened?”
“The friar. The Observatine friar,” the Emperor said. “Well, you know what such men of God are. He sees himself as Latin patriarch of Antioch and head of the Franciscans in Georgia. The Georgian primates were always consecrated by the Antioch patriarchs. He persuaded our son-in-law to promise sixty thousand soldiers for the Christian cause. Our kinsman Uzum Hasan promised fifty thousand. We ourselves had in mind twenty thousand at the time. But these things change.”
“And thirty galleys, your magnificence,” said Nicholas.
“We had them, at the time,” said the Emperor.
“But you have come to think that the Sultan and Uzum Hasan may come to blows and save Trebizond the trouble of fighting?” Nicholas said. “Your magnificence?”
“How can anyone tell?” said the Sultan. “We can tell you at least that Sinope will never fall. Two thousand musketeers, ten thousand soldiers, magazines filled with provisions; a fleet of war galleys, including the largest ever seen in these seas? It can hold out for ever, and when the October storm comes, no fleet yet built can stay in the Black Sea and survive.”
He leaned forward, and waved a strong, ringed hand. “And on land? Between Sinope and us, all the passes are held by my lord Uzum Hasan and his incomparable cavalry. By the time the Turk has struggled over the mountains to face him, the winter will be near and he will have to retire before the snow and the rain impale him there without food or fodder.”
A tray of delicacies had been brought. He signed for it to be brought over. On it were dishes of bread and the black, salty eggs called caviare. Nicholas took one, and John le Grant another. They already held wine. The Emperor said mellowly, “But assume the Turk conquers Sinope; by a miracle sweeps away Persia, how can he prevail against Trebizond? They cannot enter the Citadel. And the Trebizond winter, with its storms, with its rain, will send them scuttling home. No. We have no fears for Trebizond. But it pleases my consort to visit her daughter. Let her do so.”
Nicholas said, “Your magnificence is indeed lord of a fortunate empire. But it seems expedient still that the Empress’s visit should remain private. And perhaps that, in case of uncertainty, ships should not be easily come by. My lord would not expect the owners to sink them. But with sails removed, and masts and oars laid up and locked,