The Sheen of the Silk

The thought of Anastasius cut to the heart of his pain. How would the crusaders treat him? How could he protect himself? The thought of it was too terrible to allow into Giuliano’s mind. It was the whole city that mattered, and all the lands around it, but in the end, as perhaps with everyone, it all came down to those you knew, the faces, the voices, the people you broke bread with and who trusted you.

The shadows were stronger. The light was fading rapidly.

Seventy-nine

ANNA HAD BEEN CALLED YET AGAIN TO THE HOUSE OF Joa

Joa

Leonicus had left Joa

For once, the hot, still room was silent as A

Theodosia had been a religious woman all her life. A

Would A

Theodosia had been in good health when her husband had gone, and it had hurt her almost beyond bearing, bringing her to the edge of suicide. A

During one of Joa

“I am sorry, but the lady Theodosia is unable to receive you,” the servant said some moments later.

A

“I am sorry, but Theodosia does not wish to speak with you,” he said. “She has no need of your services, and there is really nothing further to add. Thank you for coming, but please do not do so again.” He turned and walked away, leaving the servant to close the door in A

A

By September, much of the overt anger at Rome’s demands upon the Church was swept away by the more urgent anxieties of news about the gathering armies to the west.

A

“I have just received news from Bishop Palombara,” Nicephoras said. “The pope is dead.”

“Again? I mean… another pope?” She could scarcely believe it. “So we have no leader in Rome to argue with, even if we wanted to?”

“It’s far worse than that,” he said quickly, no longer even attempting to mask his fear. “Pope Nicholas exacted from Charles of Anjou an oath not to attack Byzantium. Nicholas’s death frees him from that. Apparently oaths do not carry from one pope to another.” Bitter humor flashed in his eyes for an instant, then was gone.

A

“I am about to tell him.” Nicephoras drew in his breath deeply, then let it out in a sigh. “He will find it very hard. I would like you to come with me… in case he is… ill.”

She answered only with a nod, and as he turned to lead the way to the emperor’s rooms, she followed him with a heavy sense of foreboding.

Michael was sitting at a table writing when she entered behind Nicephoras. The strong sunlight slanted across the chair, the papers spread across the tabletop, and the assorted pens. It was a cruel light, and it laid bare his weariness. The heavy gray was not only in his hair, but in his beard; but more than that, there were shadows around his eyes, and his skin had a thin, papery texture. Even the iron will that had carried him to military victory was fading. Perhaps harder than that of arms was the victory of the mind over the fractiousness of his people, the ceaseless threats to his power, his life, his family, the quarrels over every conceivable issue arising from union with Rome. And every year there was at least one ugly suggestion that this person or that had more right to the throne than he. He was never safe from the threat of a usurper.

“Yes?” he asked, looking up at Nicephoras. Reading bad news in the man’s face, he tensed, a tightening of expression that was barely perceptible to A

Briefly, Nicephoras told the emperor that Pope Nicholas III was dead. There was no need to add that there was now nothing to prevent Charles of Anjou from sacking Constantinople as he wanted to and in time conquering what was left of the Byzantine Empire.

Michael sat perfectly still, absorbing the shock. A

Was it surprising if he felt beaten, even by fate, now that yet another pope was dead? A

Constantine was ill again and sent for A

She found him lying in his bed, his face pale. From the position of his heavy body, he was apparently in some discomfort. She considered it was probably caused largely by anxiety, a stomach too clenched with emotion to digest his food.

“I must be well in two weeks’ time,” he told her with some concern, his eyes narrowed, his lips tight.

“I will do all I can,” she promised. “You would greatly improve your health if you were to rest more.”