She fell silent. After a moment, Ganapati and the viceroy exchanged stares.
At first, their expressions registered astonishment. Then, delight. Then, once the obvious obstacle occured to them, puzzlement.
Gauging the moment, Shakuntala spoke again. “Yes. I will require a fleet of transport ships. At least a hundred and fifty. Preferably two hundred. You will provide them for me, along with the funds needed to carry through this great migration.”
Again, the squawks of official outrage filled the room. But Holkar, watching, sensed the victory. When it came, even sooner than he had expected, he was gratified but not surprised. Following his sovereign through the corridors of the viceregal palace, back to their waiting escort, he took the time to admire the small figure of the girl striding before him.
She is listening to me. Finally.
As they rode back toward the refugee camps, Shakuntala leaned over her saddle and smiled at Holkar.
“That went quite well.”
“I told you it would work.”
“Yes, yes,” she murmured. “I see now that I really must listen more closely to my adviser.”
Holkar did not miss the sly smile.
“Impudent child,” he grumbled.
“Impudent?” she demanded. “This—coming from you? Wait till the ruler of Tamraparni discovers that he has promised to aid me in my war against Malwa! And his son’s hand in marriage!”
“He has a son,” replied Holkar, with dignity. “Several of them, in fact. And I have no doubt that he would have made the offer, if he listened carefully to his advisers.”
Shakuntala laughed. “You are an incorrigible schemer, Dadaji!”
“Me? You are no slouch yourself, Your Majesty.”
Holkar gave her a wry smile. “Although there are times you petrify me with your boldness. I thought you were mad, to order Rao—”
“I told you Rome would enter the Persian war immediately,” the Empress stated. The satisfaction on the girl’s face was obvious. It was not often that the nineteen-year-old Empress had been proven right in a disagreement with her canny, middle-aged peshwa. “And I told you Belisarius would be leading their army.”
“Yes, you did,” agreed Holkar. “That was why you overrode my protest at the insane idea of having Rao seize Deogiri immediately. I had thought to wait, until we were certain that Belisarius and the Romans had entered the war.”
The humor left Shakuntala’s face. “I had no choice, Dadaji,” she whispered. “You were there when Rao’s courier told us of Venandakatra’s atrocities in the Majarashtra countryside. The beast was murdering ten villagers for every one of his soldiers lost to Rao’s raiders.”
Holkar’s own face was drawn. “He will butcher even more, in retaliation for Deogiri.”
The Empress shook her head.
“I think you are wrong, Dadaji. With southern Majarashtra’s largest city in our hands, Venandakatra will have no choice. His own status with the Malwa Emperor will depend on retaking Deogiri. He does not have so great an army that he can besiege Deogiri—you know how strong it is; the place is a fortress—and still send his cavalry on punitive rampages throughout the Deccan. Nor can he call for assistance from Emperor Skandagupta. You know as well as I do that the Malwa have been pressing him to release troops for the Persian campaign. With Rome—and Belisarius—now in the war, they will most certainly not send him reinforcements.”
Again, she shook her head. “No, I am right here also—I am sure of it. The pressure on the Maratha country folk will ease, while the Vile One concentrates on Deogiri.”
“And what if he takes Deogiri?” demanded Holkar. “What then? And what if the Malwa defeat the Persians and Romans quickly?”
Shakuntala laughed. “Quickly? With Belisarius leading the Romans?”
Holkar smiled. “I admit, the likelihood is not great.” He cocked an eye at her. “You’re counting on that, aren’t you?”
She nodded—firmly, seriously. “I never would have ordered Rao to take Deogiri, otherwise.”
The look she now gave her adviser was not that of an impetuous child. It was almost ancient in its cold calculation.
“He is using us, you know—Belisarius, I mean. That was why he freed me from captivity, and gave me most of the treasure he stole from the Malwa. To start a rebellion in their rear, draining forces which would otherwise be sent against him.”