Sanga was now within a few feet. Belisarius smiled at him, and found it impossible to keep the smile to a polite minimum.
Except for that marvelous, dry sense of humor.
“I am afraid I must ask you and your men to leave now, general Belisarius,” said the Rajput, as he drew his horse alongside. “The battle will be heating up soon, I believe. As always, we must put the safety of our honored guests above all other concerns.”
At that very moment, as if cued by the Rajput’s words, an object appeared above Ranapur. Belisarius watched the bomb—launched by a catapult hidden behind the walls of the city—as it arched its way toward the Malwa besiegers. Even from the great distance, he could spot the tiny sparks which marked the bomb’s fuse.
“You see the peril,” announced Sanga.
The fuse, Belisarius saw, had been cut too short. The bomb exploded in the air, well before it struck its intended target, the front line of trenches encircling the city. Which were at least a mile away from the little knoll where they stood.
“The deadly peril,” elaborated Sanga.
“Indeed,” mused Belisarius. “This is perhaps the most dangerous moment in my entire life. Or, perhaps not. Perhaps it takes second place to that terrifying episode, when I was eight years old, when my sister threatened me with a ladle.”
“Brutal creatures, sisters,” agreed Sanga instantly. “I have three myself. Deadly with a ladle, each and every one, and cruel beyond belief. So I have no doubt that moment was slightly more dangerous than the present one. But I must still insist that you leave. The safety of our honored guests from Rome is the uppermost concern in our Emperor’s mind. To allow Emperor Justinian’s official envoys to suffer so much as a scratch would be an irreparable stain upon his honor.”
The Rajput’s expression was solemn, but Belisarius suddenly broke into a grin. There was no point in arguing with Sanga. For all the Rajput’s invariable courtesy, Belisarius had quickly learned that the man had a will of iron.
Belisarius reined his horse around and began moving away from the siege. His cataphracts followed immediately. The entire Rajput escort—all five hundred of them—quickly took their places. Most of the Rajputs rode a polite distance behind the Romans, but a considerable number took up positions as flankers, and a small group of twenty or so trotted ahead to serve as the advance guard for the little army moving through the milling swarm of Malwa soldiers and laborers.
Rana Sanga rode alongside Belisarius. After a moment’s silence, the Rajput remarked casually:
“Your Hindi is improving rapidly, general. With amazing rapidity, actually. And your accent is becoming almost unnoticeable.”
Belisarius repressed a grimace, and silently cursed himself for a fool. In point of fact, Belisarius could speak Hindi fluently, when he chose, without the slightest trace of an accent. An almost magical capacity for language was one of the many talents which Aide provided him, and one which Belisarius had used to advantage on several occasions.
And one which, he reminded himself again, was useful in direct proportion to being held a close secret.
He sighed, very slightly. He was learning that, of all the difficult tasks which men face in the world, there is perhaps none quite so difficult as pretending to be semicompetent in a language which one speaks perfectly.
Belisarius cleared his throat.
“I am pleased to hear that. I hadn’t noticed, myself.”
“I thought not,” replied Sanga. The Rajput glanced over his shoulder. “Given that your Hindi is becoming so fluent, I suggest that we might speak in Greek from now on. My own Greek, as you know, is only passable. I would much appreciate the opportunity to improve it.”
“Certainly,” said Belisarius—speaking, now in Greek. “I would be delighted.”
The Roman general pointed back toward Ranapur with his thumb.
“I am curious about one thing, Rana Sanga. I notice that the rebels seem to lack any of your cannons, yet they obviously possess a large supply of gunpowder. It seems odd they would have the one and not the other.”
The Rajput did not reply, for a moment. It was obvious to Belisarius that Rana Sanga was gauging the limits of what he could tell the Roman.