It seemed but an instant before she had him stretched out on the bed, herself alongside, and was gently caressing his little body. Slowly, Photius felt the rigidity leaving his muscles.
“I’m only ten years old,” he repeated. This time, more by way of an apology than an expression of terror.
“Of course you are,” murmured Tahmina. Gently, she kissed his forehead. “Relax, husband.” She raised her head and smiled serenely down upon him, while her hands continued their caresses.
“You will age. Soon enough, be sure of it. And when the time comes, you will not be anxious at all. You will know everything. About me. About you. It will be so easy.”
Photius thought she had the most beautiful voice he had ever heard. He felt like he was drowning in the darkness of her eyes.
The rest of the night, until they fell asleep, was a time of wonder for him. Wonder of the body, partly. Ten years old is not too young for everything, after all, and Tahmina was as sensuous as she was beautiful. Her caresses felt more wonderful than anything Photius could imagine.
But, mostly, it was wonder of the mind. He had never imagined it. Not once. That he might come to love his wife.
* * *
Within an hour after awakening the next morning, wonder turned to certainty. Ten years old was not, after all, too young for a man to understand that pleasures of the mind outweigh pleasures of the body.
His wife turned out to be a genius, too. Such, at least, was Photius’ firm conviction. Who else would know so many ways to thwart officious tutors?
“And another thing,” she explained, nestling his head into her shoulder. “When they start nattering about your grammar—”
For the first time, Photius assumed the proper mantle of husbandly authority.
“Hush, wife!” he commanded. He lifted his head, summoned his courage—Emperor of Rome!—and planted a kiss on his wife’s cheek. After the evening and night, all those hours, it came almost easily to him.
Tahmina laughed. “See? Not long!”
* * *
Some time later, again, Tahmina was gazing down upon him serenely.
“You will have concubines,” she said softly, “but I intend to see to it that you do not spend much time with them.”
Photius cleared his throat. “Uh, actually, concubines are not permitted under Christian law.” A bit guiltily: “Not supposed to be, anyway.”
Tahmina’s eyes grew very round. “Really? How odd!”
The beautiful eyes narrowed a bit. “I will be converting, of course, since a Christian empire must have a Christian empress.” Narrowed further. “I foresee myself a devoted convert.” Slits. “A religious fanatic, in fact.”
Photius gurgled like a babe. “S’okay with me!”
“It better be,” growled his wife. A moment later, she was giving him a foretaste of the punishment which awaited Christian sinners.
* * *
And so the servants found them. The servants, and Julian.
The prim and proper servants frowned, needless to say. Such unseemly conduct for royalty! But Julian, scarred veteran of many battlefields, was immensely pleased. A Persian empress tickling a Roman emperor, he thought, boded well for the future. Perhaps Belisarius was right, and the thousand year war was finally over.
That still left the Malwa, of course. But that thought brought nothing but a sneer to the cataphract’s face. Anything was child’s play, compared to Persian dehgans on the field of battle.
Chapter 3
That same morning, while Photius and Tahmina began laying the foundation for their marriage, another wedding took place. This wedding was private, not public. Indeed, not to put too fine a point on it, it was a state secret—unauthorized knowledge of which would earn the headsman’s sword.
Another foundation was being laid with this wedding. A new empire was being forged, destined to rise up out of the ruins of Malwa. Or rather, destined to play a great part in Malwa’s ruination.
The ceremony was Christian, as was the bride, and as simple a rite as that faith allowed. The bride herself had so stipulated, in defiance of all natural law—had insisted, in fact. She had claimed she wanted a brief and unembellished ceremony purely in the interests of security and secrecy. Given that the bride was acknowledged to be a supreme mistress in the arts of espionage and intrigue, the claim was accepted readily enough. Most people probably even believed it.