“She is well cared for, sir,” Constantine said evenly. ‘We both understood it to be the will of the Emperor Diocletian that my father divorce her and marry the daughter of Maximian Augustus.” He had deliberately added the last half of the sentence as a reminder to the other man that he was under imperial protection on the order of Diocletian himself. And he saw that the thrust went home, for Galerius’ eyes narrowed and he checked himself with an effort. Severus made no comment, but a quick smile of approval showed momentarily on his face and Constantine was heartened by the knowledge that he had at least one friend in high places.
“Away with you then,” Galerius ordered sharply. “And tell my aide outside to come in.”
The day’s drill was over when Constantine got back to the parade ground and the crowd was already filing out. When he entered Dacius’ office at the end of the many windowed barracks building, he was surprised to find his Uncle Marios there.
Galerius left the reviewing stand
“I was at the exhibition drill this morning,” Marios told him. “The messenger escorted you from the field about the same time that Galerius left the reviewing stand, so I thought there might be a connection. I came here to learn what happened from Dacius.” “And found me as much in the dark as he is,” Dacius admitted. “By all the rules of sham battle, Galerius’ trumpeter should have ended the affair when your mount was killed. What did he say to you?”
“He demanded to know why I didn’t kill Crocus.”
“Galerius knows that if Crocus were killed during a spectacle here at Nicomedia, his father’s people would almost certainly start a blood feud with your father’s armies in Gaul ” Dacius broke off and whistled softly to himself. “By the winged heels of Mercury himself, that must be the answer.”
“Of course it is,” Marios agreed. “Even the troops know Constantius is by far the best general in the Empire and Galerius lives in constant fear that he will not become Senior Augustus when Diocletian abdicates.”
“Or that Diocletian will realize how incompetent he is and not give up the purple,” Dacius agreed.
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