Anna of Byzantium by Tracy Barrett Read Free Book Online Page A

father excluded her from his coronation. I told him that it was better to keep the people satisfied, and after all, it was no large matter, so he soon had a separate coronation for her. That is why she now has a throne next to your father’s, although everyone knows she has not the wit to rule.”
    A sound at the doorway made me turn around. I felt achill when I saw my mother standing there, her face grim. I expected my grandmother to act embarrassed when she realized that my mother had overheard her, but for some reason she did not.
    “Do you have a reason for interrupting?” she asked.
    “Yes,” said my mother in a hard voice. “I wanted to see what you were teaching my daughter. And I am glad I did.” She approached me, holding my gaze with her own. I grew warm again, knowing that what my grandmother had said was false, that behind my mother’s lovely face was a strong mind and a firm will. I wondered that Grandmother could not see it.
    “She did not tell you the complete story, Anna,” she said. “Your father did not wish his soldiers to terrorize the city. Indeed, he tried to stop it—”
    “If he had tried to stop it, he would have been successful,” interrupted my grandmother, but my mother went on as though she hadn’t heard her.
    “His soldiers were excited at the ease with which they had conquered,” she said, “and many of them were from barbarian countries where the victorious side customarily destroys the town and inhabitants they have beaten. They did not speak Greek, and could not understand the orders to cease.” She paused.
    “I remember that night well,” she went on softly. “I was in our villa outside the city for safety, and could hear the shrieks and alarm-bells even from that distance. I could smell the smoke as it rose from burning houses. That whole side of the sky was lit with a deep red glow. I thought it was Hell, that we were all going to burn thereforever as punishment for the sins of our soldiers. It was
not
glorious!” she suddenly said vehemently, turning to my grandmother. “War is never glorious!”
    My grandmother did not answer.
    In a calmer tone, my mother continued. “When order was finally restored, your father had his soldiers confined to quarters for a day to make them calm down. After that, all was peaceful. But your father was not happy. He knew that what had happened was his responsibility as the leader, even though he had tried to stop it, and he confessed the sin to the patriarch. That wise man agreed that your father was guilty, and so was everyone else who had participated. We
all
”—she emphasized the word while glancing at my grandmother, who still sat like a statue—“we all had to fast for forty days, eating only bread, drinking only water. Your father had to wear sackcloth that irritated his skin so that for weeks after the penance had ended I was rubbing it with ointment.”
    I tried to picture my proud father wearing sackcloth, which I had seen on the bodies of condemned prisoners and the penitent sinners over whom I had to step when entering the church. The image was impossible for me to conjure up.
    “But Mother,” I said. “Why did Father not want you to be empress?”
    A bitter laugh came from her lips as she swung to look at my grandmother, who did not return her gaze. “You mustn’t believe everything she tells you,” she said. “Your father
did
want me to be empress.” A snort from my grandmother. “His mother convinced him that if he had mecrowned, the Ducas family would see that as a sign of weakness on his part and would rise in rebellion against him. But out of love for me and out of respect for his word, he delayed only a month before recognizing that he had to do what was right, and had me crowned. Many times he has apologized for not doing so immediately.
    “And now, Anna,” she continued, “I want you to come with me. Enough studying for one day.”
    My grandmother rose quickly to her feet. “I have not finished