“How could we, when it would mean our death?” the old nobleman cried. “We only managed to escape by smuggling ourselves aboard a galley owned by Adrian here.”
“I am a merchant trading with the East, so I was not watched as closely as the others,” Adrian explained. “Augustus Maxentius maintains a connection with Augustus Maximin Daia, who has his own warehouses in Antioch and Caesarea, and ships of my fleet sometimes took part in that trade. We escaped by pretending to be bound for Caesarea.”
“How strong is the political alliance between Maxentius and Maximin Daia?” Constantine asked.
“In my opinion, it is only a marriage of convenience in order to exert pressure on Augustus Licinius to remain neutral,” Adrian said. “In doing business, I have talked to many Senators and I can tell you that privately the majority of them have expressed their intention to welcome you, when you free Rome from its tyrant.”
Unseat Maxentius
This was what Constantine had been wanting a vote by the Senate, however unorthodox the method of its taking, that he could claim as constituting an invitation to unseat Maxentius.
“Will you swear that such a vote was taken?” he asked Adrian. “And that the result was as you described?”
The merchant’s eyes met Constantine’s while each weighed the other. Constantine knew perfectly well what he was asking of the merchant Senator and he was sure that Adrian too understood. If he became Emperor of Rome, the merchant could profit in many ways, not the least through acting as a factor in Constantine’s personal trading ventures with the rest of the Empire. But if he failed, Adrian would go down with him and could hope for no mercy from Maxentius.
When Adrian smiled, Constantine knew he had judged his man well. Like a bettor assaying the chances of a chariot in winning a race, the other man had made the final decision by evaluating the most important single factor the driver.
“I will swear to it, Augustus. And I will affix my name to the scroll upon which it is written.”
Just behind him, Constantine heard Dacius give the short tuneless whistle he used to express approval of a particularly clever move. “I will do what I can to free Rome,” he promised the Senators. “But I shall expect all of you to follow my armies and assure other Senators of my respect for their noble counsel, when finally we reach the capital.”
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