'But Easter is tomorrow!' Stephen gasped.

'It is,' agreed the emperor. 'Thus, you begin to see the way of things.'

'By your leave, Lord Emperor, I will speak to him without delay.'

The tenth day after Raymond arrived in Constantinople, bells of the great city's churches broke the dawn silence with a clanging cacophony to herald the Eastertide Mass. The western noblemen and their families – for all except Stephen had brought wives and children with them – were invited to sit with the imperial family in the royal gallery in the Church of the Holy Wisdom. There, among Saint Sophia's gold-encrusted icons and immaculate mosaics of the Risen Christ, the visitors were offered a glimpse of the glory they had solemnly vowed to preserve. After the church service, while the emperor's party returned to the palace for a day of feasting, interspersed with prayers and worship, the pilgrims were conducted back to their stark and barren camps to reflect on the grandeur of what they had experienced.

Early the next morning, the imperial ships began moving the troops of Normandy and Flanders across the Bosphorus to join those of Hugh, Godfrey, and Bohemond awaiting them on the other side. For ten days the great troop ships traversed the narrow strait in waves as relentless as the tide, ceaselessly loading and unloading the crusaders and their paraphernalia of war. Still, the proud Lord of Toulouse refused the oath.

When the last horse and footman had been ferried across, the emperor gave orders to remove the imperial fleet from the quay to the centre of the Golden Horn so that the increasingly anxious Franks left behind would not be tempted to take them by force. He instructed his admiral to allow the ships to remain in full sight, however, so as to provide stubborn Lord Raymond and his wilful bishop a continual reminder of how little stood between them and their departure, and how swiftly they might be hastened on their way.

Lord Stephen, who had sent his troops on ahead with the others, remained behind to help persuade the toplofty count; he counselled, coaxed, and cajoled, and by dint of his genuine good nature succeeded, at last in softening Raymond's resolve. Thus, three days after the last troop ship had sailed, Count Toulouse and Bishop Adhemar appeared with Stephen at Blachernae Palace seeking audience with the emperor.

Alexius graciously agreed to see them as soon as possible, and then went casually about his affairs: reviewed the palace guard; strolled through the imperial stables and paused to watch the Master of Horse put the yearlings through their paces; observed mass; met with the magister officiorum and the quaestor sacri palatii to discuss the following week's register of state functions; dined with the empress at midday, following which he enjoyed a rare, if brief, nap in the garden; and signed a dozen or so documents relating to the promotion of several deserving military commanders and their requisite pay increases. Meanwhile, he had given the fleet commander orders to have the troop ships moved from the centre of the Golden Horn around to Hormisdas Harbour so that the crusaders should see them departing.

When Alexius had finished his chores, and could think of nothing else to do, he called the magister to him and asked if there was anything he had neglected to do that day. 'By your leave, Basileus,' the magister answered, 'allow me to remind your highness that the Latin lords await an audience with the emperor. They are standing in the anteroom even now.'

'Ah, so they are,' agreed Alexius affably. 'Have they waited long?'

'Reasonably long, Basileus. They arrived early this morning.'

'Well then, if there is nothing else, allow them to come in. We will see them now.'

'At your command, Basileus.' The magister backed away from the throne, reached the screen and indicated to the guardsmen to open the door. A few moments later, he led two very anxious and unhappy noblemen, and an irate bishop, into the emperor's private audience chamber.

Alexius greeted them warmly as they came to stand before him, and asked why they had come. The two lords glanced at one another, and Raymond, at Stephen's prompting, replied, 'I have come to make my pledge, Lord Emperor.'

'Well and good,' Alexius replied, 'but we fear it is too late.'

'Too late?' wondered Raymond. His eyes shifted accusingly to Stephen.

'Forgive me, Lord Emperor,' said Stephen, speaking up. 'But I was given to believe that if I could persuade Lord Raymond to take the oath, we would be able to continue the pilgrimage.'

'That is so,' answered the emperor. 'But if you will recall, we said the oath must be signed before the ships finished the crossing.' Turning to the magister officiorum, the emperor asked, 'Is that not what we said, magister?'

The magister consulted the wax tablet on which he recorded all official transactions, replied, 'It is so, Basileus. That is what was said.'

'We are sorry,' Alexius said placidly. 'If only you had come to us sooner.'

'We have waited all day!' exclaimed Bishop Adhemar, unable to contain himself any longer. 'This is intolerable.'

Alexius grew steely. 'And yet it will be tolerated. Lord Raymond has had ample time in which to make up his mind. Or did you think the world would wait for his decision? I assure you, the world waits for no man.'

'I stand ready to make my pledge now,' Raymond insisted, the colour rising to his face.

'And we are telling you it is too late.'

'Too late!' growled Raymond.

'The ships are needed elsewhere. We have compromised the protection of other provinces in order to accommodate the demands of the crusade, but that cannot continue indefinitely.' The emperor gazed implacably at the three before him. 'The fleet requires maintenance and repair; the ships must be readied for their departure. Any delay would be too costly to contemplate.'

Raymond, speechless with frustration, glared rancorously at the emperor. Adhemar drew breath to speak again, but the cooler-tempered Stephen prevailed.

'If you please, Lord Emperor,' said Stephen quickly, 'perhaps I might suggest a remedy.'

'If you know any,' Alexius replied, 'we would welcome it.'

'If the imperial fleet's departure could be postponed a few days, we might hire the ships to take our armies across. We can pay in gold.'

The emperor frowned. 'We have gold aplenty. What we lack is ships to keep the imperial waters safe.' He stared at the noblemen, and drummed his fingers on the armrests of his throne. 'Something else comes to mind,' Alexius said slowly, as if considering it for the first time.

'Yes, Lord Emperor?'

'It occurs to us that we have made good on promises to provision and transport the pilgrims through imperial lands and beyond, and borne the cost out of our own treasury. This we have been happy to do for the liberation of the Holy Land, and for the sake of the lands to be returned to the empire if you are successful.'

'With God's help,' Bishop Adhemar declared, 'we will be victorious.'

'We pray for your every victory, lord bishop,' Alexius told him. 'In view of that, it seems only fair that we should have an imperial emissary to lend aid to the enterprise, and attend to matters arising from the reinstatement of imperial rule.'

Stephen understood the offer the emperor was making and, before his companions could object, happily agreed. 'Of course, in recognition of the emperor's generosity in extending the use of imperial ships, we would be pleased to welcome an envoy of the emperor's choosing to offer counsel, and look after the special interests of the empire. I am embarrassed we did not suggest it ourselves.'

Raymond stiffened; he did not like the notion of an imperial factotum nosing around in the affairs of the crusaders.

'Good.' Alexius gestured to the magister. 'We accept your offer to hire the ships, and to include our imperial emissary among your advisors.' Extending his hand towards the magister, Alexius took up the parchment containing the oath which all the other crusading lords had signed, and passed it to Raymond.