The royal physician came out of the Emperor"s bedroom, face lined with worry. He could not force himself to look at John Orphano, who stood a little way off, head tilted, severe. “Well?”
The physician shook his head, “He is not good, my Lord.”
“I could tell that much myself, you ass!”
The man quailed, seeming to shrink inside himself. “Lord, the attacks grow more frequent. I fear the stresses and strains of government are too much. He needs to be quiet, to rest as much as possible.”
Orphano grunted and stepped forward, “Rest? He"s the Emperor of New Rome, you ass. How is he meant to rest?” He blew out his cheeks and looked past the physician to the two bodyguards who flanked the entrance to the room beyond the double doors. “You cannot give him a potion? Something to still the heat in
