Year: 1885
Akenzua found Esohe waiting in the garden.
The moon cast silver light across carefully tended grounds. The sounds of the palace had faded to murmurs.
"You should sleep," she said.
"I was about to say the same to you."
"You've been in the strategy chamber since morning."
"Planning is the only thing keeping us alive." He sat beside her. "Every hour spent preparing is an hour the British don't have to catch up."
"You can't outwork an empire."
"No. But I can out-think one."
---
Silence settled between them. The garden rustled with night sounds.
"Why did you really marry me?" Akenzua asked.
Esohe considered it. "Because I saw purpose in you. Everyone else plays games. You're building something."
"You could have been queen without me."
"I don't want easy. I want meaningful." She turned to look at him. "When the British come, what happens to the kingdoms that chose ease over preparation?"
"They become footnotes."
"I refuse to be a footnote. Whatever you're building, I want to be part of it. Not as a decoration. As a partner."
"You've already proven that."
"Have I? I've managed court politics. Provided information. But the real work--the weapons and the training--that's still your domain."
"You want more."
"I want to see the invasion plans for Warri. The integration strategy for the Ijaw. The approach to the Igala. All of it."
Akenzua studied her. Trust was a risk. But so was isolation.
"Tomorrow. We'll go together."
---
"The reports from the north concern me," Esohe said. "The trade routes are stretched thin."
"Oronmwen is handling it."
"And the Itsekiri situation? The succession dispute?"
"What are you hearing?"
"The Olu is deteriorating faster than expected. Prince Ginuwa's faction--the one favorable to Benin--is losing ground to the pro-British candidate. Money is flowing from Lagos, from the Royal Niger Company."
"How long?"
"Six months. Maybe less." Her voice sharpened. "This is our window. If we don't act soon, we lose Warri to British influence permanently. They'll sign a protection treaty. Control the river mouth."
"What do you recommend?"
"Military demonstration near the border. Let the Itsekiri see what we've built. Then send diplomats to Prince Ginuwa with an offer: Benin's support for his succession in exchange for full integration. Warri becomes Benin territory. Their coast becomes our coast. Their fleet becomes the foundation of our navy."
"And if Ginuwa refuses?"
"Then we find a candidate who won't refuse. Or we take Warri anyway." Her voice was matter-of-fact. "The succession dispute gives us pretext. We're not invading--we're stabilizing a troubled neighbor."
"You've thought about this."
"I've been thinking about it for months. The naval facilities we need at Warri won't build themselves. The Ijaw waterway agreements depend on us controlling the river mouth. The whole southern strategy hinges on this."
---
She took his hand.
"Tell me about the forge. What will I see tomorrow?"
"Heat. Smoke. Men working at the edge of human endurance. Metal being shaped into weapons." He paused. "Not just for defense--for conquest. Rifles that will march on Warri. Artillery that will secure the delta. Ammunition that will bring the Igala to terms."
"And the invasion plans?"
"The timing depends on the succession, but the military capability is nearly ready. Six months, maybe less, and we move. Regardless of what Ginuwa decides. Warri is too important to leave to chance."
"I want to see it. All of it."
---
"Osaro's wife came to see me again," Esohe said.
"What did she want?"
"To talk. The weather. The price of cloth. Her children's health." Esohe's voice was thoughtful. "But I think she's testing the waters. Seeing if there's a way out."
"You think she'd betray her husband?"
"I think she's a mother who sees where her husband's path is leading. And she's not willing to follow him into the grave."
"Can we use that?"
"Carefully. If we're patient, she could become very useful."
"How?"
"Women protect their children. If she believes our side is winning--if she believes her children's safety depends on helping us--she'll tell us everything Osaro is planning."
---
A sound from the shadows. Osarobo, appearing as if from nowhere.
"News that won't wait."
Akenzua stood. "What?"
"Henderson's message. We intercepted it." Osarobo produced a folded paper. "He knows about the forge. Not the location, but its existence. He's recommending London send an official observer mission."
Akenzua took the paper. Henderson's handwriting outlined suspicions that came uncomfortably close to the truth.
"When will they come?"
"If London acts quickly, six months. Maybe less."
"Can we hide the forge?"
"We can reduce visibility. Create decoy locations." Osarobo paused. "But if they're determined, they'll find something."
"Then we make sure what they find doesn't matter."
---
Esohe spoke quietly. "There may be another option. Invite them ourselves. Before they can demand entry. Control the timing, the access, the narrative."
"Show them what we want them to see."
"Exactly. Some militia training. Some traditional manufacturing. Nothing threatening." She met his eyes. "If they come as invited guests, they can only go where we take them. If they come as investigators, they can demand more."
"It's risky."
"Everything is risky. This risk has advantages. We control when they come. We learn what they already know by what questions they ask."
Osarobo nodded slowly. "It could work. And it buys us time for the southern expansion. If the British are focused on their observer mission, they might not notice our moves on Warri until it's too late."
"Then we use the invitation to cover the conquest."
"The day we stop being careful is the day we die."
---
They talked until dawn. Plans within plans. What to show the British. What to hide. How to time the Warri integration with the observer visit.
When they finally separated, Akenzua remained in the garden.
Six months until the British might send observers. Six months to prepare the deception. Six months to take Warri, secure the Ijaw channels, begin negotiations with the Igala.
Six months to transform Benin into the naval and river empire that would survive what was coming.
He looked at the intercepted message one more time.
Then he turned toward the palace. There was work to do.
There was always work to do.