The next day Marus returned to the outskirts of the city, this time looking for blackberries. He had secreted the Devil’s cherries in a secure corner of his quarters near the kitchen in Belisarius’ house. He had slept in that room for so many years that no one ever bothered to enter, save the occasional chicken or goat.

He found abundant ripe blackberries and several other people picking them. He smiled and joined in, joking with the others that everyone in the city would be enjoying blackberry jam in the coming days. One woman Marus recognized was Sarah, a cook in the imperial kitchen. Conversation with her informed him that she would be preparing blackberry jam at the request of Theodora for some upcoming luncheons with the elite women of Constantinople. Marus inquired as to her recipe and ingredient ratio and shared his methodology with her. She happily commented that she would try his proportions.

He filled his gathering pouch, being careful to not put pressure and release the juices. On his way home he stopped at the market and procured honey to make enough jam for a banquet.

The next morning Marus casually wandered into the imperial kitchen and found Sarah preparing fires to cook a midday meal. Other cooks greeted him warmly. His presence was not unusual, as he sometimes borrowed from the imperial larder when he needed something for Belisarius’ table. After all, Belisarius’ apartment was near the imperial palace. Marus knew where the serving dishes were stored. A few of the dishes were used exclusively for elite members of the household, including Theodora. While searching in the larder for a small quantity of cheese, he managed to conceal a small serving bowl used for Theodora. He thanked Sarah for the cheese and returned to his kitchen.

Once there, he built a fire in one cook stove and retrieved a medium copper pot for cooking. He emptied the blackberries into a mortar and began to crush them to extract the juice. He poured the result through a fine sieve placed over the cooking pot. After several batches, he had crushed all his blackberries and had a sufficient amount of juice. He placed the pot over the hot fire and heated the liquid to a simmer. Steam arose, concentrating the juice. He added honey, enough to be about half the quantity of juice and continued the simmer until the entire pot was the consistency of honey. He removed the pot and let it cool a bit, then poured about half into a storage jar. He returned the pot to the fire and retrieved the Devil’s cherries secreted in his room.

Devil’s cherries have a pleasant, sweet taste. He carefully crushed the berries in the leaf, letting the juice drip into the pot. He threw the remains into the cooking fire. They were quickly consumed. The pot bubbled for a few more minutes, then Marus poured the contents in Theodora’s serving bowl. He set it aside to cool.

As the sun rose high in the sky, Marus made his way back to the imperial kitchen, the special serving bowl again concealed in his cloak, this time with deadly contents. The kitchen was less busy. A side table held dishes to take to the imperial eating hall. Marus noticed a small serving bowl, identical to the one in his cloak filled with blackberry jam. He adroitly exchanged the two and left the kitchen, unnoticed.

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