problem

It was a small

And, under no conditions, to allow any men into the room unless he said otherwise.
The girls glanced hesitantly at the soldiers. Their thoughts were obvious: And just how, exactly, does the idiot general expect us to prevent men like this from going anywhere they choose?
Belisarius shook his head. "They will not try to enter, I assure you."
That matter taken care of, for the moment, Belisarius led all of the men into his own room. The slave followed. Uncertainly, hesitantly, and with great reluctance.
Once everyone had taken a seat—those who could, that is, the room was small—Belisarius sighed and stated:
"This is going to play hell with our plans."
As one, just as the slave had feared, every man there looked at him. Their thoughts were also obvious:
Dead men tell no tales.
Belisarius smiled crookedly. "No," he said. "I'm keeping him with me, all the way back to Rome. The problem is with the girls. The Malwa will certainly question them, after we leave Bharakuccha. Until now, I didn't care. But the way we are treating this new girl will not gibe with the image that we've been carefully forging. Venandakatra's no fool. He'll smell something wrong."
Garmat coughed. Belisarius cocked his eye.
"Actually, Belisarius, I'm afraid the problem existed already. Even before the new girl arrived." Another cough. "Because of you, actually."
"Me?" t