Part 17 (2/2)
”There is nothing to do,” he said, and his voice sounded half disgusted and half resigned ”Someday I will hit my head on a stone or a metal statue, and that will be the end of it Desert sand isthan marble or bronze This ti a--a battle?” It was a terrible affliction for a soldier
”No Not yet” He shook his head ”I must hide the evidence before soht over the pitcher and poured some into a bowl ”Here, you must letthe bruises and scratches underneath ”We htly
”Greetings, O hty rulers!” a cheerful voice announced itself outside the tent
He was quiet that day, but the only change in him anyone could have observed was that he satthe journey fro at the rail Once during the day he turned to ly I knew all the rateful for what I had done to help I was glad he had remembered Noould understand my love for him
It took us twenty days to sail as far upriver as Thebes All the way,, people lined the riverbanks, straining to catch a gli in state, followed by a great flotilla of boats The wind lifted our cloaks, and we gave royal acknowledgment to our onlookers with a wave of our hands Caesar, now fully recovered, took it all in: the adulation, the yearning of the people for a God Isis! Isis! they called to me as we floated past they called to me as we floated past Amun! Amun! they saluted him, and he allowed them to do so they saluted him, and he allowed them to do so
After thirty-five days we reached the first cataract of the Nile, Aswan, the end of our journey Here it proved ie overland to avoid the treacherous rocks in the river's channel, and so we had to stop Caesar had seen Egypt fro restless and uneasy on this journey farther and farther south, along what looked to be a never-ending highway of water, into the heart of Africa And as it became hotter and hotter, one late afternoon, when the sun's rays were especially burning, Caesar beckoned to an attendant to fan him with the ostrich-feather fan
”I yield,” he said to me with a smile ”I capitulate Here, in your land, for your climate, I admit that your fans are superior”
Did he reer? Should I reer
”Show me the Temple of Philae,” he said ”Have a priest ready”
So it was that I first entered the temple that came to mean more to me than any other Your home, O Isis, on that island sanctuary where the ypt and Nubia come to worshi+p you I had heard it was beautiful, but I was unprepared for its white, ivorylike purity, its perfect proportions of s Across on its sister island lies the shrine of Osiris, and like a faithful wife, every ten days you, in the form of your statue, make the journey across the waters to visit hi than at your very feet? Your statue, all overlaid with gold, watched over us as Caesar took e under the rites of Isis He repeated the words after the priest in a whisper, in the Egyptian tongue
Afterward he said, ”I don't have the slightest idea what I just proe, on your honor to Isis”
”Very well,” he said with nonchalance ”Caesar always keeps his promises”
I was stabbed with disappointment and hurt; he acted as if he had just purchased a handful of dates in the market, and it was all the same to hia to satisfy a child But he had e vows, and there itnesses to the ceremony
On our journey back to Alexandria, it was formally announced at Thebes and Memphis: The God Amun, in his incarnation as Julius Caesar, and the Goddess Isis, his wife, in the incarnation of Queen Cleopatra, were going to bring forth a royal, divine child It had to be announced, as an on a birth-house that would coe Amun's face bore an exact resemblance to Caesar's
He seemed amused, pleased, even But now that he was my ”husband,” I felt farther from him than before It was as if the cere us, and ether I think it was because neither of us really knehat it meant, and ere each afraid to ask the other I did not want to hear him say, I did it for fun, as part of my forfeit, I did it for fun, as part of my forfeit, and hedid not want to hear me say, and hedid not want to hear me say, Now you must announce this at Rome, and divorce Calpurnia Now youas neither of usas neither of us mentioned it, we could live as before
In vain on the return journey I longed for him to tell me he loved me, and considered , light-hearted He was a passionate lover, an attentive listener But he never alluded to the brief ceremony at Philae, and I did not dare do so, as the boat came closer and closer to Alexandria
Chapter 15
We halted at Memphis, and anchored the shi+ps across the waters froroves of sycamores that threw their flat shade on the procession way As we approached it, and I saw the stepped pyrathe world of politics, co behind the realm of Gods, temples, and mysteries The only flicker of worldly matters that had interfered with our idyll had been Caesar's interest in Coptos on our homeward journey He had wished to know more about the India trade routes that passed that way When he had mentioned India, the covetous look had passed over his face again But the intrusion had been brief
Noever, Memphis sat on the border of the wider world for us, a world that would reclaim Caesar--I knew it And before we had properly set the anchors and aligned the shi+p, a s furiously out to us
”Caesar!” cried an officer I recognized, Rufio, who Alexandria ”Caesar!”
Never one to hide in his cabin or dismiss business, Caesar waved to him enthusiastically I almost hated hiencies (Since then I have been accused of having the ”eastern vice” for not respecting tiers I do--but at my convenience, not theirs) Rufio was soon on board, and Caesar was greeting hi-lost brother
”How black you are burnt, Caesar!” cried Rufio ”Has the sun turned you into a Nubian?” He cast an eye toward the ostrich-fan bearers in obvious disapproval
Caesar laughed and said, ”I have seen one many miles, but I am still Caesar, under this sunburn” Then the dreaded question ”What news?”
Rufio pulled out a sheaf of papers and waved them at Caesar, who pushed them aside ”No, tell me yourself It is quicker Alexandria?”
”Alexandria is quiet NoPharnaces has overrun your general Calvinus, taken the Rohtered or castrated ail the Roet aith this because you are toopreoccupied”
”Calvinus! He sent his Thirty-seventh Legion to us here--and left hiood-natured ed”
”You have a full platter of wrongs to avenge, then” Now Rufio see to heap them all up ”The reports we have received from the west of Alexandria is that the reathering along the shores of North Africa, trafficking with King Juba of Numidia” ” ”The only question, then, is which one I must address myself to first”
”Precisely” Only then did Rufio take any notice of s to you, most exalted Queen”
”I am always pleased to see you, Rufio, but your news is not as welcome as you are” It was true, I had always liked Rufio He was a freedman's son, with a broad, toadlike face, but pleasant nonetheless It is acompany than another
”Will the world never be a quiet place?” barked Caesar, as if, momentarily, the constant tasks were too much even for him He sounded worn out, even after six weeks of rest
”Not er, my dearest,” I assured him ”In only a little while, when you return to Rome--”
”Rome is a mess,” said Rufio bluntly
Caesar started ”Here, come below to our stateroom,” he said ”These are noton deck” He turned on his heel and expected us to follow
He reat chamber in the midsection of the shi+p, where he and I had consulted with the captain, studiedto our journey, and held conferences with the accoe of a long table of polished cypress wood, one of his legs dangling
”Now,” he said
I pulled up a gilded chair and indicated that Rufio should do likewise ”There are are chairs,” I said pointedly to Caesar ”Or are you already in a war camp?” chairs,” I said pointedly to Caesar ”Or are you already in a war carabbed one and jerked it up to the table
”What of Rome?” he asked in that low voice, full of otten it on the trip
”It is all in disarray,” said Rufio ”There have been no leaders there since you passed through it a year and a half ago Your lieutenant Marc Antonyman, but as a political deputy, he see in the Foruht hundred killed There's also a mutiny of your veterans in the Italian countryside They say they haven't had their pro more?” asked Caesar