Part 58 (1/2)
Mardian enjoyed hi the world over for suitable candidates for onians, Nubians--including the Kandake's own son--Galatians, and Armenians Just to vex hiured that the chances of so them all was remote He must be at least twenty, he ood at es, have lived abroad, play a musical instru, and be descended of a great royal house Those were my minimuood, and we began to make up our losses for the year before I was able to commission sixty new shi+ps, as well as order the most decrepit of the dikes and reservoir basins to be repaired, and I now had twenty thousand soldiers under arth--the Ro, and we surely had ress from our low point when the fleet recked
To my consternation, Mardian's prime candidate, Archelaus of Comana, was not disqualified from the ”competition” Mardian prevailed on me to invite him for a ceremonial visit
”For even if it is a sham,” he said, ”it will please your people They will feel that you are at least trying trying to remedy the problem” to remedy the problem”
Kasu, the monkey, padded forward and offered Mardian a platter of dates She was so well trained by now, she could almost function as a servant Mardian pursed his lips and took a long time to select the plumpest one he could ”Umm,” he said ”These must be from Derr”
He had the true palate of a connoisseur ”Your tongue tells you true,” I said Kasu scampered back to ot to add one other requirement: He should like animals, especially monkeys He should not mind a ed, licking off his fingers ”Too late now,” he said ”I am sure that Archelaus will pretend to like her”
”When is he coht of it I never should have gone along with it this long
”As soon as he and his fa court to Antony,” he said ”Everyone in the region, all the client kings, have to report to him, offer up their crowns, and wait for his approval and reappointment”
I took one of the dates myself, and nibbled on it They were sweet--aldoreat many of them,” I said ”And each one will have to be reviewed separately Some holeheartedly for the assassins, others were forced to support them Now they will all all claim to have been coerced And they were stripped of money, too” claim to have been coerced And they were stripped of money, too”
”Antony knows that He, of course, has to extract money as well But at least he listens to people The orator Hybreas of Mylasa said that if he expected them to provide ten years' taxes in one year, he could doubtless provide them with two summers instead of the usual one And Antony relented”
”Where is he now?” I wondered He had started out in Athens, that I knew
”Ephesus He has been holding a riotous court there for weeks, being hailed as Dionysus and even being called a God”
”He must like that,” I said ”It's better than Octavian, who is only son son of a God But the Ephesians call everybody who is anybody a God--I hope he realizes that” of a God But the Ephesians call everybody who is anybody a God--I hope he realizes that”
Mardian laughed ”I don't think he cares He's too busy with Glaphyra, Archelaus'sher claims before him”
For some odd reason I was shocked It see about, waiting their turn, while Glaphyra went to the head of the line
”So you see, as soon as his mother has been satisfied, Archelaus will be free to leave”
No, what he meant was that as soon as Antony Antony had been satisfied, the mother could depart I shook my head ”Thatas Glaphyra held Antony's attention, I would be spared her son's had been satisfied, the mother could depart I shook my head ”Thatas Glaphyra held Antony's attention, I would be spared her son's
The court of Dionysus continued for rape-laden chariot, accompanied by women dressed as bacchantes andthyrsi, playing zithers and flutes, crying out welcoer of joy,” Dionysus-Antony The shouts reverberated over all the east He ht I wondered what Octavian would have done at Ephesus?
He would probably have righteously forgone the exotic trappings and indulged himself with the women secretly, after hours He liked his pleasures to be furtive Perhaps he liked them only only if they were furtive if they were furtive
Some six months later, a Roman appeared at my court, sent by Antony It was Quintus Dellius, a e horses in midstream, like one of those dexterous circus riders He had been Dolabella's man, then Cassius's, noas Antony's I disliked hi as possible before ad him to an audience
Unfortunately the hapless Archelaus had arrived at alerly over land and sea to come to my court I felt sorry for him, and that predisposed me to like him--the opposite of Dellius But he would have to wait until I had dealt with Dellius
At length Dellius stood before me, his eyes level with mine, as I was seated on an elevated throne He had very dark eyes and a pitted co, legs apart, and I seated, he gave the i the audience
”Greetings, ypt, from Lord Antony,” he said laconically ”I am come from his lordshi+p to order you to appear before his court to answer certain charges”
Surely I had not heard hiht ”Would you repeat that?” I said in a level tone
”I said, Lord Antony requests that you report to hiainst certain accusations--accusations which are spelled out in this letter” He handed
”Requests ht you said he 'ordered' me”
”Lord Antony would be most pleased if you would cos”
”Noould be 'most pleased,' and I aes,” I said coaxingly ”Things are softening by the moment” I clutched the scroll I would read it later--not in front of this haughty, hostile man ”And where am I to come?”
”To Tarsus, where he will move shortly,” Dellius said
”You ypt does not respond to rude requests, nor obey a Roistrate, nor have to defend herself I am disappointed that my ally, once my friend, would see fit to approach ave him the opportunity to clear Antony
”So that is your answer?” he asked, bypassing it ”You will not come?”
”No,” I said ”Let him come here if he wishes to speak to o He will not have forgotten”
Alone in es ridiculous: that I had helped Cassius and Brutus! That I had sent the four Roions to them! He must know that they had been sent to Dolabella, and captured by Cassius And it was the traitorous Serapion who had turned the fleet stationed at Cyprus over to the my fleet to Brundisiuotten that? I was deeply insulted
But later I could not help wondering if others had whispered these suggestions to Antony--Glaphyra, or Octavian himself? Especially Octavian, ould be happy to discredit the mother of Caesarion, and sever his tie to Ro for several days, and after Dellius had been packed off, I braced myself to see him Before I betook myself to the audience hall to welcome him formally (Mardian had done so in my stead already, but now it ed to: apply cosmetics to my face and dress my hair In the meantime, Charmian was to select the costuhten him off if I looked too artificially colorful, too over-costuh I was the richest, htly that phrase falls, here!--I kneell enough how to put so approachably human I also kne to keep people at a distance It was all in the manner: the tilt of the head, the tone of voice, the look in the eyes
I seated ht would fall on ic” I shut ers patted the skin on my cheeks and traced the line of my jaw ”The treatment has worked,” she said ”The ill effects of all that salt are gone”
A pity, I thought It should have lasted a bit longer--at least until this suitor went ho it in with circular strokes
It had a delicious arorass, my lady,” she said ”Noill remove it with the | mixed juices of sycamore and cucumber” She applied linen pads soaked with the juices and rubbed le
”This will make the skin look as fine as polished h it does not need round celery and hees on my eyes and said, ”Rest and think of a cool ht on hts, and I drifted away to someplace I had never seen--a wooded hillside with tall cypress trees and sheep grazing, where light breezes played
”Now,” said Iras, rethe eyes, do you prefer black kohl today, or the green malachite?”