'Pothinus, come here!' Caesar's voice was like thunder.
The eunuch stood. Ptolemy looked from Pothinus to Caesar and back. For a brief moment I saw confusion on the king's face, before he assumed the masklike countenance at which he was so adept.
Pothinus stepped toward Caesar, slowly and carefully, as one might approach a lion. 'What does the consul require?'
Caesar thrust the papyrus toward him. 'Were these words written by your hand, Lord Chamberlain?'
Pothinus flashed a supercilious grin. 'The lord chamberlain is accustomed to dictating documents; the actual writing is done by a scribe-'
'Unless the words in a letter are too sensitive to be heard by even the most trusted scribe-or overheard by all the spies who lurk in the walls of this palace.'
Pothinus glared at Samuel, and then at Caesar. 'I think the consul is no stranger at playing spymaster himself.'
Caesar cast a fond glance at Samuel. 'Some of my men occasionally make a jest at Samuel's expense. They call him timorous; they say he jumps at the sight of his own shadow. But that fearful quality makes Samuel very observant. Some make fun of his small stature; but that quality, too, has its virtues, for it helps a man to come and go unobserved, and sometimes even to walk through walls.'
'Then you admit that this wretch has been spying on me!'
'Samuel merely looks out for his master's safety. He needs no instruction from me. But, yes, Samuel has been observing you, Pothinus. He knows your movements. He watched you write this letter, which, at Samuel's request, some of my men seized from your messenger. The messenger can be tortured to divulge the source of the letter-or you can simply admit that you wrote it, Pothinus.'
'Lies! The creature has fabricated this elaborate deceit. He's betrayed you, Consul. He makes you look a fool.'
'I think not, Pothinus. If a man can't trust his barber, whom can he trust?' Caesar again thrust the letter before Pothinus. 'Take it! Read it aloud.'
Pothinus took the papyrus. He stared at it and rocked slightly forward and back, as if he were light-headed. He looked desperately at Ptolemy. 'Your Majesty!'
The king glowered at him. 'Do as the consul says, Lord Chamberlain.'
'Read it!' commanded Caesar.
Pothinus gave a start and obeyed. ' 'To Achillas, commander of the forces of our rightful king, from Pothinus, Lord Chamberlain, as you may ascertain from the seal on this letter: Greetings.' There, you see! The seal was broken; the wax is missing. There's nothing to prove-'
'Read on, Pothinus,' growled Caesar. 'Read on, and do not stop until the letter is finished, or I'll have my men skewer you from all sides.'
At a nod from Caesar, one of the guards gave Pothinus a poke in the back with his spear. The eunuch yelped. 'Please, Consul! Very well, I'll read. 'Though previously I have counseled the king to make a compromise satisfactory to the Roman intruder, if only as a matter of show, I now see that any compromise can lead only to disaster. We must take action, and quickly. I shall do what I can within the palace, but our enemies are well guarded, especially so following an unsuccessful attempt at poison by persons unknown.' Do you see, Consul! The letter proves I had nothing to do with the recent attempt on your life; I have no idea-'
'Read on!'
Pothinus gave another yelp and contorted his back; I could see by a red stain on his robe that the spear had drawn blood. He gasped and continued reading. ' 'I will do what I can… to solve the problem myself. But meanwhile you must be prepared to wage battle against the enemies who now hold the king hostage. On no account must the king's life be endangered-' There, Your Majesty, do you see the proof of my loyalty to you? Will you not command this Roman to call off his mastiffs?'
Ptolemy regarded Pothinus with an inscrutable gaze. 'Read on, Lord Chamberlain.'
Pothinus trembled violently. His voice quavered. ' 'On no account must the king's life be endangered. But no matter how regrettable, casualties within the palace may be… unavoidable. In the event that the worst should come to pass, I have taken steps to smuggle the king's sister Arsinoe out of the palace; she should arrive in your keeping just ahead of this letter. Keep her safe, for to maintain our legitimacy with the populace, at least one member of the royal bloodline must survive the coming battle. Do what you must to eliminate the false queen and to expel the foreign intruder.' Your Majesty, I meant that Caesar himself may kill you, if pressed to desperation by Achillas! I have never been anything less than your most loyal-'
'Silence!' Caesar stood and snatched the letter from Pothinus's trembling hands. 'This document clearly spells out your intention to murder me and to assassinate the queen. It also exhorts Achillas to attack the palace, with reckless disregard for the safety of King Ptolemy and in contravention of the peaceful accord reached between the king and his sister. That makes you a would-be assassin, a conspirator, and a traitor, Pothinus.'
The eunuch threw himself at Ptolemy's feet. 'Your Majesty, do you not see what's happened? Caesar has made you his hostage, and he's forced this accord upon you, to further his own ambitions. It's Cleopatra he's sided with, from the moment he met her. The reason is simple: She can give him a child. When that happens, Caesar will declare himself king of Egypt, with Cleopatra as his queen and the child as their heir, and it will be the end of you, Your Majesty, and the end of your dynasty! Egypt shall be ruled by Romans, and the images of your ancestors will be replaced by images of Caesar.'
Ptolemy looked down his long nose at the eunuch. 'Caesar is my friend.'
'If you believe that, Your Majesty, then put his friendship to the test. Leave the palace. Join Achillas and your army. Let me accompany you-'
'The eunuch wishes only to save his own neck,' growled Caesar. Ptolemy abruptly stood, with such force that he knocked Pothinus aside. The eunuch groveled at his feet. 'You've forgotten your place, Lord Chamberlain-though from this moment you no longer occupy that position, so I shall address you simply as Pothinus. You think I'm still a child, easily bent to your will. You fancy yourself the secret ruler of Egypt, and myself a mere puppet upon the throne.'
'Your Majesty, where do these notions come from? The Roman has poisoned your mind-'
'Silence! Do you think my mind so feeble that Caesar can shape it at will? Is your estimation of me that low? Yes, I think it is. 'Regret-table'-isn't that the word you used in that letter to describe my death, should Achillas storm the palace and kill me in the process? You shall regret your own death far more, Pothinus.'
'No, Your Majesty! Please listen-'
'There is no more to be said, Pothinus! I strip you of your title and your post. I expel you from the privileges of the royal household, now and for all eternity. For your crimes against me, you shall be executed and your body defiled; your flesh shall be fodder for carrion birds. You shall be cursed by the gods; not only your body but your ka shall perish forever, and it shall be as if Pothinus never existed. Thus do traitors meet their end.'
Pothinus wailed and hid his face.
Caesar stood and stepped to Ptolemy's side. 'Your Majesty, since you've cast off the eunuch, and since he has offended against me as well, conspiring to kill me, I ask a favor of you: Let me pass judgment on him, and see to his punishment.'
'No!' Pothinus gazed up at the two of them with a woeful expression. 'The Roman seeks to take even this prerogative from you, Your Majesty. It's Caesar who treats you as a child-'
'Silence, Pothinus!' The king glared down at him, then turned to Caesar. 'Because Caesar requests it, and because Caesar is my dearest friend, I make a gift of this criminal to Caesar, who may do as he wishes with the wretch. The Romans boast of their great love of justice, do they not, Caesar? Perhaps you can teach me a lesson on this subject. How will you dispose of Pothinus?'
Caesar looked down at the cringing eunuch, then turned, briefly, to regard the queen, who had watched the entire episode in silence, wearing an expression as bland as her brother's at his most inscrutable. As he turned back, for a long moment Caesar's eyes met mine, and I saw that he had not forgotten what I had told him.
'Samuel! Go to my quarters. You'll find an amphora there, clearly marked: 'Falernian-Open Only in the Presence of Gnaeus Pompey Magnus.' Bring it to me at once.'
The barber nodded, jumped to his feet, and rushed off.
Caesar regarded me, and seeing the expression on my face, he stepped toward me and spoke in a low voice. 'You look puzzled, Gordianus.'
