general’s fist. It was like the flicker of a hummingbird wing, and the air hummed from the swift arc of his drawn sword. ‘I don’t need magic to win a mere duel,’ the count said with quiet warning.
The room had gone silent, stunned by his speed.
‘Put your swords away, both of you,’ Napoleon finally ordered.
‘Of course.’ Silano sheathed his slim blade almost as quickly as he’d drawn it.
Dumas scowled but let his sabre drop back into its scabbard. ‘So you rely on steel like the rest of us,’ he muttered.
‘Are you challenging my other powers as well?’
‘I’d like to see them.’
‘The soul of science is sceptical test,’ the chemist Berthollet agreed. ‘It is one thing to claim magic and another to perform it, Count Silano. I admire your spirit of enquiry, but extraordinary claims demand extraordinary proof.’
‘Perhaps I should levitate the pyramids.’
‘That would impress all of us, I’m sure.’
‘And yet scientific discovery is a gradual process of experimentation and evidence,’ Silano went on. ‘So it is with magic and ancient powers. I do hope to levitate pyramids, become invulnerable to bullets, or achieve immortality, but at the moment I am a mere investigator, like you savants. That is why I have made the long journey to Egypt after enquiries in Rome, Constantinople, and Jerusalem. The American there has a medallion that may prove useful to my research, if he will let me study it.’
Heads swung to me. I shook my head. ‘It is archaeology, not magic, and not for alchemical experiment.’
‘For study, I said.’
‘Which real savants are providing. Their methods are credible. The Egyptian Rite is not.’
The count had the look of a teacher disappointed in a pupil. ‘Are you calling me a liar, monsieur?’
‘No, I am,’ Dumas interrupted again, throwing down his bone. ‘A fraud, a hypocrite, and a charlatan. I have no use for magicians, alchemists, savants, gypsies, or priests. You come here in robe and turban like a Marseille clown and talk of magic, but I see you sawing your meat like the rest of us. Flick that little needle of yours all you want, but let’s test it in real battle against real sabres. I respect men who fight or build, not those who talk and fantasise.’
Now Silano’s eyes flickered with a dangerous annoyance. ‘You have impugned my honour and dignity, General. Perhaps I should challenge you.’
The room stirred with anticipation. Silano had a reputation as a deadly duelist, having slain at least two foes in Paris. Yet Dumas was a Goliath.
‘And perhaps I should accept your challenge,’ the general growled.
‘Dueling is forbidden,’ Napoleon snapped. ‘Both of you know that. If either tries it, I will have you both shot.’
‘So you are safe for now,’ Dumas said to the count. ‘But you’d better find your magic spells, because when we return to France…’
‘Why wait?’ Silano said. ‘May I suggest a different contest? Our esteemed chemist has called for sceptical test, so let me propose one. For dinner tomorrow, let me bring a small suckling pig I have shipped from France. As you know, the Muslims will have nothing to do with the animal; its only caretaker is me. You imply that I have no powers. Let me then, two hours before dinner, present you with the pig to prepare in any way you desire: roasted, boiled, baked, or fried. I will not come near it until it is served. You will cut the meal into four equal parts, and serve to me whichever quarter you prefer. You will eat another portion yourself.’
‘What is the point of this nonsense?’ Dumas asked.
‘The day after this dinner, one of four things will happen: either we will both be dead or neither of us will be dead; or I will be dead and you will not; or you will be dead and I will not. Of these four chances I will give you three and bet five thousand francs that, the day after the meal, you will be dead and I will be well.’
There was silence at the table. Dumas looked flustered. ‘That is one of Cagliostro’s old wagers.’
‘Which none of his enemies ever accepted. Here is your chance to be the first, General. Do you doubt my powers enough to dine with me tomorrow?’
‘You’ll try some kind of trickery or magic!’
‘Which you said I can’t perform. Prove it.’
Dumas looked from one to the other of us. In a fight he was confident, but this?
‘Dueling is prohibited, but this bet I would like to see,’ Bonaparte said. He was enjoying the torment of a general who’d challenged him on the march.
‘He would poison me with sleight of hand, I know it.’
Silano spread his arms wide, sensing victory. ‘You can search me from head to toe before we sit down to eat, General.’
Dumas gave in. ‘Bah. I wouldn’t dine with you if you were Jesus, the devil, or the last man on earth.’ He stood, shoving his chair back. ‘Coddle his investigations if you must,’ he addressed the room, ‘but I swear to you there’s nothing in this damned desert but a bunch of old rock. You’ll regret listening to these hangers-on, be it this charlatan or the American leech.’ And with that he stormed out of the room.
Silano turned to us. ‘He is wiser than his reputation, having turned down my challenge. It means he will live to have a son who will do great things, I predict. As for me, I only ask leave to make enquiries. I wish to hunt for temples when the army marches upriver. I give you brave soldiers all my respect and ask for some small portion in return.’ He looked at me. ‘I’d hoped we could work together as colleagues, but it appears we are rivals.’
‘I simply feel no need to share your goals, or my belongings,’ I replied.
‘Then sell me the medallion, Gage. Name your price.’
‘The more you want it, the less inclined I am to let you have it.’
‘Damn you! You are an impediment to knowledge!’ He shouted this last, his hand slapping the table, and it was as if a mask had slipped from his countenance. There was a rage behind it, rage and desperation, as he looked at me with eyes of implacable enmity. ‘Help me or prepare to endure the worst!’
Monge jumped up, the very picture of stern establishment admonition. ‘How dare you, monsieur! Your impertinence reflects on you poorly. I’m tempted to take you up on your wager myself!’
Now Napoleon stood, clearly annoyed that the discussion was getting out of hand. ‘No one is eating poisoned pig. I want the animal bayoneted and thrown into the Nile this very night. Gage, you’re here instead of the docket in Paris at my indulgence. I order you to help Count Silano in every way you can.’
I stood too. ‘Then I must report what I was reluctant to admit. The medallion is gone, lost when I went overboard at the battle at Abukir.’
Now the table broke into a buzz, everyone betting whether I was telling the truth. I rather enjoyed the notoriety, even though I knew it could only mean more trouble. Bonaparte scowled.
‘You said nothing of this before,’ Silano said sceptically.
‘I’m not proud of my mishap,’ I replied. ‘And I wanted the officers here to see the greedy loser that you are.’ I turned to the others. ‘This nobleman is not a serious scholar. He is nothing more than a frustrated gambler, trying to get by threat what he lost by cards. I’m a Freemason too, and his Egyptian Rite is a corruption of the precepts of our order.’
‘He’s lying,’ Silano seethed. ‘He wouldn’t have come back to Cairo if the medallion were not still his.’
‘Of course I would. I am a savant of this expedition, no less than Monge or Berthollet. The person who hasn’t come back is my friend, the writer Talma, who disappeared in Alexandria the same time you arrived.’
Silano turned to the others. ‘Magic, again.’
They laughed.
‘Do not make jokes, monsieur,’ I said. ‘Do you know where Antoine is?’
‘If you find your medallion, perhaps I can help you find Talma.’
‘The medallion is lost, I told you!’
‘And I said I don’t believe you. My dear General Bonaparte, how do we know which side this American, this English-speaker, is even on?’
‘That’s outrageous!’ I shouted, even while secretly wondering which side I should be on, even while firmly determined to stay on my own side – whatever that was. As Astiza had said, what did I truly believe? In bloody treasure, beautiful women, and George Washington. ‘Duel with me!’ I challenged.
