“That is not pure silk, Master.” Thismerchant’s Greek was understandable, but it was heavily accented.More striking was the color of his skin, which I would liken tohoney, while his eyes were not as round as the rest of ours. “It isa combination of wool and silk fibers. It is lighter than wool,heavier than pure silk, but is very durable. It,” he concluded, “isalso less expensive.”
I had not even opened my mouth when Bronwensniffed and said, “It is ugly. And,” she looked at me and smiledsweetly, “I would never wear something this…plain.”
Afterward, Alex congratulated me for notpointing out the fact that she was wearing her brown travelinggown, but as inexperienced as I was then, and am still learning, Iwas not an utter fool.
Naturally, her favorite was the green, as itwas mine as well, but there was another bolt of cloth in pale bluethat, when I picked up a length of it, caused me to exclaim, “I cansee my hand through this!”
“Yes, Master, this is Coan silk.” Themerchant sounded like a purring cat, and while he was addressingme, his eyes were on Bronwen. “It is very fine, and as you can see,it is diaphanous. It is a highly prized fabric for women of goodtaste and distinction. In fact,” now he turned his eyes to Bronwen,his voice dropping to a hush, and he actually glanced around, “thisvery pattern is known to have been a favorite of no less thanCleopatra VII Philapator. Although,” he gave her a smile that mademe want to punch him, but his nose was already somewhat flat,“supposedly, it was really because it drove Marcus Antonius wildwith passion whenever she wore it!”
I was defeated, and I knew it, but perhapsthe gods took pity on me because, as I would learn later, MarcusAntonius and I would have something in common. By the time Bronwenwas done with her selections, we added three rolls of the green,three of a dark blue and two of a lighter shade, three red, one ofthe Coan, and in a minor victory, I prevailed on her to purchasetwo rolls of the silk wool blend. When she asked me why, I couldonly offer a shrug.
“I’ll think of something,” I promisedher, but I could see she did not believe me.
It was midday when the silk merchant,who was smiling even more broadly than when he arrived, departedfrom the Persephone with apushcart that was almost completely empty; he was still within viewwalking up the Heptastadion, when, with a shouted command byDemeter, the ropes that had moored the ship to the dock were undoneand tossed aboard, followed by the pair of crewmen who hoppednimbly aboard. The Rhodian had invited us to stand with him on thestern upper deck, and we were largely silent as we watched the citygradually recede as, under sail power and one bank of oarsmen,the Persephone made its wayout of the harbor, passing under the bridge nearest to PharosIsland.
“I wish we could have visited thelighthouse,” I found myself saying, but I quickly learned I was theonly one, with one exception.
“There’s no way that you could get meup that high,” Septimus declared, and he was joined by Gaius, andto my surprise, Alex.
Only Bronwen agreed with me, but I hadalready learned she had an adventurous spirit, and she summed up myfeelings when she said, “To be able to be as high as a bird flies?Imagine how far you could see!”
“I’m imagining how far you couldfall,” Septimus replied sourly, and we had to laugh at this, thenwe fell silent, content to watch as the huge structure slidpast.
This had been a journey full of surprises,and there had been one final one just before we pushed away fromthe dock, when Marcellus approached me.
“Pullus, if you don’t mind, I thinkI’m going to stay here in Alexandria.” My mouth fell open, though Idid not know why I found it so surprising, and I suppose my faceprompted him to explain, “I don’t have any family back in Arelate,so there’s nothing really tying me down there. Besides,” he gave mea grin, “like you said, I’ve heard so much about the whores ofAlexandria that it would be a crime not to find out,eh?”
Naturally, I agreed, but he was not allowedto leave until he had his purse refilled until it was bulging, thenhe was bade goodbye by all of us. He blushed more than Gaius whenBronwen kissed him, and to my surprise, I felt a lump in my throatas we clasped arms while I thanked him for his service. He strodedown the ramp, carrying his old Legion’s pack that he had broughtaboard, and as far as I know, he is still there in Alexandria,drinking and whoring, and I pray to the gods, he is happy andcontent.
Chapter Thirteen
As eventful as our time in Alexandriawas, there is precious little to say about the return voyage.Demeter had warned us that the return passage would be slowerbecause of the prevailing winds once north of Crete, and whilethere was rain and a couple of days of choppy seas and brisk winds,there was nothing that approached any of the storms we had endured.With every stroke of the oars, we were drawing closer to eventsthat, frankly, filled me with as much dread as pleasure. CertainlyI was happy that, once we returned to Arelate, Demeter havingagreed to take us all the way upriver to the city, the threat to myfamily and the villa would be ended, but while that was the end ofthe journey for Septimus and Gaius, it was not for me or Alex.However, what tormented me even more was wondering whether or notthis would be the end of Bronwen’s and my time together, yet everytime I resolved to bring up the subject, I could not bring myselfto do it. This did not help matters between Bronwen and me, as shebecame more withdrawn, and I only made matters worse because, thefew times I did try and engage her in some sort of conversation,she would use the minimum amount of words that she could, which inturn triggered my frustration and sent
