Steven Saylor - Wrath of the Furies

“The Nile Delta?” she asked. “So you’ve traveled in Egypt?” She sounded impressed.

“Oh, yes. I’ve been living in Alexandria. Before that, Antipater and I traveled all the way to Babylon.”

“Babylon! My mother told me that our people came from Babylon.”

This came as no surprise. Amestris was a Persian name, and so was Freny. Both sisters possessed the elegant features and dark beauty I had seen in such abundance among Persian women.

I proceeded to name some of the other exotic places I had visited, and to recite a few of my more colorful adventures. Again, why not? Not every man can claim to have seen all of the Seven Wonders of the World.

But for all my bragging, the next time I moved toward her, with kissing on my mind, she eluded me again.

“What about you, Amestris?” I asked, realizing all the talk had been about me. Perhaps my boasting had put her off.

“Oh, little has changed for me, Gordianus. But I can’t complain. I’m quite happy here in the house of Eutropius, surrounded every day by those I love.”

“Ah, your little sister.”

“Yes. And Anthea.”

“It’s good that you have such a close friendship with your mistress. But who is this special visitor you’re expecting, the one for whom Anthea feels obliged to do up her hair in some extraordinary fashion?”

“Why, Queen Monime, of course. Did we not say?”

My heart lurched in my chest. Of course, neither Anthea nor Amestris had any way of knowing that I had met the queen, or that if Monime saw me in the house of Eutropius when I was supposed to be sleeping in the Temple of Artemis it would be the end of me. “Why is the queen coming here?”

“I’m not sure. I don’t think anyone in the house knows what the queen has in mind, not even the master. A messenger arrived earlier today saying the queen would pay us a visit after nightfall. The household has been in a flurry ever since.”

“Has the queen been here before?”

“No, this will be her first visit. The king has been here a few times, though.”

“Mithridates himself?”

“Is there any other king? Or King of Kings, as he likes to be called.”

“Why should King Mithridates visit Eutropius?”

“Why shouldn’t he? The master is one of the most important men in Ephesus. Especially now that the Romans have been driven from power…” She hesitated, perhaps thinking such talk would offend me.

“Go on,” I said.

“Well, when the Romans were still in charge, the master was always-how shall I put it?-butting his head against a wall. He was never a Roman-hater-you know that from your own experience, Gordianus, for he likes you very much. But he often complained that the Romans were holding back men like himself, independent-minded Ephesians who wanted to put the interests of Ephesus first, not those of Rome. Now that Mithridates has gotten rid of the Roman governor in Pergamon and driven the Romans from power, men like the master are finally in charge.”

“I thought the father of Monime was put in charge of Ephesus.”

“Yes, that’s right, but no man runs a city alone, and Philopoemen is still feeling his way-so the master says. And as long as the king is in residence, all major decisions come directly from him. When the king comes to visit the master, other men come, too-the important men of Ephesus. They have long discussions. They’re planning something…”

“Planning?”

“Something secret, for often they speak in low voices, careful that the household slaves can’t overhear. As if any of us might be a spy!” She shook her head and shrugged, then lowered her eyes. “And I think … I think there’s another reason the king keeps coming here.”

“Yes?”

“A certain someone has caught his eye.”

“You mean … a girl?”

She nodded. I had a sinking feeling. “Not … you, Amestris?”

She raised an eyebrow. “Do you not think I could turn the head of a king?”

“No, it’s not that…” In fact, I could imagine only too well that the king might desire her. My face turned hot.

“No,” she said, “it isn’t me who’s caught his eye.”

“Who, then? Oh, no-does he have his eye on your mistress?” Mithridates could have as many wives as he wished. Being newly wedded to Monime would not necessarily stop him from taking Anthea for a wife, as well.

Amestris laughed. “No, he has no interest in Anthea-thank the goddess!”

I sighed, feeling relieved. I had managed to save Anthea from the clutches of one murderous lecher, but saving her from the King of Kings was surely beyond my capabilities. “I’m rather surprised Anthea isn’t married by now.”

“There were marriage plans, for a while. To some rich, powerful Roman. The master wasn’t fond of the arrangement; I think the Roman was somehow coercing him. Nor did Anthea much like the man. Then came Mithridates, and poof! That almighty Roman disappeared on the next boat to Rhodes, along with the marriage plans. Anthea and I both heaved a sigh of relief. Now it seems that she will never marry.”

“Why not?”

“Anthea has decided to be consecrated to the service of Artemis.”

“What does that mean?”

“There’ll be a ceremony to mark her commitment. Since she’ll no longer be available for marriage, the Megabyzoi will pay a kind of dowry to the master. Anthea will live on the temple grounds and perform certain daily duties. And take a vow of chastity, of course.”

“To be a virgin all her life?”

“Like the goddess, yes.”

“That seems a waste,” I said, then saw by the look on Amestris’s face that perhaps I had spoken out of turn. Who was I to criticize the religious devotion of Anthea? “But we’ve strayed from the subject. Who in the household is the king lusting after?”

“Only with his eyes … so far.”

“Yes, I understand. But who?”

She smiled. “Freny, of course.”

“Your sweet little sister? But that’s terrible!”

“Is it?”

“What if he were to buy her from Eutropius, and-”

“Buy her? I think the master is more likely to make a gift of her, to ingratiate himself with the king.”

“How sad for Freny.”

“Sad? On the contrary, I think it would be wonderful.”

“How so, Amestris?”

“Think, Gordianus! My sister and I are slaves. We have no marriage prospects, as free women do. Oh, sometimes it works out that a slave can find a love-match within the household, but such a bond can always be severed at the whim of her master. We may have babies, but they’re the property of the master, and they can be taken from us. So what does Freny have to look forward to, even from a good master like ours? How much better it would be for her to become the concubine of the king! Then she could live with his other concubines and their children in the luxury of the royal household, and go traveling with the court. Sad? No, this is surely the very best thing that could happen to little Freny.”

“I see. Yes, I suppose I hadn’t thought about it that way,” I said, still dubious. “What does Anthea think about the king’s interest in Freny?”

“The mistress and I are of one mind-not only about this, but about most matters.”

“What about you, Amestris, and your prospects?”

She laughed. “I think I must be too old now to attract the attention of the King of Kings.”

“Then I call him the fool of fools,” I said, causing her to gasp. “But that’s not what I meant. If Freny should leave, and if Anthea should be consecrated to Artemis-”

“Then I hope to go with her, as her handmaiden, and live with her on the temple grounds.”

“Would you also take a vow of chastity?”

“Yes. That way I can accompany her in the rituals she’s to perform at the temple, and sleep alongside her in the chambers reserved for the virgin acolytes.”