Peter raised the cup. His nose wrinkled and his lips tightened.
“It isn’t hemlock!” Hypatia said.
He managed to imbibe the medicine.
“There, it’s not so bad, is it?”
“I’m afraid it is very bad. Very, very bad. But if you say it will help…”
“It will. I’m glad Cornelia is still here. Are they married yet?”
The question seemed to startle Peter. “In the eyes of God, yes.”
Hypatia smiled. “It’s strange how none of our employer’s circle of friends have married. Not Anatolius nor even Captain Felix. Do you suppose it’s because they are Mithrans and can’t find suitable matches?”
“You know we don’t talk about the master’s religion, Hypatia.”
“I’d only mention it to you, Peter.”
“You shouldn’t mention it even to me. There are laws against pagan practices. Who can say what danger the master could find himself in?”
“But Justinian must know that-”
“Please. Don’t say anything more about it.”
The room’s single window opened on a vista of the city dominated by the dome of the Great Church. Peter would be able to see it from where he sat propped up against his elegant cushion. Hypatia was not a Christian, but worshiped the gods of her native Egypt. “I understand the master will soon be a grandfather,” she said to change the vexed subject.
“That’s right. He’s awaiting news.”
“The child was some time in coming, wasn’t it? Europa and Thomas have been married for years.”
“We all arrive when God wills it. And depart.” Peter lifted a thin arm and moved his hand in the Christians’ sign.
“They are still living on the estate owned by Anatolius’ uncle?”
“Zeno’s estate. Yes. Thomas is still employed as estate manager. I never thought that redheaded rogue would settle down to a regular job.”
“He was a military, man wasn’t he?”
“Harrumph! He claimed he was a knight. I saw a rogue, plain and simple.”
“But things have turned out for the best, as fate would have it.”
“Fate? You mean God’s will.”
Hypatia made no reply. Was it only the Christian’s haughty god who didn’t consider himself subject to fate? She bent over to straighten Peter’s coverlet. “Why don’t you let me adjust your cushion so you can lie down? The potion I gave you will make you sleep.”
Peter’s eyes narrowed. “You said it was a tonic.”
“Sleep is the best tonic.”
“But I wanted to tell you about what’s happened since you worked here last.”
“There’ll be plenty of time for that.”
Grumbling, Peter managed to slip into a prone position, grimacing when he slid his splinted leg further down the bed. “I already mentioned the master is now officially a member of the consistory, although he was always one of the emperor’s closest advisors. And you won’t be surprised to know he has performed some confidential assignments and had a few close brushes with death while you’ve been gone.”
“Which you will be able to tell me all about in the weeks ahead,” Hypatia said, adjusting the cushion.
“I won’t be bedridden for weeks, Hypatia. Do you think I won’t be able to manage the stairs with a crutch soon or that I can’t chop onions sitting down? In a few days I won’t need your assistance and you can go back to your flowers and herbs.”
“There’s no hurry. When our employer spoke to me in the gardens yesterday evening and told me about your accident I agreed to help out. How could I not? I will be here longer than a few days, Peter. Gaius thinks you might be laid up for months.”
“Months?” Peter’s words slurred and his eyelids drooped.
“Perhaps. Even if it is, I will be here.”
“It distresses me to think of you having to care for me that long,” Peter mumbled.
Hypatia was pleased to see he did not look distressed.
Chapter Ten
While Peter and Hypatia talked John passed through the cross-emblazoned entrance to the glittering maze of Theodora’s private quarters.
He had not lingered at home that morning. After taking a gulp of heavily watered wine and grabbing a chunk of stale bread, he had gone out to continue his investigation.
The sun was rising over the tall cypresses marking the edge of the gardens not far from his house. In the quiet he could hear the faint shouts of laborers drifting up from the imperial harbor as they unloaded a ship. From what part of the empire had it come? What had the crew thought when they were greeted at the docks by word of Theodora’s death?
He had awakened to the sounds of Hypatia rattling pots and plates as she cooked and on his way out caught a glimpse of her climbing the stairs to Peter’s room. It did not strike him as out of the ordinary. The years since her departure had vanished.
Strange how malleable time and memory could be.
What struck him as unusual was how empty his bed felt. Half-awake, he rolled over and only then remembered, with a pang, that Cornelia was away at Zeno’s estate.
After he was so terribly wounded, John came to think of himself as a solitary man. He did not need human companionship in order to exist. What he did not need, he did not want. What he did not want he did not seek. Was he quite as stoic as he liked to think?
Now and then taking a bite of bread, he marched along the edge of one of the garden terraces and watched the sun spill molten light across the smooth water of the Marmara.
Cornelia would return. Theodora would not return. Justinian was the emperor but he was also a man coming to grips with the fact that he would never see his wife again.
John put off visiting Theodora’s quarters for an hour and still his steps slowed as he reluctantly approached their elaborate bronze doors. He rarely entered that part of the palace. The humid atmosphere reeked of exotic perfume and incense. To John it was like breathing the unhealthy miasma of a fetid swamp. The pallid, attenuated eunuchs who flitted everywhere filled him with revulsion.
While she lived, Theodora had made herself less accessible than the emperor, who pretended to a careless affability, willing to meet anyone, any time, at a heartbeat’s notice. By contrast, the empress fiercely protected her own realm. It was said even the emperor was not welcome there. But now she was gone, the guards at the doors and in the antechambers beyond seemed almost indifferent to John’s passage. Perhaps they were preoccupied with their own fates.
Once past the antechambers John entered a lavishly over-decorated world populated solely by women, eunuchs, and brightly costumed boys-court pages who served mostly, though not entirely, for decoration. A page smirkingly directed John to the rooms Theodora had given to Joannina and Anastasius, deep within the warren.
The girl John had glimpsed at Anatolius’ house-Vesta-opened the door at his knock.
Before he could speak, another slender blond girl padded barefoot through an archway leading into the vestibule. She wore nothing but a wisp of a white tunica that swung lightly yet managed to remain clinging to her with each step. “Oh! I was expecting Anastasius.”
John introduced himself.
“Naturally I recognize you, Lord Chamberlain.” Despite being half-dressed, she regarded him as unselfconsciously as a child. Or, John amended his thought, a much younger child than she actually was.
“Joannina, I wish to speak to your attendant Vesta. Afterwards, I will require a word with you.”
“Certainly.” The girl spoke as if conferring an honor.
John compared the two young women, mistress and attendant. At first glance Joannina resembled her mother. She had Antonina’s strikingly pale hair, the same brilliant blue eyes, the strong chin. A closer look revealed the differences, partly due to age. Less of her smile needed to be painted on. Her skin was not layered to rigidity with powder. But she was naturally slighter of build. Her fingers were long and slim, not plump. Facially she favored her father. She had Belisarius’ longer, narrow features, his straight nose and gaunt cheeks.