“Oh, they have the most lovely jewelry there!” Kettel, who was enormously fat, held up one arm. A great mass of flesh hung from the limb like a chicken’s wattle. He shook his plump hand, rattling the bangles at his wrist. “I bought this lovely bronze bracelet there earlier today.”
“And paid too much!” said Berynus, who was as slender as his companion was fat. He touched a bit of lapis that hung from a chain around his bony neck. “I got this pretty necklace for half the price of that hideous bracelet.”
“Both pieces are very nice,” I said.
Kettel tittered at the compliment. Berynus fluttered his eyelashes and reached up to adjust his wig. I took it for granted that both eunuchs shaved their heads, but even in the privacy of their home I had never seen either without an elaborate and expensive-looking hairpiece.
“What time were you there, at the market?” I asked, trying to sound casual.
“Oh, a little before midday,” said Kettel. “Any earlier and the prices are too high. Any later and all the good stuff is gone.”
“I see. Did you happen to notice a beautiful young woman, wearing green, with black hair-?”
“Why, yes, we did,” said Berynus.
“That’s right, we did,” said Kettel.
My heart skipped a beat. “You both seem very certain.”
Berynus raised an eyebrow. “That’s because we had an argument.”
“An argument? Did you speak to her?”
“No, no, no. Not an argument with her; an argument about her. Neither of us spoke to her. We only saw her. Except we didn’t see the same thing,” said Kettel.
“What do you mean?”
They looked at each other, as if deciding who should speak first. Kettel began. “I had to leave the market for a moment, to attend to the call of nature. Up the street, a block past the market and around a corner, there’s a public latrina. When I finished and stepped outside, a little farther up the street I saw the very girl you’ve just described. She was being dragged off by a couple of rather rough-looking fellows, and putting up quite a fight.”
My heart pounded in my chest. “Did no one stop them?”
“This was some distance from the market. Not a lot of people were around. I did call out, but the fellows told me to shut up and mind my own business. They said the girl was a runaway slave, and they were returning her to her master.”
“And you believed them?”
“Why not? Even if things were not quite as they appeared-well, these days, when one sees any sort of scuffle in the street, one never knows what to think. You never know who might be on the royal payroll, never mind how brutish they look, or who might be a common criminal, or who might even be a spy! Everything is so out of control. Not like the good old days, when old Queen Cleopatra was firmly in charge. These days it’s best to mind one’s business and not get involved.”
“So no one helped the girl?” I tried to keep my voice steady. “The two men just took her off?”
Kettel shrugged. “I suppose so. I didn’t really think much about it, until I rejoined Berynus at the market and happened to mention what I had seen-and he told me I must be imagining things!”
“Why did you say that, Berynus?”
The eunuch folded his long, slender hands. “Because I had just seen the same girl-and with no ruffians about. The girl in green was heading off in the opposite direction, toward the waterfront, and she was in no distress whatsoever. A little boy was leading her by the hand.”
“A little boy?”
“A messenger, I presume. Well-dressed, so from a wealthy household, but on his own, so not freeborn but a slave. The dark-haired beauty in green was following along behind the boy and looking rather pleased with herself.”
“What made you think it was the same girl that Kettel saw?”
Berynus pursed his thin lips. “The more closely Kettel described the girl he had seen, the more exactly she matched my girl-and really, what are the chances of two ravishing young brunettes in green dresses both being in the market at the same time? I’m sure Kettel saw something, but he probably misunderstood what was going on. This happens all the time. It’s sad, at his age, how his mind has begun to play tricks on him.”
“Oh, you son of a crocodile!” snapped Kettel. “You’re the one who imagines things! You probably never even saw such a girl. It was only after I described her that you suddenly ‘remembered’ seeing her. It’s your mind that plays tricks!”
“Or perhaps you both saw just what you thought you saw,” I said, my heart sinking.
“How could that be?” Berynus raised an eyebrow. “Why are you asking about such a girl, Gordianus? Who is she, and what is she to you?”
I shook my head and made no answer, and quickly took my leave.
Escaping the clouds of incense that perfumed the eunuchs’ apartment, I was desperate for fresh air, but it gave me no relief. My chest was so tight I could hardly breathe.
The sun was beginning to sink and cast long shadows. Dinnertime sounds and smells of cooking wafted on the air, but I had no appetite.
As I finally headed home, I tried to make sense of what the eunuchs had told me. If their stories were to be trusted, one had seen Axiothea and the other had seen Bethesda, at precisely the same time. One of the girls had been abducted, while the other was led off by a slave boy-but which was which?
I arrived at the tenement more uncertain and anxious than ever. I entered the building, walked past the landlord’s apartment, and trudged up the stairway. In my heart of hearts, I was hoping that when I reached the top floor, and pushed open the door to my room, Bethesda would be there, waiting for me.
What possible explanation could she have for her disappearance? It didn’t matter. I only wanted her to be there.
I opened the door. I stepped inside.
The room was empty.
I closed the door and barred it with the little block of wood, then fell onto the bed, thinking I would never fall asleep. But the long day had worn me out. I closed my eyes and fell into a dreamless slumber.
VI
When I woke the next day, the room seemed emptier than ever.
Where was Bethesda? What had become of her?
I began my search for Melmak and his troupe all over again. I had exhausted my regular sources, so I started from scratch, brazenly approaching complete strangers. I regretted that I had spent so much money on the new dress for Bethesda. Coins can loosen tongues, but my moneybag was almost empty.
At the end of that long, miserable day, I knew no more than when I woke.
Another day passed, and still I learned nothing new. Waves of anger and despair surged through me, alternating with a numb sensation. Each time I returned to my room, a part of me expected Bethesda to be there, waiting for me. But the room was always empty.
It was quite by chance that I entered a tavern in Rhakotis one afternoon, only a few steps from the building where I lived, thinking I would spend my last few coins on a cup of decent Greek wine-and at the back of the dim room I saw Melmak.
Shadows hid his face, but it had to be him. The monkey was sitting on his shoulder.
I stepped back into a dark corner and for a while I simply watched him, making sure he was alone. Then I carefully scanned the room, spotting all the possible exits. Now that I had finally found him, I didn’t want him to slip from my grasp. It occurred to me that I had no weapon except a small knife, more suitable for intimidating a monkey than a man. Also, Melmak was probably stronger than I was. He was certainly bigger. But I would have the advantage of surprise, not to mention righteous anger.
At last, drawing a deep breath, I stepped from the shadows, strode across the room, and stood before him, clenching my fists and bracing myself to block his way should he try to bolt.