"Half the riches of the world," murmured Akhilles, looking greedily at the ring. "But still, I do not want to be too greedy; what would I do with half the wealth of the world? I will ask, then, only the weight of Hector's body in gold."
"You shall have it," said Priam, unflinching. "I have sworn."
But this was insufferable, Kassandra thought, no such ransom had ever been asked or paid in the whole history of warfare. Only Akhilles would have ventured such a thing. Odysseus made a sharp movement as if he were about to protest; but he did not speak. Kassandra knew why; a wrong word might touch off his madness - and then there would be no ransom at all.
Priam said, "It shall be weighed out before your eyes at dawn before the walls of Troy, Prince Akhilles, to the last ounce."
Priam bowed so that Akhilles could not see the stonelike contempt on his face.
Akhilles smiled; he had what he wanted, and he had it before his allies.
"Will you drink with me to the bargain then, my Lord of Troy?"
"Thank you," Priam said; it was all too obvious he would rather have spit in Akhilles's face, but he took the cup the prince set in his hand, and took a few swallows, after which he passed the cup to Polyxena and then to Kassandra, who put the cup to her lips without drinking; she knew it would choke her.
"May I then have Hector's body that his mother and sisters may ready it for the pyre?"
"It shall be returned to you washed and decently shrouded, anointed with oil and spices, at dawn before the walls, when the • ransom is paid," Akhilles said.
"Akhilles, in the name of Zeus Thunderer!" Agamemnon burst out, "The King of Troy makes no niggling bargain! Give him what he came for!"
"I did not think a father would wish to look on the body as it is now," said Akhilles, deliberately, watching Priam's face as he spoke. (A cruel child, pulling the wings off flies.) 'I would have it made seemly for his mother to look upon."
"My Lord Akhilles is as kind as we believed all along he was noble," said Kassandra quickly. Yes, just exactly as we believed. "Let it be so. At dawn then, Lord Akhilles," and she pulled at her father's sleeve; Priam's head was bent and he was weeping. She steadied him, and Polyxena took his other arm, as they went out of the tent - quickly, so that Priam would not hear the laughter of Akhilles behind him.
CHAPTER 11
As soon as they returned to Troy, Priam set all the people of the household to frenzied activity, stripping the palace of golden ornaments, demanding the golden necklaces, earrings and rings of the women; and gold cups from the table even before he opened the treasure room and had the gold carried up to the walls.
Priam sent for a priest from the Sunlord's temple to rig up a pair of scales. It was Khryse, and for once he was genuinely too busy to take the slightest notice of Kassandra as he worked with pulleys and weights. She watched him work, understanding the principles of what he was doing, but knowing she had not the skill with her hands or knowledge to do it herself. When he had the strange-looking balance strung up he asked her to lie on one of the platforms so that it could be tested.
"Just pretend you are a dead weight," he said.
"As you like." She took her place, watching as the people of the household piled gold on the other part of the scale. She was surprised at the smallness of the heap which balanced her, lifting her slowly into the air. He saw her look and said, "Gold is heavier than most people think."
She was sure Akhilles knew to the ounce how much gold he would be getting. She began to sit up as they took off the gold and piled it up.
"Your weight in gold, Kassandra," Khryse said. "If it were mine I would offer it all to you for a bride-price."
She sighed and said, "Do not begin that again, my brother."
He looked crestfallen, "Must you always destroy any hopes I might have for happiness in this world?"
"Oh, if what you want is a wife," she said with an angry laugh,"there are women enough and to spare in Troy."
"You know that for me there is no woman save you alone—" Khryse said.
"Then I fear you will live and die unwed," Kassandra said firmly, "even if yonder gold were your own and you could dower me with it." She slid to her feet, looking at the heap of gold which equalled her weight. She had never cared for jewellery, and she could only marvel that this cold stuff excited so much greed in so many people. Somehow, even knowing Akhilles as she did, she had not thought he could be swayed with gold alone; she had thought he might attempt some additional humiliation on the royal house of Troy.
Above them, lighting the top of the stones, the sun was rising; Kassandra stepped to the top of the wall and extended her arms silently in the morning salutation to the Sunlord.
"Sing the morning hymn, Kassandra," Khryse urged. "Your voice is sweet but we so seldom hear it lent to us now, even for Apollo's sake."
Stubbornly she shook her head; if she sang, he would accuse her again of trying to entice him. "I prefer to sing but in the presence of the God alone," she murmured and was silent.
Priam, coming with his servants and another basketful of gold - even though the precious stuff barely covered the bottom of the basket it was so heavy that it had to be carried between two men - said, "Well, priest, are the scales ready?"
"They await your pleasure, my lord."
"My pleasure? You fool, do you think I take any pleasure in this business?" Priam demanded crustily. He was still wearing the white robe of a suppliant, streaked with mud from the earthworks; his bare feet were caked with mud.
Polyxena whispered to him, but Priam said aloud, "Are you saying that for that villain Akhilles I should bathe and comb my hair and put on fair garments, as if this were a wedding and not a funeral? And I care not if this is the chief among the Sunlord's priests, he is no less a fool for all that!"
Kassandra covered her mouth with her fingertips; it would be unseemly to smile at this moment. Surely there was little to smile about, except the discomfiture on Khryse's face; it seemed to her that her father spoke with the peevish sound of senility.
Priam motioned to the servants to put the basket down by the rest of the gold. "Now we await Akhilles's will. It would be like him to make such a degrading bargain as this and make us wait all day - or not to come at all."
He made the bargain before witnesses," Polyxena reminded her father."They will make him come. They are eager to get on with this war, now they don't have Hector to face."
There was silence while the King's household slowly gathered below the wall; Hecuba and Andromache stood on either side of the King.
Kassandra was not sure exactly what it was that she expected; perhaps Akhilles's chariot galloping at his usual breakneck speed toward the walls. She looked into the rising sun till her eyes ached.
Khryse stood at her side and put his arm under hers as if to lend her support; she was exasperated but did not want to draw attention to herself by moving away. The priest said, "They are astir in the Argive camp; what are they waiting for?"
"Perhaps to humble my father further by seeing him faint with exhaustion from the heat," she murmured. "I swear to you, Khryse, compared to Akhilles, Agamemnon is noble and kindly."
"I know little of him," Khryse said, "but enough to know I would not willingly see the fate of Troy in his hands; and Priam's health and strength are now all the hope we have for Troy."
Little hope that is, she thought, but remained silent. She had no wish to discuss her fears for her father with anyone, and certainly not with a man she distrusted.