"Read on!"
Pothinus gave another yelp and contorted his back; I could see by a red stain on his robe that the spear had drawn blood. He gasped and continued reading. " 'I will do what I can… to solve the problem myself. But meanwhile you must be prepared to wage battle against the enemies who now hold the king hostage. On no account must the king's life be endangered-' There, Your Majesty, do you see the proof of my loyalty to you? Will you not command this Roman to call off his mastiffs?"
Ptolemy regarded Pothinus with an inscrutable gaze. "Read on, Lord Chamberlain."
Pothinus trembled violently. His voice quavered. " 'On no account must the king's life be endangered. But no matter how regrettable, casualties within the palace may be… unavoidable. In the event that the worst should come to pass, I have taken steps to smuggle the king's sister Arsinoe out of the palace; she should arrive in your keeping just ahead of this letter. Keep her safe, for to maintain our legitimacy with the populace, at least one member of the royal bloodline must survive the coming battle. Do what you must to eliminate the false queen and to expel the foreign intruder.' Your Majesty, I meant that Caesar himself may kill you, if pressed to desperation by Achillas! I have never been anything less than your most loyal-"
"Silence!" Caesar stood and snatched the letter from Pothinus's trembling hands. "This document clearly spells out your intention to murder me and to assassinate the queen. It also exhorts Achillas to attack the palace, with reckless disregard for the safety of King Ptolemy and in contravention of the peaceful accord reached between the king and his sister. That makes you a would-be assassin, a conspirator, and a traitor, Pothinus."
The eunuch threw himself at Ptolemy's feet. "Your Majesty, do you not see what's happened? Caesar has made you his hostage, and he's forced this accord upon you, to further his own ambitions. It's Cleopatra he's sided with, from the moment he met her. The reason is simple: She can give him a child. When that happens, Caesar will declare himself king of Egypt, with Cleopatra as his queen and the child as their heir, and it will be the end of you, Your Majesty, and the end of your dynasty! Egypt shall be ruled by Romans, and the images of your ancestors will be replaced by images of Caesar."
Ptolemy looked down his long nose at the eunuch. "Caesar is my friend."
"If you believe that, Your Majesty, then put his friendship to the test. Leave the palace. Join Achillas and your army. Let me accompany you-"
"The eunuch wishes only to save his own neck," growled Caesar. Ptolemy abruptly stood, with such force that he knocked Pothinus aside. The eunuch groveled at his feet. "You've forgotten your place, Lord Chamberlain-though from this moment you no longer occupy that position, so I shall address you simply as Pothinus. You think I'm still a child, easily bent to your will. You fancy yourself the secret ruler of Egypt, and myself a mere puppet upon the throne."
"Your Majesty, where do these notions come from? The Roman has poisoned your mind-"
"Silence! Do you think my mind so feeble that Caesar can shape it at will? Is your estimation of me that low? Yes, I think it is. 'Regret-table'-isn't that the word you used in that letter to describe my death, should Achillas storm the palace and kill me in the process? You shall regret your own death far more, Pothinus."
"No, Your Majesty! Please listen-"
"There is no more to be said, Pothinus! I strip you of your title and your post. I expel you from the privileges of the royal household, now and for all eternity. For your crimes against me, you shall be executed and your body defiled; your flesh shall be fodder for carrion birds. You shall be cursed by the gods; not only your body but your ka shall perish forever, and it shall be as if Pothinus never existed. Thus do traitors meet their end."
Pothinus wailed and hid his face.
Caesar stood and stepped to Ptolemy's side. "Your Majesty, since you've cast off the eunuch, and since he has offended against me as well, conspiring to kill me, I ask a favor of you: Let me pass judgment on him, and see to his punishment."
"No!" Pothinus gazed up at the two of them with a woeful expression. "The Roman seeks to take even this prerogative from you, Your Majesty. It's Caesar who treats you as a child-"
"Silence, Pothinus!" The king glared down at him, then turned to Caesar. "Because Caesar requests it, and because Caesar is my dearest friend, I make a gift of this criminal to Caesar, who may do as he wishes with the wretch. The Romans boast of their great love of justice, do they not, Caesar? Perhaps you can teach me a lesson on this subject. How will you dispose of Pothinus?"
Caesar looked down at the cringing eunuch, then turned, briefly, to regard the queen, who had watched the entire episode in silence, wearing an expression as bland as her brother's at his most inscrutable. As he turned back, for a long moment Caesar's eyes met mine, and I saw that he had not forgotten what I had told him.
"Samuel! Go to my quarters. You'll find an amphora there, clearly marked: 'Falernian-Open Only in the Presence of Gnaeus Pompey Magnus.' Bring it to me at once."
The barber nodded, jumped to his feet, and rushed off.
Caesar regarded me, and seeing the expression on my face, he stepped toward me and spoke in a low voice. "You look puzzled, Gordianus."
"What game are you playing at, Consul?"
"Not a game; a test. According to you, the amphora of Falernian was never poisoned, nor was the golden cup; Merianis put poison in the taster's clay vessel, and Apollodorus planted the empty alabaster vial on your son. If that's true, the Falernian was untainted, and remains so, for I had it resealed with wax before I let it out of my sight again. Are you certain of this allegation, Gordianus?"
"It's the only explanation, Consul."
"Unless, of course, Meto poisoned the amphora-in which case the Falernian will kill anyone who drinks it."
I shook my head. "That's not possible, Consul."
"We shall see. I had thought that tonight might be a joyous occasion, a chance to celebrate reconciliation and peace. Instead, it seems I'm fated to learn who are my friends, and who are my foes." He cast a glance at Ptolemy, then at Cleopatra.
Samuel, breathing hard, arrived with the amphora.
Caesar inspected the new seal, which bore the impression of his own ring. Satisfied, he nodded to Samuel, who cut the seal away.
"Pour a cup, Samuel. Here, use mine, since I'm certain no one's tampered with it."
The barber poured a measure of wine into the cup.
"Stand up, Pothinus!"
The eunuch rose to his feet, a mingled look of dread and defiance on his face.
"Consul!" I whispered. "What are you thinking? This isn't Roman justice. This is pure capriciousness."
"The gods are capricious. So must we sometimes be, if we would emulate the gods. It is also a way to determine the truth, Gordianus; and are you not always in favor of that?"
The queen sat forward, frowning. "What do you intend to do, Caesar?"
Merianis looked at her lap and nervously pulled at her fingers. Apollodorus stood with his arms crossed and his jaw thrust forward.
"Yes, Caesar," said Ptolemy. "Why do you not have the traitor strangled, here and now?"
"Because I intend to offer Pothinus a choice, which may yet allow him to live. This is a cup of Falernian wine, Pothinus. It comes from the private stores of Pompey. Falernian wine is legendary; it's the best of all the vintages of Italy. But this amphora may-or may not-contain a deadly poison. Which is it? I should like to know. Rather than test it on a hapless slave, I offer it to you, Pothinus."