Calistus' hands trembled. "What is this about, Selene?"
"I don't know, Father. You saw Lady Arete's grief at Honoria's funeral. Perhaps she wishes someone to blame for Honoria's death."
"Or perhaps Ision has some twisted scheme in mind. The man has gotten entirely above himself. How dare he drag my daughter down to the Prefect's office like a common criminal?"
"Not so common, Father, if the Prefect conducts the inquest. If not for your position, I might already be condemned before a magistrate."
"Ision has no right to accuse you of anything other than saving his grandson."
Selene absently fingered the broken wax seal as her father vented his anger. Had she contributed to her friend's death? Had her feelings for Antonius influenced her actions some way?
No. Melania had not faulted her.
When her father took a breath, Selene rose from the bench with renewed determination.
"I'll send someone to help you to the solarium, Father, and will join you there for dinner." She indicated her filthy robes. "After I'm bathed and more suitably attired." Selene kissed him lightly on his bald spot. "Don't worry. Orestes is a fair man. This is just a misunderstanding."
Rebecca helped her dress in sober clothes for the inquest – a dark blue dalmatica, with rich but subdued embroidery, over a long-sleeved tunic. No belt showed off her womanly attributes, but a voluminous wrap of snowy white doubled as a head covering. She chose small gold earrings shaped like lucky scarabs, and a matching bracelet from her mother's jewelry. Rebecca applied subtle cosmetics to enhance her pallor and draw attention to her eyes, but not so obvious she could be accused of vanity.
In the bronze mirror, Selene looked older than her almost seventeen. Rebecca studied her critically, twitched a piece of the wrap into a more appealing drape, and pronounced her ready. Then she pulled Selene into a fierce hug, undoing all her careful arrangements, and whispered, "This is all a mistake. You'll be back safe this afternoon. We're all praying for you."
Selene mumbled thanks and fled to the vestibule. Her father sat on a bench by the door, dressed in his best robes, bedecked with the honors of his office. He looked so frail. Selene wished to spare her father the ordeal of this day. If only Phillip, or even Nicaeus, were here. But Phillip couldn't be reached for several days and it would take as many to return. In his last letter, Nicaeus had told of being posted to the Thracian border. She said a silent prayer for the safety of both her wandering brothers.
Calistus used a walking stick to rise. His steely eyes reminded her he was a man of substance in this city and not just her beloved father. "Come, Daughter. It's a father's duty to protect his family. Let's sort out this affair and restore my good name."
"Of course, Father."
She offered her arm and they exited to the street. A litter took them to the central government building, a massive but elegant pile of marble–faced limestone, located on the agora. The tops of the Greek columns, carved with Egyptian plants and animals, towered four stories above Selene's head. She had walked by the building many times, but never had occasion to enter the imposing legal center of the province.
She felt dwarfed.
They entered a cavernous waiting hall with benches pushed against the wall. Small groups of people milled about, talking to their advocates or awaiting the opportunity to speak to a magistrate. Clerks carrying messages and books scurried purposefully from one room to the next.
Calistus indicated a side corridor. "The Prefect's offices are this way."
They moved leisurely to accommodate the ailing man, and entered a smaller, much better appointed anteroom. There were carved benches with cushions, elaborate floor murals of Poseidon and his sea creatures, and stucco walls decorated with beautiful paintings of Nile scenes. In one corner, atop a wooden chest delicately inlaid with ivory, was a silver tray holding dates, figs and a glazed pitcher with matching goblets.
Ision, Arete, Urbib and several servants took up one side of the room. Ision was deep in conversation with a small man in monk's robes. Antonius and his father Lysis stood by the chest drinking wine. Seeing them enter, Lysis strode over, clasped Calistus' forearm, murmured and led him to a bench. Urbib pointedly ignored Selene's brief bow in their direction, but Arete glared with the baleful gaze of a wild dog protecting its kill.
Antonius approached, face haggard, shadows around his eyes and bitter lines at the corners of his mouth.
"Antonius," Selene spoke in low tones, "I wish we met under happier circumstances. How fares your son?"
Antonius reached toward Selene then vaguely waved his hand in the air instead. "Despite the terrors of his birth, the child thrives. The wet nurse tells me he has a lusty appetite."
"I'm pleased." Selene's smile turned anxious. "Antonius, what do Honoria's parents accuse me of? Why are you here?"
"I am implicated as well."
"Implicated in what?"
Antonius took a deep breath. "Ision was waiting when I returned from escorting you home that night. Urbib convinced him he could have saved Honoria's life, and you were incompetent or possibly had criminal motives. I explained how you saved the baby when Arete stormed in, clothes in disarray, streaming tears. She screamed at me not to defend you, using names I would not repeat to your face. I left her to Ision to control.
"All seemed well the next morning, so I put it down to Arete's grief. The day after Honoria's funeral, Ision asked me to leave his house and wouldn't let me take the child." His mouth quirked upward. "Knowing how shrewd Ision is, I suspect him of taking advantage of Urbib's professional jealousy and his wife's grief to take control of the baby, and through him Honoria's dowry."
"Surely not!" Selene's hands flew to her face. "How could a man use his family so?"
Antonius' smile faded. "He sold his daughter for my family connections. I've worked with the man for the past year. He uses anything and anyone to get what he wants. I don't inherit Honoria's money, her child does, but as his father I control it. To take the baby, he has to discredit me. I'm afraid you're caught up in his schemes." Antonius looked grief-stricken. "I'm sorry, Selene. I would give anything to spare you this."
"I know," she replied softly. "Orestes is a fair man. He will recognize the truth when he hears it." She refrained from touching his arm, from offering some small token of comfort.
Selene turned back toward her father just as a door in the far wall opened. A well-groomed man in the Prefect's livery stepped inside. "I'm Demetrius, the Prefect's secretary. I'll record the proceedings. Are all the parties represented?" Heads nodded. Demetrius held the door open and motioned into the next room. "Please proceed."
Being closer to the door, Ision's party filed into the chambers first, followed by the others.
Orestes sat at a massive table completely cleared of all papers, which were piled haphazardly on a second, narrower table behind the Prefect's chair. Ision, Arete, Urbib and the monk took chairs in front and to the right of the table. The servants stood at the back of the room.
Selene hesitated as she entered. Orestes looked intimidating in his official robes. He looked in her direction, giving no hint of past association. Selene shivered at the lack of acknowledgement and sat to the left of her father. Demetrius came in last, closing the door and proceeding to a chair behind and to the left of Orestes. He took out a lap desk, paper, ink and pen.
Orestes cleared his throat. The soft rustlings of people settling themselves stopped.
"Good morning, citizens. Given the parties involved, I will function as magistrate in this inquest into the death of Honoria, wife of Antonius, daughter of Ision. If I determine the death was in any way unnatural, formal charges will be brought against appropriate parties. I'll ask you to present your information one at a time, and I will ask the questions. Each of you will be given opportunity to speak. Do not interrupt while others are talking. Citizen Ision, you consider yourself the aggrieved party in this affair. Come forward and state your position."
Ision approached the t
able. "Thank you, Prefect, for hearing our tragic story." He bowed to Orestes. "Ten days ago, my much beloved oldest daughter went into labor with her first child. Shortly after sunset we called in Mistress Melania, a well-respected midwife, to attend her. The midwife pronounced that all was as it should be and the birth progressed normally. After several hours, Antonius, my daughter's husband, came to visit her. He entered the room against my wife's wishes and talked briefly with my daughter."
Orestes addressed Arete. "Why was this against your wishes, Lady?"
"It is unseemly for a husband to be present in the birthing room," Arete answered from her seat. "That is a place for women."
"I see. Please continue, Ision."
"The slaves attending my daughter at the time overheard Antonius suggesting that Selene, daughter of Calistus and friend to Honoria, be summoned."
"I did no such thing!" Antonius jumped from his seat.
"Quiet!" Orestes thundered in a parade ground voice. Selene flinched at the harsh tone, clasping her father's hand. Orestes continued, in a stern voice, "If you interrupt the proceedings again, I will have you removed."
Antonius sat down.
Orestes addressed Ision. "The hearsay of slaves is not compelling. Did you or your wife overhear this conversation directly?"
Ision shook his head. "No, but shortly after his visit my daughter insisted her friend be present. My wife saw no need for help, but Honoria became quite irrational. Arete, seeing no harm, agreed – much to our later sorrow."
"Your wife seems to have strong feelings about men in the birthing room. Were you present for these conversations?"
"No, sir. My wife relayed this information to me later."
"Then I wish to hear directly from Lady Arete." He motioned to her. "Would you please tell me what happened when Lady Selene was summoned?"
Arete stiffly approached the table. "I sent a servant and litter to Calistus' house to collect that woman…"
"Lady Selene?" Orestes inquired.
"I mean Selene, daughter of Calistus," she spat. "I would not give my daughter's murderer the title of Lady."
Selene gasped, hand to chest. Murder? Not medical misconduct?
"No one has proved murder, Lady Arete," Orestes said flatly. "Please proceed in a more tempered tone."
"She arrived attired in butcher's clothes, worn and stained with the blood of other victims," Arete continued coldly. "She refused to pray. Shortly after she arrived, the pains became harder, Honoria bled heavily, and the labor did not progress. Melania suggested we have Urbib attend."
"This took place in the middle of the night. Did Urbib arrive by daybreak?"
Arete shuffled slightly. "No. Physician Urbib did not arrive until evening that day."
Orestes frowned. "Was he delayed?"
"No. Melania did not make the suggestion until then."
"A skilled midwife let your daughter bleed heavily for all those hours?" Orestes frowned. "That seems negligent on her part."
"The bleeding didn't start until late afternoon," Arete mumbled.
"I see. Your sense of 'shortly afterward' is somewhat different from my own." Orestes brought the tips of his fingers together in a wedge. "What happened then?"
Arete blushed furiously. "By the time the good physician arrived, it was too late." She burst into tears. "That demon spawn cut my daughter open, murdering her before my very eyes. I tried to stop her, but Antonius held me back. I couldn't save my child from the two of them!" Arete collapsed sobbing into her husband's arms.
Selene gripped her father's hand until he winced. Did Arete truly believe Selene capable of such a horrendous act? Antonius stared at his in-laws in horror, the blood draining from his face.
"We'll give Lady Arete a few moments to compose herself." When the sobbing subsided, Orestes continued sympathetically. "I understand your loss, Lady, but I must ask you a few more questions. Do you think you can go on?"
Arete straightened, dabbing at her eyes with a linen cloth. "Yes, Prefect."
"Good. When did Antonius make his second appearance in the birthing room?"
Arete frowned in concentration. "I was praying in the chapel when I heard shouts. Melania appeared and said I should come at once. When I got to the birthing room, she was in the bed with my daughter, shaking her. Antonius ordered the servants and Melania out of the room. Melania argued, then stepped back when Antonius threatened her. That's when that woman took out a knife, cut open my daughter, and pulled the baby from her womb. When she found it stillborn, she performed an unholy ritual, compelling its innocent soul back into its body."
"Was your daughter dead when Lady Selene performed this operation?"
"I don't kn... I don't think so." Arete cast a swift glance at her husband.
"You were not in the room when your daughter died?"
"No, I was in the doorway. He wouldn't let me pass." She reserved a venomous look for Antonius.
"And Lady Selene delivered to you a live healthy infant?"
Arete's gaze softened with a brief smile. "Yes, we now have a grandson."
"Can either of you tell me why Lady Selene would have murdered your daughter in front of a room full of witnesses?"
"I don't believe she acted alone." Ision paused for effect. "I believe she and my son-in-law, conspired to make Honoria's death appear as a natural consequence of the birth."
Selene closed her eyes. She couldn't breathe the air; it was so thick with malice.
"Why do you believe that?" Orestes asked.
"My daughter Honoria loved Antonius, but the boy was reluctant. To spare her feelings and make her happy I pledged a substantial dowry to Lysis to make the match, thinking the boy would settle down after marriage and do right by my daughter. But I kept a close watch on him. It soon came to my attention, through a trustworthy slave, that Antonius was unhappy with the union and had wished for another."
"How had this slave reached this conclusion?"
"He attended Antonius and his friend Nicaeus in the baths, and overheard a conversation touching on Antonius' affection for Nicaeus' sister Selene." Ision pointed at Antonius. "He proposed to abandon his wife and persuade Selene to run away with him. The girl is prone to wayward behavior and might have agreed."
Selene's chest constricted and hands trembled. How much was truth, how much did Ision fabricate for his own ends?
"I have no doubt Antonius would have followed through had not Honoria announced her pregnancy soon after." Ision turned back to Orestes. "The opportunity of staging a seemingly natural death in childbirth was too good to pass up. Antonius engaged the help of his lover and murdered my child!"
Her father started to rise. Selene tugged his hand, shaking her head. Calistus settled back, his dark expression boding ill for Ision. Over his shoulder she saw Antonius' stricken face and Lysis' barely contained fury.
"You offer nothing but your own suppositions, Ision. Refrain from using the term 'murder' until such time as wrongful death has been established." Orestes frowned. "I will not allow the testimony of slaves. Nicaeus is not available to give evidence. Have you or your wife observed anything directly?"
"Yes!" Ision threw back his shoulders. "On the night of my daughter's death, Antonius took that woman into his arms and comforted her under my own roof. He then accompanied her to her father's house. My suspicions aroused by my servant's reports and Urbib's words, I followed them. I couldn't hear what they said, but they held hands during the walk, and at her home they embraced." Ision's rotund form seemed to swell as he raised his voice. "Antonius kissed that woman, with my daughter not yet dead an hour!"
An angry murmur swept the room. Orestes' cool gaze quelled it. "So you believe Antonius and Selene conspired to kill your daughter for love of one another. Why would Selene try so hard to save the baby? Would not an infant be an impediment?"
Ision's voice rang with triumph. "They planned this not just for love, but for greed. If Honoria died without issue, her dowry would come back to me. Antonius needed that ba
by alive to keep control of Honoria's wealth!"
Chapter 32
Calistus and Lysis both rose, shouting. The red spots on her father's cheeks boded ill for his weak heart.
"Father, be seated." Selene rose to calm him. "For my sake, if not your own?"
"Enough!" It took Orestes a moment to bring the room under control. He stood, raking Ision, Calistus and Lysis with his gaze. "All of you conduct yourselves with the gravity this inquest merits. This is my last warning." Lysis, Calistus and Selene took their seats. Orestes waited for total silence, sat, then turned to Ision. "Conspiring to commit murder is a grave charge. Both Antonius and Selene come from old, well-established families. Why would they do such a horrible deed for money?"
The merchant turned a scornful gaze on his social betters. "Lysis and Calistus have suffered financially in recent years due to the shortfall in crops. Both children might look upon this as an opportunity to help their families."
"You've described considerable suspicious behavior." Orestes sat back, both hands on the table. "But I haven't heard proof that Honoria died in any way other than a tragic childbirth."
Urbib stood up. "Sir, that is why I am in attendance."
Orestes nodded to Ision and Arete. "You may sit down." He motioned for the physician to come forward. "Who are you, and what light can you shed on this dark story?"
"I am Urbib, physician to many of the most prominent citizens in Alexandria." He bowed. "I don't believe I've had the pleasure of attending you, Prefect."
"I've had the fortune of good health during my tenure." Orestes' mouth turned up at one corner. "Your reputation is known to me."
Urbib crossed his arms, hands to opposite shoulders, and gave a deep bow. "I am here to give my professional opinion about this unfortunate matter. I have no knowledge of motive, but I do have prior experience with the so-called medica Selene. She attended the odd class or two on philosophy, and apprenticed herself to a notorious Egyptian woman who claims to heal with herbs and charms. Selene isn't qualified to be a midwife, much less a surgeon. She had no business attending Lady Honoria."
Selene of Alexandria Page 31