by Paul Davis
Remi shrank back, clumsy and uncomfortable, uncertain what to do. The boy leant forward to see what had caused such emotion. Not much, he thought, just a little chain with a lapis stone. What’s the fuss?
Mastering himself again, Kaires stood up quickly.
'Remi, get my cloak. We must lose no time.'
But he already knew it was too late.
-0-
There was an address on a note with the box, some way across the city, in one of the cheaper tenement blocks. Kaires found the place with some difficulty and told Remi to wait downstairs with the porter. The apartment was on the fourth floor, and he made his way up the dilapidated staircase with some trepidation. The banister rail was mostly missing and what was left was very precarious. The whole place looked like it might collapse at any moment. The only light came from a lamp he had taken from the porter. He reached the door on the fourth landing and gently knocked. After a moment the door was opened.
‘Iola!’ He took her in his arms and kissed her. ‘Thank the gods you're safe! I’ve been so worried about you.’
Iola returned his kiss and nodded. She was weeping. ‘I’m sorry...’
‘What about? Where have you been? What’s going on?’
‘Come in, Dr. Kaires,’ said a voice from inside the room. ‘It's good to see you again.’
Kaires looked past Iola into the dimness of the room. A figure was lying on a bed against the far wall.
‘You!’ he hissed.
Iola stood aside to let him in. ‘Don't be like that,’ said Myrine. ‘Take a seat. We don't have long.’
‘What does she mean?’ Kaires asked Iola, refusing to address Myrine directly.
‘Iola tracked me down. One little slip, and she had me. Clever little thing, my daughter.’
‘Don't call me your daughter,’ said Iola, through her teeth.
‘I didn't manage to get away with very much, you know. You could almost feel sorry for me, if you were as generous as I thought. My brothers were idiots, going round that bend in the river far too fast. Even so, they'd have got going soon enough if you hadn't come after us so quickly. It was a mistake leaving you alive, but I still can't quite regret it, even now. I was watching from the other bank. I’d taken a boat from further up river and crossed over. I knew if you came looking, you'd concentrate on the side we went aground. When I saw you crash into the felucca, I knew it was all over.’
‘How did you get away? Gallus's men were searching for you.’
‘All on the other side. By the time they crossed over I had picked up a lift further downstream from some linen traders. They left me at Busiris. Then I had to think what to do. I had enough to keep me going for a while, but nothing like enough for the new life I had hoped for. I had no option but to return to the only place I knew, Alexandria. I changed my appearance and figured it was a big enough city to get lost in. I never returned to any on my old haunts. Except once.’
‘Where I was waiting,’ said Iola. ‘I knew sooner or later she would go and see her sister, Parthenope. They were always close. If she needed any help, I knew that's where she would go. But Parthenope herself would never have told me. So I got a job helping out at the bar opposite where she lived. And sure enough, that's where I saw her.’
Myrine gave a sigh. ‘What little gold I'd managed to get away with was stolen from me in this wretched apartment. I couldn't carry it with me everywhere I went, and one day I got back and it had gone. I had no other option but to ask my sister for help.’
‘My heart bleeds for you,’ said Kaires bitterly.
Myrine ignored him. ‘It was quite a surprise when Iola came in. She was about to call the men from the bar to hold me while she got the authorities, but I persuaded her this would be a better way.’
‘What does she mean?’ Kaires asked Iola once more. Myrine answered.
‘I mean hemlock, Kaires. It worked well for Thestor, didn't it? Forgive me that I didn't rise to greet you when you came in; it's already taken away all movement from my legs. I feel it now in my arms. I'm aware that I’m slurring my speech as well. It's becoming difficult to talk. I hope you can still make out what I’m saying. I don't suppose it will be much longer now. I've said my goodbyes to Iola. You needn't stay for the end; you're a doctor, you know how it goes.’
‘Oh, I'll wait,’ said Kaires.
‘If you must,’ said Myrine faintly. Her voice was fading and her eyes struggled to stay open.
Kaires spoke, his voice harsh and bitter. ‘You don't deserve to hear this, but for Iola's sake, the world thinks you were taken hostage by the thieves, and lost in the river. She at least can live her life free from your shadow.’
There was no answer from Myrine, only the ghost of a smile on her lips. Gradually her breathing became shallower, until Kaires could detect it no more.
‘Come, Iola. Your mother died a long time ago. This nameless woman is nothing to do with us anymore.’
‘I can't just leave her here, Kaires.’
‘I will send the undertakers here tomorrow, and see that she is properly buried. But I will not give her a name.’
Iola nodded and looked down. ‘It is enough,’ she said.
Kaires led her from the apartment and closed the door behind him. They went downstairs, and Kaires asked Remi to take Iola outside while he spoke to the porter. He joined them shortly afterwards and they walked back through the city to Kaires's house.
Inside, they found Hotepet just about to take breakfast. She greeted Kaires and Remi, and was introduced to Iola. She took her hand, and then gently ran her fingers over Iola's face.
‘I have a new sister,’ she said.
Author’s note
This is, of course, a work of fiction. Nevertheless I have tried to describe the cities and locations where the action takes place as accurately as possible.
Most of the characters are fictional, with the exception of Aelius Gallus, the second Prefect of Egypt, who did indeed take a trip up the Nile with his friend, the geographer Strabo (c64BC-25AD), in about 24BC. Gallus had led an expedition to Arabia Felix, which ultimately failed, leading to his recall to Rome and disappearance from history. He had a keen interest in medicine, and would no doubt have got on well with Kaires.
Strabo spent a long time in Alexandria, probably studying at the Library for much of the time. His Geography provides a valuable insight into life in Egypt at this time. Among his entertaining accounts is what many consider to be the first ‘Cinderella’ story, that of Doricha, whose sandal was carried off by an eagle and dropped into the lap of the king, who then searched high and low until he found the woman whom the sandal fitted, and married her – a story which I couldn’t resist including in my account.
The possibility of a fund of gold secreted somewhere in Egypt, ready for Caesarion’s return, is hinted at by Plutarch in his Life of Anthony: “Caesarion...was sent by his mother to India via Ethiopia, with a vast treasure.”
Perhaps it is yet to be discovered...
What Strabo has to say about Chaeremon may be found in his Geography, Book XVII, 1, 29.