Cleopatra Confesses (10 page)

“I know it is impossible, though it
would
be amusing! And I would enjoy seeing the expression on my sisters’ faces! But please—just teach me to dance, and I promise you no one will learn our secret.”

Charmion glances at the older woman, who gives the slightest of nods. “First you must meet Lady Amandaris, who is in charge of the dancers. She is my mother.”

Lady Amandaris greets me with a warm smile. “We are honored to have you with us and pleased to serve you in whatever way you wish.”

It is impossible not to like her at once. Clearly, it is from her that Charmion came by her good looks and graceful manner.

Charmion leads me to the center of the circle. The dancers bow and move aside to make room for me. “First,” Charmion says, “you must remove your dress.”

I do as she asks.

“Try to imitate exactly what I do,” she instructs me. “Start with a simple running step.”

The drummer and sistrum player begin a slow, steady beat. The dancers fall into line behind Charmion, and I follow them, walking in time to the rhythm. The tempo increases; I hurry to keep up. Soon we are running. Small hops are added between the running steps. The hops become leaps. We are no longer in a line. The leaping is frenzied. I try to imitate the others as they spin and whirl. What a glorious feeling! Never have I felt so free. The dance classes with Akantha and the other daughters of nobility were nothing like this. But the spinning and whirling make me dizzy. I stumble and collapse into a graceless heap. I feel as though I am still whirling.

Charmion bends over me, frowning with concern. “Are you all right, mistress?”

I sit up, blinking. A furry creature is peering into my face. I stifle a shriek, then I recognize my sisters’ baboon, who is wearing a splendid gold collar. Suddenly, Berenike dashes into the
midst of the dancers, shouting, “Bubu! Bubu!” For a moment she does not recognize me, just one more naked dancer.

Tryphaena, reaching for her baboon, looks straight at me. Her mouth falls open.

“Cleopatra!” she cries. “What are you doing here? We’ve been looking for you everywhere! This is hardly the proper place for you. Father would be very displeased.” A slow, triumphant smile crosses her face. “I must find some time with him. He’ll be most interested to learn how you’ve chosen to pass your time.” She glances at the dancers, adding with a sneer, “And with what sort of people.”

I resent her attitude toward the dancers, but, lying naked on the ground, I am in no position to reproach her. “Why are you looking for me?” I ask impatiently.

“Titus has just arrived here,” Berenike explains, her eyes bright with excitement. Titus is the nephew of the grand vizier and is also Akantha’s brother; the last I saw him he was a gangling youth. “Antiochus sent him with an urgent message for Father. We must leave for Alexandria as soon as we can.”

“Come now, Cleopatra,” Tryphaena orders in the regal tone she has recently adopted. “But first put on your clothes.”

My sisters carry off Bubu, who regards me with a smug expression. I dress hurriedly and run back to my tent, wondering what could have happened to change Father’s plans. But I am even more worried about what Father will say if my sisters are as good as their word and inform him that I have been with the dancers. And naked, as well.

Chapter 19

T
ITUS

Father had intended to sail up the Nile to the First Cataract—as far as our boats could travel before boulders blocked the way—with a stop at Hermonthis to venerate Buchis, the sacred bull. This would have extended our journey by at least another thirty days, into a fourth month and maybe even longer. But with the unexpected arrival of Antiochus’s nephew Titus, the plan has been abandoned.

“He came in a small, fast boat,” Irisi tells me when I return to my tent after my afternoon with Charmion and the other dancers. “His oarsmen have been rowing night and day.”

“But why has he come here?” I ask. “What has happened?”

“We know nothing of what is in the grand vizier’s message. All we have been told is that the king has ordered Captain Mshai to return immediately to Alexandria.”

Whatever news Titus brought is surely not good. Like everyone
else, I must wait for an explanation from Father. That evening he orders a fine banquet in honor of Titus’s arrival.

Titus is no longer the gangling youth I remember. He has grown tall and broad shouldered with dark, curly hair, a straight nose, and well-muscled thighs. He is very handsome and amiable, and he quickly becomes the center of attention. I am not surprised to observe my older sisters doing everything they can to catch his eye, smiling up at him from beneath their fluttering lashes, inviting him to come and sit by them. But he maintains a very grave and formal manner, and he treats my sisters with great courtesy even as he ignores their invitations. If Titus is wise, he will avoid their little traps.

The banquet is one of the most festive yet. Course after course is served, the musicians and dancers perform. Charmion is careful not to glance in my direction. My father plays his
aulos
. It is as if nothing unusual were happening. Then Father signals for quiet, and everyone leans forward to hear what the king has to say.

“Tomorrow we leave Thebes and return to Alexandria with all speed,” he announces. “I have important business to attend to there. By the time the great Ra has begun his climb into the sky, we will be on our way.”

His words leave our questions unasked and unanswered.

I am ready to go back to Alexandria, and I think everyone else must feel the same. But this great rush makes me uneasy, because I do not yet know the reason for it. Why is Father being so secretive? I wonder if it has to do with the Romans. Are they demanding more money? Has the general Father mistrusts, Julius Caesar, gone back on his word?

Talk to me, Father
, I beg silently.
Explain to me what is happening
.

I stay out on deck until very late, watching the preparations for our departure at sunrise and staying alert for rumors. Maybe Father will come out and speak to me. But the only talk I manage to overhear concerns Titus: My two older sisters are arguing about him.

“I saw the way he looked at me.” Tryphaena sighs. “I can see that he finds me very beautiful.”

“Beautiful, yes, but he could not help but notice that I have the intelligence to complement my beauty,” Berenike retorts.

“Are you saying that Titus finds me stupid?” Tryphaena cries.

Berenike makes a small effort to soothe her. “I’m not saying anything like that. I am only pointing out that Titus is the kind of man who is interested in a woman who has more to her than a pretty face. A woman like me.”

“Let us see whom he chooses to sit by at the next banquet,” Tryphaena taunts her.

“Surely it will be me,” snaps Berenike.

And so it goes, their bickering. Not a word about whatever crisis awaits our father.

Just before sunrise, Captain Mshai orders the crew to cast off, and we leave Thebes behind us. We are going home.

Chapter 20

S
HIPWRECK

The sails are permanently furled, and now we move downriver with the current, against the prevailing winds. We have been away for many days, and I am ready to return to Alexandria. The captain has ordered the master of the oarsmen to drive his men to the limits of their endurance. Instead of the drumbeat that set the rhythm at the beginning of our travels, I hear the crack of the whip. After two days, the royal boat and the fleet of smaller craft traveling with it enter the great eastward loop of the Nile. I choose to stay out on the deck. I enjoy the excitement, and I know I will not have to speak to my sisters, who have taken refuge in their rooms.

Demetrius finds me here. “The river is nearing its lowest point,” he says in that familiar lecture tone. “In another month the harvest will be finished. Already the sun is baking the earth and purifying it. Soon the rains will begin far to the south, and
the river will swell—all part of the natural rhythm of the Nile. But now, with the low water level, it is a dangerous time on the river. It would be much safer for you to stay in your quarters, Cleopatra.”

I murmur some sort of agreement but stay where I am.

The sandbars that were submerged earlier as we journeyed upstream just a month ago are now exposed, and navigating around them proves difficult for a vessel as large as the royal boat.

On the first day, we make good progress through this treacherous area. That pleases Father. But just after sunset on the second day, disaster strikes. Though the sky remains bright, the towering cliffs render the water black and unreadable. Suddenly, a whirlpool snatches one of the small boats accompanying us and sucks it down before anyone even realizes what is happening. A moment later a second boat is drawn into the vortex. The cries of people flung into the roiling waters echo from the cliffs. The other boats struggle fiercely to escape the irresistible pull of the swirling water. How many people are flailing about in the water, screaming for help? How many have already vanished beneath the surface? Are Charmion and Lady Amandaris among them? Who else has been lost? The scene is utterly chaotic, and it is impossible to know.

I scream, “Save them! Save them!” But my words are carried away in the wind.

Then I see Titus vault over the side of the boat and plunge into the water. With great effort he manages to drag two women away from the whirlpool. One slips from his grasp. Three crewmen also jump in to help, but the ferociously whirling and sucking black water quickly overpowers them, and they disappear.
Titus fights his way to two more victims and somehow saves them from drowning. He returns for a third time.

Captain Mshai shouts orders to the oarsmen, who row desperately to maneuver the royal boat to the western shore, and for a time it seems that we have avoided the worst. Then the boat lurches sickeningly, and there is the sound of splintering wood. The boat grinds to a sudden halt, knocking me off my feet, and comes to rest at an odd angle. Father, ashen faced, rushes frantically back and forth across the tilting deck. My older sisters burst out of their rooms. “We’re going to die!” they wail. “The boat will sink and we will all drown!” I look at them coldly. My sisters always seem to know how to make things worse.

Father tries to calm them. I am frightened too, but when I realize I have not seen Arsinoë, I hurry to look for her. I find her in her room, hiding her face in the lap of her nurse, Panya. Panya looks too terrified to move. “If Nebtawi were here, he would save us,” Arsinöe sobs.

I sit down and put my arm around her. I, too, feel like weeping. “Yes, he would. Now, come with me. Our plight has surely been observed by people on shore, and soon they will come to rescue us. We must be ready.” I lead her gently onto the slanting deck, Panya close behind us.

The wreck has happened near the city of Dendara, and the local men, accustomed to the peculiar perils of these waters, row out in their own small boats. Beginning with Father and then my sisters and me and our servants and tutors, they help us climb down into their boats. Nimbly dodging several small but dangerous whirlpools, they ferry us to shore. I find this unexpected journey exciting, but poor Demetrius for once is speechless with fright. The kitchen boat and some of the boats
carrying our cooks and other servants have somehow avoided the whirlpools, and Dendarite boatmen guide them to a safe place to stop for the night.

By the light of torches our many servants set to work, creating a new village of tents. Irisi and Monifa improvise a bed for me. Though I am completely exhausted, I cannot rest until I have found the dancers. Not until I have assured myself that Charmion and her mother are safe do I return to my makeshift bed and tumble onto it gratefully.

At sunrise I awaken and hurry to the riverbank. The early rays of the sun strike the royal boat, which is impaled on unseen rocks and leaning precariously. Workmen from Dendara surround it. Father is in their midst, gesturing animatedly. The boat is judged to be badly damaged and in danger of sinking. Captain Mshai worries that materials must be brought from Alexandria. No suitable trees grow in Egypt; the cypress and cedar used to build the hull were originally imported from Lebanon. Throughout the morning there are long discussions with much head shaking. Then the carpenters of Dendara propose dismantling some of the structures on the deck and using the wood to make the necessary repairs.

“It can be done, of course, but it will take time,” they inform Captain Mshai, who then informs Father.

I expect him to be upset. He has been in a great rush to return to Alexandria. If he had not been in such a rush, we would not have been pressing on as darkness settled over the Nile. But instead, he seems unperturbed. We are safe for the present, but I worry about what trouble he is both hurrying toward and trying to avoid.

“It is the will of the gods,” he says, and calls for a banquet to be prepared to thank the Dendarites for their help and hospitality.

I find the shrine to Isis, taken from the deck of the damaged boat, and leave her an offering of polished stones gathered from the riverbank.
What have the gods willed for me?
I ask her. But she does not answer.

Chapter 21

R
EPAIRS

Titus is declared a hero for his quick thinking and his brave leap into the dark and treacherous waters to save several noblemen and their wives. But if he knows why it is important for Father to return at once to Alexandria, he has not told us. I cannot imagine that he does not have some notion of why he was sent on this errand, though he insists he does not.

“My uncle, the grand vizier, gave me an order, and I have obeyed,” he has said repeatedly. “I have delivered the coded message to the king.”

Titus may not know what is in the coded message from Antiochus, but I am convinced that he is a keen observer and knows more than he is saying. I keep a close eye on him. Early one morning, I find him alone on the riverbank, watching the men at work on the royal boat.

“Greetings, friend Titus!” I call out as I come to stand beside
him. “I want to add my words of praise for the courage you showed in the rescue. Weren’t you frightened when you jumped into the water?”