here is the Lord Chamberlain!â
The crowd began to titter as a tall, thin figure in a tattered tunic approached with obvious reluctance from behind the obelisk.
A few wits continued to add their comments to the performance.
âIf thatâs a Lord Chamberlain Iâm a pharaoh.â
âWhat cave did you drag him out of?â
âIn Constantinople they starve their Lord Chamberlains and dress them in rags, didnât you know?â
âWhat is this most urgent problem, highness?â asked John.
âA most intimate matter, Lord Chamberlain. It concerns the emperorâs heir. I wish you to arrange for the child to be presented to the court with appropriate ceremony.â
âHeir? But surely everyone knows there can be no heir?â
Cornelia gave John an exaggerated scowl. âI do not understand your meaning. Make yourself clearer immediately.â
âHighness, everyone knows the emperor is not a man, but a faceless demon and therefore incapable of siring children in the usual fashion.â
âTrue,â Cornelia purred, giving the obelisk a tickle, âbut I am an unusual woman. Servant, bring the imperial infant here at once.â
Peter bowed and presented his satchel to Cornelia. She pulled out a diminutive figure wrapped in what might have been swaddling clothes, but when she held it aloft the withered, whiskered face of Cheops the mummified cat glared reproachfully at the audience.
The first coins landed beside Johnâs boots.
Chapter Twelve
Anatolius stopped halfway up the steep incline. He bent over and stood, staring down at his boots and catching his breath. His destination, the house of Senator Symacchus, sat atop the ridge overlooking the Golden Horn. It was all but invisible from below, hidden by apartment buildings, warehouses, workshops, and bakeries piled in a jumble of brick and mortar along the hillside.
After his heart stopped pounding, Anatolius took a deep inhalation and continued the climb. He cut from one precipitous street to another, navigating by the only part of the senatorâs dwelling he could seeâthe monumental rooftop cross that towered above everything else.
Except for this ostentatious declaration of religious belief, the late senatorâs home turned out to be as modest as many of its neighbors. The unremarkable brick facade offered no clue to the high status of its departed owner.
At Anatoliusâ rap, the sturdy door opened a crack.
âCan I help you, sir?â A wan face peeped out.
âIâve come from the palace on a matter of business.â
There was movement behind the narrow gap, a chain rattled, and the door swung open. âIf you have an appointment with the senator, I fear he will not be able to see you.â The deep voice didnât match the young manâs slight frame.
âIâm aware of your masterâs tragic passing. Iâm investigating the matter.â
The young man gestured Anatolius into a long, dim vestibule and shut the door. âFrom the palace, sir? For a heartbeat I was afraidâ¦but never mind. One has to be very careful these days, and of course with the senator so recently departedâ¦â
The servantâs boyish face was exceptionally pale and framed by long fair curls. He looked familiar but Anatolius couldnât recall any previous meeting.
âI will be reporting to the captain of the excubitors,â Anatolius said, truthfully. âI wish to ask the servants a few questions, in case they can shed light on this recent tragedy. And you areâ¦?â
âMy name is Diomedes. As to whether I can help, I will try, but I was merely the senatorâs reader.â
Diomedes led the way into the atrium. The spotless black and white floor echoed similar tiles lining the ornamental pool gracing the airy space. A cross hung on a whitewashed wall, while an alabaster statuette of a crocodile displayed on a pedestal looked strangely at odds