Last Act in Palmyra (52 page)
Read Last Act in Palmyra Online
Authors: Lindsey Davis
We turned away. Helena and I had our arms tightly around one another as we walked, in a sad and contemplative mood. Musa and Byrria were strolling in their normal manner, straight-backed, solemn-faced, side by side in silence and not even holding hands.
I wondered what would become of them. I wanted to think they would now find a quiet corner together and come to terms. Since it was what I would have done myself, I wanted them to go to bed.
Somehow I doubted that would happen. I knew Helena shared my melancholy feeling that we were watching a relationship fail to materialise.
Musa would return to Petra; Byrria would be well known in the Roman theatre. Yet they were obviously friends. Maybe she would write to Musa, and he to her. Maybe I ought to encourage it, one link at least to smooth the path to Nabataean assimilation into the Empire. Cultural contact and private friendship forging bonds: that old diplomatic myth. If he could overcome his urge to run a menagerie, I could see Musa becoming a grand figure in Nabataea. If Byrria became a major entertainment queen, she would meet all the Empire's men of power.
Perhaps one day in the future, when Byrria had exhausted her dreams, they would meet again and it might not be too late.
*Â Â Â *Â Â Â *
We had walked some distance. Dusk had long given way to night. Beyond reach of the arena torches we had to pick our way with care. The great oasis was peaceful and mysterious, its palms and olive trees reduced to vague dark shapes; its homes and public buildings lost in their midst. Above our heads a myriad of stars plunged through their endless rota, mechanical yet heart-tugging. Somewhere in the desert a camel brayed its preposterous call, then a dozen others started harshly answering.
Then we all paused, and turned back for a moment. Awestruck, we had reacted to an extraordinary sound. From the place we had left sounded a resonance unlike anything any of us had ever heard. Sophrona was playing. The effect astonished us. If she was Phrygia's true daughter I could see exactly why Thalia wanted to keep the information to herself. Nothing should be allowed to interfere with such a remarkable talent. The public deserves to be entertained.
Around Palmyra, even the beasts in the merchants' caravans had ceased their cacophonous calls. Like us, they stood stock-still listening. The reverberating chords of the water organ rose above the desert, so all the camels were stilled by a wild music that was even more powerful, even louder, and (I fear) even more ridiculous than their own.
Archaeology
The First Century is a patchy period in our knowledge of the eastern Mediterranean. The Emperors Trajan and Hadrian took a keen interest in the region, visited it, and initiated much new town planning. Many spectacular Roman remains in Jordan and Syria, therefore, including existing theatres, date from the Second Century. Information about what may have existed in AD 72 is so sparse that the writer of fiction must use intelligent invention. The location of some Decapolis towns has yet to be conclusively established. I have used the most widely accepted list, choosing the most convenient of several sites for Dium, and assuming that Raphana and Capitolias are the same place.
Political History
Nabataea was peacefully annexed by Trajan and became the Roman province of Arabia Petraia in AD 106. Bostra became its chief city and the trade routes were shifted east, away from Petra. This may have been a suggestion from an imperial agent, possibly one made under a previous emperor and which Trajan found filed in the Palatine archives.
Literature
Scholars are still hoping to discover a manuscript of
The Spook who Spoke.
This lost comedy by an unidentified First Century author (conjecturally identified as M. Didius ?) had only one recorded stage performance, but is believed by some to be the prototype for
Hamlet.
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And don't miss the third book in the series featuring Flavia Albia,
Deadly Election
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Copyright © 2015 by
Lindsey Davis
Author photograph by Fergus Noone
LINDSEY DAVIS
is the author of the
New York Times
bestselling series of historical mysteries featuring Marcus Didius Falco, which started with
The Silver Pigs,
and the mysteries featuring Falco's daughter, Flavia Albia, which started with
The Ides of April.
She has also authored a few acclaimed historical novels, including
The Course of Honour.
She lives in Birmingham, UK. Visit the author's Web site at
www.lindseydavis.co.uk
or sign up for email updates
here
.
A
LSO BY
L
INDSEY
D
AVIS
THE FLAVIA ALBIA NOVELS
THE FALCO SERIES
Poseidon's Gold
Three Hands in the Fountain
Two for the Lions
One Virgin Too Many
Ode to a Banker
A Body in the Bathhouse
The Jupiter Myth
The Accusers
Scandal Takes a Holiday
Saturnalia
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Contents
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously.
LAST ACT IN PALMYRA
. Copyright © 1994 by Lindsey Davis. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin's Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
Cover design by Kerri Resnick
Cover photograph of torn paper © LeksusTuss/Shutterstock
Cover illustration © The Pantheon and other Monuments, 1735 (oil on canvas), Pannini or Panini, Giovanni Paolo (1691/2-1765) / Indianapolis Museum of Art, USA / Gift of Lila Allison Lilly in memory of her husband / Josiah Kirby Lilly / Bridgeman Images
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e-ISBN 9781466857476
First published in Great Britain in 1994 by Century and imprint of The Random House Group Limited
First U.S. Edition: June 2015
