She conducted him out of the room onto a terrace, thence to a staircase that descended to a splendid garden. This, for a court proceeding, seemed amazingly informal to Marcus. He introduced the other Romans and she greeted each courteously, putting everyone at their ease until she had them all conversing as casually as if they were home among friends. It was, Marcus thought, an amazing performance.
"These are myrrh trees from Ethiopia," she explained, showing them some shrub-like growths with aromatic leaves. They already knew that the garden contained flora from all over the Ptolemaic dominion.
"I always wondered where that stuff came from," Brutus said.
"Merchants trade it so far north?" she asked. To Marcus's amazement, she wanted to know details of commerce: prices, middlemen's percentages and other unqueenly things. It was hard to imagine anything more different from Carthaginian royalty. It did not make him drop his guard. This might be a pose. She might be playing them for fools. At least she didn't try to put them off balance by appearing nearly naked, as Zarabel had.
"Your Majesty is well versed in the details of trade," Marcus noted.
"Queens usually are," she said. "Kings love war and conquest. Queens know that real wealth and prosperity come through profitable trade."
"Few nations are so favored by the gods as Egypt," Flaccus noted. "You have a great deal to trade with."
"That is true," she agreed. "But peaceful trade is more than just wealth. It is vision. A predecessor of mine, one Queen Hatshepsut, reigned over Egypt as pharaoh in her own right some fourteen hundred years ago. The glory of her reign was a huge trade expedition she sent along the coasts of Arabia and Ethiopia. The ancestors of these myrrh trees may have come to Egypt on that voyage. The details of it are carved on the walls of her temple. She expanded Egypt's knowledge of the world and bettered the condition of the whole nation. She was succeeded by Thutmose the Third, another warrior-king. He killed a great many foreigners but he did nothing to enrich his kingdom."
Marcus disliked hearing conquest spoken of thus dismissively, but he knew that certain allowances had to be made for a reigning queen, especially one as rich as this one. "Truly, Your Majesty, a nation of prominence and power will have neither without both military strength and a profitable balance of trade."
"Well spoken. You people are not as rustic as you would have us believe."
"We lack your level of sophistication. This does not mean we are stupid. Perhaps we overemphasize military virtue to the detriment of foreign trade, but it is our backwardness in the latter that we hope to correct with this mission. You, on the other hand, would be well advised to reevaluate the importance of your military." He could almost hear the eyes rolling behind him. Once again, he was overstepping his authority.
She blinked, seeming astonished for the first time. "Your nation's reputation for blunt speech is not exaggerated, I see. What do you mean?"
"You must be aware that Hamilcar of Carthage is preparing for war against you. He makes no secret of it."
"Certainly. It is far from the first time Carthage has sought to take advantage of us. There will be some fighting on the Libyan border. There will be some naval forays. He will probably make an attempt to take Cyprus. We have met these threats before."
"I saw something of the scale of his preparations. I believe you should take this threat more seriously."
"Why?"
"Because Hamilcar wishes to hire Roman legions for his war. If he does that, you can kiss your kingdom-"
"Scipio!" Brutus barked. "The Senate has not-"
Marcus whirled to face him. "The Senate has bestowed upon me power of negotiation. Do not interfere." Brutus held his glare for a moment, but Roman discipline prevailed. Brutus lowered his eyes and stepped back.
Selene chose to ignore the little byplay. "I know your reputation. At least, I've read of the reputation of your ancestors. I think it would take more than the addition of a few of your legions to turn Hamilcar into his ancestor." She studied his expression for a moment. "You mean it! You really think that you are that good."
"I would not question the quality of Your Majesty's army and navy," Marcus said. "But when was their last war?"
"Four years ago Antiochus of Syria invaded the Sinai and I had to repel him."
"And this war required what part of your military forces?"
"I sent six myriads, but in the event only a third of the force was used. There was a battle near Gaza and Antiochus withdrew."
"I see. Majesty, about how often are your men required to fight?"
She looked mystified but amused. "I would say that there is fighting in two or three out of each ten years. What is your point?"
"It is this. The legions of Roma Noricum have been engaged in active campaigning every year since we left Italy. That was one hundred sixteen years ago. For all those years, at least half the legions of Rome have been committed to active campaigning in any given year. Rarely does any legion go for two years without heavy fighting."
"I see. But you have been fighting barbarians."
"They are hard-fighting warriors and they are not as undisciplined as you might think. I have seen something of the armies of Carthage. They are well equipped and finely drilled, but few of them are what Romans would consider veterans."
"And what is the Roman definition of a veteran?" she asked.
"We rate a man as a veteran if he has ten campaigns behind him. Not ten fights: ten campaigns. A legion is considered inexperienced and unreliable if no more than half its men are veterans."
"You have high military standards."
"So we have. We learned a great deal from Hannibal. We believe that military preparedness is the highest of priorities and we vowed never again to go to war with hastily raised armies of conscripts. No man can seek public office unless he has those same ten campaigns behind him. A praetor- a senior magistrate-is also a qualified general. We are soldiers from birth: farmers, shopkeepers, artisans and the wealthiest equites and patricians."
She nodded. "Captain Aeson reported to me about your fight with the pirates. He was most impressed."
"It wasn't much of a fight," Marcus said.
"That was what so impressed him. I believe you when you tell me you are a nation of born soldiers."
"Not born," he corrected. "Made. Soldiering is something that must be learned early and in a hard school. Your own ancestors, Philip and Alexander's Macedonians, understood this."
"We shall talk about this further," she said. "But let me show you the royal menagerie. We have some of the world's fiercest animals in our collection."
The queen assigned them accommodations in the huge palace complex and when they went to their new quarters that evening, the rest of the Roman party took Marcus to task for his actions that day.
"Wasn't proposing a military alliance with Carthage enough?" Brutus said. "Now you want to do the same with Egypt?"
"And why are you dealing with this woman?" Caesar asked.
"It's that coin portrait," Marcus said.
"Your sense eludes me," Brutus said.
"She said that reigning queens are so depicted on the coins. She does not consider her unripe husband the king and herself the queen-consort. She is the real ruler of Egypt."
"There is likely to be a faction at this court that does not share that opinion," Brutus pointed out.
"Undoubtedly. Would you rather deal with this very clever and sane woman, or with a boy who is almost certainly controlled by courtiers and counselors? I understand that these positions are usually filled by eunuchs at the Alexandrian court."
"Just what is this southern enthusiasm for deballed men?" Caesar wanted to know.