"Has Odulph been removed to the shore, Captain?"
"No, my lady. As I said, the quarters are as we found them. The creature was gone when we discovered your father. The door to the cage was found ajar, as you see it now. We suspect the creature was lost overboard."
"How curious," she said, fingering the lock that still held the key. She had seen that key so often hanging from her father's neck. He never parted with it, that she remembered. "Did Odulph take the key from him, or did he open the cage willingly?"
"Impossible to say, my lady."
"Or did someone else open it?"
"No one else entered this room."
"Are you certain, captain?"
"Quite certain. It was I who found him, on the floor, over there. There was no one else. The creature was gone, and the admiral was dead, Neptune bless him."
"I have never seen this key off of my father's person."
"Nor have I, my lady. I can only surmise that the admiral, for some reason, decided to unlock the cage just before his ailment struck, then the creature, confused in its sudden freedom, leapt out of the portal and into the sea."
"And why do you assume this? Might not Odulph have taken the key from my father's body, and freed himself?"
Naevius eyed her reluctantly, "I would have preferred not to show you this, my lady, but under the circumstances…"
He reached down and swept aside a carpet that had been covering the floor. Calpurnia gasped briefly when she saw the crimson stain on the wooden planks beneath, marking the spot where her father's body had been found. It was more than an arm's length away from the cage, too far for even Odulph's long arms to reach.
"I believe your father chose to open the cage, for some unknown reason, perhaps to perform one of his rituals. The creature made some sudden movement that took the admiral by surprise, a shock his overstrained body could not withstand. His heart froze, and he fell to the floor, dead. The creature panicked and leapt over the side. You can see there the bloody prints of the creature's stumps leading to the port hole. You know as well as I, its brain was little more than that of an ape. It had no knowledge of what it was doing."
"And you don't think Odulph killed my father?" she asked, more to see Naevius's reaction to the suggestion of murder.
The captain shrugged. "There were no marks on the body, my lady, and no handprints in blood as one might suspect had the creature strangled him."
"Perhaps there was another here, in my father's quarters, at the same time?" She watched him closely. "Did he have any visitors that day?"
The captain made a poor display of straining to recollect before answering. "None, my lady. The admiral spent most of the day in his quarters and was seldom seen on deck."
"Did the fleet have any visitors, captain? Anyone at all?"
He looked back at her, his face quickly turning to frustration beneath a thin layer of courtesy. "No, my lady. Now, I must leave you. I apologize, but there are many things to be done before Libo's arrival. Might I find someone to assist you in going through the admiral's things? The hour is getting late."
Calpurnia did not answer. She knew the captain wanted her and every trace of her father removed from his ship as soon as possible. What's more, she knew that he was lying. She gazed upon the bed, moved to it, and began to stroke the place where her father's head had spent its last night on this earth. She allowed a tear to streak down her face as the captain watched, and he grew visibly more uncomfortable at the display of emotion and the silence between them. Finally, when she felt that he had seen enough to pluck at the few heartstrings he had, she turned to face him.
"I have decided not to go ashore this evening, captain. I will sleep here tonight, in my father's bed. I will feel close to him, his scent, his aura, one last time."
"My lady," Naevius said, fumbling for the right words. "I wish nothing more than to accommodate you, but I am afraid that is quite impossible. The new commander will -"
"- will arrive at any moment, yes, I know. But his squadron is not yet in sight and the sun is nearly down. You know as well as I that he will not risk the narrow shoals of this harbor at night. So, he will not arrive until tomorrow at the earliest. And when he does, I am sure he will be delighted to hear how generously you treated his predecessor's grieving daughter and, with this one kind allowance, helped to mend her aching heart."
Naevius’s displeasure was evident on his face, but he eventually capitulated. "Very well, my lady. I will see that a guard is placed on your doorstep and that you are escorted everywhere you go."
"The guard at my door will be sufficient. I do not require such an escort."
"But I must insist, my lady. My men have been at sea a long time, and may not be in their right minds should they see a lovely lady such as yourself wandering the deck alone. Should any one of them insult you in the smallest way, I will certainly feed that man to the sharks, but it is wise to take such a precaution regardless."
"Oh, very well," she replied with a sigh.
"I will also place several slaves at your disposal to see to all of your bodily needs."
"Thank you, but the slaves will not be necessary. My own handmaid will suffice."
Naevius swallowed hard, as if her every word were a parry to his. "Then perhaps you would honor my officers by dining with us this evening? Senator Postumus has also been invited."
"That is most kind, captain. I would be delighted."
"Splendid. Well, until then, I will leave you in peace, my lady.”
Naevius ducked out of the room, his manner overly courteous as he left.
So, the senator was also staying the night aboard. The thought made Calpurnia’s heart skip a beat. Could it be so simple? Could her immediate suspicions be correct, and the answers she had come searching for so easily obtained?
Moments later, Marjanita entered the room. She had been waiting just outside in the antechamber.
"Shall I prepare these quarters for you, my lady?" the handmaid asked, her eyes revealing her surprise at the mess.
"No. Have my things brought aboard from the barge, and leave me in peace for a few moments."
"Yes, my lady, but please forgive me. I overheard what that oaf was telling you. Do not believe it for a moment, my lady.”
“Do not believe what?”
“Your father’s heart did not fail him, my lady. He was murdered! As I told you before, I was watching the stars on the night of his death. I am certain of what I saw. Mars reached his apogee just as the moon rose from a purple horizon, and such signifies the murder of a great man. There is no other meaning. Oh, do not believe that fool, my lady. A foul murder was committed that night, in this very room!”
XI
When the handmaid had left, Calpurnia strolled to the window and gazed out at the anchored fleet riding on the glistening bay. It was a sight that never ceased to dazzle her. From this vantage point she could see nearly three dozen warships, each one a world unto itself, each with its own captain, its own officers, marines, sailors, craftsmen, slaves, and internal politics. The ships were like the republic, orderly and seemingly harmonious when viewed from without, but within filled with scheming and strife.
Between shifts in the breeze she heard a woman's laugh echo across the bay. There were victualing craft in the harbor, gliding lazily between the long shadows, rowing from one ship to another, providing everything from food, to clothing, to carnal pleasures. A group of half-dressed women were just leaving a nearby quinquereme. A mass of salivating men crowded against the rail, laughing and making obscene gestures. Obviously, the women were whores, and the gaggle of sea-weary men their most recent patrons. They waved back gamely to the sailors as their small boat rowed for the next warship down the line. They could not afford to rest while the fleet was in harbor, when a year's income could be had in the course of a few days. The lewd exclamations of the lascivious men, laced with some of the most bane euphemisms Calpurnia had ever heard, repulsed her. Yet it was simple and honest, and sometimes she longed for a simple and honest life. Did those whores on the barge have to bother with the facades of the elite? The men they served were plain and straightforward, with one purpose only, whereas the men she had to deal with were duplicitous and patronizing. At times, she longed for the obscurity of a commoner’s life, and dreamed of a day when the family's honor was not hers to defend.