The Blood of Alexandria Read Online Free PDF Page B

his hairless, desiccated features the ghost of a smile. Was there any end to the man’s usefulness? He’d come to me on my second day in Alexandria. From running the household, he’d progressed into a general adviser on all matters Egyptian. He and Martin stood looking at me in respectful but also anticipatory silence. I was their leader, and they were waiting to be led. I swallowed another mouthful of wine and thought quickly.
    ‘I want full details of the subsidy,’ I said to Martin. ‘You will be aware of my dealings with Jacob, who is Undersecretary in the Disbursements Office. I quashed the investigation into his return to Judaism. That is a favour he will now be able to return.
    ‘Go to Jacob. Tell him to do or promise whatever it takes to get the information. Make it clear we aren’t interested in punishing whatever fraud or corruption attended the subsidy. I want my involvement kept secret, but I want the information fast. I want it preferably before dinner tonight – certainly by this time tomorrow.
    ‘And the moment you’ve got it, I want a proclamation drawn up, cancelling the subsidy. Fill it with the usual attacks on the Old Faith and threats against recusants. Make a big point about how Leontius brought it to our attention. Call him “Our right trusty and beloved friend” and so forth.
    ‘I also want an order unblocking his appointment to the Commission of the Nile. It’s plain Nicetas messed up there, with his talk of “graduated pressure”. The man’s turned out brighter than expected. Threatening us with the mob wasn’t the limit of his abilities. Making non-payment of taxes into a religious duty was almost admirable. We’ve lost our present campaign against him. We might as well give way in style.
    ‘I want this done by you alone and in your best impersonation of the local chancery style. Again, secrecy and speed are of the essence. Ideally, I’d like both documents ready before dinner. I’ll force Nicetas to seal them. We can get them into the Friday Gazette .
    ‘As for you, Macarius,’ I went on, ‘I think it’s time to forget all that bleating from Nicetas about “clean hands”. I want you to investigate Leontius yourself. Reasonable caution, of course – plausible deniability wherever possible. But there’s dirt on everyone . It’s just a matter of finding it. He’s the biggest man in Letopolis. He must be up to something dodgy.
    ‘I want sworn statements, conversation transcripts, original documents. When I invite that man here again for a private dinner, I’ll serve him a meal he won’t forget.’
    I put my cup down and smiled. I looked about me. Martin wasn’t looking too happy. Then again, he never did. Macarius, though, was looking as pleased as his impassive face would reveal. Whatever the case, I’d spoken. They’d wanted leadership. Now, they’d been given it.
    ‘Be aware,’ I took up again, ‘that Leontius has limited active support against the law. His threat of the mob was intended to scare us. At the same time, it will have terrified many others in that meeting. But the subsidy matter is important. We can’t risk getting the priests involved in matters of taxation. You never know with Heraclius. They might just win.
    ‘We cannot afford further delay. The whole thing must be knocked on the head before Sunday service. That being done, we go back to the main issue – preferably without Leontius against us. This morning, things went badly for us. That doesn’t mean we’ve lost.’ I had another thought.
    ‘I feel one of my “anonymous” pamphlets coming on,’ I said to Martin. ‘I may have said this morning that Heraclius is not Phocas. They didn’t seem that convinced. We can work on this. It may be useful to remind them how, when Caracalla turned up here, he organised a massacre in pretty short order. Diocletian was hardly the Lamb of God.
    ‘There’s something about Alexandria that brings out the worst in an emperor. This being so, dealing