Chapter 1

Marcellus laughed whimperingly, for it hurt; then burst into hysterical guffaws.

‘If the Glorious One had been merely asleep, quietly, decently, with his fat chins on his bosom—as were his devoted subjects—your unfortunate brother might have borne it. But our Prince had allowed his head to tip far back. His mouth—by no means a thing of beauty, at best—was open. The tongue protruded unprettily and the bulbous nose twitched at each resounding inhalation. Our banquet-hall was deathly quiet, but for Antonius and Gaius, who shared the floor.’

‘Revolting!’ muttered Lucia.

‘A feeble word, my sister. You should give more heed to your diction. Well—at that fateful moment Antonius had reached the climax of his father’s ode with an apostrophe to our Prince that must have caused a storm on Mount Parnassus. Gaius was a Fountain of Knowledge! The eyes of Gaius glowed with Divine Light! When the lips of Gaius moved, Wisdom flowed and Justice smiled!… Precious child,’ went on Marcellus, taking her hand, ‘I felt my tragic mishap coming on, not unlike an unbeatable sneeze. I suddenly burst out laughing! No—I do not mean that I chuckled furtively into my hands: I threw back my head and roared! Howled! Long, lusty yells of insane laughter!’ Reliving the experience, Marcellus went off again into an abandon of undisciplined mirth. ‘Believe me—I woke everybody up—but Gaius.’

‘Marcellus!’

Suddenly sobered by the tone of alarm in his sister’s voice, he looked into her pale, unsmiling face.

‘What is it, Lucia?’ he demanded. ‘Are you ill?’

‘I’m—afraid!’ she whispered, weakly.

He put his arm about her and she pressed her forehead against his shoulder.

‘There, there!’ he murmured. ‘We’ve nothing to fear, Lucia. I was foolish to have upset you. I thought you would be amused. Gaius will be angry, of course, when he learns of it; but he will not venture to punish the son of Marcus Lucan Gallio.’

‘But—you see—’ stammered Lucia, ‘it was only yesterday that Father openly criticized him in the Senate. Had you not heard?’

‘Of course; but the Pater’s strong enough to take care of himself,’ declared Marcellus, almost too confidently to be convincing. There was a considerable pause before his sister spoke. He felt her body trembling.

‘If it were just that one thing,’ she said, slowly, ‘perhaps it might be overlooked. But—now you have offended him. And he was already angry at me.’

‘You!’ Marcellus took her by the shoulders and stared into her worried eyes. ‘And why should Gaius be angry at you?’

‘Do you remember, last summer, when Diana and her mother and I were guests at the Palace on Capri—and Gaius came to visit the Emperor?’

‘Well? Go on!’ demanded Marcellus. ‘What of it? What did he say? What did he do?’

‘He tried to make love to me.’