her pieces out of danger, then leaned back and let her eyes linger on the passing scenery.
“I’ve upset you.” Antony took her hand and gave it a quick squeeze. “You speak of dreams, Cleopatra. Beautiful dreams, but they are only that.”
“Alexander was no dream and Caesarion is not a dream either,” she declared fiercely.
“Alexander conquered the lands with his armies before he turned them to peace and Caesarion is hated for his very existence. No one wants a child who holds the rights to the Roman and Egyptian seats of power.”
‘No one in Rome,” she countered.
“That’s right. No one in Rome and it is Rome you speak of changing?” He looked belligerent now.
How had this conversation gone so off track? She took a deep breath and smiled. “Let’s not argue. We still have our game to finish.” She looked into those lovely dark blue eyes still glaring with ill temper. “I have a gift for you, but I cannot bestow it if you are angry with me.”
His gaze shifted, half suspicious, half intrigued. “More Egyptian opulence to astound me with?”
She looked at him seriously, all teasing gone. “My very greatest treasure.”
Antony nodded, considering the implications, then raised her hand to his lips. “I await your next move, my love.”
Cleopatra lowered her eyes to the board. She prayed Antony would appreciate the magnitude of her intended gift to him. Surely it would be like nothing he had ever experienced before.
***
When they arrived in Giza, Antony and Cleopatra left the barge behind and mounted horses to cross the expanse of powdery sand. The hush of twilight lay over the desert as they reached the summit of a high dune and for the first time Antony beheld the Great Pyramid on the horizon.
The last rays of the sun formed a halo around the apex of the monument, its long shadow reached out towards them across the desert floor. In the barren land of the sleeping pharaohs the somber sight of their colossal tombs rising over the settling dusk filled him with awe. The sheer scale of the Pyramids seemed almost incomprehensible.
“No human hand could have built such monuments.”
Cleopatra smiled, her black lined eyes filled with mystery, and turned to her attendants. “Let’s set up camp here for the evening. At dawn we will go to the temple and make our offerings.”
Within an hour, the inhospitable land had become an oasis of gaily-colored tents with warm fires and the sound of lutes echoing in the silence of the vast desert around them. It had been a long journey and once the evening feast was cleared, the little party retired for the night.
Antony relaxed onto a pile of fine soft carpets and tasseled silk pillows. He reached out his arms to draw Cleopatra to him, but instead of yielding to his embrace, she wrapped a mantle around her shoulders and motioned for him to rise. He started to speak, but she shook her head, gesturing for silence and gave him a cloak of the same simple gray cloth as her own.
Intrigued, Antony allowed Cleopatra to slip her hand in his, and lifting the tent flap, she led him out into the night.
The stars blazed so bright his head swam and the full moon, pregnant with promise, hung over the Great Pyramid turning its limestone to silver. There was a chill in the air, surprising after the infernal heat of the day, but the freshness of the breeze invigorated him as they stole away from the campsite towards the Pyramids.
Cleopatra floated through the desert at his side like a midnight spirit as she led him to the mortuary temple that lay at the foot of the Great Pyramid. She turned to him, her eyes unfathomable pools in the moonlight.
“Antony, what I share with you now is one of Egypt's great Mysteries. Only a few select priests have knowledge of what I’m about to show you. I know I have your love, but you must swear a binding oath before the Gods that you will never betray the trust I put in you by revealing these Mysteries to any mortal.”
Antony
“I’ve upset you.” Antony took her hand and gave it a quick squeeze. “You speak of dreams, Cleopatra. Beautiful dreams, but they are only that.”
“Alexander was no dream and Caesarion is not a dream either,” she declared fiercely.
“Alexander conquered the lands with his armies before he turned them to peace and Caesarion is hated for his very existence. No one wants a child who holds the rights to the Roman and Egyptian seats of power.”
‘No one in Rome,” she countered.
“That’s right. No one in Rome and it is Rome you speak of changing?” He looked belligerent now.
How had this conversation gone so off track? She took a deep breath and smiled. “Let’s not argue. We still have our game to finish.” She looked into those lovely dark blue eyes still glaring with ill temper. “I have a gift for you, but I cannot bestow it if you are angry with me.”
His gaze shifted, half suspicious, half intrigued. “More Egyptian opulence to astound me with?”
She looked at him seriously, all teasing gone. “My very greatest treasure.”
Antony nodded, considering the implications, then raised her hand to his lips. “I await your next move, my love.”
Cleopatra lowered her eyes to the board. She prayed Antony would appreciate the magnitude of her intended gift to him. Surely it would be like nothing he had ever experienced before.
***
When they arrived in Giza, Antony and Cleopatra left the barge behind and mounted horses to cross the expanse of powdery sand. The hush of twilight lay over the desert as they reached the summit of a high dune and for the first time Antony beheld the Great Pyramid on the horizon.
The last rays of the sun formed a halo around the apex of the monument, its long shadow reached out towards them across the desert floor. In the barren land of the sleeping pharaohs the somber sight of their colossal tombs rising over the settling dusk filled him with awe. The sheer scale of the Pyramids seemed almost incomprehensible.
“No human hand could have built such monuments.”
Cleopatra smiled, her black lined eyes filled with mystery, and turned to her attendants. “Let’s set up camp here for the evening. At dawn we will go to the temple and make our offerings.”
Within an hour, the inhospitable land had become an oasis of gaily-colored tents with warm fires and the sound of lutes echoing in the silence of the vast desert around them. It had been a long journey and once the evening feast was cleared, the little party retired for the night.
Antony relaxed onto a pile of fine soft carpets and tasseled silk pillows. He reached out his arms to draw Cleopatra to him, but instead of yielding to his embrace, she wrapped a mantle around her shoulders and motioned for him to rise. He started to speak, but she shook her head, gesturing for silence and gave him a cloak of the same simple gray cloth as her own.
Intrigued, Antony allowed Cleopatra to slip her hand in his, and lifting the tent flap, she led him out into the night.
The stars blazed so bright his head swam and the full moon, pregnant with promise, hung over the Great Pyramid turning its limestone to silver. There was a chill in the air, surprising after the infernal heat of the day, but the freshness of the breeze invigorated him as they stole away from the campsite towards the Pyramids.
Cleopatra floated through the desert at his side like a midnight spirit as she led him to the mortuary temple that lay at the foot of the Great Pyramid. She turned to him, her eyes unfathomable pools in the moonlight.
“Antony, what I share with you now is one of Egypt's great Mysteries. Only a few select priests have knowledge of what I’m about to show you. I know I have your love, but you must swear a binding oath before the Gods that you will never betray the trust I put in you by revealing these Mysteries to any mortal.”
Antony
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