The Three Paradises Read online

  Antigonos cast his eye around the table, dismissing most of the men seated as either lacking in ambition, like Kleitos or Asander or the non-entity Philoxenus, Satrap of Cilicia, or too unpopular like Lysimachus of Thrace or Peithon of Media or the absent Kassandros himself or just plain too old like Antigenes. It was Seleukos who caught his eye. There’s the coming man; young, ambitious and popular and a good soldier into the bargain. He’ll get to keep Babylonia, Antipatros won’t dare take it from him; and with Antigenes now his neighbour in Susiana I imagine he’ll double his territory in the very near future. Peucestas will also see it is far more in his interest to support Seleukos rather than looking a thousand leagues west and north to whosoever has control of Macedon. He smiled inwardly and considered the absent Ptolemy, concluding that other than Cyprus and the Palestine portion of the Syrian coast to act as a buffer state, he was unlikely to concern himself with the East. He’s far more likely to look west to Carthage. No, Seleukos is the coming man but he won’t be able to hold it all, and nor, if he’s sensible, would he want to. Let him have Babylonia, Susiana, Persis, Media and Assyria even; and then let him see if he can hold the Satrapies further east whilst, meanwhile, if I leave Lysimachus alone in Thrace, protecting my northern frontier, from Phrygia I could take the rest and then we shall see.

  With this pleasing, and not unrealistic, view of the future Antigonos emerged from his reverie as Antipatros thanked all present for their unqualified support and placed the Great Ring of Macedon on his forefinger. ‘But, gentlemen, although I accept the nominal post of regent to the kings, I do not think it right to take them back to Macedon whilst there is still a war to fight here. To give the Royal Army legitimacy they must stay with it. I will not be leading that army.’ He looked to Antigonos. ‘As a reward for his bravery the other day I appoint Antigonos guardian of the kings and to be the royal general in Asia responsible for concluding the war against Eumenes and the remaining supporters of Perdikkas.’

  Now that’s a welcome surprise. Antigonos bowed his head in acknowledgement. He’s just made me the most powerful man in Asia once he returns to Macedon.

  ‘And now, gentlemen,’ Antipatros said with a look of benevolence, ‘I will give some thought to the dispersion of the satrapies overnight so I suggest we adjourn for the remainder of the day and resume tomorrow at noon. Take advantage of the magnificent hunting if you will; I have to see the Silver Shields and then have my final interviews to explain the new situation to the two young bitches who consider themselves to be queens.’ Antipatros smiled knowingly at Antigonos.

  The inner glow of well-being within him was suddenly doused as Antigonos realised that the gift was a double-edged sword. The crafty old sod has just managed to lumber me with the two most vicious harpies ever created.

  ADEA.

  THE WARRIOR.

  IT WAS NOT yet over, not yet. Surely she could still exert influence over the men who had so easily followed her on the march north from Egypt? Surely they still wished for their bounty even if their back pay was to be settled? Surely they would still come to her call in the name of her husband, the true king? Adea looked around her sumptuous apartment in the main hunting lodge of The Three Paradises, decked with more luxury than she had ever seen displayed in one place, and tried to fight the notion that this was no more than a magnificent prison cell. She and Philip had been escorted there soon after Antipatros’ escape from her men; for their own safety, they had been assured, but the two guards outside the door made a mockery of that claim. She knew that they were there far more to prevent her from getting out, or her friends from getting in, than they were for her safety. Although Barzid still remained in name her bodyguard, he was not allowed within the apartment, and she had no friend with whom she could share her fears. She looked over to her husband, gazing at her from a seat by the window; as their eyes met he smiled, set down his toy elephant and, whimpering, began openly masturbating.

  ‘Stop that!’ she yelled, bile rising in her gorge.

  But Philip just grinned and slobbered and addressed himself to his task with increased vigour.

  She resisted the urge to strike him; she had never struck him and, notwithstanding his overwhelming superiority in strength, he had never attacked her, despite his urgent sexual compulsions. She well understood that if she were to be the first to offer violence then that delicate balance between them would shift and she would find herself in constant danger of assault and brutal rape and her only recourse would be to slit the man-child’s throat – a self-defeating act.

  She felt a fresh surge of revulsion for her husband as the realisation grew within her that she had been outmanoeuvred by Antipatros now that he had assumed the regency and promised the contents of the Susa treasury as back pay, thus quelling the burgeoning mutiny. This man-child of hers was king only in name; in reality he was but a slobbering imbecile to whom her fortunes were inextricably linked. And yet, deep within her lurked pity for the ruined man and an urge to protect the child that he would always remain. But what can I do? Mother would have known; she wouldn’t have let Antipatros or Antigonos into the camp for a start. That was my big mistake: as soon as my men touched either of them in violence they committed capital treason that could only be forgiven by abject surrender. And abject surrender was what they had offered, giving up Adea and Philip as a sign of good faith; Barzid had been compelled to surrender his weapons. A tear welled in both eyes but she fought them back; she had never been one for crying and had sworn to herself to endure her confinement dry-eyed.

  With a series of gross grunts, Philip ejaculated, his gaze firmly fixed on her breasts, indistinct beneath her tunic. Let him spill his seed wherever he likes; it’s of no use to me. And, indeed, it was not. Despite the many couplings she had endured on the march north, no child grew within her and she had begun to despair of ever conceiving with this brutish man; and without a child her life was in constant danger. Still, I must persevere; there may still be a chance. She looked with distaste at Philip’s penis, glistening in his hand, oozing as much drool as his mouth, and again fought the urge to cry. Whatever he is, however disgusting I find him, it is beyond his control and I must keep him safe. Without him I am nothing and without me he is a voiceless imbecile despite his royal blood. And yet, does it have to be by him that I’m impregnated? Who would ever know? I just need to get someone past the guards…or maybe the guards themselves would suffice; two would double my chances.

  Adea called for one of the two slave-girls she had been allowed to bring with her – a pretty little pale-skinned thing who gave her much delight – and ordered her to clean up her husband’s spillage and then to bring her a cold sherbet.

  And it was thus, sitting by the open window, reflecting upon her new problem but drawing consolation from the fact that at least her deadly rival, Roxanna, was enduring a similar confinement, that Antipatros found her not long after.

  ‘I trust I find you and your husband well, Adea,’ Antipatros said as the slave girl showed him into her chamber.

  ‘You find us deprived of our loyal bodyguard and confined against our will, Antipatros,’ Adea replied, deliberately not using his title as he had not used hers. ‘But then you are well aware of that seeing as you ordered it.’ Diana, he’s looking weary; there’ll soon be nothing to fear from this old man.

  ‘Don’t get up.’

  ‘I wasn’t.’

  ‘Even so.’ Antipatros smiled and sat down, uninvited, laying a couple of scrolls out on the table next to him. He winced and then rubbed the small of his back before gesturing to Philip, now fully absorbed, once more, by his toy elephant which he was charging up and down a pillow whilst making screeching trumpeting calls. ‘And how is the king?’

  ‘No different from how you see him; happy in his world.’

  ‘So he has lost all the concern that you professed he had for the men’s back pay?’

  Adea’s smile came nowhere near her eyes as they bored into those of Antipatros. I’ll not play his game and ju
st end up incriminating myself.

  Antipatros contemplated her for a few moments. ‘I see: to answer that question you realise that you would have to admit that it was you that stirred this mutiny up; you alone for your own personal gain and it was nothing to do with the noble feelings of an imbecilic king for the welfare of his men. No, Philip has more concern for his elephant than for the financial well-being of his army.’

  Adea did not lower her eyes, but sat there, mute. We both know the truth but I’ll not admit it to him.

  ‘Very well,’ Antipatros continued once her silence had spoken for itself. ‘Let us get down to business because, as it will not surprise you to learn, we both need each other for the time being.’

  I’ll be interested to hear why.

  ‘I shall be returning to Macedon soon and, although I’ve been appointed regent, the kings will remain with the Royal Army under Antigonos’ guardianship. There will be no repeat of your recent behaviour.’

  I’ll make him no promises.

  ‘I see that you’re going to need some persuading to good behaviour.’ Antipatros picked up a scroll, unrolled it, and perused it with a thoughtful countenance, shaking his head. ‘Fascinating, absolutely fascinating.’

  He’ll tell me what’s written without me having to stoop to asking.

  Antipatros put the scroll down and fired a question: ‘Are you pregnant?’

  Adea was startled by the suddenness of the enquiry. I’ll call his bluff and worry about the guards later. ‘Yes.’

  Antipatros showed exaggerated concern. ‘How far gone?’

  ‘No more than a moon; too early to be safe and sure.’

  ‘Then perhaps you should take things a little easier and refrain from enticing men to rise against their commanders.’

  Again she made no reply. He seemed to take that far too sanguinely; perhaps he already suspected that I was.

  ‘Do you know what this is?’ Antipatros asked, proffering the scroll.

  You’re just about to tell me.

  ‘It’s an account by Perdikkas of how Roxanna was prepared to substitute her baby, had it been a girl, with the brat of a slave.’

  Now that is interesting.

  ‘And how Perdikkas kept the slave so that he could have control over the eastern wild-cat by threatening to tell the army that she was willing to kill Alexander’s offspring and replace it with a substitute for her own ends. Roxanna, quite rightly, realised her peril.’

  ‘And that’s how Perdikkas persuaded her to give my husband the antidote after she had poisoned him.’

  ‘Exactly.’

  ‘And where is this woman?’

  ‘Ahh, that is something that you would dearly love to know, I suspect.’

  The old bastard’s got me to show him a weakness. Oh, Mother, that you were here to guide me.

  Antipatros rolled up the scroll. ‘Suffice it to say that she is safe and Roxanna knows that she is alive.’ He rubbed a red welt on his left forearm. ‘I have just come from an interview with her; she didn’t take too kindly to the news and hurled ornaments at anyone within range but the knowledge has persuaded her not to make another attempt upon yours or your husband’s life – for the present, that is, as I can dispose of the slave any time you decide to make trouble.’

  ‘I see.’

  ‘Good. That brings us onto the contents of this second scroll.’ He unfurled it, humming quietly.

  He is looking remarkably pleased with himself; no doubt he is in the possession of a vile piece of information that I shall just have to deny.

  ‘It makes for fascinating if repetitive reading.’ Antipatros mused as his eyes shifted down the scroll. He handed it to Adea. ‘I think you’ll agree.’

  Adea stifled a cry with a hand over her mouth as she realised exactly what she was looking at. How did he get this? How dare he? And it is so complete.

  ‘As you can see, it’s a complete record of all your moons since marrying Philip. At every one of them you have bled as it waxed from half to full.’ He leaned over and pointed to the last entry. ‘I’d like you to take especial notice of that one and then answer my earlier question truthfully: are you pregnant?’

  He knew perfectly well I wasn’t when he asked me before; it was a trick question to see how far he could trust me and I totally failed. Oh, Mother, I’m struggling. Adea swallowed the fury rising fast within; she felt naked, her most intimate functions exposed to be the subject of discussion. Who is the traitor in my bed chamber?

  ‘I know what you’re asking yourself: how is it that I have all this information? The answer is because I need it. You can kill every member of your household and live in a cave by yourself but I will still find out whether or not you bled this month.’ Antipatros patted her knee. ‘It could have been any one of the girls with whom you share your bed; perhaps even one of the women who does your washing or mends your clothes.’ He paused to think. ‘Could it even be Barzid – is he as loyal as you think? Or perhaps it was Philip’s physician, Tychon, or Philip himself – no, that’s too far-fetched – perhaps it was that delightful little thing that let me in. Such a shame if it was and you punished her; such a waste of perfectly good cunt, wouldn’t you say? So, do everybody a favour and punish no one; carry on as normal and know that if you try to fool me by foisting a cuckoo upon the empire, just as Roxanna contemplated, then I will know; and it won’t be just a friendly little chat like this that we’ll be having, believe me.’

  Adea looked up at the old regent as he stood; the hold that he now had over her transformed him from the world-weary man who had entered the room into a powerful figure demanding of respect. Believe him she did, and now she understood that, because it was so, she would have to fight even harder to free herself from his grip if she were ever to be a contender for power again in the struggle for Macedon.

  ‘So, as I said at the beginning of this interview: we both need each other. You need me to keep Roxanna in check and in return I need you to stay out of Macedonian politics.’ Antipatros looked down at her. ‘And if you don’t, well, quite frankly, it makes little difference to me if there is one king or two. I think we understand one another. Now if you will excuse me, I have the fate of the empire for the next few years to decide.’

  Again the tears welled but again she battled to suppress them. Everywhere she looked now there was danger. Never had she felt so alone and unprotected. I wish I were a man. May the gods curse that bastard, Antipatros.

  ANTIPATROS.

  THE REGENT.

  IT HAD BEEN pleasant work, dealing with Adea and Roxanna. Antipatros had always been exceptionally fond of women and relied heavily upon the advice of his wife, Hyperia, but he found it hard to countenance the more outspoken members of the sex. It was, therefore, with a feeling of contentment at a job well done that, in the cool dawn the following morning, he embarked upon the next phase of his effort to manufacture a settlement that would hold for at least the rest of his lifetime. I’ve managed to dodge the issue of whether Macedon rules the empire or the empire rules Macedon by keeping the kings in Asia and me returning as regent to Europe; now I need to ensure that an army’s route from one to the other remains guarded by a trustworthy man – although I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone accuse Lysimachus of being such.

  It was, therefore, with a deal of confidence that Antipatros picked up his bow and stepped into the waiting chariot and, greeting Lysimachus in the vehicle next to his, ordered the driver to head out to the deer park for a morning hunt before the conference began again at noon. Behind them trundled a train of carts filled with hunting tools and weapons, refreshments, awnings and slaves to see to their needs.

  ‘That was a fine shot,’ Lysimachus shouted as the roebuck’s limbs collapsed in tangle and its head dived into the lush grass, eyes wide in death, ‘for a man of your advanced years.’

  Antipatros gave as good natured a chuckle as was possible upon the fourth time of hearing the same joke during the course of the hunt. ‘If you can still shoot as well
in forty-five years’ time, be sure to tell me when you cross the Styx.’ He signalled to his driver to halt and, stepping down, walked towards the kill; Lysimachus sent another arrow, juddering, into the corpse annoying Antipatros still further.

  ‘So let’s stop pretending that this is just a social hunting session, shall we,’ Lysimachus said as they knelt over the buck, admiring its physique and drawing his hunting knife. ‘We’re in the middle of the most important conference of our age; what do you want?’

  What do I want? I want to be free to live out my last few years in peace, begetting as many sons on my wife as my frail libido will allow. ‘Kassandros arrived here last night.’ He could tell by the unveiled look on Lysimachus’ face that it was not news which filled him with joy – Kassandros had that sort of effect on people. ‘He’s brought his sister from Babylon.’

  ‘Nicaea?’

  ‘Indeed. Have you ever seen her?’

  ‘A few times before we left for Asia, she was just a little girl then.’

  ‘Well, she’s a widow now.’

  Lysimachus worked his knife, slitting the belly open. ‘And?’

  ‘And I need to bind you close to me if we, in Europe, are to keep ourselves safe from what will be the inevitable series of wars in Asia.’

  ‘I already have a wife.’

  ‘She’s a Persian whom Alexander forced you to marry at Susa; take another, Lysimachus, a proper one this time; we need to stand together and the only way that we can both trust each other is if we’re family.’

  Lysimachus ceased eviscerating the kill and looked at Antipatros, his eyes searching. ‘What do you want from me?’

  ‘I want you to guard the Hellespont; I need you to ensure that no army ever crosses it from south to north. I want to guarantee that the upheavals that Asia will undergo after my death won’t affect what relative peace we might achieve in Europe.’