Empire - Saylor Steven (книги без сокращений TXT) 📗
“Yes, papa.”
“Run and say hello to my guests. I’m sure the ladies want to meet you.”
Julia first approached Artemisia, who shrank back. The little girl then turned to Chrysanthe, who managed a crooked smile and held out her hand. Julia stared at the hand for a moment, then snarled and snapped at it. Chrysanthe pulled back her hand with a cry. Julia turned and ran, laughing, to her father, who seemed as amused as his daughter at the women’s discomfort. He gave Julia a parting kiss, then sent the child and her nurse on their way.
Caesonia looked at her guests and shrugged. “Children – such a distraction! Yet they bring so much joy. Does either of you have children yet?”
Artemisia blushed and looked to Chrysanthe, who had regained her composure. “No, not yet. But as my husband says, perhaps the waiting has been a blessing, since our firstborn can now be conceived here in the city of his ancestors.”
“So young, and not yet mothers,” said Caesonia. “So you both must be very tight still.”
Chrysanthe’s smile wavered. “I’m not sure what you mean.”
Caesonia giggled and crooked her finger at Caligula, who leaned close so that she could whisper in his ear.
While the imperial couple conversed in a hush, Kaeso leaned towards Titus. “Let me have the amulet,” he whispered.
Titus frowned and shook his head. He defensively touched the fascinum where it lay hidden under his toga. He had won the toss of the dice that morning, as Kaeso was well aware.
But Kaeso was insistent. “Please, brother! Give it to me!”
“Why?”
“For protection.”
“From what?”
“Can’t you feel his presence?”
“Who?”
“The devil himself!”
Titus rolled his eyes, unable to believe that Kaeso was spouting yet another of the impious notions he had picked up in Alexandria, and in the very presence of the emperor. He gave a start when he realized that Caligula was addressing him in a sharp voice.
Titus’s face turned hot. “A thousand pardons, Dominus. I didn’t hear you.”
“Then listen more attentively, Titus Pinarius. I don’t ask unimportant questions, and I hate to repeat myself. But I will ask again, because Caesonia wants to know: are the two of you identical in every way?”
Titus raised an eyebrow. “We certainly have differences of opinion, Dominus.”
“I mean physically, you fool!” Caligula smiled, baring a bit more of his teeth than seemed normal.
“Yes, Dominus, we’re identical twins, as you can see. People remark on our similarity all the time.”
“Truly identical, in every way?”
“Yes.”
“Show us.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“Show us. Caesonia wants to see, and so do I.”
“I don’t understand,” said Titus, his heart sinking.
“I think you do. Stand up and take off your togas, both of you.”
Titus and Kaeso exchanged pained glances. Neither moved.
Caligula sighed. “Please don’t be tiresome. You really have no choice. It is a god who asks this of you.”
“This is most improper,” said Kaeso.
“Improper?” Caligula seemed more amused than angry. “Do you see the armed men standing over there, beside the pillars? Why do you think they’re there? Well?”
“To protect the emperor,” said Titus, his mouth dry.
Caligula laughed. “The emperor is a god and needs no protection. Those men are here to enforce the emperor’s will, when those in the emperor’s presence are slow to obey him. Do I need to call on them now? They will use whatever force is necessary.”
Titus glanced at the faces of the guards. Perhaps this was all a game, a test of some sort, he thought, until he saw the looks on their faces. His blood turned cold.
Titus was so light-headed that he could hardly stand. He gestured for Kaeso to do likewise. When Kaeso hesitated, Titus grabbed his shoulder and pulled him to his feet. Trying to maintain an air of unconcern, as if he were alone in his own room, Titus began to unwind his toga. Normally a slave helped a master to put on his toga and to take it off as well. Titus’s hands were clumsy; the soft wool seemed determined to thwart him. He tripped over the toga and almost fell before he managed to extract himself from it, and in the process lost any pretense of dignity. Pulling the tunic over his head was easier. He stood upright, wearing only his loincloth.
Caligula and Caesonia stared at Titus intently, then turned their attention to Kaeso, who lagged behind. Eventually Kaeso stood in only his loincloth, next to his brother. At the far ends of the two couches, Artemisia and Chrysanthe were so still and quiet that they might have turned to stone.
“Go on,” said Caligula. “We must see everything.”
His face flushed, his hands trembling, Titus undid his loincloth and let it fall. Except for his shoes and the fascinum at his breast, he stood naked. From the corner of his eye he saw Kaeso drop his loincloth as well.
“Extraordinary!” Caligula rose from his couch and examined them more closely, peering at them as if they were statues, or slaves for purchase. “It is said that the gods never make two pearls, or even two peas in a pod, so alike that a man cannot tell them apart, and yet I would defy anyone to distinguish between the two of you. What do you think, Caesonia?”
“All shrivelled up like that, any two members might look alike. I think we will have to see them in a state of arousal.”
“Dominus, this is not right!” said Titus, his voice cracking. “Send away our wives, at least.”
“But your wives are essential to the experiment.”
Caesonia stood facing the brothers. She reached out and began to fondle them both at once. Titus gasped and closed his eyes. Though he would not have thought it possible, he began to respond. He felt the blood engorging his member, and little thrills of pleasure from Caesonia’s touch.
Apparently Kaeso had responded as well, for Caligula clapped his hands and laughed with delight. “Still exactly the same! Identical in every respect! Can you detect any difference, Caesonia? Weigh them each in your hand. Measure the girth and the length. Examine them carefully for blemishes or other distinguishing marks.”
Titus opened his eyes. Caesonia looked very pleased with herself and with the effect she was having on them. His head felt lighter than air and his legs were weak, but there was no denying the pleasure she was inducing in him.
“No difference at all!” Caesonia announced.
“Ah, but the hand, delicate as it may be, is an insensitive instrument compared to the lips and the tongue. Is that not true, Caesonia, based on your experience?”
“Dominus, please!” Titus begged, his voice weak. “For the emperor’s wife to do what you suggest-”
“Shut your filthy mouth!” shouted Caligula. His sudden rage made Titus blanch, yet he felt himself grow even suffer in Caesonia’s hand. “How dare you suggest such a thing? Caesonia is mine and mine alone. The very idea that she would lower herself to such an act with a mortal like you is disgusting.”
“Dominus, if I misunderstood-”
“You certainly did! Guards, bring blindfolds for these two women. And bring gags for their husbands, to keep them quiet during the experiment.”
“Dominus, what experiment?”
Caligula rolled his eyes, like a tutor with a stupid pupil. “We are going to see if your own wives can tell you apart, of course! First, we shall blindfold the women. Then we shall stand the two of you back to back. Next, we will spin your blindfolded wives around until they lose all sense of direction, then push them to their knees. Finally, your wives will show us if they can tell the difference – using only their mouths – between one twin and the other.”
The events unfolded exactly as Caligula desired. Moment by moment, Titus’s fear and humiliation were matched only by his unflagging excitement. At times he felt as if he had left his body and was floating above the scene, a mere observer of the degrading spectacle taking place below. Drawing close to form a cordon around them, the guards observed everything. Occasionally one of them snickered or grunted, and several times, when Titus was slow to cooperate, something sharp jabbed his throat or his chest or some exposed part of his body normally hidden from sight. Caesonia frequently giggled and whispered to the emperor, who oversaw the experiment with childlike delight.
