She had and I didn’t wish to hear again the story of how the woman had died of illness, leaving Esther like a daughter to Phasa. So I ignored the question.
“And if a queen wished to fulfill this obligation here, in this palace, knowing that her slaves were in the dungeon, how would she go about it?”
Phasa stared at me. She knew what was on my mind, naturally, and that I aimed to protect her from crossing any line that might later be questioned by Herod.
A knowing smile lit her face and she crossed her arms, pacing now.
“It would be very dangerous, of course.”
“Of course,” I said.
“Because here there is a dog named Brutus who hates the queen and has made it his business to keep her in misery.”
“Yes.”
“Then the queen must find a way to her slave while Malcheus, who is a Jew of good heart, takes charge. A time when Brutus is gone from the palace, drowning his own misery and guilt in drink.”
My heartbeat quickened, for Phasa hadn’t rejected the idea outright.
“And when might this be?” I asked.
“After the twelfth hour, naturally. When it is dark.” Phasa lifted a finger. “She would not go as queen, however.”
“No?”
“No. As a servant. In the event she is seen by the wrong party. She would enter the tunnels through Herod’s court and slip unseen to the dungeon on the east side.” Phasa eyed me with one brow arched. “But she could not enter the cell. This would require the theft of a key and constitute a breach of Herod’s will.”
“No, of course not. She would only see that her slaves are well.”
“Herod cannot be crossed,” she said.
“No, never. It would be madness.”
“Madness.”
Truly, I could not jeopardize Herod’s trust in me by defying his will, any more than Phasa could.
Matter settled, Phasa continued.
“After the twelfth hour, if the queen were to be caught entering the dungeons dressed as a servant, she would be turned over to Malcheus, who serves me as well as Herod. I would find a way to protect her.”
Phasa’s eyes sparkled and I decided then that I would do precisely this. So I asked her to tell me the way in the event the queen would see her slave. She only too willingly plotted with me.
It was as much a game to her as it was a matter of life and death to me, but when the hour approached and she helped me dress in the simple white tunic and blue mantle worn by her servants, she grew somber.
“You really mean to do this, Maviah.”
“Would you not?”
She took me by the arm.
“I will call the servants to my chambers so none will see you going to Herod’s court. Remember, down the stairs and through the underground passage. I cannot tell you the danger if Brutus or any loyal to him were to find out.”
“I understand.”
“Danger for Judah,” she said. “Not only you.”
The thought had not occurred to me.
“The guards there don’t know you, and the way through Herod’s passage should be clear, but swear to me that if you see anyone, anyone at all, you will turn back.”
“I will. I swear it.”
She gave me her most earnest stare, then smiled.
“It is a scandal, isn’t it? Sneaking right past the nose of that beast.”
By now I was unnerved, thinking how Judah might be punished if I were caught.
“This is no game, Phasa.”
“No, which makes it that much more terrifying. Wait here a minute while I call the servants, then use the back passage to Herod’s court as we discussed.”
She walked toward the door, but stopped and turned back.
“Maviah?”
“Yes?”
“You will pass my good will to the black one?”
“Saba?”
“Yes, to Saba. Tell him that the queen finds him… I don’t know… how would you say it to such a man?”
“You ask me?”
“Tell him the queen finds him powerful.” She started to turn but thought better of it. “No, magnificent. Tell him the queen finds him exotic.”
I was flummoxed by this, for I wasn’t risking so much to indulge her fantasies. “Well, which is it? Magnificent or exotic?”
“Like a stallion,” she said. “That’s it. Tell him the queen sees him as a stallion. Can you do that for me, my dear?”
What was I to say? But Phasa was of the Nabataeans, who were extravagant in all matters.
“If I can. Yes.”
Phasa smiled and swept from the room with the grace of an eagle.
I followed Phasa’s instructions with great caution. I went to the same room in which I’d first met Herod, then slipped through a side door that led me down a flight of stairs hewn into the rock. I used an oil lamp to guide my way, careful to keep it from going out, stepping lightly in bare feet.