The Trojan Princess (25 page)

           
“Indeed, you are wise to notice,” Diephobus smiled. “Yet unwise to meddle so.”

           
His voice carried only the slightest of threats, but Antenor fell silent and
retreated from the room nonetheless. He had lived to a great age by not asking
too many questions, he thought, as he left Diephobus alone with his scheming.

           
Diephobus watched the old man leave, shuffling on his ancient legs, back
stooped as he walked from sight. He had bought the old man’s loyalty in this
matter of Helen, and now he needed to do the same with others, yet that was
wherein his challenge lay.

           
He could count upon Helenus to vote as he did, for Helenus was a good man, and
good men were so easy to manipulate and to predict. Of Antimachus, Polites and
Laocoon, he only needed one of them to succumb to his bribes and then the
council could agree that Helen should stay in the city.

           
He would think on it carefully, for he did not want Helenus to hear of his
plotting, for he would know at once that Diephobus did not only seek safety for
Helen and her child. No, of course, Diephobus thought, what true man would? He
wanted her to stay in Troy for another reason entirely, and if he acted wisely,
cautiously, now he would succeed.

           
The golden widow was not only to be mother to an heir, but she was also, in her
own right, Queen of Sparta and monarch of all those rich lands. He had never
considered marriage, but now he sought it eagerly with this beautiful golden
queen.

           
Helen was a great prize, Diephobus thought. Paris had seen it and snatched her,
but now he was dead, and Diephobus was wise enough to both claim a prize and
keep it.

           
Helenus was weary of his brother for he knew that he schemed, though he did not
know to what end. Of his council members, he did not which of them he could
trust nor in whom he could confide, so he found himself increasingly seeking
the advice and soothing nature of Andromache, for she alone seemed to
understand the precariousness of the city’s current state and she shared his
concern for the future. He felt able to speak openly with her, for he trusted
her and respected her, and he hoped that she felt the same of him.

           
The council remained at an impasse, for whilst he, Diephobus and Antenor wished
Helen to remain in the safety of Troy, the other three councillors did not.
With each passing day the waiting continued, for it would not move forward
until somebody changed their stance on the matter and knowing how stubborn each
man on the council could be, Helenus did not hold out much hope that matters
would be resolved quickly.

           
It was therefore with great shock that he received news of Antimachus’ death.
He had been stabbed in the street as he returned home unaccompanied from the
palace. Helenus had known that the streets were growing unruly and dangerous,
for without the king’s rule the people grew restless, but he had been shocked
all the same by such tidings. Antimachus was a wealthy man and he had liked to
display his wealth whilst giving no heed to the poverty that grew within the
confines of the city walls. His jewellery had been stolen from upon his wrists
and neck and even his expensive robes had been stripped from him, so it was a
naked man lying in his own blood that his guard had discovered lying discarded
in the street.

           
Though it was a sad occasion when a councillor died, Helenus could not help but
note that this meant good tidings for both Helen and for himself, as now the
majority of council members were in favour of keeping Helen safely within the
palace, at least for now.

           
He sometimes wondered if Diephobus might have had a part to play in Antimachus’
death, for surely his brother continued to scheme, but Helenus had no proof of
such a thing.  He dared not voice his suspicions, even to Andromache, for
it was a horrible accusation to give voice to - especially about his own
brother, and a royal prince at that.

           
The man, though a council member, was not mourned widely, for the people
despised his vulgarity and he had not been a popular man even amongst his
peers.

           
“Though his death is a great shame,” Diephobus commented, after the council
meeting had met and agreed to keep Helen in the city, when he was safely alone
in the chambers with Helenus, “It is true that it has proved of great advantage
to our cause.”

           
“It is a sadness that it should be so,” Helenus said, remembering his suspicions
and willing himself not to think of such a thing, for surely even one as
scheming as Diephobus could not be capable of such a cruelty!

           
“Nevertheless, we have succeeded in persuading the council to keep Helen in the
city, at least for the time being,” Diephobus said. “Though we should think of
her safety, for there are many who still bear her ill will and do not rejoice
at the thought of her staying.”

           
“She lives within the palace and she is watched closely,” Helenus said.

           
“Yet still she sleeps alone, undefended and vulnerable.”

           
“We can have guards posted outside her chambers,” Helenus suggested.

           
“Guards can be bribed to do ill will,” Diephobus shook his head. “And it is not
just physical harm than can befall a woman in her position. Perhaps it is time
we thought on the matter of her remarrying.”

           
“Remarrying?” Helenus repeated. “And I suppose you would seek to suggest
yourself for such a task?”

           
“I have never married,” Diephobus shrugged, though his indifference was belied
by the eagerness within his eyes. “And it is true; I seek a marriage, though I
had not hoped to find such a mutually beneficial one as this would surely be.”

           
“Indeed,” Helenus said, eyes narrowing. He remained distrustful of his brother.
“It is not only you that has not been married; I too am unmarried, and am a
prince as you are.”

           
“I am the eldest,” Diephobus argued. “And I have a strong claim to the throne.”

           
“Our father is not passed, and Astyanax is the Heir Apparent,” Helenus
chastised him for his borderline treasonous words. “And I am General of the
Trojan Armies.”

           
Diephobus’ smile faltered, and Helenus knew that he had hoped to run
unchallenged for Helen’s hand in marriage. He wondered if perhaps his brother’s
scheming had all been so that he might marry the golden queen.

           
Now that Helenus thought of the prospect of marriage to the widow, he himself
felt allured to her and he did not wish his brother, so duplicitous and
untrustworthy, to be responsible for the safety of such a valuable and
vulnerable woman.

           
“Perhaps this is a matter for the council,” Helenus suggested.

           
Diephobus’ eyes gleamed for a moment, and he shrugged, sweeping from the room.
Helenus watched him go and wondered if Diephobus had secret allegiances within
the council that he had yet to uncover. He knew he must be weary of such a man.

           
He retreated from the council room and came across Andromache in the corridor.

           
“I have just seen Diephobus storming away,” she said, shooting a look back over
her shoulder. “He was his usual charming self,” she jested.

           
“He is just sour, for he seeks Helen’s hand in marriage,” Helenus shook his
head. Andromache’s lips pursed, for he knew she did not like the man.

           
“And why would that prospect so sour a man?” Andromache asked.

           
“No, do not misunderstand me, it is marriage he seeks,” Helenus said. “It is
just that he had hoped not to be opposed in such a plan, and yet I do not wish
them to be married.”

           
“Helen would be safer with a husband,” Andromache suggested.

           
“That is why I offered myself as a suitor,” Helenus told her.

           
Surprise came to Andromache’s face, and he thought something else too – a flash
of jealousy, perhaps? – and then it was gone and Andromache was making her
excuses to go about her business. Helenus watched her go and thought of his
strong feelings for her. Yet Andromache was safe enough in her position,
whereas Helen was not so in hers – and Diephobus seemed to have targeted Helen
for his attentions – and that put her in more danger. Now that Paris was dead
and she carried his heir, Helen needed protection.

*
* *

           
Andromache thought on what Helenus had told her in the corridor outside the
council chambers. It was true that Helen needed a marriage if she was to be
protected from being sent back to King Menelaus, but now that she knew it was
being considered, Andromache felt uncertain as to whether Helen staying in Troy
was truly the best thing for their city. It would mean that a treaty was out of
the question, and that too meant that war would continue – and for so many
years it had raged! – and it would surely affect Astyanax, for though he
remained Heir Apparent, Priam’s madness, could easily change such favourable
circumstances. If Helen were to be married to a royal prince, and already
carrying another royal prince’s heir, she surely would be held in higher
regard, and her child regarded more worthy of rulership than Astyanax.

           
The thought concerned Andromache, but other thoughts concerned her more. If
Helen’s marriage was to be discussed, surely it would initiate talk of when she
would have to marry again. She had been in widowhood for a long while now and
though she did not wish to dishonour Hector by remarrying, there were others
she was sure who would welcome chance to marry her and become the lawful father
of the Heir Apparent in doing so. She would have to tread carefully, she
thought, for her future was intertwined with Helen’s, she was coming to
realise, and her son’s future intertwined with Helen’s heir.

           
How she longed for Hector to be here! He would know what to do, wise as he was,
and he would not hesitate in doing what was good and what was right, but yet
she was here alone, and had nobody to protect her own interests, nor those of
her son, except for herself. She would keep a close eye on the situation, she
decided, for any decision that was made over Helen would surely affect her too.

           
She also found herself thinking of Helenus, for she had been surprised that he
had suggested himself for marriage to Helen. Yet the more she thought of it the
more reasonable it sounded, for he was an unwed man and surely had desires that
a wife could fulfil. Andromache had come to regard him as a close confidante
and if he were to marry Helen, surely these meetings would come to an end. They
would no longer be able to speak so openly, for his interests would be aligned
with Helen’s and those of her child’s, whilst hers were surely in direct
opposition, as mother to the Heir Apparent.

           
Yet as the weeks passed and no mention of a betrothal for Helen with either
Diephobus or Helenus, Andromache began to wonder whether Helen had perhaps
refused both offers of marriage. Perhaps she too thought of how it would put
them in opposition to each other, or perhaps she had simply not yet learned of
such plans for her future. Helen had certainly been told of the plans for her
to stay in Troy, which had greatly relieved her, even though she seemed no
happier than she had done previously.

           
If anything, Helen appeared more strained when Andromache set eyes upon her and
though she longed to question the golden widow as to what troubled her, she
dare not seek her confidences - not when there was a chance that they could
soon find their hopes and futures so opposed.

           
Diephobus too seemed frustrated, haughtier than his usual self, and Andromache
grew convinced that his overtures of marriage had been dismissed by Helen,
which gave Andromache a sense of pleasure. Helenus had not mentioned the plans
for marriage any further either, but nor did he seek her confidences, which
made Andromache wonder if perhaps he wished to keep her from knowing what was
happening in the council chambers.

           
It was not long before Ilisa and Philomena heard rumour from other maids
working within the palace that a servant had seen Diephobus and Helen
consorting in private; though the witness had been unable to eavesdrop and hear
any of what was being discussed between them before Diephobus had swept from
the room.

           
It gave her something to muse over, however, and Andromache longed for
confirmation or denial – anything so that she was not left to wonder and fear
for what may be happening in other corners of the palace.

           
Then came the terrible news of what had befallen Helen. Ilisa rushed into her
chambers, startling Andromache, but she saw panic on her maid’s face.

           
“Helen has lost her baby,” she said, face pale with the shock. “Philomena found
her at the foot of a staircase near her chambers.”

           
Andromache rose at once, following Ilisa out of the chambers and going in
search of the golden widow, listening to her maid as they hurried along the
corridors.

           
“The princess was hysterical,” Ilisa told her, “And there was blood – so much!
I think she must have slipped atop the stairs, though she was crying that
somebody meant for her to fall.”

           
Andromache did not like to think of such terrible things, though she had heard
of worse befalling women carrying heirs, and so many in the palace might not
wish for Paris’ heir to survive. So many wanted Helen to be returned to
Menelaus and it was commonly known that she was saved and kept here for the
child she carried. And then there were Diephobus and Helenus, who both sought
her hand in her marriage. Even herself, she thought – for Helen’s heir was a
threat to Astyanax – though she would never have deigned to wish harm upon an
unborn child.

           
Upon arriving at Helen’s chambers, one of the golden widow’s maids came out to
greet them, her eyes tearful and her demeanour cool.

           
“Helen wishes to receive no visitors,” the maid said. “She is not well.”

           
“I only wish to see how she fares,” Andromache insisted.

           
The maid blushed, unwilling to argue with a woman of her status, but bowing her
head.

           
“I’m sorry,” she said, bowing. “But Helen has given her orders; nobody is to
enter.”

           
Andromache left, deflated, wondering if Helen’s suspicions over who might have
wanted to harm her unborn child had fallen upon her. The thought chilled her,
but Andromache could not blame Helen – for in her place, she too would trust no
one.

*
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