Gregory by Panos Ioannides

Author:Panos Ioannides
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
ISBN: 9789963620876
Publisher: Armida Publications
Published: 2014-02-18T05:00:00+00:00

The farmhouse that was once shared by Stasinos, Zenon and Nikias was, as he expected, in ruins. Stasinos had taken up residence at the palace. The other two had been the victims of some ‘accident’. The naturalness with which his informant spoke the terrible word impressed him. But he did not wish to learn more than he already suspected. ‘Accident or apartment in the Palace’. That was what the shepherd meant; that was what he could expect if he had correctly understood.

Deeply disappointed at the turn events had taken and compelled to expend his gold coins in order to buy the assistance he required, he returned to Paphos, to the small house the old man had found. Tomorrow, whether he liked it or not, he would have to go down for the first installment…

Entering the atrium he was surprised by the cleanliness; furniture, paved-floor, even the cobwebbed corners of the walls, everything was spotless. And in the kitchen there was a cloth on the table beside the grate. During the ten days he had now been in Paphos, old Roxana had not accustomed him to such delicacies! A double-mouthed jug of wine, roast leg of lamb and honey-cakes. He called the old woman to thank her, but also to politely demand an explanation about the way she had been squandering the money that he had entrusted to her for a whole month. But he received no reply. And exhausted as he was, he sat down. Shortly, intoxicated by the wine and with his stomach as heavy as the whole leg of lamb, he took to his bed and did not wake up again until the following day, at noon.

Displeased, he remembered what he had planned to do. He ate what was left over from the evening meal and then following the coast road he arrived at the hiding-place. After making sure that there was no one around, he dug up the cases and counted out fifty, no that was too much, forty gold coins. His plan was simple; he would buy a clerical costume and thus disguised he would enter the palace and free as many of his friends as were still alive. Five gold coins were more than enough for a costume. The rest would be for the guards…

He returned to Paphos towards dusk and certain that the previous evening’s miracle would not be repeated - his luck never persisted - he bought smoked ham and wine.

Afterwards, strolling indolently through the most remote alleyways and drawing up his plans for the next day’s adventure at the palace, he returned home. The door was ajar. Before leaving he had bolted it; he remembered well. And the old woman did not stay so late. He approached cautiously. He heard footsteps.

They were not the dragging footsteps of Roxana… Who was it then?

Certainly one of the secret agents must have recognized him; perhaps that money-changer; he had followed him and now he was in his house and was preparing some imaginative ‘accident’ for

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