Did Herod know who was involved in the attempted escape?He paced the head of the room, punctuating angry words with furious gestures. His dark, oiled curls swung with each upraised fist, and torchlight reflected from the gold band across his forehead like a third eye. Salome stood alongside, arms folded over her narrow body and her dark features pulled into a contemptuous scowl.What Herod’s throne room lacked in the colorful carved beauty of Cleopatra’s palace, it made up for in severity. He copied the Greek- and Roman-style pillars, with their sharp fluting of marble that shot upward to a lofty ceiling lost in darkness at this hour. On the north side of the chamber, the coppery fabric at open windows snapped in the evening breeze like the crack of a whip over the gathered crowd. Torches blazed at fixed intervals in sockets along the wall, their scarlet flames bending in obeisance to Herod’s rage. Lydia sought out Mariamme, where she stood near the throne. Best to keep her distance.
