The Mosaic Soliloquies II
Joseph P. Farrell
Vardas’ Sister Theodora, When She Learned of her brother’s Treachery in Having Her Lover Emasculated:
…Ahh, well, brother….so that’s the truth of it, the measure of my worth in thine eyes, like a plain wooden pawn in a golden chess service, to be pushed about by The Master in some scheme. And so much the better if it serve thy purpose to kill two stones to make the bird a Queen? Well, so be it!
Queen I shall be, brother, but thou not my king! I shall betake another, and behold: being a “good, pious woman,” I shall remain, and watch, and let thee make all arrangements, and in making them, hasten thy downfall! And what enjoyment of it! To watch thee go about Thy sneaking and scheming to hasten “poor, stupid Theodora” to the throne, to observe each step fall into place, and with each footfall closer to thine own abyss!
What will it be, brother, after the patient work of a few years? Thy “character” being true to its own bloody ways, wilt thou arrange too convenient heart failure for my spouse? A little poison in his food? The method matters not. ‘Tis upon the malign consistency of thy soul that I rely. And would’st thou be made Caesar by me? No! “Poor dumb Theodora” will place her eunuched love Theoktistus upon the height to which thou dost aspire! So, that is decided upon: a simple method, one in which thou art studied and accomplished, the employment of the enemy’s efforts and force against him.
But, for all these thy coming cabals and canards, the begetting of a male heir falleth to me. And brother, the husband whose heir I cannot bear by carnal love, I can by gold get in the markets. So, I must have the patience of a conspirator, the smiling, fawning mask. And there shall no one betray me, brother, for it shall remain with me, Good, Kind, Pious, Dumb Theodora.
The other installments in the Mosaic Soliloquies can be read in our serial archives.