He could not resist looking from man to man to see if they had guessed the answer. Yet the coldness of his previous words still hung in the air like damp. They stared at him, waiting.

‘Sparta is safe behind a wall only because Persia does not have a fleet. If we ally with Persia, our fleet could land a Persian army anywhere on the Peloponnese – behind their wall. The Spartans could never defend their coast. They would be overwhelmed and defeated in a season.’

‘I see …’ Aristides began. Once more, Cimon interrupted him, the young man’s anger spilling out.

‘I don’t. I supported you, Themistocles! You can’t truly be suggesting we join Persia to defeat Sparta? If you are, I swear …’

‘Cimon,’ Xanthippus said.

Once again the young man quietened down. Themistocles wondered what had happened on that trip to Sparta to form such a bond between them.

Xanthippus nodded to Cimon, in thanks. Their mutual respect was beginning to grate on Themistocles’ nerves.

‘I believe Themistocles is suggesting we appear to break our word,’ Xanthippus said. ‘That we only threaten to make an alliance with Persia.’ His gaze turned inward for a moment and he nodded. ‘That would bring Sparta to the field, as you say, with their own destruction on the line. But it will confirm everything they hate about Athenian politics. They already call us whores, gentlemen. They’ll have that view confirmed when we force them out with a threat of our betrayal.’

He glanced at Themistocles then, seeing a man borne down by exhaustion. Xanthippus breathed out slowly.

‘We’ll be storing up trouble for the future,’ he muttered. ‘The Spartans won’t forget.’

‘If we win, they will accept we were right all along,’ Themistocles said, ‘but honestly, I don’t care what they think. Athens was burned, gentlemen. I …’

He squinted suddenly, cursing under his breath. A plume of smoke was rising in the distance. Each of them turned to see what had caught his eye and then swore, or muttered prayers. The Persians had entered the city once again. They had come with fire to damage and destroy.

‘Whatever we have to do,’ Themistocles said softly over the cry of gulls and the noise of the sea washing Salamis. ‘We cannot live like this.’

Aristides put out his hand and Themistocles took it. One by one the others offered their grip, their personal oath, the gesture spreading through the crowd around them as they sought comfort in the strength of others, a simple grip and release. They sealed a promise of vengeance while the city of Athena burned for a second time.

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