Silvius’s face grew grave. ‘I don’t know. I looked for my father in the Underworld, but did not see him. But then the ferryman said that souls don’t go there any more. So I do not know …’

‘Let’s not think about it for now,’ said Tisamenos. And he sipped his warm spicy drink, and sank deeper into the bathwater.

When the water was beginning to get cold, Tisamenos got out first, and dried himself with white linen, then dressed in a soft white robe. Silvius did so too, and for the first time Tisamenos saw how alike they were. They both had the weight of expectation and family on them; they both were trying to make their own way in the new world. He smiled at the Italian, and Silvius returned it.

Wondering if Elissa had also been treated so well, and thinking that she probably had, Tisamenos led the way to the deck, where waiting for them was a veiled figure in a dark blue robe tinged with gold.

The figure spun round elegantly, performing arabesques, and laughingly came to a stop before the two boys.

The veil was torn off by a hand, and there, grinning, was Elissa. Gone was the determined expression, and in its place was a relaxed, happy smile. She seemed so at ease among the traders. ‘Not bad, don’t you think?’ she said. Tisamenos thought it was better than that. ‘Now we feast!’

Tisamenos sat awkwardly cross-legged under the stars on a rich silk cushion whilst flutes and a strange stringed instrument he’d never heard before played quietly. Elissa, who’d been picking up words and phrases with ease, was chattering, playing dice, and drinking wine and eating fruits that had been kept cool in ice. He was happy just to sit and listen, and sometimes Elissa would turn to him and explain what she was talking about.

Tisamenos picked up the stringed instrument from its player and began to strum it. But the only sounds he could make were melancholy, so he put it aside. Elissa all the time was talking excitedly to the traders, hearing about what had happened in Tyre since her aunt Dido had left, and whether they traded with Carthage, and what news there was from there. She could hardly stop moving about, dancing from one foot to the other.

Tisamenos soon fell asleep where he was sitting, to the sound of Elissa as she continued chattering throughout the night.

As they journeyed over the days that followed, Tisamenos avoided talking about what lay ahead of them, and there seemed to be an unspoken agreement with the others to do the same. Instead, he simply enjoyed the unusual sights of the ship and the cargo it carried. Reams of beautifully coloured silks, and spices that made his tongue tingle.

A few days into the journey, Batnoam told them that they would be approaching Euboeae on the morning of the next day.