But what was the point? The slave was simply deluded. What he took to be my humiliation, Clodia's abrupt departure, was precisely the opposite. I had wounded her after all, so badly that she fled. I, Gordianus, had hurt Clodia. It was a triumph, I told myself; and answered myself, yes, of the sort that Pyrrhus was famous for. The light inside the litter, the warmth of her body, that elusive, unforgettable scent — something told me I would never experience these things again.
XXIX
Oyer the next few days, as had been the case all through the period of our absence from Rome, there were continual contios in the Forum at which the radical tribunes railed against Milo. I myself stayed safely bolted behind the doors of my own house, but Eco, who made a point of attending these contios, assured me that they were peaceable affairs, kept that way by the presence of Pompey's troops.
'I don't know which would dismay me more,' I told him, 'seeing a contio erupt into a riot, or seeing Roman citizens being cowed by Roman soldiers.'
'Papa, something had to be done about the violence.'
'Then we might as well have a king. That's what it feels like now, seeing soldiers in the streets — it's like being in Alexandria, where you see King Ptolemy's men everywhere you go.'
'Well, let's hope Pompey's soldiers do a better job of keeping the peace,' said Eco. 'Really, Papa, you sound almost nostalgic for the good old days of blood in the streets.'
'I'm not sentimental about the past, Eco, only fearful for the future.'
'Meanwhile, Papa, the rest of us are living in the present. Nobody else objects to seeing a few soldiers in the Forum.' 'Not yet.'
When I told Bethesda about my acquisition of Mopsus and Androcles, she took the news that there would soon be two more mouths to feed — children, no less, and boy-children, at that! — with more equanimity than I expected. Did I seem so frail that she felt obliged to indulge me, no matter what madness I came up with? Had the spirit of Minerva entered her when the statue fell and broke, making her permanently serene?
Her own explanation was simpler. She had always enjoyed Eco and Meto when they were boys, she said. If the Fates had led two more boys to my household, then she would do her best to welcome them. Managing to feed the household had always been a challenge — especially at present, since Davus seemed to eat even more than Belbo had — but she would manage.
Diana's reaction was even more surprising. She had hated it when Eco and Menenia's twins supplanted her as the baby of the family, but she had matured a great deal since then, and I had no intention of making her accept Mopsus and Androcles as little brothers; they would simply be household servants. Still, I anticipated that Diana might be diffident or even averse to the idea. I had no idea that it would cause her to break into tears and run from the room.
'What in Jupiter's name was that about?' I said to Eco.
'She doesn't seem to like the idea.'
'But why the tears?'
'She's seventeen. She'll cry at anything.'
'Bethesda says Diana never shed a tear while we were gone.'
'Then I should have said: she's seventeen, she'll cry at nothing. You know, it's time she married, Papa. That's probably what it's about. The idea of new children in the house makes her realize that she probably won't be here much longer herself'
'Do you really think that's it?'
'I have no idea. Have you given any thought to finding her a husband lately?'
'Eco, when have I had time? You're the one who's been out and about, going to all these contios.'
'I hardly think I'll find a fit husband for my little sister among that rabble.' '
'Maybe Menenia has a cousin the right age,' I suggested.
'Or maybe Meto knows of an officer who's eligible.'
'I suppose it is something we need to start working on,' I admitted. 'But you know what I really need to get done? I need to have the statue of Minerva repaired…'
A few mornings later, one of Eco's bodyguards returned to the house in a state of great excitement. Davus showed him into my study. 'There's a contio about to start down in the Forum,' he said, a little out of breath from running up the Ramp, 'and the master says you must come.'
'But why?'
'He only says that you must. He's waiting for you there.'
Davus and I followed the man back to the Forum.
A considerable crowd had gathered. The tribune Plancus was already speaking. Not far from the Rostra, a squadron of armed soldiers were stationed on the steps of the ruined Senate House. The sight of them did lend a certain gravity to the proceedings, I had to admit.
We found Eco in the crowd. 'What's this about?' I whispered.
'If the rumours are true, Plancus is going to introduce — but look, he's just brought them onto the platform with him.' Four men led by another walked onto the Rostra, all of them looking nervous and out of place.
Plancus reached for the leader and pulled him to the centre of the platform. 'Citizen, tell these good men your name.'
The man answered with an inaudible mumble. The crowd jeered and laughed. 'Citizen,' said Plancus good- naturedly, 'you'll have to speak up. See those soldiers over on the Senate House steps? Pretend you're speaking to them.'
'My name is Marcus Aemilius Philemon!' the man shouted. There was a round of cheering and applause.
'Tell us, Philemon,' said Plancus, 'do you remember where you were on the day that Publius Clodius was murdered?'
'Indeed I do. I was with these four other men on the Appian Way. We were travelling on foot, headed for Neapolis.'
'And how far did you get that day?'
'To Bovillae.'
'What happened there?'
'We came upon what looked like a battle.'
'Where was this?'
'At the inn.' The crowd now listened with rapt attention. Philemon cleared his throat and continued. 'There seemed to be a group inside the inn and a group outside, and the ones outside were after the ones inside. They'd broken down the door. They kept forcing their way in and dragging out the men one at a time and stabbing them to death, right there in the road. There was blood all over the place.'
'A horrifying sight, I'm sure,' said Plancus. 'What did you do?'
'We shouted at them, 'What are you doing?' And they said, 'We've got Publius Clodius trapped like a rat and we're going to cut his tail off!' They were laughing quite a lot, having a good time of it.'
' 'They', you say. Did you recognize any of these men?'
'I knew two of them right away. We all did. Those two famous gladiators of Milo's, Eudamus and Birria. They were the ones who seemed to be doing most of the killing. Blood all over them.' 'What did you do then?'
'We shouted at them to stop what they were doing. I may be only a freedman, but I wasn't going to stand by and watch while slaves murdered a citizen!'
This elicited noises of approval from the crowd.
'Freedman you may be,' said Plancus, 'but it's a worthy citizen who'll stand up for his fellow Roman. You tried to stop this atrocity, then?'
'My friends and I went at them, but I'll tell you, not one of us has ever been a soldier or a gladiator. They beat us back. Then they chased after us. We had daggers, but these fellows were gladiators and armed with swords. I won't say I did a brave thing, turning and running, but I'll challenge any man here to stand nose to nose
