That night we slept in an inn in Aricia. The tavern below was loud and smoky, and the bedding had ticks in it, but I slept better there than I should have in Bovillae, with all its phantoms, living and dead.
I was up before dawn, and woke the boys. All three of us had to shake Davus to get him up. We were on the. road before the first hour, and made swift progress. We reached the city before midday. I had three last calls to pay, and then I could turn my back for good on all that had happened on the Appian Way.
XXXVI
Mopsus and Androcles grew increasingly excited as we made our way through the Forum and up the Ramp to the Palatine. Both were wide-eyed at the sight of so many buildings and people. Davus put on a slightly snobbish air — the city slave condescending to the country slaves. I remembered his own consternation at finding himself in the countryside for the first time in his life, but said nothing.
All three of them grew quiet as we neared the house. Davus's face grew long. The boys drew closer together. We had hardly stepped into the foyer before Bethesda appeared.
'So these are the new slaves,' she said, ignoring Davus.
'Yes, this is Mopsus, and this is his brother, Androcles. Boys, this is your new mistress.'
The boys lowered their eyes and sneaked glances at her. Androcles whispered in his older brother's ear, 'She's beautiful!'
Bethesda's lips almost formed a smile. She was resplendent in a saffron-coloured stola and a simple silver necklace, with hair done up very high on her head in such a way that the strands of grey looked like white veins snaking through shimmering black marble. I was almost as awed by her as the boys were.
'You both look agile and energetic,' she said, making the words sound more like a judgment than a compliment. 'I suppose we shall find ways to keep you busy. You might be good at carrying messages, I imagine, except that you must be ignorant of the city. You shall have to do a great deal of exploring in the next few days, to acquaint yourselves with the seven hills. Right now, you must be hungry after your trip. Davus will show you where the kitchen is — won't you, Davus?'
'Yes, Mistress.' Davus was the most awed by her of anyone. It was remarkable how small a space such a large fellow could seem to occupy, and how quickly he could make his exit from a room.
Bethesda and I were left alone.
'Husband, I did a great deal of thinking yesterday.'
'So did I.'
'You and I must have a serious talk.'
'Can it wait? I have a few more errands to finish today, and then-'
'I suppose. But by the end of the day, I want a resolution to this matter of Diana and your… and Davus.'
'I agree. Shall we talk this evening, then?'
'Yes.' Our eyes met, and it hardly seemed necessary to talk at all. We were agreed about what to do. I had lived with her long enough to be able to read that much from her eyes.
I ate a quick meal of olives, cheese and fresh bread, then headed out again. I took Davus with me, though a protector hardly seemed necessary. The streets seemed almost preternaturally calm after the furore of recent days.
The Great One had moved into the city and was in residence at his house in the Carinae district, as I had hoped. He agreed to see me almost at once.
The house in the Carinae was a sprawling old villa surrounded by newer, taller buildings. It had been owned by Pompey's family for generations. There was a musty smell everywhere in the house, and in the room where Pompey gave audiences there were no fabulous views, only a glimpse of an inner courtyard with a modest fountain. The room was full of old trophies from various military campaigns, some brought back by Pompey from the East, some acquired by his father — exotic weapons and bits of armour, statuettes of obscure gods, shadow puppets from the Parthian borderlands and antique theatre masks from Greece. Lurking discreedy in the corners and shadows, as always, were the soldiers responsible for his safety.
Pompey sat beside a little table stacked high with scrolls. At my approach, he put aside the document he was reading. 'Finder! I was surprised when the doorkeeper announced you. I didn't expect to see you again.'
'And I didn't expect to be able to see you so soon.'
'You happen to have come at the one hour of the day when I do not already have some prior obligation. Do we have unfinished business?'
'I came to ask a favour, Great One.'
'Good. I always like it when I'm asked for favours, whether I grant them or not. It gives me a chance to live up to my name. What is it you want, Finder?'
'I understand that a part of the penalty against Milo will be the confiscation of his estate.'
'Not quite his entire estate; I think we may allow him to take along a few personal slaves and such to begin his new life in Massilia. First, everything's to be liquidated to pay off his creditors, which number into legions. After that, we shall see how much is left for the treasury. The estate shall be picked quite clean before the scavenging is finished.'
'I should like to be listed among his creditors.'
'Oh? I have a hard time imagining that you lent him money, Finder. Or did you render services that were never paid for?'
'Neither of those things. I have a grievance against Milo. He was the man responsible for abducting me and my son and holding us prisoner for over a month. Since I last spoke to you, I acquired proof of this.'
'I see. Practically speaking, you have no legal recourse against him. The man's been convicted and will soon be gone for good. He wouldn't be here to stand trial if you did bring charges against him.'
'I realize that, which is why I came to you, Great One.'
'I see. What is it you want?'
'I wish to be recognized by the state as one of Milo's creditors. I want a settlement from his estate.'
'And what is the price for what you and your son suffered at his hands?'
'That can hardly be estimated. But there is an amount I'll settle for.' I named it.
'A rather precise sum,' said Pompey. 'How did you come by it?'
'During the worst of the Clodian riots, my house was ransacked. A statue of Minerva in my garden was overturned and damaged. That's the cost to repair it.'
'I see. Is that fair, asking Milo to pay for damage that was done by his enemies?'
'Not fair in a legal sense, true. But perhaps I could paraphrase something you once said, Great One.'
'What's that?'
''Stop quoting laws to us. We carry past-due-bills.' ' Pompey found this richly amusing. 'I like you, Finder. In coming years, I should like to think that you will be on my side.' 'I don't understand, Great One.'
'Oh, I think you do. Very well, then, how shall we do this?' He called for a secretary, who composed a memorandum in duplicate. One copy was pressed flat and added to an already high stack in a cabinet against the wall. Pompey signed the other. His secretary rolled it tightly and applied a daub of red wax into which Pompey pressed his ring. 'There, have that delivered to Milo's house. Good luck collecting it. There are quite a few rather important people ahead of you. On the other hand, yours is likely to be the smallest bill. Perhaps the estate will pay it off first, simply to get rid of it.'
'Thank you, Great One.'
'Certainly.' He smiled, made a gesture of dismissal and strolled across the room. A moment later he turned back, surprised to see that I was still there. 'What now, Finder?'
'I feel a certain conflict, Great One, between an oath I took, and a prior obligation to yourself.'
'Yes?'
'Now that the trial of Milo is done, do you have any further interest in discovering what happened on the Appian Way?' 'I'm not sure what you mean.'
'If I were to tell you that Milo's men gravely, perhaps fatally, wounded Clodius, but that someone else- someone entirely removed from their mutual sphere of enmity — actually finished him off…'
