offense, sir. It was all just a bit of a joke. Only she took umbrage and walked off before I could explain.”
“Ah,” said Ruso, imagining the scene.
“And I asked if she wanted to leave a message, but she didn’t. And I couldn’t let her in without a gate pass. So if you could let her have the money back, sir, and tell her it was all just a bit of fun?”
Ruso glanced down at the profile of the late emperor Trajan and back up at the less impressive head of a sentry with an odd shadow under his nostrils that turned out to be a vigorous sprouting of black hairs.
“Next time,” he said, “just take a message when you’re asked. And if you don’t want this to go any farther, try to be a little more helpful about something else. I need to know about an emergency call for the doctor that came in last night.”
The guard, who had not been on duty at the time, went to fetch the watch captain. He returned with the captain and a youth who looked barely old enough to be sent around the corner to buy a pound of figs, let alone serve overseas with the army.
“Oh yes, sir!” the youth exclaimed in answer to Ruso’s question. “I saw the doctor and Gambax come in before curfew. I remember because Gambax was drunk.”
The watch captain glared at him.
“And then Doctor Thessalus went out on his horse and I remember thinking I was glad I wasn’t ill, sir, because-”
“The officer doesn’t want to know what you were thinking!” interrupted the watch captain. “This is the army, not a bloody philosophy club.” He glanced at Ruso. “Sorry, sir. He’s new.”
Ruso said, “I’m trying to find out who took the message calling for a doctor.” Realizing this sounded like a threat, he added, “The patient wanted to say thank you.” He hoped this did not sound as lame to his listeners as it did to him.
“Would that be the call for Doctor Thessalus or the call for Gambax, sir?”
“There was only one call, surely?”
“I don’t know, sir. We didn’t get either of them. You’d have to ask at the other gates. But Gambax went out just after Doctor Thessalus.”
Ruso frowned. “Out?”
The youth’s head bobbed. “His case must have been nearer, though, ’cause he was on foot. And he was back before long, but I didn’t see Doctor Thessalus again.”
When the youth had gone Ruso observed, “He looks very young,” and realized with horror that it was the sort of remark he and Lucius used to deride from their father.
“They’ll be sending them straight out of the cradle soon,” observed the watch captain, who could not have been much over twenty-five himself.
“While I’m here,” said Ruso, “how do I go about getting a gate pass for my housekeeper?”
The man shook his head. “You’d have a hard time sir. The only civilians allowed in with no escort are the prefect’s family. Security policy. Because of the way the natives are.”
“But she’s only a woman!”
The watch captain shook his head again. “So was Helen of Troy, sir. Look what she started.”
27
To Ruso’s relief, Thessalus seemed to have forgotten about the fish. He gestured Ruso to the stool while he himself sat on the chair, crushing the scroll cases. He frowned at them, made an ineffective attempt to pull one of them out from beneath him, and gave up.
Ruso tried, “How are you this evening?”
Thessalus gave a slow smile. “You don’t need to keep coming to see me, Doctor,” he said. “Don’t worry. All will be well. I have seen to it.”
In the light of the one lamp it took Ruso a moment to realize that Thessalus was smiling not at him but at a spot a few inches beyond his left ear. Ruso turned. The wall was bare. He wished he could see whatever was giving Thessalus the confidence that all would be well, because from his own point of view things were not good at all. During his first visit this afternoon, his patient’s mind had been scuttling about like a startled lizard. Now it was moving more like a… like a slow thing. Ruso had had a long and trying day.
“I have seen to it,” Thessalus repeated, sounding much as Ruso imagined an oracle might sound. “This is my answer. Ambitions, hopes.. it all comes to the same thing in the end.”
“I’ve met some of your patients. The men speak very highly of you.”
“They will not speak highly of me when they know.”
Outside the main door, the guard coughed and shuffled his feet.
Ruso said gently, “You have been troubled, brother.”
“This is true.”
“Your mind has not served you well of late.”
“My hands have served me worse. I did no harm with my mind.”
“You think you have done someone harm?”
Thessalus looked puzzled. “You think it is all in my mind, that it is a dream?”
“We all dream things we do not do.”
“And sometimes we do things we would not dream of.” Thessalus put his head in his hands. His shoulders began to shake.
“Gently, brother.” Ruso leaned forward and grasped the man’s thin arms. Thessalus drew back as if in pain.
“Don’t touch me!”
“I was only-”
“I told you, you must never touch the patient!”
Ruso sat back. He wished he had left this visit until tomorrow. The man had been calm. Now he was in distress.
“All gone now,” Thessalus mumbled. “All over. I am a murderer. I know. I saw it. I felt it.” He began to rock backward and forward. “I can feel it now.”
“Open your eyes, Thessalus. Look at me.”
Without lifting his head Thessalus began to moan softly, “No, no..”
“Look at me, Thessalus. Open your eyes and look up. I am real. Put aside the visions. Just for a moment.”
Slowly, the man’s head lifted.
“What if I can prove to you that you were somewhere else on the night Felix died? What if we find people who saw you?”
“You wish to prove me insane. I am condemned either way.”
“I wish to prove you ill, brother. And soon to be restored to health.”
“But never again trusted.”
“In time, when you are well-”
“You are wasting your time,” Thessalus continued.
“Metellus will find out the truth,” insisted Ruso. “The man who killed Felix will be punished.”
“They will find an innocent native to execute in my place.”
“Not innocent. Nobody believes you did it, Thessalus.”
The glistening dark eyes looked again into his own. “Then you must convince them.”
“First,” said Ruso carefully, “You must convince me. What reason would you have to attack Felix?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know. He was there. His friends beat the native. They ask for justice and cows and we beat them.”
“What did you do with the body?”
Thessalus sighed. “I’m very tired.”
“We’ll talk about this tomorrow. I expect they’ll bring your supper in a minute. Do you want something later
