“Why can’t we just do it with what we have?”he asked plaintively, looking to Masala for support, who patted thePraetor sympathetically on the shoulder.
“We could,” I replied, watching his facelight up, if only for a moment before I continued, “if you want tospend the winter in front of the walls of the town, that is.”
His face fell immediately, then he gloweredat me.
“Of course I don’t,” he snapped. “I canbarely abide the thought of spending the winter here, let alone insome dreary wilderness squatting over a hole in the ground.”
It seemed to be the thought of a winter inThrace more than anything else I had said that convinced Primusthat the delay could not be avoided.
“Very well.” He heaved a huge sigh to signalhis discontent, then turned to look at Masala. “If we must, wemust.”
He waved a pudgy, ringed hand at me todismiss me, but unfortunately for Marcus Primus, his headaches andsorrows were not over. I did not move to leave, and he sat back inhis chair, looking at me warily.
“What else? There’s obviously something elsegoing on, so spit it out.”
I explained the dilemma we were facing withfinding seasoned timber. Irritation flashed across his face once Ifinished.
“Then go cut down some trees,” Primussniffed. “I don’t know why you’re bothering me with suchtrivialities.”
I was about to open my mouth to explain,when I found that I had an ally, at least in this matter, from anunlikely source.
“Green wood won’t do, Marcus,” Masala saidquietly. “The Prefect is right. We need seasoned timbers toconstruct the pieces we require.”
“And since there's no shipyard, which wouldbe the ideal spot to find them, I don’t have the authority toappropriate it from other sources,” I added.
“So you need my permission to find thiswood?”
“More than that,” I replied. “I need you todo the appropriation of the wood yourself, because I'm pretty sureI know the only place we'll find what we need.”
“And where, might I ask, is that?” he askedexasperatedly.
Again, before I could answer, Masalaprovided the answer to Primus.
“Correct me if I'm wrong, Prefect, but Ibelieve that the only place we'll find timbers of the appropriatesize and seasoning will be as part of some sort of structure.”
Masala looked in my direction, and I nodded,my respect for Primus’ aide rising a bit, albeit grudgingly.
“You mean we’ll have to tear a buildingdown?” Primus was dismayed at the prospect. “And I’m just supposedto walk in and tell someone that their property is forfeit forRome?”
“They'll be compensated, of course,” Masalaassured him, but this did not soothe Primus in the slightest.
“But that will have come out of my purse!And you know that whoever it is will demand the highest price hecan get away with!”
I certainly had not thought of it in thatway, but the thought of this costing Marcus Primus money cheered mea great deal.
“Perhaps not,” Masala said thoughtfully,leaning down to whisper something in Primus’ ear.
The Praetor’s look of distress dissolved ashe listened, until he was smiling broadly, chuckling and rubbinghis hands together again.
“Oh yes, that is a good idea, my dearMasala! Very good indeed! And it will be worth every sesterce.”
Turning to me, Marcus Primus said, “I'lltake care of everything, Prefect, and you'll have the timber youneed. When do you want it?”
Primus was good to his word, not more thanthree days passing before several wagonloads of heavy timbersarrived in camp, most of them still with the plaster attached ornails embedded in them. The wood was cleaned up, then theimmunes went immediately to work, while Scipio workedsteadily throughout the watches, gathering up all the supplies hehad inventoried, organizing the working parties needed. Soon, thewagons were groaning under the weight of the supplies he hadgathered, and after tallying up the figures, I was pleased. Wewould have enough to last until very late in the season withouthaving to do much foraging, except for the salt pork, which wouldgo first, but that was normal. Capito was training his auxiliarieswith the slings, and Libo was busy with the livestock and cavalryhorses. We were at a point where I felt confident enough to go tothe Praetorium to give Primus a departure date.
“We'll be ready to march a day short of oneweek from today,” I told him.
Primus clapped his hands, clearlypleased.
“That is wonderful news! I take it you'vereceived the timber you required?”
I was about to answer that I had, when therewas a tremendous commotion in the entrance vestibule, and I heardshouting, most of it in Greek, then Primus’ slave came burstinginto the office, his face red. Just behind him was a heavyset manwith a beard of equal parts gray and black, wearing a linen tunicof excellent quality, cut in the Greek fashion. His face was as redas the slave’s, but he was also panting like he had run a greatdistance.
“Master, I am very sorry,” the slave wailed,trying to push against the heavyset man.
By reflex, I had my hand on my sword,although the man suddenly seemed to realize how dangerously closehe was coming to being considered a threat. He stopped severalpaces short of where Marcus Primus was looking at him. I looked atPrimus, expecting to see him looking as shocked as everyone else inthe room, all of whom seemed to be rooted in place. Instead, he wasgrinning at the man, but it was not a pleasant smile.
“What have you done to my house?”
The heavyset man shouted at Primus in Greek,shaking his fist at the Praetor, apparently oblivious to the factthat either I or Masala, who was also armed at the moment, couldhave run him through for making a threatening gesture to a RomanPraetor. But when I looked at Primus, I saw that he was anythingbut alarmed. In fact, he seemed to be enjoying theconfrontation.
“For the security of Rome, we needed certainmaterials that only could be found using the timbers from yourhouse,” Primus replied, still smiling.
“You just did that because I refused to rentit to you!”
The Greek was spitting angry, the veins ofhis
