Now I was following Septimus out of thevilla, and I was only slightly surprised to see two men waiting forus, and even if they had been wearing normal attire, it wasimpossible to not know that they were former gladiators. One ofthem could have been the twin of Aroborix, who had been so foullybetrayed by his supposed friend Bellicanus, but most importantly,both of them carried themselves in a manner that practicallyshouted that they were to be trifled with at your peril. Which, Iacknowledged to myself, makes sense, given what I assumed we werepicking up. What I was not prepared for was the sight of the wagon,just outside the gate, which had been shut, but when the gladiatorclimbed onto the seat, I was compelled to ask why Septimus felt theneed.
It was his turn to besurprised, and he made me immediately feel foolish when heanswered, “You do know abouthow much Gnaeus weighs, don’t you? I don’t think we should belugging around that much weight through the streets.” He added,“The Pullus family may be respected and feared here, but that’s fartoo much temptation,” and he actually laughed as he finished, “Whoknows? If it was someone else’s gold, I’d be temptedmyself.”
This was impossible to argue, so I did nottry, although we contented ourselves to walk ahead of the wagonsince we did not have far to go. The building Septimus led us towas another villa, just a block off the forum but on the oppositeside at the far end, and if anything, it was more heavily fortifiedthan the Prefect’s, which had been my home for so many years. And,unlike our villa, this one had not two but four men standing justoutside the gateway, although I suspected it was because they wereexpecting us, and they were men cut from the same cloth as the twowith us, whose names I did not bother to learn. One of the menconfirmed my suspicions by giving Septimus a nod, then snapping anorder to open one of the gates, which was wide enough for the wagonto pass through. Following Septimus, we entered the courtyard,where a portly bald man with thinning hair that he grew long andcombed over the crown of his head and clad in a toga, somewhatunusually, was waiting for us at the door of the villa.
“Salve,Septimus Pullus,” he called out, and there was something oily inhis manner that I immediately disliked and distrusted. “Everythingis ready as you requested.”
He made an expansive gesture, and as if hetimed it, the door opened, and two more men appeared, each of themholding a handle of a wooden chest that, as a clerk of the Legions,I recognized was of the type in which the payroll is delivered.Nothing was said as the two men, walking slowly and clearlystruggling with the load, headed towards the wagon, and while I donot know why this was the case, when I saw another pair of menemerge, almost an exact copy of the first pair in their appearanceand the identical chest carried between them, I gasped in surprise.I suppose it had never really occurred to me what this much goldlooked like, at least as calculated by a greedy petty king inBritannia.
“Most of it is in coin,”the toga-clad man said to Septimus as we watched the four men maketheir way to the wagon. “But there is perhaps a quarter part thatis in gold ingots. All told, it is more than two hundred pounds ofgold.”
Of the pair of us, only Septimus seemedunimpressed, behaving as if this sort of thing happened to himevery day.
“You have my note,Salinator,” was all Septimus said, and when Salinator offered hisarm, while he hid it, I knew Septimus well enough to see thedistaste as he accepted it, clasping arms in the formal sealing ofa bargain.
“That I do, Pullus. That Ido.” The man seemed inordinately pleased with himself, and thismarks the first moment where I had a presentiment that somethingmore was happening than Gnaeus would have been comfortable with,and as his representative, I felt the same way.
Nevertheless, nothing more was said, and thegladiator driving the wagon laboriously turned it around, butquickly enough he had the ox pointed the right way, and once more,Septimus and I led our party through the gate. I was extremelynervous, but whether it was because of the Pullus name or theintervention of the gods, we made our way back to our villa, albeitby a different route, unmolested. I did not say anything, butSeptimus interpreted my sidelong glance correctly.
“I’m not going to make iteasy for any light-fingered bastard,” was all he said with a shrug.“Only a fool like…” He stopped himself, but I knew that he wasabout to utter his brother’s name, and I used this as anexcuse.
“How have you been doing,Septimus?” I asked him, then pitching my voice low so that only hecould hear, “with…you know…”
“Yes,” he sighed, “I knowwhat you mean.” He said nothing for a few paces, then said,“Honestly, I go back and forth. I mean,” he went on, “yes, Gaiushad done horrible things, and yes, his foolishness put the familyin danger. But,” he paused, and I understood why when he continued,“if Juno hadn’t…”
I cut him off immediately, and I made sureto turn and look him in the eye as I said calmly, if throughclenched teeth, “Her name is Algaia.”
He did flush, and he also corrected, “Yes,you’re right. I meant Algaia. But,” he immediately continuedplunging into territory that, as far as I am concerned, was beyondthe boundaries, “if Gaius hadn’t been…” I suppose he was trying tothink of a word that wouldn’t cause me to hit him, “…persuaded,”was what he settled on, “by Algaia, I don’t think any of this wouldhave happened.”
I knew he was trying to be careful, but Ialso refused to let this go unchallenged, and I came to an abruptstop, which in turn forced the gladiator driving the wagon tohalt.
It took an effort, but I managed to keep mytone even as I asked Septimus, “Are you saying that if Algaiahadn’t been here, that Gaius would have turned outdifferently?”
Even if I did not know him as well as I did,I could see
