Cantalarius made a doubtful little face. ‘Though this one’s hardly handsome. Take a look — see what you think yourself.’
I lifted a corner of the cloth a little gingerly, revealing quite the ugliest statue I have ever seen. The face was crudely carved, as if a child had drawn a figure on a slate, and the eyes and teeth were inlaid afterwards. The result was to give it lopsided staring eyes and distort the mouth into an evil twisted leer — more like a demon than a deity. It was so horrid it was almost comical.
I grinned and behind me I heard Maximus give a stifled gasp. My neighbour laughed.
‘You see? Would you not want to be rid of such a thing? It’s my belief that might be what’s bringing down the curse. I told my wife so. Truth to tell, I think she hated it herself. At all events I swayed her in the end.’
‘If it goes to the temple there’s no disrespect,’ I ventured, doubtfully. ‘And if you two had nothing else to sell …?’
He shook his head. ‘Nothing else of value. A few bronze bowls, that’s all. More of her great-uncle’s handiwork. At first she was reluctant to let me take them, too — because if this fails, and she does divorce me and go back home again …’ He trailed off unhappily.
‘She would need a bit of dowry to make another match?’ I finished. ‘But she did agree that you could have them, finally?’
A sigh. ‘Events persuaded her. This morning our last land slave caught the fever — we’ve already lost our other slaves to it. If he dies we shall have no help at all and I cannot work the farm myself. That finally convinced her that things were desperate. She let me have it all.’ He spat on his hand and rubbed his ear with it in the ancient gesture to ward off a curse. ‘If it’s not enough to bribe the wretched priest to come, the gods knows what I’ll do. She will divorce me, certainly. In that case, I might just as well be dead — as no doubt I will be, if I really am accursed.’
There did not seem to be an answer I could make to this, so I said simply, ‘Well, I wish you fortune. Perhaps your luck will change. I’ll bring you what I owe you — that would be a start, at least.’
This time he did manage a wry smile. ‘Citizen, what I need is a miracle — not a few sesterces — but thank you all the same. Now, if I’m to find this priest and get back home tonight I had better hurry, or it will freeze again. Even a mule will stumble if there is ice enough — and I can’t afford to lose these animals as well. They are pretty well the only healthy things we have.’ So saying he pulled his hood up round his ears again and, jerking his laden mule behind him, he started down the track.
I glanced at Maximus, who had been standing back but obviously listening to this whole exchange. ‘Unhappy fellow!’
My young servant nodded and watched him move out of sight. ‘Sometimes, Master, there are worse things than to be a slave. We do not have his troubles.’
A piping voice surprised me. ‘Well, I’m a slave and I’ll have troubles of my own, if we don’t hurry to the villa very soon.’ I’d forgotten the existence of Marcus’s young page, who had been behind me all this time. ‘My master will be waiting, and he does not care for that.’
He was right of course. I nodded. ‘Then we’ll hurry.’ And we did.
NINE
Marcus may have been expecting me, and impatiently at that, but when I got there he did what rich men often do to emphasize their rank — he kept me idling in the atrium for quite a time before he was announced. (It might have been a quarter of an hour, though it seemed much longer because I was alone — Maximus had been led off to the servants’ waiting room as soon as we arrived.) My patron often used enforced delay as a form of reprimand, so when he did come I was relieved to find that he seemed quite affable.
‘Ah, Libertus, my old friend,’ he murmured, extending his ringed hand for me to kiss and motioning his attendants to bring in seats for us.
I made the obligatory obeisance, going down on one knee, but he signalled me to rise and sat down on the gilded folding chair which had been set for him. He motioned me to the smaller wooden stool — where my head would be appropriately lower than his own — then he sent the household servants off to bring a table in, together with a tray of honeyed figs and wine.
Then, to my surprise, he shooed away the slaves to wait outside the door. I must have looked astonished — Marcus is rarely without attendants at his side — but he put one finger to his lips and gave me a knowing look. ‘One cannot be too careful. Isn’t that what you are always telling me?’
It almost made me smile. It was true. I had repeatedly warned him that slaves had ears and eyes and tongues — and were not merely ‘living tools’, as he tended to suppose — but I had never before known him to pay the slightest attention to my words. However, today he was obviously taking special care. I managed to compose my features into a duly serious look.
‘This is to be a private conference!’ He looked around theatrically, as if to make quite sure we were alone, then carefully selected the plumpest of the fruit and leant back to gaze thoughtfully at me. ‘Libertus, I think you know why I have called for you?’
It was hard to know quite how to answer that. ‘You wished to speak to me about the sale of Silvia’s portion of her late husband’s business?’ I said, as gravely as I could. ‘If Lucius’s other backer will not provide the loan, you are minded to invest in the enterprise yourself?’ I had chosen the expression with some diffidence. Marcus is famously cautious with his cash.
But he nodded almost blithely. ‘I might even offer to do so anyway. I was talking to the lady Silvia last night and the more she told me of Ulpius’s affairs, the more attracted to the prospect I became. It seems a pity that Genialis should be allowed to close it down.’
So that was why he’d wanted to stay in town last night to dine with his new ward! Not merely for the pleasure of her company, but to ask her a few questions about her late husband’s trade. However, I knew better than to say such things aloud. ‘The lady is observant and intelligent,’ I observed. ‘If she was acquainted with Ulpius’s associates, no doubt she was able to tell you a great deal.’
‘Indeed she did.’ He took a bite of fig and waved it in the air. Marcus had a way of looking smug when he felt that he had been particularly shrewd and he was wearing that expression now. ‘Not that I made it obvious, of course, but I managed to turn the conversation to the life she used to lead, and she furnished me with the names of several men with whom Ulpius used to trade. It seems he entertained them at his home sometimes and she’d met most of them. Afterwards I had my page prepare a list for you.’ He reached into his inner toga folds and produced a rolled-up piece of bark-paper.
I took it from him and was about to look at it, but he waved a lofty hand. ‘Read it at your leisure. You will want to study it in detail, no doubt. I’ve given you the names of his chief associates — that should save you quite a lot of work. But there’s no need to thank me.’ (I hadn’t thought of it!) ‘It will give you extra time for a more searching enquiry into their affairs.’
After that I did not dare to open up the scroll. I muttered a conventional, ‘A thousand thanks, patron, you are most gracious,’ but secretly I gave an inward sigh. Even at a glance it was quite obvious that the scroll contained at least a dozen names. This ‘searching enquiry into their affairs’ would clearly take a great deal of my time (for which I was unlikely to be paid) and involve my presence on a good few trading boats — which were certain to be swaying in a most unpleasant way, even if they were tied up against the quay. However, Marcus was my patron and no hint of reluctance could be allowed to show.
‘You still wish me to investigate these men?’ I hazarded, as meekly as I could, securing the rolled-up paper behind the purse-pouch on my belt. ‘Hasn’t Silvia told you most of what you want to know?’
He smiled. ‘She told me a good deal about their various characters — and very entertaining some of that was too — and what commodities they trade in as a rule. You’ll find that information on your list. But she is just a woman and there are things she could not know. Genialis is threatening to close the business down by selling Silvia’s share of it — I suspect that’s merely to increase the price he wants from Lucius, but it may be that there is some other reason that I don’t know about. I look to you to find out if there is. Discover what these men are worth, whether they are honest and — naturally — what their status and their backgrounds are. In short, whether the warehouse is likely to continue to be prosperous. If your report is favourable, I will offer to put up the loan to Lucius. But I need to find out soon. As you know I expect to be setting off to Rome, and if I am to invest in this at all I shall need to settle it before I go.’