I nodded. Suddenly her agitation did not seem so strange. ‘But you went ahead and finished the acts of sacrifice?’
He shrugged. ‘I had to do something, citizen. I couldn’t interrupt the rituals again, or Gitta would have left me there and then. I’m not sure that she won’t do so, even now. It’s all the fault of that confounded sacerdos. If he hadn’t ruined my attempt at sacrifice in town, all this would never have occurred.’ He spoke with such feeling that I was surprised.
‘You are not convinced that you have raised the curse yourself?’ I said. ‘Of course, he promised he would come and I can see that you are angry, but consider this — if he had turned up and made a mess of it again, wouldn’t that have been still more unfortunate?’
He looked thoughtfully at me. ‘You are right, of course. And I confess that I was furious with his failure to appear. Though now that I realize it was not his fault at all …’
I interrupted him, surprised. ‘Why not, if he had agreed a fee? You had a legal contract, didn’t you?’
It was his turn to look astonished. ‘Did you not just tell me he was missing in the snow, and although they’d searched for him it was feared that he was dead?’ He saw me staring in surprise, and added mournfully, ‘The man who was to make the Janus sacrifice, you said.’
And then — at last — I understood his shock. ‘You thought I meant the priest! What did you suppose? That your curse had struck again and all this had happened on his way to you?’ I shook my head. ‘Well, don’t worry. This is not about the priest. I was talking about the man who wanted to provide the ram. Genialis, the would-be councillor.’ Cantalarius still looked puzzled so I added helpfully, ‘The man that I was making that hurried pavement for.’
An expression of bemusement crossed my neighbour’s face. ‘So the priest …?’
I put my arm around his crooked back. ‘I’m very much afraid that he has simply let you down.’ I realized he was shaking with relief, and I said, to comfort him, ‘I’ll mention that to Marcus when I see him, too — if you had a spoken contract, you have a case in law. It’s not much consolation, I’m aware — especially where a member of the priesthood is concerned. He’ll only claim you simply made a donation to the shrine, but all the same, the intervention of our most senior magistrate might persuade him to attempt some compromise. And in the meantime, I’d still like to hire your mule.’ I tried a sympathetic smile. ‘Perhaps the fifth part of an aureus will help persuade your wife that the sacrifice you offered was not a bad thing after all?’
He managed to summon a rueful smile at this and summoned Gitta from inside the house. She still seemed ready to hector and complain, but once her husband had explained affairs to her, she brightened up remarkably, and when she heard about my offer for the mule, she was positively anxious for him to seal the contract, there and then.
‘It is surer profit than attempting to sell leeks and cabbages,’ she said, suddenly business-like and adopting a judicious air. ‘Let him hire both of them, husband, if he likes, and look for this unlucky councillor.’
I was about to protest — I didn’t want to do anything of the sort — but Cantalarius was already waving this aside.
‘I shall require one animal to go to town myself — with the money that Libertus has agreed to pay, we shall have enough to buy some more feed for the stock. With luck we may keep the rest of them alive until the weather breaks.’
I beamed at her. ‘You see? That sacrifice your husband made has obviously worked — the gods are seeing fit to change your luck at last.’
She seemed about to speak but he prevented her, raising a hand and looking indulgently at her. ‘Perhaps the citizen is right. Things are looking hopeful, for a change. Nonetheless, wife, one of us should go back and attend the funeral pyre — otherwise we shall offend the netherworld again. We are already in danger of not showing the dead enough respect. You go back and take over the lament. Sordinus cannot do it, and it must be done. I will take the citizen to select his mule then I’ll come to you and conclude the rituals.’
Gitta nodded. ‘Perhaps I was wrong about that offering after all,’ she said.
Then she turned and went hurrying off, while her husband led me and Minimus back to where the mules were kept.
THIRTEEN
When we reached the wickerwork stockade pen, Cantalarius raised the rope loop which secured the woven gate and escorted myself and Minimus inside. The field was small and muddy and the two animals were at the other end, snuffling at the wisp or two of hay still lying in the trough.
‘You have contrived to keep these fed throughout, I see?’ I said.
‘I had to, neighbour,’ he said glumly, ‘or we would have starved, ourselves. I needed them to take my wares to town to sell. Or to offer to the temple, come to that. Though it has not been easy, once or twice. Between these mules and trying to keep that unblemished ram alive we’ve had empty bellies more than once this moon — animals that starve to death have little meat on them. Though Gitta did manage to make some soup from two poor scraggy ewes, with some of the blighted cabbage which was not fit to sell.’ He gave a mirthless laugh. ‘At least with all the servants dead there are fewer mouths to feed.’
I nodded. ‘There must have been some hard decisions, I can see.’
A strange expression spread across the ugly face. ‘The truth is, neighbour, I’ve done a stupid thing — though I did not wish to tell you when my wife could hear. But things were desperate. I had to feed the mules …’ He trailed off, uncomfortably.
‘Go on!’ I prompted. ‘If you have been begging, I shan’t inform on you.’ Beggars are officially forbidden in the town but people who are driven to it have my sympathy.
‘I wish it were that simple,’ he said soberly, making me wonder for a moment if he’d been stealing feed — for which of course the penalty was severe.
‘Fortunately, since you are a Roman citizen, even theft is not a capital offence,’ I hazarded, though the alternative — four-fold reparation and a swinging fine — was not much comfort, I could see. They’d seize the farm to pay it, and he’d lose everything.
But that was not the trouble either, it appeared.
He shook his head. ‘It’s like this, citizen Libertus. When I went into Glevum to the temple yesterday, I had to cross the marketplace, of course. I found there was a little hay and oats for sale — someone had succeeded in bringing in a cartful from their store, though naturally they wanted an enormous price for it and by that time I had given everything I had to bribe the priest. But I was desperate. I was right beside the forum and … I don’t know how it happened, but temptation was too great …’ He stopped and looked at me.
‘You borrowed from the money-lenders!’ I exclaimed. I saw his expression of surprised relief and gave him a wry smile. ‘Don’t worry, friend — you’re not the only one.’
He was silent for a moment, as if he couldn’t quite work out the force of that. Then he said, slowly, ‘You went to them, yourself?’
I nodded. ‘I think that half the town has been reduced to it.’ In a burst of fellow-feeling I reached out and patted him on his crooked arm. ‘And don’t fear I’ll tell your wife. I haven’t told mine, either. Your secret’s safe with me. Besides, when I have paid you for the mule you will have the wherewithal to clear the debt. Or some of it, at least.’
After that it did not take us long to shake upon the contract for the hire. I was to have the stronger of the mules for as long as I required, with permission to use it in any way I wished, on condition that I provided food and stabling for it and returned it ‘before the Ides in as good condition as I found it’ — a proviso I agreed to easily enough, as it was hard to see how the poor beast’s condition could well be worse.