That took my breath away. A single aureus was a substantial fee. Two of them would keep my family for months. But the feast he had mentioned was just nine days away — the Festival of Janus proper, when a ram was sacrificed, not just the votive crackers which were offered up today. That would not offer poor Silvia much respite — nor give me much time for my enquiries. ‘I do not know if it is possible, so quickly,’ I demurred.
Genialis gave another of his unpleasant smiles. ‘Take it or leave it, citizen. That is the contract I am offering. Until the Ides to get the pavement changed and earn the basic fee. If you do not finish it in time, I do not pay at all. Do it before the Agonalia and I pay you twice as much. If you are willing, come out to the street — I have a pair of other citizens ready and waiting to witness the affair. If not, I will look for someone else.’
‘There is hardly time for anyone to take a pavement up, make good the foundation and lay another in its place!’ I retorted, rather piqued in my professional pride.
He raised an eyebrow. ‘Laying pavements is your business, citizen, and I would not presume to offer you advice. But I don’t see why you need to take up what is there. The current pavement is well-laid and absolutely flat — thanks to your own excellent craftsmanship, I understand. Could you not simply lay the other one on top?’
Of course it is common practice, where the base is good enough. ‘But the lady Silvia?’ I protested. ‘Will she not feel the curse has not been moved?’
He looked pityingly at me. ‘And who will tell her? She will not be there — I propose to take her back to Dorn with me today. I am selling all her slaves and replacing them with mine — leaving just a guardian doorkeeper, while we are away. I shall most certainly not mention her anxiety to him and you won’t either, if you have any sense. All he needs to know is that you’re coming in to work and do not wish to be disturbed. Tomorrow, if you are minded to begin. Now do you accept the terms or not? Otherwise, as I said before, I’ll find someone who will. And I warn you, I am not a man who easily forgives people who thwart him. Make up your mind. I cannot linger here — the carriage will be waiting with Silvia at the city gates. I want her under my protection until our wedding day and we must set off very soon for Dorn. It will be two days’ journey at the best, and — as I say — it is already promising to snow. Fortunately it is a military road and the army doubtless will be sending out fatigues to keep it clear.’
So he was making sure that his bride could not escape. And nor could I. The promise of a mystery, and such a fee as well! I looked at Junio and he raised his brows at me. I turned to Genialis.
‘Then I accept the contract. Lead me to your witnesses,’ I said.
TWO
Genialis was right about the snow, as I saw when I went out into the street. The sky, which had been merely overcast when we came into town, had turned to leaden grey and as I shook hands with my customer, and we exchanged the legal formula in front of the pair of worthy citizens whom he had brought — and doubtless paid — to act as witnesses, I saw the first flakes start to settle on the rooftops opposite.
One of the men, Alfredus Allius, a minor official on the council whom I slightly recognized, was clearly anxious to be safe at home. ‘This weather is coming from the south,’ he said. ‘If you hurry, Genialis, you might beat it yet — and I can get home with my toga dry.’
The other — stouter — councillor agreed. ‘My villa is a dozen miles away.’ He turned to Genialis. ‘I’m not going there myself this afternoon — but of course, citizen, it lies upon your way and you and your lady are welcome to my hospitality if you should find the road to Dorn is blocked. I’ll send my slave boy with you, to explain that to the house.’
Genialis acknowledged this as no more than his right. ‘Thank you, Bernadus. Though I hope it will not come to that. Adonisius! Have you got the traveller’s offering for the altar in the arch?’
A handsome muscled youth with olive skin detached himself from the group of waiting servants lounging by the wall, looked at his master with sullen almond eyes and mutely showed the votive biscuits in his hand.
Bernadus said, ‘Then you can be on your way. As I say, treat my villa as your own. My slave will show your driver where it is. I shall ride out there myself within a day or two, if the roads permit. But you will be lucky to get that far this evening with a cart if you do not make haste.’ And he hustled my visitor away.
I glanced towards the sky. The councillor was right! This snow was coming quickly, and from the south as well — the very direction where my round-house lay. I ought to think of closing up and setting off before it was too late.
I was about to turn into the house when someone called my name. It was another Kalends well-wisher (this time the steward of a frequent customer) and there was a dusting of white flakes upon his cloak. He was bearing coins and figs. I could not in politeness refuse to let him in but I rushed through the civilities as fast as courtesy allowed, inwardly fretting because the man was garrulous and always wanted to pass on all the gossip of the town.
I had a sudden inspiration. ‘I’ve just won a contract at Ulpius’s house — putting in new pavement for his lady wife. The old one apparently reminds her of her loss. Poor fellow, did I understand he drowned?’ I winked at Junio.
The steward sipped the remnants of his New Year wine. He shook his head. ‘Most unfortunate. They say that the ship had just set off for Gaul, and he went to see the helmsman as he always did — but lost his footing and fell overboard. The rumour is he’d had too much to drink, but I don’t know if that’s the truth of it. Tell you who might know more about it — that’s the man next door. I understand that Ulpius had a cargo of his skins.’
I nodded. My workshop was between the candle-maker’s and a tannery. ‘It’s rather difficult for me to ask him anything,’ I hinted, cautiously. ‘I had an altercation with the tanner’s wife over an old slave she lost a year or so ago — she’s always thought I was responsible for that.’
He put down the cup and rose slowly to his feet. ‘Well, I can hardly call there — I’m on my master’s business and he’s never had dealings with the man. However, I’m to tell you he’d be glad if you would call. Something about a new mosaic for the atrium.’
I thanked him heartily and showed him out, but the moment he was through the door again we hurried round the workshop putting things away.
‘I’m already wishing that I hadn’t taken on this work for Genialis,’ I grumbled to Junio as we tied thick rags around our feet and wrapped our bodies in our warmest cloaks, ready for the long trudge back to our respective round-houses and wives. ‘Though if that ship was really setting off for Gaul, it doesn’t seem possible that Genialis was involved — he could not have been on it when it left the dock. But I wish I hadn’t taken on this contract all the same, though I suppose we’re stuck with it. In this weather it will be hard for us to come and go to town, and if we don’t complete it we shall not be paid at all. Besides, if there is no one living in Ulpius’s house it will be cold and damp, and then — no doubt — the mortar will not set.’
Junio stood up and pulled his cloak-hood round his ears. ‘Perhaps I should not have been so eager to talk you into it,’ he admitted ruefully. ‘But I did think that we could help the lady if we took the work. Moreover, I didn’t want that lovely pavement to be utterly destroyed and replaced by something second-rate. I hoped we could have lifted some of it intact and used it somewhere else — though I realize that it won’t be possible, in the short time we’ve got.’
‘It will be shorter still if we get snowed in on the road.’ I got to my feet and gestured to the slaves. ‘So, if you two are ready, we can start for home.’
Minimus leapt up and scurried to the outer door. But when he opened it, he stopped, appalled. ‘Great Janus! Look at that!’