‘I confess your presence has been somewhat expected.’ Lillus was more focused. ‘Your father recently asked me to pass on a piece of information when you returned. He would not say what it concerned and it seems to me more riddle than fact. But he said that you must revisit a childhood place, one which stored many memories. He also asked me to help you out should you ever need it – as if he needed to say so. Does this mean something to you?’
‘It does,’ I replied, not entirely convinced that it did.
‘Then my work is done. Your father paid me well, you know, over the years – far more than he should have. It is a shame I did not see him for some time before his passing.’
‘You always acquired such essential information for him.’
He waved his hand. ‘People like to talk to their barber, do they not? I merely harvest the gossip. It was for him to sift through such words for that golden nugget of truth.’
He brought his razor to the edge of my jaw, and proceeded to make firm, precise strokes down my neck.
‘Tonight is the big night,’ he announced, then leaned in to whisper. ‘The general returns from abroad; a success, so they say, and that will please the bloodthirsty. The city criers have been announcing a festival for many nights. King Licintius will be there, with his sister Lacanta, as well as the general and his family and so on. Men and women of the Senate will be there: Chastra, no doubt, close to the heart of operations – cynical as always. Veron, the man who governs your district, a man I haven’t yet learned to trust. I hear tell that Senator Divran, ever since she lost her husband, has turned to dark ways, dark gods… magic. She will also be there.’
‘Magic?’ The razor scraped along my jawline again.
‘Only rumours. I cannot vouch for them. But, yes, the wife of Senator Trero – a man of many dubious businesses – suspects her husband is being drawn into the dark arts by Divran, who is said to be the witch of the Senate. It is said she conducts strange rituals. She tries to raise the dead.’ He paused and leaned in a little closer. ‘Divran blames Lacanta for having driven her husband to suicide.’
‘Is there anything in that?’
‘Lacanta is an attractive lady, and has ways of charming people, and frustrating them also. I cannot say what went on between her and Divran’s husband, but it is said he simply fell from a window by accident. Anyway, all of this magic talk, it is probably nothing more than a few dubious sacrifices and wishful thinking. It happens from time to time.’
‘Who else is going tonight?’
‘Most important people. You know how these things are. Maxant’s success comes at the right time for the politicians. He has unlocked not only fresh labour, but more importantly a new grain supply.’
‘Good news then.’ I didn’t let on that Senator Veron had visited last night. I wanted to hear what Lillus had to say, someone who was not a senator.
‘An understatement,’ Lillus whispered. ‘The lower districts, Plutum and Barrantum, they are really starting to suffer. The first grain shipments arrive within the week. Maxant is not a slow man. No doubt he will hand out the first bowls of grain himself – the people’s hero. It is said he could be lining himself up for a place in the Senate. I have heard many anxious voices. Politicians are under great strain. We were probably weeks away from food riots, though you would not hear such talk broadcast about the city. It is whispered, along the roadside in Polyum, Tradum and Vellyum, that Maxant is asking for land for his veterans, too, but what land will remain for them? Sun-baked clay is not much use. That may cause trouble, should King Licintius not oblige – though I think he will. He is a very good and old friend of Maxant.’
‘What are the senators’ wives saying?’
‘Or husbands – we have several female senators these days. Dalta’s Rule.’
‘Ah, thanks to the charming Queen of Dalta. She who owns such precious resources gets to have a say in the laws of Vispasia.’
‘Behind the scenes, there is pressure to reward hard-working impoverished families with land further afield. Detrata has prospered and now we are too big – that has led to rumours that the Senate wishes to expand our borders somehow. The king resists – he knows the value of Vispasia. New aqueducts are nearing completion to bring water, despite the old ones in the city being broken in places. There is demand for bigger projects, though King Licintius is not of a mind to spend money on such things, and nor is his sister, for that will mean more taxation – they had been unpopular enough.’
‘How old is she now?’
‘Twenty-four summers, I believe, and an incredibly well-read woman, so they say. She is more beautiful than one can imagine, growing the wonderful curves of womanhood. That is how the statues are carved, but apparently she does look like them.’
‘I would’ve thought a man like Licintius would have used her to seal some commercial pact with another nation, especially if food was scarce. It’s not unlike a king to do that, no matter how abhorrent for the lady.’
‘That’s true. As for Lacanta – she… she is not well controlled, it is fair to say.’
‘Is that a problem?’ I asked. ‘Surely she has her own will?’
‘Yes. But her status requires that her life is not her own, as does the king’s status. Lacanta likes the company of many other men and women, so the rumours go. One by one, she steals their hearts and then their minds. Not inherently a bad thing, of course, but it causes tensions where there should be as few as possible. Licintius cannot stop her, though I suspect he doesn’t really care, as he is making a good job of causing scandal himself ever since he became a patron of the theatre.’
‘That would explain the number of street productions I’ve seen.’
‘What’s more, he has permitted the formation of the Guild of Prostitutes. Such attitudes are frowned upon, though I like it myself.’
‘No bad thing that they have some organization and protection,’ I replied, remembering how unsafe life could be for the oldest trade.
‘Many in the Senate disapprove. It is easy to forget that this is still a conservative city, full of conservative morals. And with Licintius bringing in labour from abroad to build the aqueducts and complete his temples – at the expense of the poor here, I should add – and with Lacanta busily corrupting marriage after marriage… well, it is simple to see why many wish to see the royal brother and sister no longer in such a powerful position. There is talk of Maxant being shoehorned in as a republican leader, someone who can begin campaigns abroad, but will the people support a military dictator? Who can tell? Besides, as I say, Maxant and Licintius are old, old friends.’
‘We live in complex times, old friend,’ I said.
‘We do. And it makes life all the more interesting, I find.’
Lillus finished his shave and threw a hot towel across my face then commenced to trim my hair. For a little while longer he talked of the arts, of scandalous affairs, of suspected orgies, of missing people, of immigration and nationalism, and of the resurgence of gangs ever since Licintius inherited the throne – though he claimed the latter was due to senators using whatever methods they could to influence their own neighbourhoods.
A visit to Lillus’ was never dull but, more importantly, never without gain. One did not pay merely for a haircut – the costs included information about the fabric of the city. My years away from the city no longer seemed important: my studies of contemporary Tryum were complete.