Deep in thought, she paid no heed to Statilius, the thin major domo, as he minced around the walkway from the tablinum. It was only when he gave a polite cough that she looked up. ‘Yes?’
‘Mistress. Your lady mother is here,’ he announced.
Aurelia blinked. ‘My mother?’ she repeated foolishly.
‘That’s right, mistress,’ he said, full of self-importance. ‘She has come on a visit. I’ve already sent a slave to find the master and let him know.’ He eyed the tablinum doors, which were open. ‘I offered her refreshment, a room to change, but she refused both.’
Still trying to take it in, Aurelia rose, gesturing Elira to stop. Atia swept into view a moment later. A body slave scurried behind her.
‘Mother.’ Although things had been awkward between them when last they met, Aurelia felt a rush of warmth towards Atia. She fought her urge to run. That was what a child would do. She walked instead. ‘What a surprise! What a pleasure!’
Atia’s lips turned upwards in reflex, but her eyes remained cold as they kissed. ‘Daughter.’
Aurelia’s stomach lurched. Something was wrong. ‘Have you had word about Father, or Quintus? Are they all right?’
‘I assume so. There have been no letters since I last wrote to you.’ Atia pulled her dark green woollen cloak closer around her shoulders. ‘It’s so cold out here. How can you bear to sit in just a dress?’
‘There’s better light,’ Aurelia explained, her mind racing. Why then was her mother here? ‘Come. One of the reception rooms has underfloor heating and a fire.’ To Elira, she said, ‘Fetch some warmed wine.’ To Statilius: ‘See that a suitable lunch is prepared.’
The reception chamber was a well-decorated room used to entertain guests. Everything about it oozed wealth. The plaster on each wall had been painted red; over this background, exotic scenes portrayed images from myths: Aeneas meeting Dido for the first time; Orpheus looking back at Eurydice at the gates of the underworld; Romulus and Remus sucking the wolf. There were hardwood dressers, comfortable couches and a mahogany table with an ornately carved top. A silver candelabrum hung from the ceiling. Aurelia saw none of it. As soon as they were within, she closed the door. Her mother’s face was still cold, unnerving her. ‘You are always welcome, Mother, but your visit comes as a complete surprise. Why did you not send word before you?’
‘There was no time.’
‘I don’t understand.’
‘How could you, living out here, far from the city? It’s Phanes.’
There was a rush of blood to Aurelia’s head. Lightheaded, she put out a hand to the wall to steady herself.
‘Are you well, child?’ Atia was by her side, her tone at last that of a mother.
‘Y-yes. I’m fine. You mentioned Phanes.’
‘I haven’t mentioned the piece of filth in my letters because there was no point. Somehow, I was managing to keep up with the payments. There was no contact with him, which suited me.’ Atia took a deep breath. She looked older and more vulnerable than Aurelia had ever seen her.
She touched her mother’s arm. ‘Please go on.’
‘I was in Capua last week, buying supplies. As usual, I was staying with Martialis. Phanes must have eyes everywhere, because he appeared at the house the day after I arrived. He told the most outlandish story about being attacked in a temple in the town.’ Aurelia’s mouth opened, but a frosty look from her mother silenced her. ‘While he was worshipping, someone slipped in behind him with a knife. It was no robbery. They told him he had to forget all about our debts.’
‘Just our debts? No one else’s?’
‘He mentioned only our family.’
Confusion filled Aurelia. ‘Who was it that attacked him?’
‘I thought you might have the answer to that.’
Hanno? thought Aurelia. No, it couldn’t be. ‘Agesandros?’
‘No. He’s on the estate. Every slave in the place can vouch for him.’
‘Gaius?’
‘He would never do such a thing! Besides, he’s away with the army. Phanes said it was a slave. There was a struggle. He managed to break free and rip a scarf from around the man’s throat before the wretch fled. There was an “F” branded into his flesh. I know of only one slave who would potentially do such a thing. As far as I can recall, however, Hanno didn’t have a mark like that.’ Atia’s eyes searched Aurelia’s. Somehow, she kept her face impassive.
‘No, he didn’t. Anyway, how could it have been him?’ Aurelia exulted even as pain stabbed into her heart. He must have come back to try and find me! So that was how he came by such a terrible scar. Why didn’t he tell me what had happened to him?
‘I don’t know, child. Hannibal’s army wasn’t so far away at the time,’ snapped Atia. ‘Besides, what other slave would assault Phanes on our behalf?’
‘I have no idea.’ It had to be Hanno, thought Aurelia. There was no one else it could have been. Her heart leaped with joy, and a crazy notion of travelling to Capua to find him filled her head. Her mother’s unhappy expression soon made her delight dissipate, however. ‘What else did Phanes say?’
‘That he would not be threatened in such a way. He laughed and told me that his bodyguards were more than capable of dealing with one rogue slave. Then he doubled the repayments with immediate effect. When I protested, he waved the loan agreement in my face. Because we have missed so many monthly instalments, he can charge what he likes, when he likes.’
‘You couldn’t pay that much!’ cried Aurelia in horror.
‘I had three days to raise the money,’ said Atia heavily. ‘In the end, the only thing I could do was to sell part of the farm.’
‘No!’
‘I had no choice, child. It was that, or Phanes would have gone to the court to have the whole property seized. As it is, I won’t be able to meet the next payment without selling another parcel of land. I’ve written to your father, but I doubt that there is anything he can do to help. Martialis can’t either. He has almost beggared himself already lending us money.’
A chasm of despair opened at Aurelia’s feet. What did you do, Hanno? she shouted inside her head. Instead of making things better, you’ve made them far worse. ‘What are you going to do?’
A helpless shrug. ‘Sell off pieces of the farm a bit at a time. Try to get the best prices I can, although few men are buying at the moment. Perhaps I can hold on to some land until such time as your father can pay Phanes off.’
‘There must be something we can do!’
‘Pray,’ said her mother. ‘Pray that a lightning bolt strikes down that motherless cur before we’re ruined. He’d suck the last drop of blood from a corpse, I’d swear it.’
‘I can speak to Lucius,’ said Aurelia on impulse.
‘I won’t hear of it. It’s shameful enough that the family will be ruined. Asking for help is beneath us.’
‘Surely it’s better than losing the farm?’
‘No, it is not. Your father will win enough glory in the war to renew our fortunes.’
‘How do you know that? What if he’s killed? Then where would you be?’ Aurelia expected her mother to slap her, but it was Atia who looked as if she’d been struck. It made her realise how fragile was the façade that her mother presented to the world, and how easy it was for her, with a husband who was not away at war. ‘I’m sorry,’ she whispered. ‘I shouldn’t have said that.’
‘No, you shouldn’t.’ Atia’s voice shook. ‘The gods will protect Fabricius, as they did before. Quintus too. That is what I believe.’
‘And I also,’ said Aurelia in as confident a tone as she could manage. Praying was her only method of helping her father and brother, but there was something tangible she could do about Phanes. The seed of a daring plan had germinated in her mind. Her mother couldn’t stop her from asking Lucius to help. The timing couldn’t be better either. He would be delighted when she told him about her pregnancy. Pleased enough perhaps to bring pressure to bear upon the moneylender? Aurelia wasn’t sure, but she had to do something to defend her family. What a pity it was that Hanno hadn’t just killed Phanes, she thought savagely. Yet to have done so might have placed him in mortal danger. Despite the repercussions of his actions, she was intensely glad that that hadn’t happened. Let his gods keep him safe too, she pleaded.