The former prefect smiled at him and clapped a hand on his shoulder.
“It was good to speak to you again, Marcus.”
Fronto smiled in return.
“And you, but Clodius is only yours if you beat me to him.”
The two men stood for a moment in silence, and then the fugitive turned and disappeared down the street, fast and quiet.
“I feel for him.” Priscus sighed.
Fronto nodded.
“He was right about Clodius’ reaction, though. Time for the Falerii to beat a temporary retreat, I fear.”
Chapter 23
(Late October: House of the Falerii in Rome.)
Fronto stood in the atrium, gingerly rubbing his aching shoulder and side.
“What’s the upshot?”
Priscus glanced across at Cestus, who straightened from where he leaned against the soot-blackened wall.
“We lost twelve men from the guard, two slaves to the attackers and two to fire. Three men are wounded and one slave, but they’ll all mend in time. That leaves the household support at six slaves and Posco, and fourteen guards, not including the seven we have out in the city.”
“And the enemy?”
Now Cestus smiled unpleasantly.
“Twenty eight dead.” His smile became yet more vicious. “Well, there were twenty four, but we took the opportunity to finish off four more wounded ones we found when it got light.”
Fronto nodded.
“Not bad, given the circumstances.”
“There is one thing” the former gladiator said with a sigh. “Castor and Pollux, the two assassins, escaped. Don’t know how they got away, but they’re not among the bodies. Too clever, that pair.”
Fronto frowned for a moment and then remembered the two killers that had come to the fore as Cestus sent the defenders inside.
“Nothing we can do about that. Philopater’s body makes it all worthwhile, though.”
Priscus leaned against the wall.
“Have you decided what you’re going to do with it? Going to send the skull to Clodius?”
Fronto shook his head.
“No. That’s beneath us, Gnaeus.” He turned to Cestus. “Get all twenty nine, including Philopater, into a cart, take them down to the end of the street, opposite Bona Dea, and dump them in a pile, weapons and all. Let’s leave a no-nonsense message for Clodius.”
Cestus nodded and turned to leave, pausing for a moment.
“I’ll take six men to help and leave eight here with you. The other lads in the city will be reporting in shortly, so you should be safe.”
As he left, Fronto and Priscus sighed and looked one another up and down.
“Time we hit the baths and got all this soot off, eh?”
Fronto nodded.
“In a minute. Something to do, first. I’ll catch you up.”
Clasping hands, he watched Priscus hobble off toward the baths, before turning to stride wearily through the corridors toward the garden.
Faleria and her mother sat in the tablinum, along with Lucilia and Posco.
“Mother?”
“Marcus. Who does this man think he is to invade our house? If your father were still alive…”
Fronto smiled.
“The years he has been gone have somewhat magnified his legend, mother. I fear he would have fared no better than we. Rome is changing. The city he knew is gone, replaced by a lawless labyrinth of intrigues and criminals.”
He glanced across at Lucilia.
“And I brought you into it. I should not have done that. I should have left you in Massilia, and I’m sorry about that.”
The young woman shrugged.
“You are not to blame for the state of the Republic, Marcus.”
He sighed and straightened.
“Rome is no longer safe for good people. It’s no longer safe for the Falerii. You must leave.”
Faleria bridled and glared at him.
“If you think that a gang of cutthroats is going to frighten me out of the city…”
She faltered as Fronto swept his hand across in front of him.
“Don’t be stupid, Faleria. You saw what happened last night. You’ve become targets now, and I simply won’t have that. You are leaving the city; today. Cestus will send a dozen men with you. You need to pack everything you want to keep from here in three carts and prepare to move out. After lunch you will be on the road back to Puteoli. The villa there has many more staff and is a long way from the gangs of Rome. When you get there, Faleria, you will speak to the decurions of the town and hire a large force to ‘work’ the estate. You need a force of at least fifty men at all times to make sure you’re safe.”
Faleria the elder nodded.
“He’s right, daughter. Your father would not have blinked before sending us back to Puteoli.”
Fronto smiled.
“The villa has the added bonus that, being outside the city, you can legally support a large armed force and don’t have to keep your blade sheathed.”
Faleria frowned angrily.
“You and Caesar should just bring the legions back from Gaul and sweep these scum from the streets once and for all.”
Fronto opened his mouth to speak, but the quiet, measured tone of the general cut in from the doorway.
“Be careful what you wish for, my lady. Remember Sulla, the martial law and the proscriptions? Do you really want to see that happen again? Soldiers in the streets, gutters full of blood and fear in the eyes of all? The legions must not enter Rome, or we might as well say farewell to the republic for good.”
She sighed and the general smiled.
“Things will not always be like this. There are still men who care about Rome and her institutions: myself, Pompey and Crassus to name but three. Tomorrow we will meet and decide what must be done to put the city back in order, but Fronto is absolutely right to send you away in the meantime. Pompey has sent my daughter to his country estate already and my nephew-in-law has sent my niece and the children to his estate at Velitrae, though I am not convinced that will be far enough from the city for safety.”
“And I?” Lucilia said quietly. “What is to become of me? Will you send me to the Caecilii, or back to Massilia?”
Fronto shook his head.
“For now, neither. The journey home is too long and unsafe without an escort and I cannot spare the men. Equally, it is far too dangerous for you to stay in the city. Unless you have any objection, mother, I will send Lucilia with you to Puteoli?”
His mother smiled and reached out toward the young lady.
“She would be most welcome, of course.”
“Good. It is for the best, Lucilia. Depending on circumstances, I will hopefully come and join you all soon.”
As silence descended, Caesar stirred from where he leaned against the doorway.
“I have sent word to Pompey and Crassus to arrange a meeting tomorrow, out of the city and somewhere safe, in neutral territory. I would like you to be there, Marcus, along with several others. In the meantime I have a great deal to do and am short on time and assistance. Could I borrow Posco for a few hours?”
Fronto glanced across at his mother and Faleria, who shrugged and nodded.
“Very well, Caesar. I fear we will be mostly catching up on sleep until lunchtime anyway, while the staff sort the house.”
Faleria turned to the general.
“Shall we see you again before we leave, Caesar?”
The general smiled.
“I would consider it an insult if you left without my seeing you off. I shall return by lunchtime and add my own arm to your escort from the city.”
Fronto rolled his eyes.
“Silver-tongued old devil.”
Caesar gave him a sly smile and beckoned to Posco.
“Come, my friend. I have several tasks for you. Firstly a visit to the records of the tabularium in the forum. Do you have a stylus and tablet? You’ll need them…”
As the two men left the room, Fronto walked across to help his mother rise from the couch. Every day she seemed a little older to his tired eyes.