Claudia, in an attempt to distract him, smiled up at him. ‘Well, you learn something new every day.’
Spicerius and Valens were still sitting in the shade. The gladiator rose as Claudia came back.
‘I’m sorry,’ he apologised. ‘Murranus did tell me what happened. I tried to hide my tattoo beneath the wrist guard.’ He squatted down as she did. ‘I know something of your background,’ he continued, ‘but this tattoo,’ he undid the wrist guard and displayed the design, ‘has only been done in the last six months.’
‘Do many gladiators wear it?’
‘Ask Murranus.’ Spicerius shrugged. ‘It’s common enough. It’s linked to the worship of Dionysius, the God of Wine.’ Claudia noticed how his eye teeth were sharpened like those of a wolf. ‘Dionysius and Eros,’ he continued. ‘What more can a gladiator expect from life?’
‘You’re not the only one!’ Valens, who had been studying her closely, spoke up. ‘I know of at least three girls from the slums, one as young as twelve, who were attacked and raped by a man with that tattoo. One of them claimed it was a gladiator, but there again,’ he patted Spicerius on the shoulder, ‘these men get blamed for everything. If a woman is raped or a man killed. .’ He paused. ‘Yet I have found more honour amongst them than I have a group of priests.’
‘Is there a temple devoted to Dionysius?’ Claudia asked. ‘I mean, one where the sign is the purple chalice?’
Spicerius shook his head.
‘Many temples are dedicated to Dionysius or Bacchus, they are as common as fleas on a dog. No, it’s more of a sign that you are a wine worshipper, which can earn you comradeship at a drinking club.’ Spicerius paused and clutched his stomach. ‘Just a cramp.’ He winked. ‘I’ll be well enough to fight your man. This time, let the mob spare him.’
‘Last time,’ Claudia, embarrassed, was eager to change the subject, ‘when you drank the poisoned wine, you saw nothing untoward, nothing out of the ordinary?’
‘I was in the tunnel,’ Spicerius replied, ‘near the Gate of Life. I wanted the contest to begin. I drank the wine.’ He tapped the tattoo on his wrist. ‘I know my wine, it cleanses my mouth and wets the back of my throat.’
‘Did you feel strange?’ Claudia asked.
Spicerius screwed his eyes up. ‘Ask your boyfriend here. Of course you feel strange before a fight. Your stomach pitches like a boat in a storm. Strange sounds echo in your ears. A drumming begins in your head. You want to run and shout and scream, but at the same time there is this icy coldness. You become aware of the smallest thing.’
‘And in the arena?’ Claudia asked.
‘I went out,’ Spicerius’s face grew smooth; he had lost that mask of cynical arrogance, ‘I really believed I had a chance. Suddenly I saw double, like you do when you have a knock on the head.’ He patted his stomach. ‘A fire was lit in my belly, I thought it would pass, but then my legs lost their strength. One thing I realised was that I had to vomit; if I didn’t, I would die.’ He turned and embraced Valens, drawing the old man close and kissing him on his head. ‘If it wasn’t for my good friend here, the great Spicerius would have died like some slave fainting with fear before a lion or panther.’
‘Somebody drugged you,’ Claudia insisted. ‘Why?’
‘Three reasons,’ Murranus intervened, ticking the points off on his fingers. ‘Somebody loves Murranus, or somebody hates Spicerius.’
‘And thirdly?’ Claudia asked.
‘Somebody wagered heavily that I would win. It certainly wasn’t me or anyone at this tavern.’
‘But you should have died.’ Claudia turned to Spicerius. ‘You weren’t meant to faint. Your secret attacker intended to kill you.’ She glanced at the old physician, who was chomping on his lips, face turned to the sun, though he had been studying her carefully out of the corner of his eye.
‘By the cock!’ Valens whispered. ‘You have a sharp one here, Murranus! Keen as a surgeon’s knife. You’re right, Spicerius should have died. Three things saved him. He has the constitution of an ox, he vomited the poison, and I was there to administer treatment. There’s one further. .’ His voice trailed off.
‘Yes?’ Claudia asked. She was aware of how silent the garden had fallen. A butterfly flew between them, fluttering white in the light breeze.
‘He should have died,’ Valens murmured, ‘but the assassin made a mistake. He, or she, didn’t give him enough poison. It was sufficient to make him vomit, to cause the pain, but not enough to finish him off.’
‘Spicerius!’
Claudia turned. A young woman, black hair floating around her face like a veil, came tripping across the grass, the folds of her costly gown flapping around her, a shawl protecting her back and shoulders from the sun. Behind her an old slave carried a parasol and two fat cushions. The woman paused and turned on him.
‘Can’t you keep up, you old fool!’ she screamed. ‘And this parasol is supposed to shade me from the sun!’
‘Agrippina,’ Spicerius murmured.
The young woman ran up in a gust of perfume and, without being invited, crouched down, flinging her arms around Spicerius’s neck, kissing him hungrily on the side of his mouth and face before shrieking to the old slave to put the cushions down. Then she drew apart, made herself comfortable and gazed around, an impudent smile on her cheeky face.
As Agrippina blew a kiss at Murranus, Claudia tried to hide her stab of envy. The woman was truly beautiful. She had lovely expressive eyes in her ivory-skinned face, and her jewellery and earrings, all a blood red, glittered every time she moved, in a clatter of bangles and bracelets. She wore a wild flower in her hair and carried a perfumed napkin to cool the sweat on her neck and arms. She waggled her fingers at Valens but dismissed Claudia with a half-smile and a flick of her eyes.
‘I’ve been searching for you everywhere,’ she cooed, turning to Spicerius. ‘What on earth are you doing in a place like this?’
‘It’s my place,’ Claudia spoke up, ‘and I’m wondering what a person like you is doing here.’
The smile disappeared from Agrippina’s face. The old slave hastily retreated. Agrippina took a fan from a pocket in her robe, snapped it open, stared hard at Claudia and then burst out laughing. She took a bracelet from her wrist and thrust it into Claudia’s hand.
‘I’m such a bitch,’ she confessed, ‘and such a snob! I meant no offence.’
‘None taken,’ Claudia answered, slipping the bracelet on to her wrist. ‘Would you like some wine?’
Agrippina shook her head. ‘I’ve been drinking all morning. What have you been discussing?’
‘Who tried to kill Spicerius.’
‘Well, it wasn’t me,’ Agrippina retorted. She leaned against her lover. ‘We observed the rules, didn’t we; we neither drank nor ate that morning. What Spicerius does, I always follow.’ Her eyes turned soft. ‘No offence, Murranus, but I truly thought Spicerius would win. My father is furious. I bet a fortune and lost.’
‘I thought all money was to be returned?’ Spicerius said.
Agrippina kissed him on his shoulder. ‘No, that’s what everyone is haggling about now. They will probably agree to hold the money until the next fight. Now listen, Spicerius, you must stay in the shade. Claudia — it is Claudia, isn’t it? Do you mind if I stay here? I will help you.’ She chattered on, talking so fast she hardly stopped to breathe.
Claudia excused herself, went across to the tavern and sent Oceanus out to see if all was well. She then returned to her own chamber. She drew the bolt across the door and lay down on the narrow cot bed. Polybius was now up, bellowing in the kitchens at whoever got in his way. Claudia’s mind drifted back to the catacombs earlier that day, and the tattoo on Spicerius’s wrist.
‘One day,’ she whispered, as her eyes grew heavy and she drifted into sleep.
She slept long and deep, and it was mid-afternoon before she woke. She splashed some water over her face and went down into the garden. Murranus and the rest were still there. They had decided to make a day of it playing dice and knuckle bones whilst ordering the best wine and food. Polybius of course, much the worse for drink, had been surly until he realised how wealthy Agrippina was. Now the cooks were busy roasting beef and goose, while in the cellars the tap boys were broaching the best casks. Claudia decided to join the company. Murranus was already deep in his cups and insisted on giving her the biggest hug and wine-drenched kisses. Claudia teased him back, and they were discussing the merits of Meleager the Magnificent when Polybius came hurrying out across the grass.