Part 13 (2/2)

'Your mother can look after Claudia.'

'Yes, but I need to look after Quintus. I imagine Claudia is a girl who will scream heartily. If my terrified brother skittles off to the baths to hide, she will never forgive him.'

'You can leave me.'

'I don't want to.'

I found her hand. She was close to tears. That upset me. Later, when she had calmed down over this, I would point out that plenty of householders arrived home in the evening wrecked, after being run over by badly driven carts or mugged by street thieves. 'What about Aulus?'

'At home. Honorius stayed out all night somewhere. His frail old mother had a seizure when the vigiles called, but he's turned up now. He and Aulus are downstairs in fact -'

'Let them up, then.'

'Are you fit for it?' she queried anxiously. No, I wasn't; but I made her let them up anyway.

They both shuffled in, looking nervous. I knew half my face must be a dreadful sight, but Helena had bandaged wadding on the eye, mainly to hide the mess. I was swollen and bruised, nothing worse, but the effects would be lurid for a few weeks. I would have a scar under the eyebrow when the damage healed. Scythax had sewn it neatly with fine thread. 'Look at me, the pair of you - then take your personal safety seriously from now on.'

Aelia.n.u.s was the first to recover his composure. He threw himself in Helena's chair, leaving her to perch on the end of the bed. Honorius leaned against a cupboard. 'So who are we blaming?' Aelia.n.u.s asked. He was too chirpy. His sister scowled at him.

'The opposition, obviously,' Honorius said. 'Presumably they used heavies, Falco?'

'I never saw much. Apart from the thug who croaked the special message, none of them spoke, either. They could have been fresh cheeked, milk-fed shepherd boys - though I doubt it.'

Helena asked Honorius angrily, 'Are these common tactics? Did you see this bullying when you worked with Silius?'

Honorius shook his head. 'Oh no. Nothing like this was allowed!'

I sent Helena a private glance. For me, his a.s.surance only meant that when rough stuff had been ordered - which it would have been - young Honorius had been kept in ignorance. 'Must be Paccius who arranged my treat, then!' I commented. Uneasy, Honorius fell silent.

I sipped a beaker of water. My head throbbed so it was a struggle to go on. 'Nothing changes. We still need to find out who bought the hemlock - Aulus, please.'

'The hemlock!' Aelia.n.u.s was indignant at this mundane order. 'No, my brother's doing that.'

'He's off the scene,' I reminded him.

'I don't know how far he had gone -'

Helena scowled at Aelia.n.u.s. 'Quintus was working in circles out from the Servian Embankment in the Fifth Region. You could start further west and work inwards, Aulus.' He began to protest. 'Don't play up,' she commanded.

'I'm no good at this. I'll feel a fool asking the question,' Aelia.n.u.s whined.

'Oh Juno, don't be so feeble! Just start a conversation by saying you've been sent to find out what they recommend for dog fleas. I can tell you we rub Nux with a mixture of bitumen, olive oil and usually h.e.l.lebore.' Nux, who was lying alongside me, hoping for treats, wagged her tail on hearing her name. 'Don't buy any; say you have to come home and ask me,' Helena pointed out.

'You could do this job,' her brother wheedled.

'Only if you stay in to feed the baby and nurse Marcus.'

'Don't leave me with him!' I stabbed a finger towards Honorius. 'You can go and see Birdy. Ask whether he intends to contest his father's will.' Not receiving the response I wanted, I asked impatiently, 'Aelia.n.u.s, have you told Honorius what we got from Fungibles?'

Both younger men looked vague. 'Pitiful. You haven't bothered to liaise.' Biting back my annoyance, I demanded of Honorius, 'So where were you last night, you stop-out? I gather your mother went spare when the vigiles called to warn you we were under threat.'

'I stayed with a friend.'

'Girlfriend?'

He blushed. 'My ex-wife, actually.' That was something new.

'You stayed the night with your ex?' Aelia.n.u.s laughed mockingly.

'We were talking -'

'I bet you were!'

'She's intelligent. I value her thoughts. I told her I quit Silius. The conversation wandered into major issues of life and ethics, then you know how it is...' He tailed off, embarra.s.sed.

'Messy. Either dump her, or get back with her properly,' I advised, not being unfriendly. He shrugged, looking vague. 'Warn Birdy too,' I said. 'Tell him he needs to live chastely to secure his rights. No late night partying.'

'Nothing,' suggested Helena, 'more sensational than an early evening song recital, organised by elderly ladies who knew his grandmother.'

'The same for you.' I winked at Honorius.

'You are joking.'

'No. You can do a lot of thinking, while listening to some bore with a harp and a fractured voice, in a venue where the wine has been watered three times to make it go further. You too, Aelia.n.u.s!'

Despairing of my views on a decent social life, the two young men departed, seen off the premises by Nux.

That was fine. It left me alone with Helena, whose quietness I could tolerate even when a headache raged. We both settled peacefully, not speaking for a while.

'What are you holding back, Marcus?' When I looked at her quizzically, she gave one of her soft smiles. 'I can always tell.'

'You've never found out about my wild fling with that girl from the florist on c.u.min Alley.'

'Not a problem. She'll ditch you,' Helena returned. She was game, though I thought she coloured slightly.

'Saffia,' I said, after a moment. 'She's next on my list but I don't want those two doing the interview.'

'Shall I see her?' As I hesitated, Helena laughed quietly. She rose and came to me, biffing me playfully. 'Oh, you want to do it yourself! It can wait. You'll be stronger tomorrow, I think.'

The bedroom door creaked open. Julia Junilla, our elder daughter had a new game: looking in at her wounded father, frightening herself at the grim sight, then running off, screaming. Helena went as far as the door, which she closed, latching it. All parents of small children should ensure they have a bedroom hook that only works from inside.

She came back to me, kicking off her shoes and squeezing next to me on the bed. I put an arm around her, feeling affectionate. My hand found its way up her sleeve. She was wearing a dark blue dress; she looked good in it, though she would look even better out of it. With my free hand I unhooked her gold ear-rings and tossed them gently on to the bedside table. Helena's great dark eyes appraised my intentions; she had seen me ill in bed before. I wasn't dead. I only had one wounded eye. Other parts of me still worked. In any case, some accomplishments of mine could be put into action even with my eyes closed.

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