A Body In The Bath House

XXVIII

I had grown depressed. "One of my assistants wants to be a playboy; the other simply doesn't want to play." I was moaning to Helena. She adopted her usual method of showing sympathy a heartless expression and burying her head in a poetic scroll. "Here I am, trying to re-impose order on this huge chaotic project, but I'm a one-man arena orchestra."

"What have they done?" she murmured, though I could see the scroll was more interesting than me.

"They have done nothing; that's the point, sweetheart. Aelianus lies in the woods with his feet up all day; Justinus goes on the town drinking all night."

Helena looked up. She said nothing. Her way of staying silent implied I was leading her brothers astray. She was the eldest and she cared about them. Helena had a habit of diligently loving wastrels; that was what had made her fall for me.

"If this is what it means to be an equestrian," I told her, "I would rather be half starved at the top of a tenement. Staff- I spat the word out. 'staff are no good to an informer. We need light and air. We need space to think. We need the freedom and the challenge of working alone."

"Get rid of them, then," said the loving sister of the two Camilli callously.

When Aelianus called on us that evening, still complaining sulkily about his conditions, I told him he ought to be more placid and even tempered, the way I was. I felt much better after mouthing this hypocrisy.

He lay on some grass with a beaker balanced on his stomach. The whole Camillus family seemed to have a drink problem on this trip. Even Helena was diving into the wine tonight- though that was because baby Favonia was crying endlessly again. We sent Hyspale into our room with both children and told her to keep them quiet.

Iux followed her to supervise. After that I could see Helena all keyed up, expecting trouble indoors. I was listening out for it myself.

"What's the matter around here?" scoffed Aelianus. "Everyone is growling like unhappy bears."

"Falco has toothache. Our children are niggly. The nursemaid is moping after a fresco artist. Maia is plotting alone in her room. I/ maintained Helena Justina, 'am complete serenity."

Being her brother, Aelianus was allowed to make a rude noise.

He offered to tie a string to my tooth and slam a door on it. I said I had doubts that the door furniture installed by Marcellinus in the old house would survive. Aeiianus then passed on some horror story Sextius had told him, about a dentist in Gaul who would drill out a hole and stick a new iron tooth right in your gum…

"Aaargh! Don't, don't! I can unearth buried corpses or change a baby's loincloth, but I'm too sensitive to hear anything that teeth doctors do… I'm worried about my sister," I diverted him. Maia had slunk off indoors by herself; she often did. Most times, she wanted nothing to do with the rest of us. "We got her away from Anacrites temporarily, but it's no real solution. Some day she will have to go back to Rome. In any case, he's a Palatine official. He will learn that I am on a mission to Britain. Suppose he guesses that Maia came with us and sends someone after her?"

"In a province like this," Aelianus soothed me, 'a trained spy will stand out rather."

"Nonsense. I'm a professional myself and I meld in."

"Right." He chortled. "If anybody comes to get Maia Favonia, we are here. She is more closely protected than she would be in Rome."

"And in the long term?"

"Oh you'll sort something out, Falco."

"I don't see how."

"Deal with it when you need to Aelianus was sounding like me these days. He lost interest in my problems. He sat up. "Well, I want to do something, Falco. And I'm not going back to mind those damn statues. Sextius can mollycoddle his own junk

"You are going back right now I had to keep this trooper in line. Anyway, I had a plan. "I am coming with you There had been the usual tramping of booted feet all evening as the labour force marched off into town. "By the sound of it, they have all gone to see the wondrous female entertainer Justinus mentioned. Bare flesh, bad breath, leather knickers and a ratty tambourine- while the labourers afc trying to paw her bikini strings, the coast is clear for us. You and I are going to have a look in some of those delivery carts. Something's going on."

"Oh I know what it is!" Aelianus amazed me by saying as he scrambled to his feet. "It has to do with them sneaking materials off site. A new cart came in today; all the drivers looked at me, and said loudly, "Here's the stolen marble; don't let Falco find out!" nudging each other."

"Aulus! I should have been told about that hours ago you're a lot of use."

As I went to fetch light, boots and outer wear, the baby started wailing again plaintively. Helena jumped up and suddenly said she was coming with us.

"Oh no!" cried her brother. "Falco, you can't allow it."

"Hush; be calm. Someone has to hold the lantern while we search."

"What if we run into trouble? What if someone discovers us?"

"Helena and I can fall down on the ground in a passionate clinch. We'll be two lovers having a tryst in the woods. Perfect alibi."

Aelianus was outraged. He could never cope with the thought of me making love to his elegant sister least of all because he rightly sensed that she liked it. Publicly I gave him credit for some experience and he of course played the worldly type, yet for all I knew he was a virgin still. Nice girls of his own age would be chaperoned, he would be scared of disease if he paid for his fun, and if he ever eyed up his mother's matronly friends for a little adultery across the generations they would only tell his mother. Senators' sons can always jump on their household slaves- but Aelianus would hate having to meet their eyes afterwards. Besides, they would tell his mother too.

He became extremely pompous. "And where does that leave me, Falco?"

I smiled gently. "You are a pervert, spying on the leg over from behind a tree, Aulus."