Enemies at Home

26

Well, all right, I did go. But not immediately.

My niece took an age going to sleep. After that night’s upset, the house took what seemed like hours to fall still and silent. Even then, to be frank, I spent more time than you may think in deciding that looking for the aedile was what I wanted to do, plus even more while I plucked up courage.

I only went because I was worried that if he came looking for me, he would waken little Aelia.

He too had decided we should liaise. His timing matched mine too. We met one another half way. It is true we had exchanged a glance when Claudia packed us off to our rooms, but there was no pre-arrangement. And we certainly made no bedroom assignation. Barefoot and each carrying a tiny lamp, Manlius Faustus and I came face to face in a colonnade beside a small garden, just this side of the link between the Camillus brothers’ two houses. Neither of us remarked on the other being there. No explanation was needed. He steered me to a bench beneath some fancy wickerwork, where we sat with our heads close, whispering.

Forget intrigue. For heaven’s sake. If he was weary before, the man was completely past it now. I was drained by tension myself. We were not seeking thrills like adolescents on holiday. We just both needed to talk about what had happened.

‘What do you think?’

‘This was to warn us off, Tiberius.’

‘Arising from our enquiries of the vigiles — and you tackling that man, Gallo.’

‘If Gallo took offence at the bar, it could have been me who ended up being hammered.’

‘And it could have been me, if the Rabirii know that Justinus and I visited the tribune together-’

‘They are bound to have that information. Vigiles barracks leak information like worn-out gourds.’

‘The question is, Albia — did the gang act because they were guilty of the theft and they don’t want us finding out?’

‘Or do they just want to frighten us?’

‘To avoid attention? − If so, they have attracted even more.’

‘Yes, but they thought they were in control. They won’t have planned on having a man arrested.’

‘Right. Now if we can prove he has a connection to them, they are in trouble. Their best choice was no action at all …’ The aedile sounded urgent. ‘I am worried about tomorrow, Albia. Aelianus has arranged to visit the Fourth Cohort’s tribune.’ Because my uncle had been attacked almost on his own doorstep, the crime came under the jurisdiction of our local vigiles. ‘He couldn’t get to see the man tonight, but he’s anxious to liaise directly, first thing. He has asked me to be there.’

‘You saw Aulus when he came home?’

‘Briefly.’

That was him; never a great one for chat. ‘Tiberius, why so worried? You can handle a tribune. In the Fourth it’s Cassius Scaurus. You know him; he’s just a bully and an imbecile. But he won’t bully you.’

For once Faustus coughed with amusement. ‘It’s when he tries to stop looking like an imbecile that I find him scary — such a terrible actor … No, I’m really cursing over the search for the missing Aviola silver. If I am over here, supporting Aelianus, I cannot be there to supervise.’

‘Stick with him. I can be at the Esquiline in time. Let me exercise a watching brief.’ Always a useful phrase. State officials use ‘watching brief’ to imply they will be observing an activity, yet will not interfere. That leaves them free to interfere like energetic billygoats.

Faustus fell for it. That is how I knew he was exhausted. Otherwise he would have seen through my innocent-sounding offer.

There was a noise, a small thump somewhere, behind or near to an open second-floor window in a room above the garden. It could just be a pigeon shifting in a gutter, or an eavesdropper.

In a house like this there would be slaves everywhere. Some might be close by in the very shadows here, tucked up behind the battered fountain or curled on a mat under the jasmine on the trellis. Possibly they were sleeping, perhaps they were listening to us. There was no moon and the sky must be full of haze because only a few faint stars could be glimpsed in the open square between the pantiled roofs around the courtyard.

Quintus and Claudia would rely on the slaves’ loyalty to them and their immediate family. As visitors, that might not extend to Faustus and me. Slaves were human. And we lived in a poisoned city, where a paranoid emperor had caused often-lethal mistrust.

Caution ruled.

Faustus and I stood up to leave. I felt a light touch of the aedile’s hand in the small of my back, guiding me to the colonnade. He had blown out his lamp, risking a stumble over some abandoned mop and bucket but enabling him to glide invisibly back to his guest room, assuming he could remember the way. He whispered goodnight and I did the same. At the end of the corridor I glanced back, but it was too dark to see him. I had no idea whether those grey eyes were surveying me. All he would have seen if he looked was a shadow and a faint pinpoint of light from my tiny oil lamp.

The discussion was worth having. It had eased my mind. Back in my room, I fell asleep in moments.