Semper Fidelis

Chapter 37

The problem with the dog bite-apart from the damage, the shock, and the pain-was that it was behind him. From the front, Ruso looked perfectly capable of paying attention to someone else’s problems. Greeted by “Sir, the window in the blanket store’s been leaking and the bedding is all musty,” he was tempted to reply,

I don’t care! I’ve just been chased and bitten by a bloody great wolf dog!

Instead he said, “Oh?”

“Should we launder it, sir? Do you think the emperor will mind a few wet blankets?”

“The Praetorians will,” he pointed out. “They’re sleeping in them.”

“We’ll just air them, then, sir, shall we?”

“Good idea.”

He was relieved to find the treatment room empty. It was only a bite from a dog that wasn’t mad. There was no point in wasting other people’s time, and besides, he was no longer sure he trusted anyone else.

With the worst of the blood wiped off, he lay on his back on the table, raised his left leg in the air, and contorted himself to an angle at which he could examine the jagged tooth marks. It was perversely disappointing not to have something more dramatic to prove how nearly he had ended up as dog food. He reached for the cloth, took a deep breath, and swore as the vinegar penetrated the torn skin.

He was concentrating on the agony of prodding one of the deeper recesses when he heard a discreet cough, glanced through the crook of his left knee, and saw three men standing in the doorway, watching him.

“I see I’m interrupting,” said Accius.

Ruso rolled over and sat up, wincing as the wound came into contact with the wooden bench. “I was bitten by a dog, sir.”

“I’m here to inspect and encourage,” Accius informed him. He might have added, Not to hear more of your complaining. “Any problems?”

“None that I’m aware of, sir.”

“Good.” Accius squinted at a couple of writing tablets held out to him by a secretary. “Looks like the heralds have whipped up a good crowd,” he said, handing the first one back. “Tell them to send plenty of patrols out to keep order. And make sure the crowds know to cheer and wave, not just stare like simpletons.”

The news on the second tablet seemed to surprise him. “Already? This is turning into a circus. Tell them to wait outside. They’ll have to give them to his secretary at Headquarters tomorrow.”

He turned back to Ruso. “Embassies and petitions. Swarming round like ants after honey. Anyway, it’s just as well I had the men smarten up their kit yesterday, don’t you think?”

“Yes, sir.”

“I think we’ll put on a good show. Which reminds me: your wife.” Ruso felt himself tense.

“She seems like a practical sort. Ask her to report to the legate’s house, will you? Some steward chap of Hadrian’s has turned up to oversee things, and he’s making a fuss. I’ve sent my own staff in to help, so she won’t be on her own.”

Housework. All he wanted was housework. Nothing to do with informants and names and consequences. Ruso should have been insulted to hear his wife and Accius’s slaves mentioned in the same breath, but instead he was relieved. Hoping she was somewhere a message could reach her, he said, “I’ll see what she can do, sir.”

“She doesn’t know any decent entertainers around here, I suppose?”

“I don’t think so, sir.”

“No, of course not. Respectable married woman. Well, we shall have to do without. Somebody found a juggler, but he wasn’t up to much. Did Geminus have a word, by the way?”

“After his dog bit me, sir.”

“Good. I had a chat with him on the way to worship last night. He took it like the man I always knew he was. Shame you weren’t there. He could have put your mind at rest personally.”

“Yes, sir.”

“You’re not a follower of Mithras, are you, Ruso?”

“No, sir.”

“You should consider it. Not only an inspiration, but you make good contacts. Friends wherever you go.”

Ruso, whose former clerk was miles away in Verulamium and whose old friend Valens was somewhere sucking up to people more important than himself, felt suddenly like the only man left out of the club.

“Geminus has his rough edges, but he’s a fine centurion. Staunch. A lot of men owe their lives to him. I couldn’t allow the end of his career to be blighted by unfounded rumors.”

“Yes, sir.”

“So, onward! Tell your men to keep up the good work.”

Accius was enjoying himself. Hadrian might not be his family’s choice for emperor but this was his chance to shine, and he knew it. “Not long to go now. Eboracum’s luck has turned.”

“I hope so, sir. Is there anything else I can do to help?”

“There is,” said Accius. “When Hadrian gets here, stay out of his way.”