The Vestal Vanishes

NINE

This newcomer was perhaps not quite as old as I am, but certainly he was no longer young. All the same his presence filled the room. He was not simply hugely tall, he was big and muscular, with a neck that was almost wider than his head and massive thighs like the trunks of well-grown trees. His arms were brawny and in one gigantic hand he held a ridiculously dainty leather bag, which made his fingers look enormous by comparison. His short-cropped head was rounder than an earthen cooking pot and his face, which was baked to terracotta in the sun, was weather-etched with lines. He wore big boots, a yellow tunic and a heavy riding-cape. Modesta had said he was a horseman. I found myself feeling a little sorry for the horse.

He looked around the atrium and acknowledged the presence of our togas with a bow. ‘Greetings, citizens.’ He made another vague obeisance towards all three of us, as if two of the company were not marked out by patrician purple stripes. ‘Which of you gentlemen is the master of the house?’ His eyes were small and darting and I saw that he was missing several of his teeth. Not a man I’d care to argue with.

Lavinius stepped forward, all cold authority. ‘I am Lavinius, the paterfamilias of this household and the uncle of that Audelia whom — it seems — you seek. She is not here, as I believe you have already been informed. However, in her absence you may speak to me. What is your business here?’

The rider’s tanned face split in an astonished grin. He would have been ugly, even with the teeth, and the crinkles of amusement creased his wrinkled face still more. ‘I don’t think you can help me this time, citizen. I was sent to bring her these. I don’t think they would fit you particularly well.’ He opened the drawstring of the bag and brought out a pair of yellow wedding shoes, which he dangled by the laces between one finger and a thumb as though they had no weight.

I could see at once what Puella, the missing slave, had meant. They were the most beautiful slippers I have ever seen, the soft dyed leather cut into an intricate design of flowers and butterflies. The colour was extremely delicate and the soles and lacing so beautifully fine that the whole seemed worthy of an empress or a queen. They had not been worn, so the donor who had given them as an offering to the Vestal at the shrine must not only have paid a handsome price for them but somehow contrived to have them specially made to fit Audelia. No wonder the bride-to-be had been keen to show them off.

It was clear to me by now who this intruder was. ‘So you are the mounted guard who escorted Audelia to Corninium?’ I said at once, though it really was not my place to interview the man. Publius looked at me, much as my slaves had looked at the magician in the town, as if I had produced a ribbon from my ear.

The horseman grinned. ‘All the way from the Vestal temple, citizen. Escorting people is my trade these days. Retired auxiliary cavalryman Ascus at your service, gentlemen.’

Lavinius coughed, to indicate that he was in command. ‘Retired, but not a citizen? How did that come about? Did you not get your citizen’s diploma when you left the cavalry?’

Ascus shook his pot-shaped head. ‘Took a wound, and had to leave the force before I’d served my term. Nineteen years, instead of twenty-five. But I used my pay-out to obtain a horse — as you can see — and when I had recovered, I made another life. So here I am. Armed and ready to fend off robbers on the road.’ He looped his other massive thumb and finger through his belt, pushing the cloak back to reveal the cudgel at his side. ‘Of course I am only a civilian now, so it is illegal for me to carry a sword or dagger on the road. But a simple bludgeon is usually enough to deter would-be thieves and attackers on the road.’

I could imagine that. If I were a bandit, that cudgel — in his hands — would certainly have dissuaded me.

Lavinius though, was scowling at all this. ‘But not this time, it seems. Do I understand that at Corinium you abandoned my poor niece?’

The massive shoulders shrugged. ‘I am a hireling, citizen. I do as I am told. She hired me in the first place and I was at her command. She sent me back to get the shoes she’d left behind — and I have done so, as you can see yourself. I told her it was foolish to go on alone — not in so many words, you understand — but she would not listen. She’s a determined lady, as no doubt you know, and she wanted her slippers for her wedding day. Said that the goddess Vesta would protect her; Vesta and that idiot of a driver who brought Lavinia to the lodging house.’ He looked around. ‘Did she not tell you this? I thought I’d find her waiting and impatient for her shoes, but I suppose she was weary and has retired to rest. Not surprising really, jolting all that way in such a springless cart. Still, she promised to reward me if I got here before the feast, so one of the servants had better take these up to her.’ He put the slippers back into the bag and held them out.

No one moved to take them.

For the first time Ascus looked discomfited. ‘Well, surely somebody should tell her that they have arrived? Not that she’ll be specially impressed, I don’t expect, though I have ridden like the hounds of Dis to get them here in time.’ He thrust the bag towards Lavinius. ‘It wasn’t easy following her directions to this place, either. Several times, I had to stop and ask the way.’

Lavinius snatched the leather bag and glared at him. ‘So you haven’t heard what happened to my niece? When your famous bludgeon was not there to help?’

The giant looked at him. The smile had vanished, but the creases in the face deepened even more. ‘She had some misfortune when I wasn’t there? She surely wasn’t set upon and robbed?’ He struck his forehead with the heel of his hand. ‘Dear Mars! I knew it was stupid to let her go alone. They took her jewels, I suppose? Great Jupiter, mightiest and best! She promised me reward — a very handsome jet and garnet ring she had with her — and now I suppose I won’t get paid at all.’

Publius got to his feet, impatiently. ‘Never mind the jewels, my friend, the bride herself has gone — apparently kidnapped from the raeda on the way. And her maidservant has disappeared as well.’ He glared at Ascus, whose mouth had dropped open in astonishment. ‘I wonder they didn’t tell you all this at the gate.’

‘They wouldn’t tell me anything at all. I almost had to force my way inside, before the gatekeeper would call the slave and have her announce to you that I was here.’

The idea that the unhelpful gatekeeper had met his match was enough to make me smile. Publius rounded on me instantly.

‘You think that this is somehow comical?’

‘I was simply thinking, respected citizen,’ I said quickly (I did not wish to lose the best support I had), ‘that the arrival of this rider makes things easier. He is a guard by trade. He can accompany us to Corinium and if we find no information there tonight, tomorrow he can take us to where Audelia left the shoes. I’m very anxious to ask questions of the household there.’

Lavinius frowned. ‘What point is there in that?’

I had forgotten that he had not heard the full story of the shoes. ‘I suspect the loss of the wedding shoes was no mere accident — I believe that they were deliberately taken from her box, precisely in order to divert the guard.’

Publius looked surprised. ‘I expect you’re right. She had mentioned in a letter to her aunt that she had been given wedding shoes. I wondered at her neglecting to take care of them. If you don’t find Audelia by tomorrow, either at the stopping-place or at the private lodgings in Corinium, of course you must go and find this other house. And Ascus is the perfect man to take you there. He has been there before, so he knows where it is — and he will be known to them so they will let you in. And if you discover anything, he can bring us word at once. A single horseman can even ride by night, if he takes care.’

Ascus flashed a look of concentrated hate in my direction. Not surprisingly, I thought. The man had been riding since daybreak as it was, and was no doubt hoping for a well-earned rest, but my intervention meant that he would now have to set off again. Hardly a recipe for making friends. Yet I needed his co-operation.

I tried to think of some way I could repair the fault. ‘Revered Lavinius,’ I ventured, turning to my host who was looking furious at this whole affair. ‘Would you consent to send this horseman to the servants’ hall and have him given some refreshment there?’

Publius applauded this at once. ‘He will be in want of something, naturally — and a fresh horse as well if you can spare it, Lavinius my friend. Ascus can retrieve his own mount when he comes back here again. The creature that he came on will be tired by now. It must have covered many miles today and speed is essential if we hope to find my bride. The sun is in the west and there is much to do. Lavinius, I’m sure you have something in your stable that will serve.’

Another shrewd suggestion, I thought inwardly. That would certainly ensure that Ascus did return and not simply vanish when he had the chance. But Lavinius’s expression, which he directed straight at me, was now as venomous as the rider’s glance had been. He was clearly furious that he was asked to lend a horse. But he gave a curt nod to his slave, ‘See to it, page.’

‘Instantly, master.’ The boy set off at once. He was halfway to the door, when his owner called him back.

‘Not so quickly, you worthless son of a washerwoman. Wait till I have finished speaking or I will have you whipped. Take this horseman with you, and see that he is fed. And find out what has happened to that idle steward, too.’

‘At once, master,’ the young unfortunate replied. ‘This way, horseman,’ and he led Ascus out.

Lavinius opened the leather bag again and took the slippers out. ‘What should I do with these? Are they nefas — accursed — do you think?’

Publius took them from him and murmured with a smile, ‘But of course we must keep them till Audelia is returned. And the pavement-maker here is going to rescue her. Is that not so, Libertus?’

I gave a pallid smile. ‘I will do my best. But there is one thing that rather troubles me. If Audelia has been seized for ransom, why have we not heard? You would expect her captors to send us their demands. But there has been no word.’

‘If she was captured where the raeda stopped,’ Lavinius said, dismissively, turning back to the tray of dainties, ‘the kidnappers would scarcely have had time to contact us. They may, indeed, have simply let her go, when they discovered who their victim was. The penalties for laying hands upon a Vestal are so terrible, they may have wished to wash their hands of it. In that case, no doubt, she will come here soon enough.’ He picked out another tasty morsel of the cheese and popped it fastidiously into his mouth. ‘She is a woman of some determination in her way. It is even possible she has refused to tell the bandits where to send.’

I doubted this. Any kidnapper would have methods of compelling her to speak, methods which I did not care to think about.

But Publius was already saying, with a smile, ‘I know that you still believe that this is an accident — mere chance meeting with highway robbers on the road. But Libertus seems to think that this was all a plan, and the kidnappers were well aware of who she was. I trust that he is right. It would mean that they expect that we will ransom her, in which case we can hope she’s still alive.’ He turned to me. ‘Who do you suspect of planning this?’ he asked.

‘The person I would like to talk to is her maidservant,’ I hedged. ‘She was with the raeda when it got to the gates, and only disappeared when it had stopped. Yet it’s by no means certain that Audelia got that far. I’m quite convinced the missing slippers were taken from the box, either by the maidservant or by someone else. She could lead us to the truth, I am convinced of that.’

Publius nodded. ‘If they knew about the slippers, they knew she was to wed.’ He frowned. ‘Although it was never publicly announced. It was to be a sensational surprise when I announced our betrothal at the games. Your idea, I think, Lavinius.’

I’d already wondered whose suggestion it had been. But all I said was, ‘And it seems that someone also knew her route and when she would be passing. Which suggests it must be somebody she knows?’

Lavinius snorted in his cup, derisively. ‘Well, it wasn’t one of us, if that is what you are trying to suggest. Publius and I were at the birthday feast, and Cyra and the house-slaves have been here all the time — and there are dozens of witnesses to that.’

Publius paused in the act of sampling the wine. He was looking troubled. ‘Besides, if it were a member of the family, Audelia would recognize her captors, wouldn’t she? That would be no use.’

I shook my head. ‘I am not sure that is true. Cyra told me, when I first arrived, that she had not seen Audelia since she was a child — and I expect the same is true of most of her other relatives unless for some reason they visited the shrine. She has been in seclusion at the hearth since she was young and Vestal Virgins have no portraits made.’ I turned to Lavinius. ‘But if she was kidnapped — and we can’t be sure she was — we must find somebody who knew her face. You were her agent as I understand. Have you, for instance, seen her recently?’

‘How dare you, citizen?’ Lavinius’s face was black with rage. ‘I have been as tolerant as possible. But this whole suggestion is preposterous. Am I to be questioned by a mere mosaicist?’

I stood my ground. ‘Respected citizen, I was not accusing you. I simply need a description of Audelia.’ I said it meekly, but I enjoyed the chance to add, ‘How else am I going to look for her?’

‘He is right again you know, Lavinius.’ Publius motioned to the slave to pass the grapes and cheese. He took a handful. ‘And I can’t help him. I’ve never seen the bride.’

Lavinius looked from Publius to me and back again. ‘Oh, very well,’ he grumbled. ‘I’ll tell you what I know, but it’s not very much. I’ve only met her once. She is of slightly more than middling height and fairly slim — as to more than that, I really cannot say. Her face was half-covered with a Vestal veil, of course, since she was not acting as a priestess at the time and was in public in the presence of a male, though I have the impression that her hair was fair.’

‘But you have met her? Was that recently?’

‘I have been in constant touch with her, of course, but in fact we only met a moon or so ago. I went to Londinium on private business and saw her — with a chaperone — to discuss affairs, mostly with regard to her retirement from the hearth. Of course, men aren’t permitted right inside the shrine, we had to make arrangements to meet outside in the court. But I’d recognize her voice, and I’m sure that she’d know me.’ He downed his wine as if he wished to swallow me, as well. ‘I can’t accept your theory, that this was deliberate. There were rebels in the woods a moon or two ago, and they take random hostages to build their coffers up. There is your solution, if I am any judge. Besides, Audelia stayed only with relatives and friends throughout her journey from the shrine. You surely don’t suggest that one of us — her family — has kidnapped her for gain?’ He took another cube of cheese and bit it thoughtfully. ‘We would be the ones to pay the ransom fee! Not even you would think that we extort things from ourselves?’

It was clear that the cheeseboard was not going to come to me, though I was hungry now. I’d had nothing but a sour grape or two and a tiny portion of sacrificial beef since I left home at dawn. I began to wish I’d gone with Ascus to the slave-quarters. I got stiffly to my feet.

‘Lavinius, I am trying to assist. Not all members of your family are as rich as you. I understand that there are poor relations elsewhere in Britannia who were not invited to the wedding feast. They might be happy to extort a price. Not personally, of course. A man may plot a crime and arrange for someone else to carry out the deed. And as to demanding money from yourselves — did I not hear Publius say that he was prepared to offer a reward or pay a ransom for Audelia’s safe return? That’s not family money.’

Publius surprised me. ‘But I’d pay it, willingly. I have experienced this sort of thing before. My second wife in Rome was captured on the road — I had sent her to my country villa to escape the plague — and, you may be interested to know, it was a full day before they got in touch. I think they wished me to be so desperate that I would instantly comply with their demands.’

‘And did you?’ I was still more thoughtful now. If Publius was known to have paid a ransom once before…

Publius laughed. ‘In a sense, I did. I used Egyptian gold to pay them — it can be exchanged in any marketplace of course — but I took care to mark the coins. I alerted the coin-inspectors for several miles around, and when the culprits tried to use the money, they were caught. I had them crucified. Scarcely an encouragement to a repeat attempt, if that is what you are thinking, citizen.’

That was, of course, exactly what I’d thought. I was about to answer when the page returned, with a flustered steward hurrying after him.

‘Master,’ the chief slave said, bowing low before his owner and ignoring us. ‘The gig is now prepared and the chains have been struck off the raeda-driver’s legs, though I have left his hands in bonds. If this citizen — ’ he nodded in my direction — ‘is ready, they can leave at once.’

Publius was already on his feet. ‘Then if you can provide me with a wax tablet, Lavinius my friend, I will write the letter that I promised straight away. Fiscus will bring it out to you when you are in the gig.’

‘In the meantime,’ I said pointedly, ‘I will find Ascus and tell him that we’re ready to depart — perhaps Modesta could accompany me, since Fiscus has another job to do, and maybe she can find me a piece of bread as well.’

Lavinius seemed likely to protest at this but Publius seized me warmly by the arm. ‘Let it be as you suggest. Then go, Libertus, go — and may Jove go with you. Good luck in your quest. Send me a message if there’s anything further I can do to help.’

I nodded thankfully and bowed myself away, together with Modesta who looked thrilled to be my choice. Lavinius made no objection, but he had turned quite puce. He looked so angry at Publius taking charge, and so frustrated at being overruled, that I could almost have believed he was about to burst.

It did not augur well for the festivities tonight. I did not envy Marcus and the others in the least, and was actually glad to leave the room.