life here. I could feel her welcoming me as I came through the gate. This is my home, as no other house can be.’
Gaius too could feel the life around him. Although he had never lived within the walls, it was his home as it was Tubruk’s – maybe more so as he was nobilitas, born free and of the greatest people in the world. ‘My people built this,’ he thought. ‘My ancestors put their hands on these stones and walked these streets. My father may have stood at that corner and my mother could have grown up in one of the gardens I can glimpse off the main street.’
His grip on the reins relaxed and Cabera looked at him and smiled, sensing the change of mood.
‘We are nearly there,’ Tubruk said. ‘At least Marius’ house is well away from the smell of dung in the streets. I don’t miss that, I can assure you.’
They turned off the busy road and walked the horses up a steep hill and a quieter, cleaner street.
‘These are the houses of the rich and powerful. They have estates in the country but mansions here, where they entertain and plot for more power and even more wealth,’ Tubruk continued, his voice blank enough of emotion to make Gaius glance at him. The houses were sealed from the public gaze by iron gates, taller than a man. Each was numbered and entered by a small door for those on foot. Tubruk explained that this was only the least part; the buildings went back and back, from private baths to stables to great courtyards, all hidden from the vulgar plebeians.
‘They set great store by privacy in Rome,’ Tubruk said. ‘Perhaps it is part of living in a city. Certainly, if you were just to drop in to a country estate you would be unlikely to cause offence, but here you must make appointments and announce yourself and wait and wait until they are ready to receive you. This is the one. I will tell the gatekeeper we have arrived.’
‘I’ll leave you here then,’ Renius said. ‘I must go to my own house and see if it has been damaged in the rioting.’
‘Do not forget the curfew. Be inside as the sun sets, my friend. They are still killing everyone left on the streets after dark.’
Renius nodded. ‘I’ll watch out.’
He turned his horse away and Gaius reached out to put a hand on his good right arm.
‘You’re not leaving? I thought …’
‘I must check my house. I need to think alone for a while. I don’t feel ready to settle down with the other old men, not any more. I will be back tomorrow dawn to see you and … well, tomorrow dawn it is.’ He smiled and rode away.
As he trotted down the hill, Gaius noted again the darkness of his hair and the energy that filled the man’s frame. He turned and looked at Cabera, who shrugged.
‘Gatekeeper!’ Tubruk shouted. ‘Attend to us.’
After the heat of the Roman streets, the cool stone corridors that led into the house grounds were a welcome relief. The horses and bags had been whisked away and the five visitors were taken into the first building, beckoned on by an elderly slave.
They stopped at a door of gold wood and the slave opened it, gesturing inside.
‘You will find all you need, Master Gaius. Consul Marius has given you leave to wash and change after your journey. You are not expected to appear before him until sunset, three hours from now, when you will dine. Shall I show your companions the way to the servants’ rooms?’
‘No. They will stay with me.’
‘As you wish, master. Shall I take the girl to the slave quarters?’
Gaius nodded slowly, thinking.
‘Treat her with kindness. She is a friend of my house.’
‘Of course, sir,’ replied the man, motioning to Alexandria.
She flashed a glance at Gaius and the expression was unreadable in her dark eyes.
Without another word, the quiet little man left, his sandals making no noise on the stone floor. The others looked at one another, each taking some form of comfort from the company of friends.
‘I think she likes me, that one,’ Marcus mused to himself.
Gaius looked at him in surprise and Marcus shrugged. ‘Lovely legs, as well.’ He went in to their quarters, chuckling, leaving Gaius stupefied behind him.
Cabera whistled softly as he entered the room. The ceiling was forty feet from the mosaic floor, a series of brass rafters that crossed and recrossed the space. The walls were painted in the dark reds and oranges that they had seen so often since entering the city, but the floor was the thing that caught the attention, even before they looked up at the vault of a roof. It was a series of circles, gripping a marble fountain in the middle of the huge room. Each circle contained running figures, racing to catch the one in front and frozen in the attempt. The outer circles were figures from the markets, carrying their wares, then, as the eye followed the circles inwards, different aspects of society could be seen. There were the slaves, the magistrates, the members of the Senate, legionaries, doctors. One circle contained only kings, naked except for their crowns. The innermost ring, forming a belt around the actual fountain, contained pictures of the gods and they alone were still. They stood looking up at all the running hordes that sprinted around but could never leap from one circle to another.
Gaius walked across the rings to the fountain and drank, using a cup that rested on the marble edge. In truth, he was tired and, impressed as he was by the beauty of the room, the most important fact was that no food or couches were included in the splendour. The others followed him through an arch into the next room.
‘This is more like it,’ Marcus said cheerfully. A polished table was laid with food: meat, bread, eggs, vegetables and fish. Fruit was piled in bowls of gold. Soft couches stood around invitingly, but another door led onwards and Gaius could not resist looking.
The third room had a deep pool in the centre. The water steamed invitingly and bare wooden benches lined the walls, piled high with soft white cloths. Robes hung from stands by the water and four male slaves stood by low tables, ready to give massage if needed.
‘Excellent,’ Tubruk said. ‘Your uncle is a fine host, Gaius. I am for a bath first, before I eat.’ As he spoke, he began to pull off his clothes. One of the slaves walked to him and held out an arm for the garments as they were removed. When Tubruk was naked, the slave disappeared with them out of the only door. A few moments later, another entered and took up his place at the tables.
Tubruk lowered himself completely into the water, holding his breath as he slid below the surface and relaxing every muscle in the heat. By the time he surfaced, Gaius and Marcus had scrambled out of their garments, flung them at another slave and plunged into the opposite end, naked and laughing.
A slave held his arm out for Cabera’s clothes and the old man frowned at him. Then he sighed and began stripping the robe from his skinny body.
‘Always new experiences,’ he said as he eased into the water, wincing.
‘Shoulders, lad,’ Tubruk called to one of the attendants.
The man nodded and knelt at the side of the pool, pressing his thumbs into Tubruk’s muscles, unknotting the stresses that had been there since the slave attack on the estate.
‘Good,’
