Marilyn Todd - Sour Grapes

'And you think Tages witnessed that?'

'I think he witnessed that and more,' Marcus said quietly. 'I think he saw Rex go down to the yew tree. I think he saw Rex pull the knife out and dispose of the body, something a battle-scarred warrior would have absolutely no qualms about doing.'

No need to waste effort in despatching a fatal blow. He'd have recognized instantly that his son's thrust was fatal, and considering Lichas was no more than a piece of filth in his eyes, the boy's screams would have cut no ice. For Rex, it was waste disposal pure and simple.

'That's why Hadrian's in pain,' Marcus said. 'Whether he intended to kill Lichas or not, between him and dear old Uncle Rexie they murdered that boy, and I'm pretty sure Tages witnessed the whole thing.'

'Then why hasn't he come forward?'

Orbilio packed his comb back in his satchel and tightened the leather strap. 'Rex is a senator with a glowing record in the field who has considerable influence in Mercurium. If a lowly shepherd boy suddenly accuses him of murder, what odds the accuser ends up with a knife in his ribs, the victim of bandits or thieves? It's far more likely that Tages is biding his time in a bid to do a spot of blackmailing of his own.'

'In which case, his ribs are in even more danger.'

'Agreed. So in the interest of ribcage protection, it behoves me to find as many holes in father's and son's stories as possible in order to substantiate Tages' testimony when he does eventually surface. Enjoy your mud bath!'

'Wait! Don't you want to hear how my investigations are going?'

'Nope.' He picked up his satchel and slung it over his shoulder. 'Loverboy's down for one of the spa's famous cures in two minutes and guess who just happens to have his name down for a session alongside? I can't afford to miss this chance. However

There it was again! That shifty look, his eyes darting this way and that, but never, not once, meeting hers. And what's with the hopping from foot to foot all of a sudden?

'About getting round the Darius thing… I, er, have a solution you might want to think about.'

Now he was rubbing his forehead and chewing his lip.

'No hurry,' he said. 'Take your time, but… well, have you considered a marriage of convenience?'

'According to a trawl through the fortune-tellers' tents, I'll be marrying an ambassador/banker/merchant from Rome/Athens/Spain any day, who will bestow upon me wealth and happiness beyond measure, not to mention three/six/eight children, all destined to live to a healthy old age.'

And to think there were still some cynics who claimed astrology wasn't a science.

'I'm sure you'll lead a wonderful life with all three handsome husbands,' he replied, only instead of laughing as she'd expected, it looked like he'd swallowed a rat that was gnawing away at his entrails. 'But until they come along, think about what I've said, Claudia.' He shot her a tortured look. 'You could do a lot worse, you know.'

The hell she could.

Claudia marched across the precinct of the Temple of Fufluns the following morning with her skirts billowing like a merchantman in full sail. Grey clouds had snuggled over the hilltops like a dirty blanket, while out across the valley — and a reminder that the temple sat in the middle of Terrence's land — armies of slaves pruned Terrence's willow hedges, dipped Terrence's protesting sheep in a bath full of dip and waged war on weeds and caterpillars that threatened to undo months of Terrence's careful nurturing. Thankfully, though, it was not the pitchy smell of Terrence's sheep dip that prevailed in the windless air, just the exotic aroma of incense.

Dammit, Claudia thought, skirting the sacred pool rimmed with pomegranate trees beneath which vividly painted marble satyrs cavorted with intoxicated marble nymphs. I haven't come this far to toss everything away on some wet drip of a husband, and how very convenient for the Security Police to have her frauds, forgeries and tax evasions wrapped up at the same time! Another laurel crown to lay on the head of an ambitious young investigator. Another step closer to the Senate! As oblivious to the tall smoking tripods that lined the plaza as she was to the host of temple kittens chasing each other, Claudia thought come into my parlour, said the spider to the fly. She rolled her eyes. Honestly, Marcus Cornelius! Do I look like I have wings?

On the other hand, watching Larentia and Darius laughing and joking at the hot springs (and what is it with the old battle-axe cackling away these days?), Claudia didn't think it would be long before her mother-in-law set a date — and June was traditionally an auspicious month. That gave

Claudia six weeks at best, three at worst, to discredit that smarmy horse-breeder, so where better to start than by searching his room at the villa while he was ensconced at the hot springs?

'Are you sure you have to go back so soon?' he'd asked over a breakfast of rhubarb, fennel and lightly boiled chicory. 'We only arrived yesterday.'

'And already I'm feeling too healthy for my own good,' she retorted. 'Tempting though that yarrow tea is, Darius, duty calls.'

He rose from the couch. 'Then at least let me help.'

Why? So you can pick up some tips about viticulture to help you take over my business more smoothly? 'No, no, you keep up the good work with those cowslip and horseradish syrups.'

'The physician swore he could hear an improvement in his cough just from yesterday.' Larentia reached for another liquorice root, blissfully unaware that it was turning her gums black. 'Said there was definitely less of a rattle.'

'That rattle wasn't my lungs, Ren, it was the crowd of doctors you had swarming all over me.' Darius sucked on a dark-green pastille that smelled as foul as it looked. 'It won't be any cough that kills me,' he told Claudia, with a rueful shake of the head. 'It'll be the crush of physicians that woman has set on me. At least let me escort you back to the villa.'

Taking control already, are we?

'I'll give you a ride if you like,' Lars said, striding into the dining hall and resting a hand on Eunice's shoulder. 'Sorry, pumpkin, but business calls me back to Mercurium.'

'You'll regret it,' Eunice warned, patting his hand, and even at breakfast she smelled of roses and wine. 'You'll come back from your trip, you two, frowning and frazzled — and I warn you, those of us who've been pampered to within an inch of our lives will have absolutely no sympathy.'

I can see you working out how Candace did it, what Darius's game is, what's behind the run of bad luck and why Lars married Eunice before the moon combs her lovely red hair…

Could she? Could she solve all four in as many days?

Seated beside him in the gig, Claudia became conscious of the Etruscan's musky scent as the mule clip-clopped up the hill, and noticed the way his muscles bulged as he fought with the reins on the tight turns.

'You have to wonder whether there's any part of the Empire Terrence looks out on from his windows that doesn't belong to him,' he observed cheerfully. 'With what he makes from Lavernium, he'll be minting his own bloody coins soon.'

'Terrence owns the hot springs as well?'

'That and every other hill you can see, and talking of the big man, whose side are you on? Are you in the Rexie and Terrence camp — and don't think I don't know they call me the Red Gigolo behind my back? Or do you agree with your mother-in-law that we're made for each other, my lady and me?'

As a matter of fact, Claudia wasn't in either.

'One can't deny Eunice looks well on marriage,' she said, oh and how tactful was that?

'As well she might,' he said. 'I picked up a whole batch of health tips when I worked at the hot springs. Is any man better placed to dose his wife with extra minerals of a day?'