Marilyn Todd - Dark Horse

She would have felt a whole lot better, of course, had the Security Police been around to do the job they were trained for. Namely, clapping psychopaths in irons. But, as Silvia was particularly quick to point out, Orbilio wasn't here.

'So conscientious in his official duties,' she'd gushed, perching daintily on a footstool as Claudia was enveloped in coils of fragrant steam. 'He'll make a splendid Senator, don't you think? So handsome, too, in full insignia.'

The big blue eyes took on a misty glaze.

'I can see us now — feted by the cream of society, invited to the very best dinner parties. And if his career in law shines like his military career in the past, maybe we shall even attend imperial banquets one day!'

'Remind me again how long I've been gone?' Claudia murmured. 'Only when I left, I could have sworn he was an investigator in the Security Police.'

Silvia dismissed Orbilio's position with a wrinkling of her pretty nose. 'Sordid, sordid, can't have that. Best to play up his stint as a young tribune, concentrate on that, because really, Claudia, and apart from the ignominy of it all, a family man can't afford to risk his neck on the mean streets at night. Advocacy is Marcus's future, trust me.'

Claudia thought about the chestnut gelding which Jason had procured from that village in the wilds of Illyria and which had been her transport home, and saw the same gelding knife glistening in Silvia's hand.

'Does Marcus know he's about to become a lawyer any minute?' she asked sweetly.

'All in good time.' Immaculate lips parted in a slight smile, which widened and became more catlike, as her gaze fixed on a point in the middle distance. 'With a husband serving in the Senate, society won't dare to cut me. It will,' she sighed, 'be just like the old days.'

Then, as fast as a tallow being snuffed, Silvia's expression returned to glacial normality.

'You will come and visit us one afternoon, won't you, dear? I'm sure my husband wouldn't want us to abandon his old friend's quirky widow, simply because she's not patrician.'

But when those big blue eyes refocused on the warm, fragrant waters, all that remained of Claudia Seferius was a trail of wet footprints fading their way out of the bath house.

'Claudia.' The whisper echoed like a kiss along the gallery which enclosed the gymnasium yard and she wondered how long the Persian had been waiting. How much naked flesh he had been hoping to see. 'I am glad to see you returned safely.'

'I'd have expected your entrails and livers to have seen that, Shamshi. Not your eyes.'

The only object to emerge from the shadow was one shoe, tied in a bow and partially covered by the hem of his kaftan. 'Dear child, I am but the guardian of the prophecies, not their originator.'

'Well, considering the sun rose above our heads far more than thrice and no woman died, I suggest you stick your prophecies where it doesn't rise and fall, and guard that.'

'Ah, but a woman did die. On the very morning I predicted, the cobbler's mother commenced her long and arduous journey across the River Styx.' Enough oil came from his smile to drain a whole olive tree. 'The gods never lie to me, Claudia.'

'I could ask you nicely to get out of my way, Shamshi. Then again, I could just kick you in the balls.'

The Persian twisted his thin hands together and stood his ground. 'I fetched a clay beaker as commanded last night in my dream. I filled it with milk mixed with honey, then added the blood of a jet-black ram and drank it down as the gods instructed.'

'You might try prunes for breakfast next time.'

'The warning that came through was as clear as the crystal Qus keeps in his room,' Shamshi persisted, and she didn't like the way he pushed his hooked nose into her face as he lowered his voice to a whisper. 'Beware, Claudia.' His breath was still as sweet as an overripe melon. 'Beware the Trojan horse.'

Which just goes to prove, she supposed, the dangers of mixing your drinks. Milk, blood and honey in the same bowl can seriously damage a man's mental health.

The boat carrying Orbilio back to Cressia needed no pilot to guide her into the harbour. Her captain was a local skipper from the Istrian mainland, who knew the rocks and the currents like the back of his hand, navigating his way through the channels with confidence. As terns wheeled and dived into the limpid sea and the plunging cliffs loomed closer, Orbilio could see brown and naked children splashing on the white rocks and squealing with pleasure. As the boat approached the shelter of the harbour, his gaze fixed on the quayside, quiet this time of day. Only a handful of fishermen braved the scorch of the midday sun, and they were engaged in a game of knucklebones with a young woman in a flame-coloured gown. Something inside constricted as he took in the dark, tumbling curls, the curve of her breasts as she pocketed her winnings and slipped the loaded dice back into the folds of her gown. As mooring ropes were thrown over the side, Orbilio rubbed a slow hand over his jaw, still swollen from where her bodyguard's fist had connected, and the vice tightened.

'Straightforward quid pro quo,' she announced, marching up the gangplank. 'I deliver you a pirate on a silver platter. In return, you drop the doping charge. What's so funny? Orbilio, would you please explain why you're laughing? I mean, for a start you might have been just a tad relieved to know I'm safe.'

Mother of Tarquin, she had no idea what he had experienced when he discovered she'd escaped the shipwreck. 'Once reports came in of your survival,' he said, 'I stopped worrying about you and began to worry for Jason.'

'Bastard.'

'But a self-made man.'

'Don't let the conceit go to your head, Orbilio. Just agree to my terms.' There was a splash, as a porter discharging sacks was knocked off the gangplank by an accidental female elbow.

Marcus licked the salt off his lips and knew he was going to enjoy himself here. She didn't know. Goddammit, Claudia Seferius and she still didn't realize! 'Azan's mistake,' he said, tipping the floundering porter a silver sesterces, 'wasn't mustering his three ships together. It was dallying far too long waiting for his men to bring Jason back. I imagine our trusty marines are blasting him out of the water even as we speak.'

'Bugger Azan. I'm talking about me. And cutting a deal.'

'Those Liburnian galleys are all very well in and around the islands, but once they're out in open water, they're no match for Roman triremes. Outmanned, outnumbered, outgunned, they'll be at the bottom of the ocean before the navy's within their range.'

'For gods' sake, Orbilio, insurrection isn't the issue here. Yes, yes, it's wonderful that you've scotched it; I'm sure they'll write you up in dispatches or whatever they write people up in, and the islanders will doubtless praise your name for ever for delivering them from Azan the Butcher. But there's a psychopath wandering around the Villa Arcadia who's in desperate need of locking up, and in return there's me, waiting for your word that you'll drop all charges against me.'

He kept his eyes on the top of the mast, where a seagull had perched and was preening its wings, and tried to compose his features. 'This may come as a shock to you, Mistress Seferius, but one of the first things we're taught at Security Police School is: catch the bad guys.'

'Then what are you waiting for?'

Marcus stuck out his lower lip as though deep in thought. 'Well..' He spread his hands. 'I guess it's the second thing they teach us at Security Police School.' He was enjoying this. 'Identify the bad guys first.'

'You don't think Jason's tattooed arms tied Bulis to the pillar in the grain store, stuffed a gag in his mouth, then set the granary alight?'

'No,' he said, keeping his gaze on the seagull, 'I don't.'