Rosemary Rowe: The Fateful Day

I nodded. ‘Very well. I’m tempted to think that one of us should stay to keep a watch on these.’ I gestured to the headless bodies on the ground. ‘But nothing that we do will help these people now. And if the killer’s still about it might be dangerous for us. So we’ll go back through the villa and do as you suggest.’

We retraced our steps in silence, all of us listening, wary and alert, fearing to hear noises or stumble on some new atrocity. By common consent we skirted round the house, taking the route out through the storage yard, and by and by we found ourselves at the front gate again.

Junio glanced at me, then at the gatehouse cell. I nodded. He motioned to the slave-boy not to follow him, then pushed the door open and went inside. He came out looking shaken.

‘Still there, then?’ I enquired.

He made a little gesture of horrified assent. ‘I see what you mean about the chains around the hands,’ he said. ‘It’s obviously murder and not a suicide. Just another one to add to our criminal’s account.’

‘But there’s Arlina, anyway,’ I murmured with relief, rushing through the gate to fondle my old mule. ‘At least she’s safe and well. I was beginning to fear that someone would have stolen her.’ I undid the rope that tethered her. ‘I’ll get on and ride. I’ll be all right alone. You two go back together. It’s more dangerous on foot.’

Minimus looked beseechingly at me as I hoisted myself up onto the saddle on Arlina’s bony back. ‘Master, it’s not my place to interrupt, but may I speak to you?’

I smiled. ‘It seems you’re speaking! What is it you want?’

‘If you’re going to find the killer of Pauvrissimus,’ he said, ‘please take me with you, master. You can even take me to sit up on the mule. I am small enough for both of us to ride, and we’ll get there much more quickly than if someone has to walk.’

I glanced at Junio. ‘The boy has already had a fearful shock today. Perhaps it would be better …’ I was about to say, ‘for him to go straight home’, but Junio interrupted.

‘If anyone is going to travel on the lane alone, it should be me,’ he said. ‘But if I think you two have gone too long, I shall bring Maximus and come and look for you. And I’ll bring the wood-axe with me, just in case!’ He waited till Minimus had climbed up ahead of me, then he smacked Arlina’s rump and turned away in the direction of our homes.

I found myself bumping down the lane again towards the prospective vineyard where the land-slaves were.

The chief land-slave saw us coming down the lane. He abandoned his view-point position on a high point of the field and called out in surprise, ‘Why citizen, I see you’re here again! But be assured, we’ve not been idle while you were away. We’ve started digging the trenches for the vines. I’ll show you, if you wish!’ The undertone of mocking half-contempt was, as usual, barely concealed by the outward courtesy. ‘Come down to the enclosure gate and I will let you in.’

I ignored this invitation. I dismounted where I was and went directly over to the boundary wall, leaving Minimus to tether up the mule. ‘Never mind the vines,’ I shouted back. ‘I’ve more important things than vineyards to discuss with you.’

He must have realised that something was afoot because the carefully adopted fake-attentive smile faded from his lean, tanned features instantly. He positively scurried across the field to meet me where I was and when he spoke his manner was quite different from before. ‘Why, whatever is it, citizen?’ For the first time in our acquaintance he looked straight into my eyes. ‘Has something happened to the master while he’s been overseas?’ He saw that I was beginning to shake my head, denying this, and before I could say anything, he’d made another guess. ‘Or has the mistress perished giving birth to the new child? It’s something serious, I can see that from your face.’

‘It’s not what happened to your owners, it’s what has happened here.’ I had to hold my hand up, even then, to silence him before he started to interrupt again. ‘But before you ask me questions, there’s one I have for you. Think carefully before you answer it — much may depend on what you tell me now. Did anything strike you as unusual last night when you went back home to the main estate again?’

He was frowning. ‘But we didn’t! Surely you must have been aware of that?’

‘Didn’t what?’ I was as perplexed as he appeared to be. He was still staring at me in bewilderment, so I said, to make it clearer, ‘What was it that you didn’t do?’

‘Go back to the main estate last night!’ he said, as if this were the strangest notion in the world. ‘Even since that message was delivered two days or more ago, none of us land-slaves has been back at all.’

‘Message? What message?’ I was beginning to sound like Echo in the myth. ‘I didn’t know there had been any message to the house.’

He gave me a sly grin. ‘Then you’re not as much in the master’s confidence as I supposed you were. Oh, indeed there was a message, citizen. A whole great scroll of it. We had strict instructions. There’s a disused farmhouse here and we were to sleep in that till they had finished in the villa — even the animals were moved down here meanwhile.’

I nodded. Obviously the cleaning operations had been Marcus’s idea — that was only what one might expect. But moving all the land-slaves out was rather radical, and had obviously led to the slaughter of the indoor staff. ‘So you aren’t even using the courtyard barns down there?’ I persisted. I was remembering the empty stalls and stock enclosures at the rear of the villa. I should have realised that it was unusual, but I had been too anxious about the missing slaves to really take in the significance.

‘Not at the moment, citizen.’

‘But why not? Isn’t that what you generally do? Even if this great cleaning spree is taking place, you wouldn’t hinder it. And the outbuildings at the villa are in much better repair.’

‘We weren’t wanted at the main estate, tending the creatures and getting in the way, and this arrangement made things more convenient. Or so the master thought, apparently — though, of course, in fact, it made a lot of extra work for us.’

I waved away this piece of grumbling. ‘Convenient for what?’

He was edging towards that former mocking air again. ‘For seeing to the animals, citizen, of course. Even during this season there is lots of work to do, especially when you’re caring for the new kids and lambs and calves.’ He gazed at me and seemed to realise that I really was bemused. ‘There are empty barns and stables here that are quite usable. Plus, there is a chicken coop or two, and quite a nice enclosure for the goats — the whole place was a working farm till recently. You’re right, of course. Several of the buildings were in a dreadful state. But I’ve had such labour as I could afford doing their best to mend them while we moved the stock — and I’m glad to say that everything’s a little better now.’ He stopped and looked at me triumphantly.

He was obviously seeking to be as helpful as possible, but I still had no idea what this was all about. However, a suspicion had begun to dawn on me. ‘Never mind the arrangements for the animals. Who was it decided that you should stay up here?’

He took a small step backwards in surprise. ‘It was the master’s orders. I thought I’d told you that.’ He had adopted a weary, patient tone, as if talking to a failing intellect. ‘He sent this message several days ago saying that on his travels he had found a house in Gaul and all the precious objects in the villa here were to be packed up and crated and sent over to him there.’