Rosemary Rowe - A Coin for the Ferryman

‘Not even the little flasks in your lararium ?’ I said — and knew from the way he paled that I was right. ‘I should have thought of it when I first saw you pouring liquid on the altar fire. You said yourself the offering would have no force unless you provided the wherewithal for it. And yet you were using a jug of Marcus’s when I arrived at first — though you contrived to break it, so no one could discover what it had contained, and what you were trying to dispose of on the flames.’

He had recovered now. ‘Cousin, you provided me with a jug of Rhenish when I went to bed. So it was my wine I offered, for all practical purposes.’ He looked around the assembled diners for support, like an advocate in court. He knew he’d scored a point.

‘But this was not that jug,’ I muttered doggedly. ‘You expressly told Colaphus not to bring you that — so I imagine we will still find it in your sleeping room if we look. This was a big, coarse drinking jug of the kind the servants use, just like the one they sent me with the funeral wine today. I say that the one you broke was used for Aulus’s lunch. No doubt the kitchens can confirm it — the pieces will be lying in the rubbish pile somewhere. Nor do I believe that there was only wine in it.’

‘This is quite scandalous. You have no proof of that.’ But he was breathing hard and that telltale pink was round his nose again — a sign that he felt guilty, as I now realised, or was about to be discovered in a lie.

I pressed my advantage. ‘And you knew that he was dead. I was half aware that something was peculiar at the time. There was a little niggle worrying at my brain, and now I realise what it was. The whole time he was missing you spoke of him in the past, as though you were certain that he wasn’t coming back. And when I told you that I’d found him, you guessed that he was dead before I’d had the chance to tell you that he was.’

Lucius was clearly shaken but he kept his calm. ‘Cousin, are you going to listen to this burbling all night? The man is a menace — I have told you that before.’

I saw Marcus hesitate and glance towards the burly slaves beside the wall. I burst out to Lucius — before he quite convinced his cousin to have me hustled off — ‘So you deny that you killed Aulus? And that you had Marcus’s messenger waylaid and killed, so that the clever mimic you hired could take his place for you?’

Lucius sat down again, the picture of contempt. ‘And why should I do that?’

‘So that you could arrange for your cousin to stay with your relative, instead of visiting the governor’s palace as he planned? I’m still not certain why you wanted that. I think it must be so that you could poison him as well — and possibly his little family too.’

The Roman had turned as white as linen by this time, but he still contrived to sneer. ‘And no one would have noticed? Come, be rational!’

‘I think you’d planned to blame it on the snakes — no one could ask questions if vipers had got loose, especially in the narrow confines of a ship. Why else were you so anxious to employ the snake-charmer? Everyone said the act was very poor. But of course that didn’t matter — that was not the point. You had already made arrangements with him for an “accident” — no doubt offered to pay him very well. But then you discovered that our vipers here don’t have the venom to finish off a man — thanks to the intervention of my wife. Is that why you wrote a letter to that house tonight?’

I paused. It was the officer who made the point for me. ‘Be careful how you answer — we have stopped the messenger. The letter will be returned tomorrow to your cousin here — quite properly, since it was travelling under his private seal.’

Marcus was looking at his cousin in dismay. ‘But why? For money? It would come to you, I suppose, once my poor father died, if my heir and I were conveniently disposed of in this way. My mother would inherit, and you’d be her guardian, since you would be the nearest agnate male. But I can’t believe it of you.’

There was a shrug of the patrician shoulders as Lucius replied. He had the Roman gift of stoicism, which they so admire. ‘Then don’t believe it, cousin. Of course it isn’t true. Did you ever hear such a confection of lies in all your life? Do you seriously believe that I would go out to the gate and get Pulchrus to write that little note to you just so that I could have it sent back to you later on, to convince you that Puchrus had arrived in Londinium safe and sound?’

Marcus looked sorrowfully at me and shook his head. ‘I agree! It is preposterous. For once, Libertus. .’

But I interrupted. ‘What little note was that?’

Marcus frowned, impatient. ‘A note to say Pulchrus had ridden on ahead, to arrange accommodation for the party in advance. It was in his handwriting — I knew the script at once. Of course, now you draw my attention to the fact, the words are rather ambiguous, I agree, and could just as easily have been written here. But, Libertus, why on earth should you imagine that? Why would Pulchrus write a letter while still outside the house?’

‘Because he’d had new orders — and he would not deviate from your instructions without informing you. I think that Lucius persuaded him to write the note to you by telling him that you were busy at the time. I think it’s possible that he dictated it — then sent it on to Londonium to be sent back to you.’

Marcus shook his head. ‘The messenger was quite certain who had given it to him.’

‘A man in Pulchrus’s uniform who behaved like Pulchrus. That mimic was obviously very good indeed,’ I said. ‘But, patron, think of this. How did Lucius come to know about that note at all — or that it was Pulchrus who had written it? As I understand it, it was delivered to you in the town, and the commander here was with you when you broke the seal. Just as you broke the seal of your mother’s letter from Rome, which brought the news about your father’s death. Yet Lucius knew about the contents of that, too, by the time you got home.’

‘The messenger told me verbally, of course.’ Lucius was still defiant even now.

‘But Niveus and I saw you opening a seal.’ That was Atalanta, waiting with her lyre. Like many wealthy Romans, I think that Lucius had half forgotten she were there, or that slave girls were endowed with working eyes and ears. ‘Craving your indulgence, master, but I thought you ought to know.’ She turned back to Lucius. ‘And I saw you talking to Aulus afterwards — in the slaves’ waiting room where he was eating lunch. You told him he could finish the wine that you’d begun, because you didn’t care for Rhenish. I saw you pour it out.’

‘Along with a little something from your lararium flask, perhaps,’ I said. ‘Or do you still deny it, citizen?’

Lucius was defeated but he faced me with a smile. ‘Of course I still deny it. I will prove it, too. Slave!’ He motioned to his bodyguard who was standing close to him, staring as though he’d been turned to stone. ‘Go to my sleeping room and fetch the travelling box. I will show you that there is no poison in any of my flasks.’

‘Go with him, Atalanta,’ Marcus said. ‘Make sure he brings it. And the rest of you — please go back to your seats.’ Most of the dining guests had risen to their feet and were clustered in a startled group against the farther wall, shocked as statues and very near as pale.

There was a lot of hurried whispering, but one or two obeyed, and others were beginning to follow suit when Atalanta and the bodyguard reappeared. Colaphus held the lararium , which he carried to the front and laid before Lucius on the table-top.

‘You still doubt me, cousin?’ Lucius exclaimed. ‘I’ll soon prove who is the liar here.’ He took the box, produced a key and slowly opened it. I felt the crowd lean forward in their seats, and heard the gasps of admiration at the craftsmanship. Lucius took out the silver flasks — the whole array of them — and poured the contents with a flourish into his drinking cup. Then, rising to his feet, he raised the cup to me, rather as Marcus had done when I came into the room.