Marilyn Todd - I, Claudia

‘Die, bitch!’

Balbus lurched forward, clutching his knife, but she was transfixed now. Like a rabbit in torchlight, she was his for the taking. She could see every pulse in his throat, every blink of his eye. Then, on the second pace, he slipped in the sticky puddle. Suddenly he was slithering and sliding, his palms thrashing on the boards. A hoarse rattle sounded in his throat, his eyes rolled, and he pitched forward. Four times he twitched then lay still. For an eternity Claudia waited, then-slowly and carefully-she approached his motionless form. With trembling hands she lifted his head by the hair. Ventidius Balbus was as dead as they come.

She glanced over at Marcus, who was white as birch bark, his face drawn with horror. Daresay mine’s no better. She drew a deep breath, counted to three, then let it out, wiping the greasy blood on the wooden floor.

‘Orbilio-’ She cleared her throat and started again. ‘Orbilio, are you going to sit there all night gawping just because I’m buck naked?’

He shook his head slowly from side to side in wonderment. ‘Claudia Seferius, you are incredible. You are absolutely incredible.’ His voice was as shaky as she felt.

‘Oh, come on, Orbilio. I’m better than that and you know it.’

Unexpectedly self-conscious under his scrutiny, Claudia snatched at Orbilio’s tunic. It was far too long, but it was a damned sight better than that skimpy woollen wrap and it smelled sweet. Besides, it was cold. She was shivering, so it must be cold, mustn’t it?

‘One clean stroke. Have you been practising?’

She grinned back at him. ‘All the way down here, Orbilio. I needed to find a better way to keep fit than running up and down these bloody hills all night long.’

She pulled the tunic over her head and ruffled her hair. It stank from being stuffed inside that rancid carcass.

‘Hey, where are you going?’

She paused at the top of the ladder to belt the tunic. ‘Home,’ she replied. ‘For a bath.’

‘You can’t leave me stranded! Claudia, for heaven’s sake, I’m tied up and stark naked. This is embarrassing.’ She put her foot on the top rung of the ladder. ‘I assure you, Orbilio, you have nothing to be ashamed of on that score. Believe me.’

She began her descent. Callisunus and the soldiers would be along soon. They could sort it out between them. It was what they were paid for, for gods’ sakes.

‘Untie me, Claudia. CLAUDIA!’

She took two steps upwards and popped her head over the top of the boards. ‘Orbilio, do you mind? This is Thursday already and I really do have a lot on my plate at the moment. A business empire to run, two households to manage, a husband to bury, a cat to feed and a farm that needs urgent attention.’

‘Mother of Tarquin, woman-’

‘The farm’s a priority. We’re still waiting for the augur to pronounce the vintage, but there’s straw to cut, land to plough and didn’t Rollo mention something tedious about irrigation? Now if I’m to catch the games in two weeks’ time, I’ve really got to get cracking.’

I still don’t know who paid off Lucan, but while I’m on a roll it’d be a shame to miss the fun. Claudia planted a kiss on her fingertips and blew it across to him.

‘So you see, Orbilio, I really can’t afford to waste time running around after you.’

With a toss of her curls, she flounced down the ladder and across the dusty boards of the warehouse. What sort of alleycat had Drusilla been consorting with? she wondered. As long as there aren’t more than four kittens, it would be all right, because she’d have to keep them, of course. Maybe two here and two up at the villa?

Marcus’s plaintive cries for freedom floated down to her and she smiled. You’re all right, Orbilio, do you know that? You’re all right.

Pausing on the bridge, watching a fisherman come home with his catch, Claudia breathed in the early morning air and looked at the city waking above her. Yes indeed, there was something exceedingly satisfying about Thursdays.

Hadn’t she always said so?