Mary Reed - Four for a Boy

Felix let out a grunt of surprise. The icy place was a barracks for the dead. A score of bodies reposed on marble slabs. Only a few were decently covered.

“We’re still hosting some of the guests sent here by the Gourd after that business at the Strategion,” Gaius said. Evidently the freezing air had somewhat revived him.

He patted the closest chunk of stone. “These were part of a defective shipment, donated to us by none other than Viator. That’s why I was chuckling. I wager he never thought he’d end up laid out on one of them. Apparently the marble was destined for a private bath house at the palace. Now it serves a humbler class.”

He drew a sheet back from the face of an enormous mound.

“That’s him,” Felix said. “What did the Gourd’s men say?”

“Nothing much. They’d dragged him out of the water. Mind you, he wasn’t drowned, but stabbed in the back. I can understand that. Who’d attack a man this size from the front? I’d say it was a robbery. He’s well known and reputed to be wealthy.”

“His son hasn’t claimed the body?” John put in.

“No. If he has a son, he had better hurry up, otherwise his father will be buried by strangers tomorrow. I don’t expect to see him. He would be here by now if he were going to come at all.”

Back upstairs they were greeted by the wail of a child. The thin sound crept into the higher register and then ended abruptly.

“Could that be the infant you’re supposed to be delivering?” Felix inquired.

Gaius shook his head. “No. It’s a little girl brought in this morning. An accident. Dislocated shoulder. One of my assistants has been trying to manipulate it back into place. Let’s hope she’s lost consciousness this time so he can get the job done properly. Now I must go and see how my pregnant patient is doing. You’re reporting back to the Gourd, I imagine. Tell him I will send him an official report on the matter of Viator as soon as I run out of patients to treat.”

***

The Prefect’s offices were located in the drab, seemingly endless administrative warrens that formed as much a part of the Great Palace complex as its lavish dining and reception halls, gardens, and luxurious private residences. Anyone traversing its anonymous hallways might be traveling to any of a hundred destinations on the palace grounds. As it happened, John and Felix caught sight of Trenico just as he emerged from the Prefect’s office.

The aristocrat turned smartly on his heel and veered away down the corridor. From his quick glimpse, John thought Trenico looked exceptionally startled.

A strapping guard eyed them coldly as they entered the outer office until a brief order from Felix in the name of the emperor led to an announcement of their presence.

The doorway leading into the Prefect’s inner chambers was open and the man stamped out, wiping his hands on his shirt. He was in a foul mood, which turned fouler still after he impatiently heard their information concerning the cause of Viator’s death.

“Now you’ve told me, I expect Gaius won’t bother putting kalamos to parchment,” he rumbled. “I agree with him. It was obviously a robbery, but that won’t stop fools from wagging their tongues about it. Let me catch them at it and I’ll see they have the wag yanked out of them on the spot.”

John wondered why the Gourd would care if the death of Viator were laid at his door. Wouldn’t such rumors enhance the ruthless reputation he cultivated so assiduously?

“If you hadn’t blundered at apprehending the man when he was right within your grasp,” Theodotus went on, “he would have told us everything by now, including where Hypatius’ murderer is hiding.”

“Even though the man suspected is his son?” Felix said.

The Prefect laughed. “Believe me, he would have revealed all we wanted to know, son or not. However, since you are here and I have been instructed to make use of your services. I have a new task for you. One of my informants tells me that some Blues are planning to make trouble in the Augustaion tonight. They never learn their lesson, do they? But I have a little surprise for them. My men will be hidden around the area to grab them as soon as they start assembling, before they even know what’s happening. Find yourselves a good hiding place near the Augustaion. One of those foul alleys would be ideal. Just make certain you don’t get into conversation with any of those kind-hearted ladies who inhabit so many of them.” His leer was most unpleasant.

“What exactly will be our role?” Felix’s tone was crisp.

Theodotus tilted his misshapen head to one side and looked at Felix with undisguised contempt. “Your role? Why, simply to wait. When the time comes, fight and, if need be, help capture any stragglers who attempt to escape. You can manage that, can’t you? Yes, I’m sure you can. This is an assignment even you two can’t fail at.”

Anna stood in the garden behind her father’s house, munching a fig as she talked to Trenico.

“Epic poetry is generally much more to my taste than the romantic vapidities of certain of our current poets,” she said firmly.

Trenico frowned. “I am sorry indeed to hear that, Anna, since some of their writings are most beautiful. Often carnal in nature, I admit, but is not that part of romantic love?”

Anna looked at him keenly. “True enough, but whining about it won’t get you what you want, will it? Wouldn’t you prefer to win love rather than pity?”

“Perhaps we should go inside? It’s chilly out here this morning. Surely you’ve had more than enough fresh air by now?”

“Don’t you find it invigorating? Look how the ice shines on that poor Cupid on the fountain! Isn’t it beautiful?”

“Your manner toward me has been even icier, Anna, and frankly I do not find that beautiful at all.”

Anna looked around the garden. It was crammed with statuary and flagstone paths, with a tiny bath house fronted by two small columns half hidden behind a screen of pruned bushes. The garden was sizeable, especially considering the value of land in the crowded capital.

“The other morning I saw a stork standing in the fountain,” she mused. “Imagine, all those thousands of storks we saw flying along the Bosporos a few months ago, yet this one somehow lost its way. Or perhaps it just chose not to follow the others.”

Trenico fumbled inside his cloak. “If you insist on remaining out here, then please allow me to give you this small gift of affection before I leave. Perhaps you’ll feel warmer toward me.”

He held out a delicate golden chain from which hung a gold pendant.

Anna tossed the remains of her fig into a flowerbed filled with withered brown stalks and took the necklace.

“I see that the pendant is engraved with a rose. Interesting! That is Venus’ sacred flower as well as my own favorite bloom. Well, well, I’m surprised at you. Was this intended as a love charm by any chance?”

Trenico looked surprised. “How did you…?”

Anna handed back the necklace. “One of the servants has the same charm. It’s caused many heated arguments in the kitchen between her and her rival for the fellow’s affections.”

“One of your servants has an identical necklace?”

“It’s essentially the same except that the pendant is pottery and hangs on a leather thong rather than a gold chain.”

“But that’s impossible! Where did she get it from?”

“Apparently it was sold to her by one of the Gourd’s servants. As to what she paid for it, I didn’t ask the price. Why?”

Trenico’s voice shook with rage and mortification. “The Prefect assured me that he had commissioned this necklace especially for me. Given the speed with which it was created, he charged me extra!”