At first she was doubtful. ‘But, Libertus, there are arrangements to make. There should be a feast, sacrifices, gifts to the servants. I do not even have anything suitable to wear.’
As this would be her third wedding she would hardly need the ochre veils and floral trimmings of a new bride, but I suppose all women are the same. Gwellia would have had the same impulse. I said gently, ‘With respect, lady, I suggest you wear your normal clothes. Fine robes would only create interest among your slaves — and who knows whom Zetso may already have bribed to bring him information?’
She was still hesitating. ‘But the festivities. .’
‘They can be arranged later. If you do not marry him today, you may lose him for ever.’ I saw her face and produced my trump card. ‘Of course, he might be prepared to go to Rome, wed this girl and then divorce her — there would be no shame in that once he had done his duty by her.’ Made her pregnant, I meant, though Celtic delicacy prevented my saying so to a lady.
Romans, however, have fewer inhibitions. ‘Get her with child? I won’t have that. Besides, Marcus is such a soft-hearted fool, he would lose his heart to the infant and I should never win him back. No, I’ll do it. What exactly does he want me to do?’
I outlined the instructions we had agreed, and she listened attentively. ‘Very well,’ she said, ‘I will do as you suggest. But with your agreement, I shall bring two of my servants with me. Have Marcus send me the boys who were attending him. That way they cannot report to Zetso, and it cannot be claimed that I was abducted. If Felix is the kind of man you describe, he would seize on such an excuse to declare the contract illegal.’
I nodded, appreciating her intelligence. I added one or two suggestions of my own. Then I accompanied her back to her door. ‘I am sorry, lady, to drag my patron from you,’ I said, loudly enough for the waiting handmaidens to hear. ‘But Perennis Felix awaits him. I am sure you understand.’
She was quick-witted as well as beautiful. ‘I suppose it cannot be helped,’ she replied, her voice a model of disappointed affront. ‘Make my farewells to Marcus. He need not bother to seek me — I am going out, to choose some new cloth for a stola. A poor widow must have some amusements in life.’
I went back to Marcus with this news, and he chuckled proudly. ‘A remarkable woman, Libertus. Now, are you ready? Zetso is waiting.’
Which is how I came to be a witness at the wedding. In fact it was all very simple. Marcus tried his case, and by the time it was finished Delicta had arrived, with her attendants, and the six additional witnesses had been found. She took off her hooded cape, and stood demurely, looking stunning in a simple long-sleeved sleeved tunic and a stola in shades of amethyst. It was hard to know what wedding outfit could have been more becoming. The magistrate and the auspex did what was asked of them, we witnesses added our seals to the contract, and Marcus and Julia Delicta formally made their vows. ‘Ubi tu Gaius, ego Gaia’ — ‘Where you are Gaius, I am Gaia.’ They even exchanged rings as tokens, hurriedly blessed on the imperial altar.
Then we returned to Zetso. Delicta would follow us to Glevum in a few days, where Marcus had promised her all the formal feasts and celebrations she could wish. Zetso was bad-tempered at having been kept waiting, but was obviously entirely unsuspicious. Marcus and I sat in the carriage, bouncing home, and smiled at each other triumphantly.
If we had known what lay ahead we might not have been so delighted.
Chapter Four
It was getting dark by the time we got back to Glevum and the gates were closing but Zetso scarcely seemed to slacken pace. He was justified: at the first glimpse of the imperial carriage the huge studded gates were opened again with such alacrity that I am sure the poor guard responsible must have reported afterwards to the military medicus with a rupture.
Once back within the city, however, our progress was much slower. The edict which restricts wheeled vehicles within the walls during the hours of daylight may keep the roads clear for military and imperial transport by day, but it has a contrary effect after the gates are closed. At twilight the colonia becomes a heaving, torchlit jostling mass of horses, donkeys, oxen, carts and waggons as every tradesman and freed-man tries to move his goods around the city before total darkness overtakes him.
Zetso was doubtless chafing, and I was no less impatient. As soon as I had delivered Marcus, I hoped to hurry back to the comparative safety of my workshop, where any threat of vivicombustion was likely to be of an accidental kind. Besides, I wanted to tell Junio about the fair-headed slave: unless I was much mistaken this was the same maidservant with whom he had — quite improperly — struck up a certain friendship the last time we had visited the house, although at that time she had just been shorn and had no hair at all. Naturally he did not suppose that I knew anything about it. I was rather looking forward to teasing him on the subject.
Marcus, however, had other plans for me.
‘We will alight here,’ he said, tapping the side of the carriage to alert Zetso, as we stopped for the twentieth time to let a laden handcart extricate itself from the wheel-ruts in the paving. ‘We are only a javelin throw from my apartment. I can at least rinse my head and feet and change into fresh robes. There is no opportunity to visit the bath house before attending this banquet, but I prefer not to put myself at a disadvantage by arriving to meet Felix looking completely crumpled and travel-stained.’
‘But, Excellence!’ I protested, feebly. The thought of encountering Felix again was already an unpleasant one; the idea of finding him impatient and furious was even less appealing.
Marcus silenced me with a glance.
‘It will not take us long. My slaves will be waiting, and if the carriage makes this kind of progress it will hardly have moved more than a block or two before we return. No doubt we will not be the last arrivals. The commencement of a feast is always a haphazard affair.’
He was right, of course. The Romans are known for their obsession with punctuality and order, dividing the day carefully into hours and always consulting their water-clocks and hour-candles. But since the length of an hour varies at different seasons according to the quantity of daylight, in fact clocks and candles are only an approximation and it is almost impossible for any private citizen to calculate the time with any accuracy. Even the public sundial in the forum, consecrated to Jove and imported into Glevum at great expense, was constructed for Roman sunshine and seems strangely to be effectively useless for ours, even supposing our sun happens to be shining. Most men, summoned to a private dinner, will simply aim to arrive there before sunset, while at an evening banquet, like this one, there are certain to be stragglers. Felix had not even specified a time.
All the same, I was anxious. ‘Perhaps, Excellence, I should stay with the carriage?’ I ventured, as Zetso, reluctantly, abandoned the reins and came round to open the door.
Marcus paused in the act of alighting. ‘And leave me to walk the street unaccompanied? Besides, surely you wish to make your own ablutions? My slaves can bring you water and oils, at least.’
‘I thank you, Excellence, but that is hardly necessary. When I get home. .’
Marcus frowned. ‘But, Libertus, old friend, you are not returning home. At least, not yet. I wish you to accompany me to this banquet. The driver can go on ahead and tell them we are coming — you and I will send out for litters.’ He allowed Zetso to help him from the carriage and strode purposefully away.
Zetso looked at me, and smirked. I got down unaided and he drove off with a flourish. I seized a link from a passing torch-bearer, who glanced at my patron and yielded it without a murmur. Marcus still counted for something in this town.