‘I thought you wanted him dead.’
‘I do, but it might be amusing to ruin him first; see how he likes a couple of years with nothing, just as I had.’ He got to his feet, smiling at the thought. ‘Have your people pack your bags, my love; we’ll leave for my Cosa estate tomorrow after I’ve seen Seneca.’
CHAPTER XXI
‘I got back to Rome just before the Ides of October,’ Vespasian said without any preamble as Hormus showed Laelius into the tablinum, ‘and here we are two days before the Ides of February. Why has it taken four months for you to come and pay your respects to me, Laelius?’
Laelius stood before the desk, looking uncomfortable and sweating slightly despite the chill of a February dawn. He rubbed his hand over his now completely bald pate and essayed an ingratiating smile. ‘I have only just heard of your return, patronus, as I’ve been away on business.’ He spread his hands and shrugged as if it were unavoidable.
‘For four months over the winter, Laelius? Bollocks! You’ve been in the city and I know it.’
‘But you were touring your estates.’
‘Ah! In order to know that you must have been here. Anyway, I got back from my tour in the New Year. I’ll tell you why it’s taken four months to visit me: it’s because, with the bad winter they’ve been having in Moesia, it’s taken four months for my letter to get to my brother and then for the news to get back to you that he’s cancelled your chickpea contract and dismissed your son in disgrace. Is that nearer the mark, Laelius?’
Laelius cringed and twisted his hands.
‘And all the time that I was away you didn’t pay me the twelve per cent that you promised me from your business even though I kept my part of the bargain and had your equestrian status restored and got your son a post as a military tribune.’
Laelius hung his head. ‘I’m sorry, patronus; I believed you to be dead. I’ll pay you everything I owe and raise your percentage to fifteen if you can have your brother restore the contract to me.’
Vespasian turned to Hormus. ‘Is Magnus still here?’
‘Yes, master.’
‘Ask him to come and join us.’
As Hormus left the room Vespasian gave Laelius a friendlier smile. ‘It’s not the contract or the money that you owe me that I wish to discuss at the moment.’
‘What do you want, patronus?’
‘How many people do you call patronus, Laelius?’
‘I don’t understand.’
‘Don’t you?’ Vespasian mused as Hormus came back in with Magnus. ‘Magnus, Laelius is having trouble understanding me; would you help him to focus his attention?’
‘My pleasure, sir.’ Magnus grabbed Laelius’ right arm and pulled it high behind his back.
‘Have I got your full attention now, Laelius?’
Magnus forced the arm up a bit more and Laelius nodded vigorously, grimacing with pain.
‘Good. Now, the last time I saw you I granted you a favour, did I not?’
Another vigorous nod.
‘And yet once that favour was done you took the earliest opportunity to cultivate a new patron. What was his name, Laelius?’ Vespasian raised his eyebrows at Magnus who applied even more pressure.
‘Corvinus!’
‘Corvinus,’ Vespasian repeated in a reasonable tone; he was enjoying this. ‘And for how long have your been courting Corvinus?’
‘I don’t understand, patronus!’
Vespasian’s eyes hardened and he pointed at Laelius’ shoulder. Magnus grabbed it and twisted Laelius’ arm further up his back; there was a loud tearing sound and a pop. Laelius screamed.
‘Would you like Magnus to dislocate the other one for you?’ Vespasian asked pleasantly. ‘And he will, if you don’t tell me just for how long you’ve been in Corvinus’ pay.’
‘Five years, patronus.’
‘I think that we can drop the pretence of you calling me patronus, don’t you? Now, the last time you left this room someone came in for an interview straight after you: do you remember him?’
Laelius whimpered, holding his damaged shoulder. ‘No, patronus.’
‘The other one, Magnus, now!’
Magnus reacted in a flash and within moments Laelius had fallen screaming to his knees with both arms hanging useless at his side.
‘It’s the elbows next, Laelius. Do you remember who came in after you?’
‘Yes, but I don’t remember his name.’
‘Agarpetus; he was Narcissus’ freedman here to organise a meeting between me and his patron. And you listened at the curtain, didn’t you?’
‘Yes,’ Laelius sobbed.
Magnus’ expression changed as he understood the implication; murder shone in his one good eye.
Vespasian held up a hand to stop his friend. ‘What did you do with what you heard, Laelius?’
‘I told Corvinus.’
‘Told Corvinus? Now why would you do that?’
Laelius looked up at Vespasian, his eyes pleading for his life. ‘Because he paid me to tell him anything interesting that I heard while I was in your house.’
‘Do you know what he did with this information?’
Laelius shook his head.
‘Tell him, Magnus.’
‘He had the East Aventine Brotherhood attack the South Quirinal Brotherhood.’
‘That’s exactly what he did,’ Vespasian agreed. ‘In an effort to have me killed; but, instead, quite a few of Magnus’ brothers lost their lives. I imagine the South Quirinal would like to see justice done.’
‘Very much so; but they wouldn’t be anxious to see justice done quickly, if you take my meaning?’
‘Oh, but I do, Magnus, I do.’ Vespasian was now enjoying this even more than he had anticipated he would when he had made the connection between Corvinus knowing when he would be in Magnus’ tavern and Laelius. That had been over a month before and since then he had been savouring the prospect of Laelius coming to plead for his chickpea contract. ‘But you are no longer a member of that brotherhood so it’s not really your argument any more. We wouldn’t want murder committed for no reason, would we, Laelius?’
A flicker of hope showed in Laelius’ eyes. ‘No, patronus.’
‘So when will be the next time you see your former brethren, Magnus?’
‘In the Circus Maximus in an hour or so to watch your team race for the Greens for the first time.’
‘Now that is convenient. Laelius lives in Red Horse Street just off the Alta Semita.’
‘I know it well, sir, so do Tigran and the lads.’
‘And once you’ve told Tigran and the lads that Laelius was responsible for the deaths of a few of their brethren and their temporary eviction from their tavern, how long do you think it would take them to find Laelius’ house?’
‘My guess is that for the pleasure of revenge for something like that they would forgo the racing and be there within a half-hour.’
Vespasian made a show of doing some arithmetic. ‘I would say that you’ve got precisely an hour and a half to get out of Rome, Laelius. Goodbye.’
Laelius looked wide-eyed at Vespasian and then realised that he was indeed letting him go. He stood, grimacing at the pain in his shoulders, and then ran from the room with his arms flapping uselessly beside him.
‘Follow him, Hormus, and don’t let anyone open the door for him; let him try and work that out for himself.’
‘Are you really going to give him a chance, sir?’
Vespasian shrugged. ‘Do you think that the lads won’t get him?’
‘Of course they’ll get him, even if he runs to Corvinus.’
‘Well, then, after what he did, he deserves to live his last few hours, or days, in terror of the inevitable.’
‘What do you want to do about Corvinus? I could get the lads to torch his house for him.’
Vespasian contemplated the offer briefly. ‘No, but thank you, Magnus, it was a kind offer; he’s so rich that it would hardly inconvenience him at all. I’ll think of something suitable in due course.’
Magnus grinned. ‘I’m sure you will. In which case, I think it’s time we went to the circus, sir.’