Sejanus

'But why me?' I said. 'I never even spoke to the girl.'

'We don't often get visitors, sir. And she told me you had a kind face.' I didn't dare look at Perilla. 'Will you help? Please?'

She sounded genuine, I'd give her that. But even if she was…

'Look, let's be sensible about this,' I said. 'Marius may be a bastard, but he's the girl's father. Her legal guardian. If I help her to escape it's tantamount to kidnapping a minor. You know what the penalty is for that?'

'Why can't she just report him to the city judge?' Perilla said. 'Or have a member of her family do it for her?'

'Because there isn't anyone, madam.' Brito was outwardly calm, but her hands twisted together in her lap. 'The master's a widower, she's an only child, and the rest of the family's in Spain. Besides, she's frightened. Ashamed, too.'

'Shit, it's not her fault.' I stood up. 'I'll bring the charge myself. Once the authorities know what he's been up to the guy'll get a one way trip off the Tarpeian Rock with plenty of hands willing to do the shoving.'

'Will he?' Brito said quietly. 'Are you sure, sir?'

I sat down again. Yeah. She was right. Marius had everything going for him. He was socially respected, from a good provincial family, and a big wheel financially, not just in Spain but at Rome as well. Probably all over. And, most important of all, he was a pal of Sejanus's: protected — I'd used the word myself. Try to charge a guy like that with incest on a teenage girl's say-so and it wouldn't even make the courts. Worse, for the prosecutor it would be a direct ticket to an island.

'We have to help,' Perilla said. 'She's just a child.'

'Yeah, I know.' I sighed. 'But it isn't as simple as that. You say the family's in Spain?' Brito nodded. 'So she'd be our responsibility, at least for the time being. And like I say, it's kidnapping.'

'Aunt Marcia would take her.' Perilla's courtesy aunt Marcia lived in retirement up in the Alban Hills near Caba. You didn't even see many goats, that far out.

'Uh-uh,' I said. 'It's too risky.'

'Marcus, please!'

I'd never seen Perilla so upset. I swallowed.

'Yeah, okay,' I said. 'We'll give it a try.'

She hugged me. Brito was beaming.

'You won't regret it, sir,' she said. 'I promise.'

Maybe not. But I wasn't taking any bets.

22

I wasn't taking any chances, either. This could still be a set-up. I rounded up four of my beefiest slaves (shades of the Sunshine Boys, but they'd long gone to flab) and made sure they each had a knife and a nice heavy stick with enough lead in the end to make a serious impression on anybody that got in its way. Then I stuck my own knife into its wrist-sheath and took my cavalry-length sword from its oilskin wrappings. All strictly illegal, of course, inside the city boundaries; but what we were planning was no evening stroll along the Saepta. And if Brito turned out not to be the kind-eyed old biddy she seemed and I got jumped — still a distinct possibility — then I wanted to be ready for the bastards.

Which brought us to the next problem.

'Marcus, I'm coming with you,' she said.

'Like hell you are!' Jupiter! Here we go again, I thought. I knew I'd lose in the end, but it was the principle of the thing.

'Corvinus.' Perilla's voice changed to pure ice. 'You are not going on some nocturnal slash-and-bash this time.' Gods! Where did she pick up that language? Not from me, that was sure. 'The poor child will be nervous enough already, and to be lugged through the middle of Rome at night by four hulking Gauls and a stand-in for Spartacus won't help matters.'

Yeah, well, she had a point. About the Gauls, anyway. 'Brito'll be with her, Perilla. And she said I had a kind face.'

'Hah!'

'Don't "hah!" me, lady! I know what I'm talking about here. This thing may be on the level, but if not you're a liability. I can't watch you and my back at the same time.'

She sighed. 'Don't argue, please. And don't be ridiculous. We'll be taking a small army with us. Plus enough weapons to hold off every footpad in Rome. And I have infinite confidence in your abilities to maim in my defence should the occasion arise.'

'Uh, yeah.' I wasn't quite sure how to take that last one. 'Still…'

'Good. Then that's settled. We'll need both litters. And wrap up well, we don't want you clanking.’

We left the litters on the path and stole across the rough ground to the corner of Marius's wall, both muffled to the eyeballs in heavy cloaks for extra secrecy. Personally I'd've thought two mysterious hooded figures crawling about the Janiculan in the dark with a ladder and four seriously-weaponed gorillas in tow would've looked suspicious enough for anyone, but then I felt pretty silly about this whole business. If you listened hard enough you could just about hear the squeak of the Alexandrian bodice-ripperist's stylus. It wasn't a full moon, anyway. That was a plus. Alexandrian novelists love full moons, but when you're being sneaky they can be embarrassing.

When we got closer I could see why Marilla had specified the south-west corner of the garden. We wouldn't need the ladder. A fresh-fallen tree had knocked a major chunk of masonry down from the garden side, and what was left of the wall couldn't've been any more than six feet high, tops. Also, because the tree was still in place there were branches to clamber up on the other side.

I motioned the Gauls to wait. 'Okay,' I murmured to Perilla. 'You want to go for it while I keep watch?'

She nodded and put her mouth to the crack in the broken brickwork under the trunk. 'Marilla?' she whispered. 'Are you there?'

There was a movement beyond the wall, and Brito's voice said:

'We're here, madam, and ready. I'll help her up.'

The tree branches rustled and the girl's face appeared through them. She looked like I'd imagine a dryad might: a lovely, dark-eyed dryad who was scared half to death and trying not to show it.

'Valerius Corvinus?' she whispered.

'Yeah, that's me, princess. Jump and I'll catch you.'

'Let me just get Diana first.'

'Who the hell's Diana?'

'My sparrow.'

Oh, yeah. The birdcage she'd been carrying when I first saw her on the balcony.

'Gods alive! You got a menagerie waiting behind that wall, bright-eyes?'

'Marcus!' Perilla snapped.

'Yeah, okay.' I sighed. 'Go ahead, princess, let's have the sparrow. But just leave the pony behind, right?'

The face disappeared and the branches rustled again. A moment later she was back with the wicker cage.

'Can you reach if I hand her down to you?'

'Sure.' I stretched up and took the cage. The bird fluttered. 'Okay. Now you.'

She was feather-light, no heavier than a bird herself. Good bones. And she was trembling.

'Don't worry, princess,' I said gently. 'That's you out for keeps now. Go with Perilla to the litter.'

She went, and I handed Brito down with her bundle. It was comfortably small. At least she'd been sensible over the packing.

'No problems?' I said.

'No problems, sir. And the Three-Faced-Mother bless you.'

'Sure.' I picked up the birdcage and gave it to one of the Gauls. 'Here, sunshine. You're in charge of pets. Guard it with your life.'

We lit the torches when we were well clear of the Marius place and headed for the Sublician and home: a litter without torchbearers stands out like a sore thumb on the night streets, and I didn't want to attract any attention either from would-be freelance entrepreneurs or the local Watch squaddies. Bathyllus had performed his usual psychic trick and was waiting for us at the door. I sent the Gauls off minus the birdcage to play with their marbles while Perilla sneaked Marilla inside suitably wrapped: Poplicolan Street was deserted, like it usually was at this hour, but there was no point in taking chances.