Or killed.
She was brought back to reality by Jovina's voice.
'No point daydreaming about Brutus. One pleased customer doesn't run the Lupanar,' she said briskly. 'Have a wash and be at reception in half an hour, wearing a clean dress.'
Fabiola forced a smile. Clutching the tip, she pulled on her robe and left the madam calling for Docilosa to clean the bed.
The confident manner she had shown with Brutus was needed later. Fabiola's next customer that evening was a perspiring senator with a red face who did not balk at the price for two hours. Her ability to please was proved again as she teased the elderly man to a frenzied orgasm. No further clients appeared and Fabiola finally had the chance to gossip with Pompeia.
'One of Caesar's officers? The gods must be in a good mood. My first one was old and dirty.' The redhead made a face. 'Had to wash him for an age just to get rid of the smell!'
'Brutus gave me an aureus.'
Pompeia nodded in approval. 'Will he visit you again?'
'I think so.' A trace of doubt entered Fabiola's mind. 'He's returning to Gaul in two months.'
'Plenty of time!'
'Sure?'
'Make his next visit even more amazing,' Pompeia whispered, 'and he 'll be infatuated. Men are like that. Brutus will come running each time he 's back in Rome.'
Fabiola listened carefully.
'They say Caesar's star is in the ascendancy. So Brutus' will be also.' Pompeia gave her a sly wink. 'Just remember that.'
'I will,' Fabiola replied, delighted that her hunch had been correct. She resolved to do her utmost to win the young noble 's affections if he did return as promised.
Gemellus returned from the Lupanar in the foulest of moods. He had been outwitted by Jovina and his pride was wounded. To add to the embarrassment, the merchant had been publicly ejected from the brothel for the second time. The idea of visiting the madam with a gift of jewellery and sweet-talking his way to a percentage of Fabiola's earnings had only seemed fair. After all, the brat was making her a fortune.
The plan had gone spectacularly wrong.
Jovina had accepted the present readily enough, even serving some acceptable wine. They had talked politely about the state of the Republic and the economy before Gemellus had brought up the topic of Fabiola.
Jovina's face had gone cagey the moment the girl was mentioned. A queasy feeling had flared in his stomach, unsettling him, and he'd started badly by immediately demanding a cut of Fabiola's earnings. The sharp skills at bargaining which had been honed over two decades seemed to have evaporated overnight. Jovina had refused point blank and Gemellus had lost his temper. Beleaguered now on all sides by creditors, he had not forgiven the madam for duping him out of thousands of sestertii.
Gemellus hadn't even had the satisfaction of wrapping his fingers around Jovina's scrawny neck. Before he could lay a hand on her, the enormous doorman had again materialised as if from thin air. Benignus had plucked the merchant bodily from his seat, and carried him to the door. The colossus had held Gemellus' arms while Vettius drove two powerful punches into his solar plexus, winding him completely. A moment later, he flew out the door to land face first in a fresh pile of mule dung.
'Next time I'll tell them to cut your balls off!' Jovina had yelled.
Scandal did not take long to move through the city. It would only be a matter of time before Gemellus' enemies heard the news of his public disgrace. The merchant's poor standing with certain influential members of Rome's financial underworld would be damaged even further. The frantic attempts he'd made to keep his lenders happy were all going wrong. Gemellus had managed to placate Crassus, his biggest creditor, but a number of the Greeks in the Forum had threatened to break his legs if he couldn't meet their extortionate weekly payments.
If he wanted to fund the bestiarius' expedition, Gemellus would have to sell the house in the Aventine or even his beloved villa in Pompeii. This realisation darkened an already black mood. He stalked along stone-floored corridors to the room Romulus and Fabiola had shared with their mother. Throwing open the flimsy wooden door, Gemellus found Velvinna on an old cot, sobbing into the pillow.
'Useless bitch. Why aren't you in the kitchen?'
'I am sick, Master.'
Gemellus was filled with disgust. Velvinna's once lustrous hair was matted with dirt. The features he had lusted after were etched with lines of worry and sadness. Although she was only thirty, Velvinna looked ten years older.
'Get up and do some work!'
'My children, Master. Where are my beautiful twins?'
Gemellus pursed his lips. He was sick of Velvinna repeatedly asking the same question. It did not matter how many times she was raped. The merchant stalked over and grabbed her by the hair.
There was not even the satisfaction of a whimper in response.
'With any luck the boy is dead,' he spat. 'I didn't do so well with the little vixen though. She's making her new owner a fortune in the whorehouse.'
Velvinna stared at him dully. It was almost too much to take in. 'Kill me, Master. I have nothing left to live for.'
Gemellus laughed. The idea that she would have a reason to exist was most amusing. She belonged to him — he could sell or even kill her without any legal implications. Whether Velvinna cared about Romulus and Fabiola or not was entirely irrelevant.
'I'll get a few hundred sestertii for you instead. The salt mines will take anything that breathes,' he said. 'I should have done it the same day as the brats. Now get back to work.'
'And if I won't?'
The merchant was so shocked that he released his grip on her.
'Everything I held sacred has been taken. My virginity. My body. Even my children. There is nothing left.' For the first time in her life, Velvinna's face showed no fear. 'Sell me to the mines.'
'Be ready at dawn!' Gemellus blustered, unsure what to say to a slave who requested certain death. Severe discipline and an incredibly harsh environment meant even the strongest of men survived only a few years digging salt. Someone as weak as Velvinna would last weeks at most.
He turned to go.
'One day there will be a knock on your door,' she said ominously.
The merchant raised a hand, but something held him back.
'Romulus will stand outside. And may the gods help you when he discovers my fate.'
Memories of Fabiola's defiance and the hatred in Romulus' eyes as he stood in the yard of the Ludus Magnus were vivid in Gemellus' mind.
Maybe she was telling the truth. Terror consumed him and he slapped Velvinna so hard that her head snapped back into the wall. She collapsed to the floor, the shallow movements of her ragged dress the only sign of life.
He eyed Velvinna's bare legs and a flicker of desire stirred in his loins. The merchant considered taking her there and then, but the prophecy had shaken him. He closed the door softly and walked away. In the morning, he would take Velvinna to the slave market. She and the twins would be forgotten for ever.
One day there will be a knock on your door.
Chapter XI: Prophecy
Rome, winter 56 BC
Tarquinius was squatting by the steps of the great temple to Jupiter on the Capitoline Hill. He felt at home here, in a place where echoes of the Rasenna were still strong. It was also an excellent spot to watch goings-on; to assess the general mood in the city. The Etruscan had been coming every day for weeks. Built by his people hundreds of years before, this shrine was the most important place of worship in Rome. It was busy from sunrise to sunset. And with political uncertainty now ever-present, business was better than ever. The bitter cold could not keep worshippers away and the complex was crowded and noisy.