A Roman Ransom by Rosemary Rowe Page A

door and that he’s not disturbed. Come, pontifex.’
    And with that he gestured to the priest to follow him, and left the room with his servants obediently at his heels.

Chapter Eight
    To my immense delight, when the crowd of other servants had retired, I looked up to find Junio standing at the door holding a steaming basin in his hands. He came over, grinning, to my side, and put it down.
    ‘Well, master,’ he said cheerfully. ‘I’m glad to have you to myself at last. I hear that you have brought Marcellinus home – but without his bulla, I believe. That will cost Marcus a cow or two at least!’
    I nodded. ‘My patron’s gone to Glevum with the priest to find one now and make a propitiation sacrifice.’
    He grinned. ‘And to present a
defixio
against the kidnappers, so the servants say. He’s going to nail it to the temple doorpost while the chief priest himself stands by. It’s the gossip of the villa, as you might suppose. Everyone is trying to guess what curses he will choose.’
    I gave a feeble smile. It made a kind of sense. Marcus was not usually a superstitious man – his religious observances were of the public kind, required of all important magistrates. Drawing down curses was not his general style. But there were always metalworkers outside the temple doors offering to make a
defixio
for you – a beaten tablet to be nailed up on the wall, consigning your enemies to ruin and calling down the vengeance of the gods – sometimes with appalling details of what you wished to happen to the victim’s vital parts. ‘It will help him vent his feelings, I suppose. He must feel pretty powerless, otherwise.’
    Junio grinned. ‘I gather the chief priest himself suggested it – and there’s to be a special blessing prayer for you. Does that not delight you?’ He winked. ‘Of course, you might have preferred a monetary reward, but . . .’ He trailed off, but I knew what he meant.
    I nodded ruefully. My patron always declined to ‘insult me’, as he said, by offering money for my services – an insult I could easily have borne. However, I was now his guest and I defended him. ‘Marcus has been very good to me – he’s seen to it that I have slaves, and property.’
    Junio laughed. ‘Which cost him next to nothing! I think the medicus was genuinely shocked when Cilla told him how she came to you as a reward for something really important that you did! However, if praise is what you want, you must be satisfied. Marcus has told everyone in the household how clever you have been in bringing Marcellinus home again.’
    ‘That’s another thing that worries me.’ I was happy to be able to confide my doubts. ‘I did nothing. I was simply there, and the child was put into my carrying bed on top of me.’
    ‘I heard that you’d claimed it was just a lucky chance. The household don’t believe it, on the whole, and I suppose it must sound a bit unlikely if you didn’t know all the facts. But I tried to convince them that you couldn’t possibly have arranged for it – that you have been far too ill to do anything of the kind, and I have been with you all the time. The chief priest seemed to accept my word for it – said that, in that case, you were clearly the instrument of the gods. But Marcus still suspects that you contrived it in some way and is hoping that you’ll do the same for Julia very soon.’
    ‘Oh, dear gods. And I had no chance to speak to him alone and persuade him otherwise! I’ll have to try again when he comes home.’ I remembered my suspicions of the medicus, and added, ‘I’d like to talk to Marcus about all this in any case, before Philades does.’
    Junio made a doubtful face. ‘In that case, master, I’m afraid you’ve lost your chance. The medicus is going to Glevum too – I’ve heard the servants say – though he’s left the strictest orders for your care. However, Marcus has said you can have anything you need – so I thought you might be glad of a