Buried Too Deep (18 page)

“Pretty slim, from what we’ve heard so far.”

“But surely neither side wants this feud to go on indefinitely. They just need a way of ending it without anyone having to back down. Perhaps their leaders would agree to drink a formal toast together, and declare publicly that they’ll stop squabbling and combine against the Gauls. We could at least suggest it.”

“But if either Magnus or Bodvocus is really in some sort of secret alliance with the Gauls, the last thing he’ll want to do is promise peace, and even if he did, he wouldn’t keep the promise.”

“But it would mean he’d have to stop his part of the trouble-making for a while at least, probably while you were in the area, and that would buy us some time to find out what’s really happening. Whatever he thought privately, he couldn’t refuse to make peace publicly without giving himself away.”

“That’s true. But how could we manage it? They’re both powerful men with reputations to keep up. Neither would want to be seen as the first to suggest a compromise, in case it’s seen as a sign of weakness.”

“Then we must suggest it to each of them separately, giving the impression that the other has already agreed. You’re going to see Magnus today. I’ll make a visit to Bodvocus today too, on pretext of delivering the letters from Oak Bridges. He’s already invited the Ostorii to the feast, so perhaps he’s halfway there. Beltane is the day after tomorrow, so we can’t delay.”

He nodded slowly. “It’s worth a try. What have we got to lose?”

Chapter XVII

Albia’s farm was as busy as a hive of bees. Brutus and his men were hard at work building a defensive stockade, an earth rampart with a wooden fence on its top and a ditch in front of it. It would be tall enough to give basic protection against intruders, and it would eventually surround the house and the part of the garden that contained the spring. It was a big project, but Brutus in his legionary days had helped build scores of similar defences, and the work was going well, with encouragement from Candidus and plentiful supplies of food and beer from Albia.

We got a warm welcome from Albia and Candidus, and the twins were delighted to see Taurus. He offered to help with the digging, but the children refused to allow this at first, and he went off happily to play with them.

“Where’s Illiana?” I asked. “And her father? Divico’s out in the fields, I presume?”

“He’s helping with the stockade,” Candidus said. “Esico and Illiana are inside. Poor Illiana’s little boy died yesterday, so she doesn’t want to see anyone but her father just now.”

“It’s terrible for her,” Albia said. “The poor little mite was all she had left of Belinus. But he was never really strong or healthy from the day he was born.”

She fetched wine, and we all sat down by the pond to discuss our plans.

“These men Clarus has sent us are a gift from the gods,” Albia said as she handed round beakers. “I must say I don’t like the idea of having a fence around our house, but Candidus says we have to have one for now, and if that’s so, I want it built as well as possible. And it’s very comforting to have so many strong lads about the farm just at present.”

“Clarus has given Quintus an assignment while he’s in this area,” I said, “and Clarilla has given me one.” We told them the details, and they were amused by our dual functions. They both offered any help they could give.

“Thanks, I think we’ll be more than glad of it,” I said. “To start with, could I borrow a raeda please, to visit Bodvocus? I don’t think he’s likely to be impressed if I ride up on horseback in my cavalry trousers.”

“Of course,” Albia said. “When will you go?”

“This afternoon.”

“You’ve already had a long journey, Relia. Can’t it wait till tomorrow?”

“I’d like to see Bodvocus’ daughter as soon as I can. Clarilla’s quite worried about her. And Quintus and I want to persuade Bodvocus and Ostorius Magnus that they should stop their silly feuding and think about making peace.”

Albia smiled. “I wish you could. Relia. We feel as if we’re caught between Scylla and Charybdis here, in the middle of somebody else’s quarrel.” She turned to Quintus. “Will you be going to see Bodvocus with Relia?”

“No, I’m off in the other direction. I plan to visit the Ostorii family, and if I leave it till fairly late to arrive, I should be able to get myself and Titch invited to stay with them overnight. That’ll give us a better chance of seeing what the Ostorii are up to, if anything.”

“Titch?” Albia exclaimed. “Titch is coming here too?”

While we were explaining about Titch, his new job and his latest romantic interest, the house-boy Nasua brought out the midday meal of bread, cold mutton, and tiny sweet onions. We set to hungrily, but eating didn’t stop us talking.

“Young Balca mentioned,” I said, “that Bodvocus is giving a big Beltane feast, and everyone for miles around is invited. Will you be going?”

“Oh yes, all being well. It’s always a good day out, and the twins are just about old enough to enjoy it. Will you come too?”

“I’d like to, certainly. And we thought that, if we can get Magnus and the Chief to agree to some sort of public declaration of peace, the Beltane celebration might be the ideal place for it—somewhere public, a festive occasion, no threats of any kind.”

Albia nodded. “It would be perfect, if you could bring it off.”

“There’s one practical problem that I can see,” Candidus spoke up. “It’s not a good idea for you to go alone to Bodvocus’ place.”

“I’ll be safe enough, Candidus. I’ll have whoever drives the carriage, and I can take Taurus along as a guard.”

“I wasn’t thinking about safety. But Bodvocus is extremely old-fashioned in his ways, and he simply wouldn’t receive a woman he’d never met who called on him unannounced, except in a man’s company. He’d be perfectly polite, but he’d have one of his people show you straight into his daughter’s presence, so that you could have a nice womanly chat together. If you want to talk to him seriously about making peace with the Ostorii, you’ll need a man with you to break the ice. I’d offer to escort you myself, but I really need to be here while Brutus and his men are at work.”

“That’s a blow, but I take your point. Quintus, could you escort me there before you go off to Magnus’ estate?”

He shook his head. “I’d rather not visit Bodvocus so soon. I’m anxious to get Magnus and his nephews to trust me, which means giving them the impression I’m on their side in whatever quarrel they’ve got with the local people. It they found out I’d been to Bodvocus first, they might be harder to convince.”

“Then Lucius will have to come along, I suppose. As soon as Titch gets here, can we send him to Lucius’ camp with a message?”

“Well, I suppose so…”

“I’ve had a better idea,” Albia said, and I noticed a thoughtful gleam in her eyes that I recognised from long experience.

Candidus had spotted it too. “Do we stand up and cheer, or run for cover?”

“Relia, if none of the men are available to escort you to see the Chief, why don’t I go with you? He knows me, a respectable Roman matron, and I’m sure he’ll agree to receive us together. Two Roman ladies, calling on the local chief and also on his daughter, will be respectable enough even for him. What do you say?”

“I say yes, let’s do it.”

“But will it work?” Candidus looked at us doubtfully. “He’s so conventional.”

“We’ll make it work,” my sister declared, and that settled the matter.

Quintus grinned. “Poor old Bodvocus. He won’t have an inkling that you two sisters are a far more dangerous combination than if either of you were accompanied by a mere man.”

“Of course he won’t,” I replied. “That’s what makes it such a good idea.”

As we were finishing our meal, Titch arrived, late but not disastrously so, with a broad smile and an excuse about not having realised what the hour was. We all teased him, even Quintus, though not before he’d said something quietly in Titch’s ear which wiped the smile off his face for a few heartbeats.

“I want you to escort Aurelia and Albia on a visit to Chief Bodvocus,” Quintus told him. “You’ll drive them in a raeda, and Taurus will go along as guard. Not that they need one, if you’re there, but to make the right impression. Bring them back here when they’re ready, and then join me at the Ostorius estate, the Fort as they call it.”

“Right. And when we get there, while the ladies are drinking their wine, I’ll try and get to know a few of the native lads, like Coriu and his guard.”

“You have an acquaintance in common, so that shouldn’t be too hard. Unless Balca already has a young man among the guard, of course.”

“She says not.” He stopped, blushing, then hurried on. “Well, I’ll harness up.”

Albia’s raeda was new, and her mules were a good pair from our own stables, steady and strong. Titch drove them at as good a pace as was sensible, given the rough country tracks we had to follow through the hills, and we enjoyed the chance to talk. I passed on all our news, including the information that thanks to Brutus, we now knew that Rollus wasn’t, in fact, our brother.

“Poor Lucius,” she said sadly. “He’ll take it very hard. Still, if the man was a traitor, it’s for the best.”

We discussed how we’d try to persuade Bodvocus to make peace with the Ostorii. Albia was optimistic, and she had firm ideas about the best approach. What it boiled down to was that I was to let her do the talking, especially at first.

“He’s a funny old stick, but I know him, and more important, he knows me. He’ll give our suggestion more consideration if it comes from me rather than from a stranger. So just leave it to me. All right?”

“Willingly. From what I keep hearing about him, he’s a scary old man.”

She nodded. “Scary and powerful, used to his own way. But I think I can handle him.”

The Chief’s grand residence stood on a slight rise of ground, about two hundred paces from the sea. It looked imposing in the mid-afternoon sun, even though it was an odd construction to Roman eyes. It wasn’t a roundhouse, as you’d expect a native dwelling to be, even on a grand scale. It was oblong, with a short two-storeyed corridor of rooms jutting out to one side towards the back. Yet its walls were of timber, not brick or stone, and the roof was thatched with straw and had no chimney.

Clustered quite close around it were several other smaller houses, and assorted barns, workshops, store-rooms, and stables. They were all contained within a vast enclosure, surrounded by two tall earthen walls, one inside the other, each with a deep ditch in front of it. We drove through the outer wall by way of wide wooden gates, hospitably open now, only to find that the entrance through the inner rampart was offset some distance to the left, forcing us to turn and drive slowly along between the two banks for some way. The gates of this second entrance were open too, and there were no obvious guards about, but in the blink of an eye both gates could be slammed shut, to turn the whole area into a fortress.

Titch headed for the main door, and before we’d covered half the distance, a young man stepped out in front of us, and we pulled up. “Good day to you,” he greeted us in reasonable Latin. “What can I do for you?”

He was a typical fair blue-eyed native, but the weave of his fawn tunic was a shade finer than the other men’s, and his boots and belt were of good leather. Then I gave up speculating, because Albia greeted him by name.

“Good day, Vulso. I’ve brought my sister Aurelia to see the Chief and deliver messages from some of his kinfolk at Oak Bridges. Aurelia, let me present Vulso, one of the Chief’s senior guard.”

The man smiled and gave a small bow. “Forgive me, Mistress Albia, I didn’t know you at first. Welcome to our house, and welcome to you, Mistress Aurelia.”

“Thank you,” we both said. Not for the first time I was grateful for Albia’s wonderful memory for faces. If she recognised the Chief’s household with such ease, our visit would go more smoothly than I’d dared to hope.

She returned Vulso’s smile, with a convincing and quite un-Albia-like air of diffidence. “I hope the Chief will forgive our coming unannounced. My sister only arrived to stay with us today, and we didn’t want to lose any time delivering her messages.”

“I’m sure he’ll be delighted to see you,” Vulso answered. “I’ll escort you to him. Your men can take your carriage round to the stables and give your mules and themselves some refreshment.”

He came towards the carriage door. I nearly forgot we were supposed to be behaving like refined ladies and began to reach out a hand to open it for myself, but remembered just in time, and changed the movement to a more feminine gesture, patting my hair to tidy it. Vulso opened the door and helped us alight, and as we followed him across to the house, I saw a servant directing Titch and Taurus towards the stable block.

We climbed the few steps into a big hall, which took up most of the building. There was a dais at one end of it with some doors leading off it, a vast fireplace in the centre, and a few more doors leading to rooms down the side opposite the entrance. Vulso sat us down at a small table near the door. “I’ll go and tell the Chief you’re here. I’m sure he’ll be able to receive you very soon.”

“’
Be able to receive us very soon?
’” I repeated the words to Albia, speaking softly although they roused my indignation. “He gives himself airs, doesn’t he? As if he’s some great nobleman or a high official.”

She nodded. “He is, Relia, at least in these parts. His family come of the old native aristocracy, and they’ve always been friends to Rome. So when the administration was sorted out here, Bodvocus was left with a lot of his old power. After all it makes no odds to the authorities really, provided his people keep the peace, and pay their taxes on time.”

“And it means he has quite a lot to lose, if he or some of his men are caught out harassing Roman farmers. Has he any sons to follow in his footsteps?”

“No, only Elli. That’s why everyone sets such store by a marriage between Elli and Coriu. Bodvocus needs an heir.” But there was no time for more, because Coriu himself appeared from a doorway at the far end of the hall and strode briskly towards us. He was informally dressed, in a leather kilt and boots and a sleeveless jerkin, and he made a very handsome figure even though his arm was still pinioned to his side.

He greeted us warmly. “Welcome to you both. Albia, how good of you to call. Are you well?”

“Very well, thank you, Coriu. Candidus sends his regards, and his apologies for not coming with me. He’s anxious to stay on the farm at present, at least until our new stockade is finished.”

“I understand. And you’re welcome at any time. This is your sister Aurelia?”

Albia nodded. “You’ve met her already, I think? She’s the innkeeper at the Oak Tree mansio, where you went to have your broken arm set.”

He smiled at me. “Of course, just briefly. Please tell that Greek doctor my arm is feeling much better, and I’m being good and not trying to use it yet, even though it’s very frustrating.”

“I’m glad it’s healing well.”

“ Vulso tells me you’ve brought some messages for Lord Bodvocus?”

“For the Chief and for his daughter, from Chief Councillor Silvanius and his sister Clarilla. They’re friends of ours at Oak Bridges, and when they heard I was coming to visit Albia, they asked me to bring letters for you.” I decided to follow Albia’s example and behave as he’d expect a Roman lady to do. “I hope it won’t inconvenience them, my coming to see them without sending word first. I’ve just arrived at Albia’s, and I didn’t want to delay delivering the letters. In these uncertain times…”

“Uncertain is right,” Coriu agreed. “The Chief will be pleased if you’ll join him now. As for Elli, I’m sure she’ll be delighted with some female company. She’s been unwell for the last few days, and has had to keep to her room, which I know she finds very boring.”