Second Act (2 page)

Funny how circular temples remained so popular in the provinces, yet had long fallen out of favour here in Rome. There were only three of them left—the one she was making for, the Temple of Portunus, Hercules’s shrine across the way and, of course, Vesta’s temple in the Forum. But whether they were situated in the heart of the Empire or the back of beyond, every circular temple toed the same architectural line. Fluted columns round a circular cell. Domed roof. Elaborate bronze grating between the columns.

In the temple precinct, she paused. ‘Captain Moschus?’ She could have sworn she’d seen a figure. ‘Moschus, is that you?’

A skinny black cat shot out from behind the sacred laurel. Unless the gods had been turning men into animals again, safe to assume it’s not the trusty captain. She shrugged off her unease, mounted the steps and pushed open the door.

‘I’m a tad late,’ she said, and her breath was white in the air.

The man with his back to the altar stone struggled to his feet, dirty hands scrubbing the sleep out of his eyes and pushing greasy, greying locks back from his face. ‘No problem, missus. It’s your show.’

The tidal wave of body odour sent her reeling. Hygiene, Claudia remembered belatedly, taking in the greasy stains down his waterproof goatskin cloak and the ingrained grime round the neck of his tunic, did not top the captain’s list of priorities. But hungry dogs eat dirty puddings, or so the proverb goes. Putting a hand across her nostrils, she got straight to business.

‘The
Artemis
is officially recorded as sunk?’

‘S’right.’ He smiled a black-toothed smile. ‘Old Moschus put the word round good and proper.’ He sniffed noisily to emphasize his point. ‘To all intents and purposes, ’er ribs is scattered over Neptune’s sandy soil from Naples to the Messina Straits.’

A simple yes would have done, but never mind. ‘You had no trouble convincing the merchant, Butico, that his consignment of Seferius wine went down with her?’

‘Word for word like we agreed. “Risky business, shippin’ this time of year,” I tells him. “Storms whips up outta nowhere and wallop. Lucky to be alive meself,” I says. “Me crew escaped by the skin of their teeth.”’

‘And Butico believed you?’

‘Looked ’im straight in the eye and said I got fifty witnesses what saw the old girl go down.’ A grimy finger tapped the side of his nose knowingly. ‘You can trust old Moschus,
mi
ssus.’

Anything less likely Claudia could not imagine, but under the circumstances, a girl can’t afford to be choosy. Especially when the idea had been his in the first place.

When Butico had approached her with a view to purchasing a large consignment of wine for his estate in Sicily, the seas were already closing.

‘I’m afraid shipping it would be logistically impossible,’ she told hi
m
.

‘There is a boat, the
Artemis,
which is leaving shortly to lie up in Syracuse for the winter,’ Butico pointed out. ‘Perhaps she might be willing to oblige?’

Perhaps she might, Claudia thought, but if you don’t have the goods to sell, you don’t have the goods to sell, although she saw no merit in mentioning that minor detail to Butico. Consequently, she thought no more about it, until Moschus knocked on her door two days later.

‘I hear you might have a cargo for me?’

She’d had to come clean then. Admit that she didn’t have the quantity in stock that Butico wanted. But instead of shrugging and turning away, the old sea dog had laughed.

‘Don’t see that as no problem, missus. I mean, Butico ain’t to know, is he?’

Suppose they pretended the shipment went down in a storm? With his estate on Sicily, Butico, more than most, would know the unpredictability of the Ionian Sea, the storms that ravage her coasts. And old Moschus could sure use the money, he’d added, almost drooling.

‘Uh-uh. This is out and out robbery,’ Claudia had replied. ‘Bargepoles aren’t long enough for me to touch this.’

Besides. Not only would they be defrauding some poor slob of an awful lot of sesterces, but if she was caught, she would be stripped of her assets and exiled. No fear.

‘Butico’s richer than Croesus,’ the captain spat. ‘Small change to ’im, that.’

‘Maybe so, but—’

‘Trust me, he won’t even miss it, and if it’s your pretty skin you’re worried about, forget it.’ The old sea dog had wiped his nose noisily with the back of his hand. ‘Once I gets the
Artemis
refitted and sailing under a new name and canvas, you and me’s got no worries.’

Claudia glanced at the statue of Portunus the harbour god and hoped to heaven he was right. ‘As agreed, then.’ From her purse she withdrew five bronze receipts, each stamped with the hallmark of the Temple of Castor and Pollux. Each token would redeem a thousand sesterces from the depository.

Moschus’s price was high. Very high. There was his crew to be bribed, as well as the
Artemis’
s refit, but even so, Claudia had made a comfortable three thousand on the deal. Outside, daylight was almost gone, but she was taking no chances being seen with the captain. She would allow Moschus a slow count of thirty before following.

Nine, ten, eleven—

A figure appeared in the doorway. Taller. Broader. Better dressed than Moschus, and a decade younger.

Call it the twilight, but to Claudia, inside that tiny circular shrine of Portunus the harbour god, the figure looked extremely reminiscent of Butico.

The merchant whose consignment of wine was supposed to have washed into Neptune’s sandy soil from Naples to the Messina Straits.

Two

Bastard! Double-crossing, dirty, filthy bastard. But whatever Claudia’s feelings towards Captain Moschus, they would have to wait. Butico was advancing across the floor towards her, menace oozing from every well-shod pore.

‘Eight thousand, I believe, was the sum I paid you for that wine.’

The very coldness of his tone forced Claudia’s mouth into a smile. Teeth, teeth, show him more teeth. Let him see you’re not afraid. ‘It’s not what you think, Butico.’ Suddenly there were no more teeth left to show.

‘Well, now, I’m sure we can come to terms,’ Butico said smoothly.

With exaggerated slowness, he flipped one length of cloak over one shoulder, then did the same for the other. Dusk might be falling, but there was no mistaking the gleam of steel on each hip.

Claudia had been a dancer before she changed her identity and dancers, by their very definition, must be light on their feet, fast and, above all, they have to be flexible. She was past him before he could blink, and suddenly she was cursing the wide open space of the quayside. Where were the sailors, the stevedores, the labourers when you wanted one? Where was the crowd she could lose herself in? Cursing her own stupidity for giving her own bodyguard the slip, she flew down the steps, cloak billowing behind like a sail. Halfway across the precinct, she heard Butico bark a command. Two heavies stepped out from behind the sacred laurel, blocking her path.

‘All right, Butico, you win,’ she said, skidding to a halt.

The heavies turned to each other, grinning smugly. That was all the time she needed. In the split second they locked eyes to congratulate themselves on their intimidation tactics, Claudia dived between their legs. A huge paw lashed out, but the eel was too fast and before they could turn, she was racing across the quayside for all she was worth. Footsteps pounded behind her. Which way, which way? The obvious course was to backtrack, follow the route she’d come by, but goddammit they were running like Olympic athletes and at this pace they would be upon her long before she reached the flower market and the crush of safety. Her only chance was to lose them by ducking and diving.

She realized her mistake almost at once. Not only were the thugs keeping pace as she ducked and dived round the alleys, Claudia was being sucked deeper and deeper into the slums. Between the tall tenements, the last of the twilight was obliterated. Moans and wails unfurled from every window. A gagging stench permeated the air, a combination of rotting meat, dog piss, sewage and despair. Many of the cobbles were missing, making every step a hazard which threatened to trip her or turn an ankle, leaving her helpless and stranded. On she ran, feeling her way with her hands. She heard screams from open windows. Fists connecting with flesh. Babies bawling, dogs baying, but loudest of all were the footsteps behind her.

Desperate now, she flung her purse on the ground, scattering the coins noisily over the stones to bring out the slum dwellers and impede her pursuers. Too late. A hand spun her round. Sent her crashing against the tenement wall, knocking the breath from her lungs. In the blackness, she saw the oaf grinning, and this time the grin didn’t fade.

‘Well, well, well! Thought you could lose us, didya?’

The second set of footsteps drew up alongside. Both men laughed. The laugh made Claudia’s blood turn to ice. ‘Touch me again and I’ll cry rape, you fat bastards.’

One smelled of garlic, the other of straw. They both stank of sweat.

‘She did say rape, didn’t she?’

Oh god, they meant it. She could see the gleam in their eyes, felt their arousal through her thick furs. Even if she screamed, who would come? One lonely scream among hundreds. One more lost soul among thousands. Unseen hands could be heard, scrabbling in the blackness for her coins, but they would not come to her aid. Within seconds, they would disappear back inside the crumbling death traps, unconcerned where the coins came from, only where they were going. Six storeys of hopelessness pressed down upon her as hands clawed at her flesh, fingers probed without subtlety.

‘Enough!’

Butico’s implacable tones cut through the howls of the slums like a scythe. The mauling stopped.

‘One thing you need to be aware of, my dear,’ he said quietly. His hand cupped her jaw. ‘No one gets away from Butico.’

He glanced up at the crumbling plaster, wrinkled his nose at the stench.

‘Now, before you so rudely walked out of our meeting, I believe we were discussing the eight thousand sesterces you owe me.’

‘I don’t have eight—’

His hand turned into a vice, crushing her cheeks. ‘Plus interest.’ He leaned over, his cold eyes level with hers. ‘You see, me, I like the good things in life. Greek sculpture. Gourmet foods. Vintage wines. You get my drift?’

She nodded as far as his grip would permit.

‘But my boys, here.’ When he smiled, Claudia felt a chill to her marrow. ‘Well, the fine arts, I’m afraid, pass right over their heads, though they still appreciate pretty things. Don’t you, lads?’

‘Sure do, boss.’ A paw clamped over Claudia’s breast and squeezed to prove the point.

‘My rate of interest,’ Butico said, releasing his grip on her jaw, ‘is thirty-two per cent.’

‘
Thirty-two
?’
Terrified as she was, that was still an outrageous amount.

‘Effective the day I handed over the cash,’ he continued smoothly. ‘Which, as I recall, was exactly one month ago, bringing the outstanding balance to—’

‘Yes, yes, I can do the maths, thank you very much.’ She couldn’t. Was in no position to think, much less calculate. She just needed to claw back her dignity, regain some kind of control. Pointedly she swatted the paw off her breast, thankful her trembling hand could not be seen in the dark. She felt sick.

‘Then we understand one another,’ he said.

‘We do indeed. I pay you back, with interest, or you throw me to your dogs as a bone.’

‘No, no, no.’ Butico tutted gently, and the sound made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up on end. ‘Either way, I get my money back, Claudia. Whether my boys get to play with you is dependent entirely upon yourself.’

He brushed bits of crumbling plaster from his cloak. ‘Fair’s fair, after all.’

He smiled.

‘Fuck with me and they fuck you.’

Three

Crossing the Forum, her beaver fur drawn tight around her chin, Claudia hoped to Juno that her pinched, white face and chattering teeth would be attributed to the cold. What a mess. What an absolutely bloody awful mess. Oblivious to the fire-eaters that had drawn a crowd over by the Vulcanal, or the crush of hot-pie vendors pressing in around her, the captain’s words echoed in her ears.

You can trust old Moschus, missus.

Couldn’t you! You could trust the bastard to go straight to the Temple of Castor and Pollux after leaving her, so that by the time she arrived, it was to find the depository locked up for the night and the records showing all too clearly the sea dog’s mark where he’d redeemed five tokens for a thousand sesterces each. Claudia’s fists clenched. When I catch up with you, Moschus, those will be
your
ribs scattered over Neptune’s sandy soil from Naples to Messina. So help me, I shall personally break them off and drop them in the ocean one by one—and you can bloody watch me!

Meanwhile, there was Butico. Eight thousand plus thirty-two per cent interest? Her stomach churned, her limbs felt like jelly and her hands couldn’t stop shaking, so she exchanged a silver bracelet for a flagon of warm wine spiced with cinnamon, and pretty soon her teeth ceased to chatter. The Rostra, the splendid new orators’ platform at the end of the Forum, was eighty feet long, forty feet deep and forested with an assortment of marble, bronze and gilded heroes. Sheltered from the biting wind by the Record Office behind, Claudia leaned her back against the bronze grille of the balustrade and dangled her feet over the edge. Far below, a cosmopolitan sea swirled around the temples and basilicas, the fountains and the arches—revellers, hawkers, bankers and astrologers, dogs, mules, fortune-tellers and jugglers, even a string of roped ostriches.