enough,’ he’d said mildly.
‘You aren’t listening,’ she hissed. ‘If I hear so much as one more syllable drop from your lips on this subject, I’ll personally cut your tongue out, chop it into pieces and feed it straight back to you, do you understand?’
‘Is that a threat?’
‘All I need to do is tell my husband how dear old Cousin Markie laid his filthy paws on me and the rest, as they say, is mystery.’
‘Ah! A bribe as well.’
Damn you, Orbilio.
‘Any foul insinuations you make after that will brand you as a vindictive lecher who was spurned once too often and resents it like hell. You’ll be ridiculed from here to Hesperus and you can kiss all your ambitions goodbye.’
If that hasn’t disposed of the irritating little tick once and for all, I’ll eat my shift for breakfast.
A sparrow landed in the courtyard and Drusilla hunkered down, alert and ready to pounce. Claudia threw the bird a piece of bread, which it snatched up and flew off with. The cat stretched and began washing again, too full, too satisfied to think seriously about hunting. The edge had gone. And suddenly Claudia wondered whether her edge had been blunted, too. Without doubt, the hunt was exciting, but what would happen when it came to the kill? ‘Come, Drusilla, we’ve guests arriving shortly.’
Was she too full, too satisfied, to carry it through when it came to the crunch?
The sparrow landed a second time, twisting its head on one side as it hopped closer for more bread. Cheeky little beggar. She smiled at its comical gait and its beady eye and broke off another crust. Suddenly there was a blur of cream and brown. Feathers fluttered in the air. Drops of red splashed over the tiles. And Claudia Seferius had her answer.
*
‘I’m sorry, what were you saying, Gaius?’
‘I said, I’ve invited Ventidius Balbus to my little do.’ Bugger. Now she’d really have to watch her step next Saturday. The slightest hint of any spurious extra-marital activities and he might just make the connection with Genoa. Especially when there’s a nubile young dance troupe breezing around all over the place! Bugger, bugger, bugger.
‘Something the matter, my dove? Your face is all screwed up.’
‘Oh, Balbus is as dull as boiled asparagus. I was merely wondering where to seat him.’
‘Next to Ascanius, I think. I don’t see why he shouldn’t get a dose of the senator’s views on food subsidies, do you?’
That was the thing about Gaius, he could at least make a girl laugh. Which is more than you could say for the old linen merchant!
‘I’ll put them both near the door where they can bore the sandals off each other without troubling the rest of us. Uh-oh, that sounds like Old Sourpuss arriving.’
Gaius patted her shoulder. ‘Don’t be like that, Claudia. It’s not Julia’s fault she’s turned out so…so solemn.’ He picked up his clean tunic. ‘Help me into this, will you, my dove? We so rarely spend time together I don’t want to spoil the moment by calling a slave.’
Sweet Jupiter what a sordid amount of blubber! There were several red marks round his neck and over his chest, which she chose to disregard, but Gaius had caught her noticing them.
‘Yes—um, I can manage the rest.’ Embarrassment darkened his already florid features. ‘Why don’t you go on down and greet them?’
‘Let’s go down together.’ Let Julia think she’d interrupted a bit of hanky-panky. That would stick in the old trout’s craw. ‘Marcellus won’t notice we’re missing, he’ll be too busy eyeing up the slave girls. Julia will be inspecting for dust, Flavia will be trying to avoid Antonius and Antonius will be…well, he’ll just be Antonius.’
If only Flavia could let her hair down, she’d be in for a wonderful time with Scaevola. So what if he was forty years older than her? He was wealthy, generous, virile. Grey rather than bald. Give him the babies he craved and she’d not know she was born. Silly
‘You aren’t listening,’ she hissed. ‘If I hear so much as one more syllable drop from your lips on this subject, I’ll personally cut your tongue out, chop it into pieces and feed it straight back to you, do you understand?’
‘Is that a threat?’
‘All I need to do is tell my husband how dear old Cousin Markie laid his filthy paws on me and the rest, as they say, is mystery.’
‘Ah! A bribe as well.’
Damn you, Orbilio.
‘Any foul insinuations you make after that will brand you as a vindictive lecher who was spurned once too often and resents it like hell. You’ll be ridiculed from here to Hesperus and you can kiss all your ambitions goodbye.’
If that hasn’t disposed of the irritating little tick once and for all, I’ll eat my shift for breakfast.
A sparrow landed in the courtyard and Drusilla hunkered down, alert and ready to pounce. Claudia threw the bird a piece of bread, which it snatched up and flew off with. The cat stretched and began washing again, too full, too satisfied to think seriously about hunting. The edge had gone. And suddenly Claudia wondered whether her edge had been blunted, too. Without doubt, the hunt was exciting, but what would happen when it came to the kill? ‘Come, Drusilla, we’ve guests arriving shortly.’
Was she too full, too satisfied, to carry it through when it came to the crunch?
The sparrow landed a second time, twisting its head on one side as it hopped closer for more bread. Cheeky little beggar. She smiled at its comical gait and its beady eye and broke off another crust. Suddenly there was a blur of cream and brown. Feathers fluttered in the air. Drops of red splashed over the tiles. And Claudia Seferius had her answer.
*
‘I’m sorry, what were you saying, Gaius?’
‘I said, I’ve invited Ventidius Balbus to my little do.’ Bugger. Now she’d really have to watch her step next Saturday. The slightest hint of any spurious extra-marital activities and he might just make the connection with Genoa. Especially when there’s a nubile young dance troupe breezing around all over the place! Bugger, bugger, bugger.
‘Something the matter, my dove? Your face is all screwed up.’
‘Oh, Balbus is as dull as boiled asparagus. I was merely wondering where to seat him.’
‘Next to Ascanius, I think. I don’t see why he shouldn’t get a dose of the senator’s views on food subsidies, do you?’
That was the thing about Gaius, he could at least make a girl laugh. Which is more than you could say for the old linen merchant!
‘I’ll put them both near the door where they can bore the sandals off each other without troubling the rest of us. Uh-oh, that sounds like Old Sourpuss arriving.’
Gaius patted her shoulder. ‘Don’t be like that, Claudia. It’s not Julia’s fault she’s turned out so…so solemn.’ He picked up his clean tunic. ‘Help me into this, will you, my dove? We so rarely spend time together I don’t want to spoil the moment by calling a slave.’
Sweet Jupiter what a sordid amount of blubber! There were several red marks round his neck and over his chest, which she chose to disregard, but Gaius had caught her noticing them.
‘Yes—um, I can manage the rest.’ Embarrassment darkened his already florid features. ‘Why don’t you go on down and greet them?’
‘Let’s go down together.’ Let Julia think she’d interrupted a bit of hanky-panky. That would stick in the old trout’s craw. ‘Marcellus won’t notice we’re missing, he’ll be too busy eyeing up the slave girls. Julia will be inspecting for dust, Flavia will be trying to avoid Antonius and Antonius will be…well, he’ll just be Antonius.’
If only Flavia could let her hair down, she’d be in for a wonderful time with Scaevola. So what if he was forty years older than her? He was wealthy, generous, virile. Grey rather than bald. Give him the babies he craved and she’d not know she was born. Silly
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