Buried Too Deep (11 page)

“So your uncle mentioned,” I said, “when I met him the other day. He told me they’re becoming quite a problem.”

“They are. Well, for the Romans in the area, anyway. They seem to leave the men of the Parisi alone. If you’ve really got any influence with the Governor, Lucius Aurelius, I wish you’d persuade him to get this coast protected properly. We need more naval patrols along here. Gods, we all pay our taxes to support the so-called British Fleet, but what do we ever see of it?”

“Surely you saw it this morning,” Lucius said. “They sent a Liburian to keep an eye on the wreck down there.“

“Well yes,” he admitted grudgingly. “I did spot the warship. It was there yesterday too. And you arranged that?”

“I arranged for it to escort the
Sea Horse.
I didn’t foresee the wreck.”

“Let’s hope it scares the Gauls off for a bit. But somehow I doubt it.”

Lucius said, “I’m here to investigate them. So perhaps you can give me some first-hand information about them. How many are there? And how many boats?”

“About twenty, with two small boats. Opportunists, if you like, and they’ve got plenty of scope. The farms are all scattered about, and the fishermen’s houses too. Easy meat for any kind of outlaws, and if they’ve got sea transport, there are small bays and caves where they can hide.”

“And they’ve been picking on farmers inland too, I hear.”

“They have, but only now and then. Usually they operate near the shore, and it’s settlers they prefer to go for, not natives.”

“Do they ever interfere with ships at sea?”

“Like that
Sea Horse
boat?” He shook his head. “I’ve never heard of them boarding ships on the water. But they’ve been known to set up false guiding-lights on land, especially in bad weather. Unwary captains see the lights and think they’ve reached harbour, until they find they’re on the rocks, with a band of cut-throats waiting to finish them off and take their cargo. I suppose that could be what happened to the boat down there in the bay. Except they didn’t take the cargo, seemingly.” He looked enquiringly at the wagon, then at Lucius.

But my brother didn’t rise to the bait. Instead he said, “Thank you, that’s useful. Now, if you’ll excuse us, we must be on our way. No doubt we’ll meet again. I expect to be in this area for a while, until I’ve dealt with Voltacos.”

Ferox wished us a more or less civil good-bye and rode away. Lucius gave final instructions to his men, while I had a word with Taurus and Otho, and then we set off ourselves. I for one was glad to be leaving the place where our high hopes of the morning had vanished as completely as the sand beneath the tide.

Chapter XI

It was a gloomy ride back to Albia’s, despite the blue sky and the sunny, open landscape. I suggested that Lucius send his two soldiers ahead to warn Albia we were on our way, thinking it would be easier to talk if we were private. I suppose it was, but all we did was try vainly to answer a series of questions that we knew couldn’t be answered.

Who had stolen the gold from the
Sea Horse?
Could the fishermen just possibly be correct in their suggestion that the theft took place earlier in the voyage? If that was the case, was the theft part of the tortuous negotiations with the Caledonians? Suppose the boat hadn’t been wrecked, but had reached the northern chieftain who was expecting a lavish gift from Caesar, and he’d discovered only stones and a head? Why was Rollus sailing aboard the
Sea Horse
? Where was the gold now? Was there any chance of recovering it?

That final question was the only one we could safely answer. There was no chance.

“I’ll go through the motions,” Lucius said. “I’ll have to. But it’s lost for good. And I suppose I’ll get the blame,” he added glumly, “even though it wasn’t my idea to send the gold by water, and it certainly wasn’t my fault the boat was wrecked.”

“You’ll be able to explain it all to the Governor. You’ve had worse setbacks than this before, and come through them. To me, the saddest thing is that now we’ll never know for certain who Rollus was, or whether there was an ounce of truth in the story of Caratacus’ gold. I suppose some secrets are buried too deep ever to be uncovered.”

“I wish it hadn’t been kept such a secret. Why couldn’t Father have told the rest of us about Rollus and his mother? No, no, don’t say it, Relia: because Rollus’ whole story was just a web of lies.”

“I wasn’t going to say that. I don’t know whether it was or wasn’t. One thing did strike me, though, when I saw the—when I saw him in the basket. He didn’t look in the least like Father, did he?”

“No. But then neither do you or I or Albia.”

We rode on in silence for a while. I wondered if, like me, Lucius was picturing our father in his mind, tall and handsome in his fine chain armour and centurion’s crest. He had a thin face, thick brown curly hair, grey eyes that missed nothing, a high forehead, and a prominent nose and jaw. He had a ready smile, or sometimes a sudden frown that threatened trouble like a clap of thunder. I still thought of him often, and always with pride. I was only a girl when he left the army, but not too young to be aware that he finished his career in a blaze of glory. And the years afterwards, when we lived all together as a family, had been happy ones.

“Father always loved Britannia, didn’t he, Lucius? Even when we were in Pompeii, he used to reminisce about the time he spent out here.”

Lucius nodded. “And we’ve inherited his love of the place. Well, I have. I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else now. I wouldn’t go back to Italia even if I could. Would you?”

“Not to live, no, my home’s here. But I’d love the chance to visit Italia again. I’ve never even been to Rome, and I’d like to.”

“Some day we’ll go together.”

We looked up sharply as hoof-beats sounded ahead of us, and a mounted man came flying along the highway from the west. Lucius’ hand dropped to his sword, but we soon recognised the rider as one of his own troopers.

“Ollius, what in the gods’ name are you doing here?”

“Trouble, sir,” the soldier panted as he pulled up beside us, “bad trouble. At your sister’s place. It’s been raided, looks like the Gauls. We got there in time to stop them, but…”

“Tell me as we go,” Lucius answered. We set off at a gallop.

“Is my sister safe? And the children?” Lucius called to the trooper over the pounding of hooves.

“Yes, sir, they’re safe. Scared though.”

“Did you catch the raiders?”

“We killed two. Three got away. It might have been nasty if we hadn’t shown up. The men drove a flock of sheep and lambs out of their field and all over the garden. Your sister and her children heard the din, seemingly, and went outside to see what was going on. When we got there, the Gauls had all three of them cornered in the garden, but they hadn’t touched them.”

“And Candidus—her husband?” I asked.

“Don’t know, ma’am. He wasn’t there, she said he’s working in some outlying bit of the farm today. All the slaves too.”

“So they’re on their own again?” Lucius asked.

“Severus is with them, sir. He’ll guard them till we get there.”

They picked a good time for a raid, I thought. It was almost as if they’d been watching the place. I spent the rest of the ride planning what I’d do if I caught any of Voltacos’ men alive.

As we came in sight of the farmhouse, my stomach tied itself in knots. Trooper Severus stood on the track leading from the highway, his sword drawn. Behind him the garden, Albia’s pride and joy, looked like a battlefield, except it wasn’t soldiers but terrified sheep that were milling about, churning the ground into a quagmire. My sister sat on the bench by the pond, clutching her children tightly as they cowered on her lap. They were both howling piteously, alternatively burying their faces in her tunic, and staring around in wide-eyed terror. Albia herself sat still, blank-faced and outwardly calm, but I knew that look. She was thoroughly terrified too, only managing to keep control of herself for the sake of the children.

“Albia!” Lucius and I jumped from our horses before they’d stopped, and ran to her, embracing her and the twins. They all looked up at us, and the children’s wailing lessened a little.

“Lucius! Aurelia! Oh, thank the gods!” She smiled for a heartbeat, and then began talking softly to the children, trying to soothe them. Gradually their tears subsided, and she wiped their eyes and turned to Lucius and me. “It’s so good to see you. Can somebody fetch Candidus and the boys? They’re mending a fence over in the far pasture, the other side of the valley. That’s why we’re on our own.”

“I’ll send one of the troopers,” Lucius said, “just as soon as I’ve got all the facts.”

“Your troopers were wonderful, Lucius. I don’t know what would have happened if they hadn’t arrived. Those horrible men…There, don’t cry now, little ones. We’re safe, all safe.” She hugged the twins more tightly than ever.

Lucius put his arm round her shoulders. “Yes, you’re safe now, and we’ll make sure you have no more trouble. Severus! Ollius!” The trooper loped over to us. “Aurelia, while I’m hearing Severus’ report, why not take them inside and find some wine, and maybe a bite to eat? We could all do with something. Ollius will come with you as bodyguard. I’ll join you very soon.”

But Albia shook her head. “Not inside, no, I’d feel trapped. Anyhow I want to hear the report too. Hush now,” she put the children gently down to stand on the ground in front of her, but kept her arms round them. “It’s all over, and Uncle Lucius and Aunt Relia are here to look after us.”

“At least let me fetch Lia. Their nursemaid,” I explained to the soldiers. “Have either of you seen her? Is she inside, Albia?”

She shook her head. “She ran away when the men came. I suppose she thought if they caught her, they’d…well, you know.” She stopped, remembering the children. “I can’t blame her really. She’s only a child herself.”

Child or not, she deserves a good whipping, I thought, for leaving her mistress like that. But I didn’t argue. It was typical of Albia not to blame the slave, and when the girl came back, if she ever did, there’d be time enough for punishment.

Trooper Severus made a brief, workmanlike report. The men had arrived just as the raid was beginning. At first when they saw three horsemen driving a flock of sheep and lambs out of a paddock, they took it for some normal farm activity, even though the animals were running amok. But then they realised that two of the band was standing over Albia and the twins in the garden, daggers in hand, and they charged straight in to the rescue. When they saw the soldiers, the raiders all fled, but only the three mounted ones escaped.

“They’re not locals,” he finished. “Gauls, I’d say. They were all well armed, swords and daggers, and decently mounted.” He nodded to where two horses stood tied to the nearest fence. “Once we were sure we’d got them all, Ollius came to fetch you. Now you’re here, shall I go and find the lady’s husband?”

“Look out! Behind the house!” Ollius yelled, and we all spun round. I couldn’t see anyone but I heard horses coming closer fast. I knew they were far too near for safety, because the racket the sheep were making had masked their approach. Surely the Gauls hadn’t dared come back?

Albia clutched the children close. Lucius and his two men drew their swords and ran forward towards the sound. I pulled out the knife I always carry when I’m travelling, and stood alongside Albia. A big sheep-dog came and crouched protectively in front of us. We felt very vulnerable and alone as our three men disappeared behind the farmhouse.

Then the dog began barking excitedly, and round the corner of the house came Candidus and four slaves.

“Look, here’s Daddy!” Albia jumped up from the bench, still clutching the children, and ran into Candidus’ arms.

For the next couple of hours we were busy. With Candidus home, Albia calmed down quickly and was able to persuade the twins that we were all truly safe. Lucius sent Severus to the coast to bring the rest of his small detachment to the farm for the night. Candidus and his farm boys set about restoring the place to some sort of order, while Lucius, Albia, Nasua, and I took the twins into the kitchen and warmed a pan of wine for everyone. Nasua found some bread and honey, because Lucius declared he was starving, and I was fairly hungry myself. Little Decimus, seeing the food, decided he was hungry too, but Albia couldn’t persuade Marcella to eat anything, and she herself only managed half a mug of wine.

Lucius suggested Albia should try and rest a little, while Nasua saw to the children, and he went out to help Candidus. But she refused absolutely to remain in the house unless either Lucius or Candidus stayed with her. This was quite unlike my brave, independent-minded sister, and brought home to me how badly the attack had shaken her. I went out to fetch Candidus, and he came straight inside to be with her, leaving Lucius and me to oversee the farm slaves outside.

Fortunately they seemed to know what they were doing. They’d got the sheep safely into a paddock, and counted them. Only one lamb was missing, and not for long.

Trooper Ollius came hurrying up to us. “Sir, we’ve found the missing lamb, and it’s dead. I think you should see it, so I told the farm boys to leave it out the back till you have.”

“I’ll go,” Lucius said. “You stay here, Aurelia.”

“I’ll come too. It sounds important, and I think I’m hardened to horrors after the day we’ve had.”

The lamb’s head had been hacked from its body, and its left ear had been cut off. I realised I wasn’t hardened at all. I turned hastily away, sat down against a barn wall, and threw up.

Lucius came and put a hand on my shoulder. “Sorry, Sis, but he was right to show us, wasn’t he?”

“Not your fault. I agreed to come. I wish I hadn’t.”

“But don’t you see? It means the raiders here were from the same band that killed Belinus, Voltacos’ men. That old fisherman was right, cutting off an ear seems to be their equivalent of a signature. So maybe they weren’t the same ones who took the gold from the
Sea Horse.
”

“Yes, all right.” I felt too lousy to discuss it. “Now for the gods’ sake tell them to bury it somewhere.”

They took it away, though whether they buried it or cooked it for their evening meal, I neither knew nor cared. I just wanted to sit still until I felt better, and ignore the rest of the world.

Eventually the nausea left me, and I started to feel uneasy for another reason. Three of the Gauls had escaped. Suppose they came back to try to rescue their comrades? I went to find Lucius and asked how long it would be before the rest of his men arrived.

“They’ll be as quick as they can. Meanwhile I’ve posted three farm boys as sentries, now they’ve got things more or less under control out here. And I’ve sent Ollius to scout around a bit, to make sure the bastards have really gone.”

“The dead Gauls,” I said. “Do you want me to look at them, to see if I recognise either of them? I’ve seen three of them before, remember, including Voltacos.”

He shook his head, and I must say I was relieved. “You’ve given me a description of Voltacos, and so have several other people in the last couple of days. I’m afraid neither of our dead bodies matches him at all.”

“So he’s still on the loose somewhere. I don’t like the idea of that, with darkness coming on soon.”

“There’s plenty of light yet. Why don’t you go in and see how Albia is? I’ll stay outside till my men get here.”

“All right. I suppose we should do something about supper.” I was on my way back into the house when Ollius galloped into view and pulled up beside Lucius. The look on his face was enough to make me turn round and go back to my brother’s side.

“Sir, I’ve found a body, a young girl. The children’s nursemaid, would it be? Someone said she’d run away.”

“Lia?” I felt sick again. “Don’t say she’s dead too?”

“Let’s not jump to conclusions,” Lucius interrupted. “What does Lia look like, Aurelia?”

“Slim, about fifteen, very pretty, with light-brown wavy hair and big hazel eyes.”

Ollius nodded. “Afraid so.”

“Where is she?” Lucius asked.

“I left her round the back, sir, in a barn. I didn’t want Mistress Albia or the children to see her.”

“That’s sensible. I’ll go and have a look. Aurelia, are you up to coming with me? This girl’s quite new. I hardly saw her yesterday, I’m not sure I can identify her.”

“Well…the thing is…” The trooper hesitated, looking sideways at me. “She’s not pretty, if you take my meaning. She’s been raped, and then stabbed, and her head damaged…”

“Her head?” I fought down the nausea in my throat. “Her ear, you mean?”

He nodded grimly. “Her left ear’s been cut away.”

Lucius swore. “In that case you’re not coming, Aurelia, and that’s an order.”

For once in my life I wasn’t going to argue. “Thanks. I’ll go inside and break it to them all.”