Buried Too Deep (28 page)

“We won’t have to. Magnus is dead.”

“Dead? What from?”

“It wasn’t old age,” Rinacus sneered, “but more than that I don’t know, and I’m not asking. Vividus is master now, and he can do as he likes. He doesn’t even plan to be at the feast at all. He’s sending Aquilo.”

“So much the better. Well then, the new plan is, we meet there as agreed, only change the time to tomorrow at noon.”

“Somebody’s told the Gauls?”

“Yes, and they’re up for it. So we meet, we do the job, we come away laughing. Laughing and rich. We’ll all be home well before dark. Probably nobody’ll even miss us. All right?”

Rinacus sighed. “I suppose so. All right. It makes sense. I always said Beltane would be the best day. You’re quite sure they’ll be at the feast?”

“Yes, they’re all planning to go, taking some of the guards as escorts. They reckon it’ll be a day of peace, so the farm’ll be safe.”

“But they’ll leave a few lads behind, I suppose.”

“Bound to, but they’ll be easy enough. They won’t be expecting us, and they’ll probably have a Beltane drink or two themselves when the bosses are gone.”

“Then tomorrow it is.” Rinacus’ voice rose excitedly. “I’ll see you there, Vulso.”

The man’s reply was drowned by another wild burst of shouting, “Fire! Fire!” this time, coming from somewhere to our left.

Rinacus swore. “You’d better go. Ferox is having one of his dreams again, and shouting ‘Fire’ will bring people running. Quick, let’s get you out of the gate.” Their footsteps receded as they walked swiftly away.

Quintus grabbed my arm. “Let’s get to Ferox.”

The guard standing outside the prisoner’s locked room was Ollius. He was looking round uneasily, and was extremely glad when Quintus and I appeared.

“Sir, the prisoner’s going mad in there, shouting and yelling. I don’t know what to do. Now he’s calling out that there’s a fire, and I don’t think there is, but…”

“Give me the key.” The guard handed it over. “We’ll go in. You stay out here on guard. This could be a diversion, to make us unlock the door so someone from outside can get Ferox out.”

“Or a trap to persuade one of us to go in,” Ollius suggested.

Quintus drew his knife, then put the key into the lock and turned it softly. He threw the door open and stepped slightly to one side, knife held ready in case the prisoner rushed out.

Nobody emerged, and no running footsteps from the courtyard disturbed the silence.

We stepped into the small room, dimly lit by one torch on the wall, and found a truly pathetic sight. Ferox was sitting on the bench, apparently convulsed with terror. He was hunched up, rocking backwards and forwards and moaning to himself; he was shivering and sweating, and tears streamed down his face. For all his size and his powerful physique, he looked more like a frightened boy than a man. If I hadn’t known him for a murderer, I’d have been tempted to put my arms round him to comfort him.

“It’s all right, Ferox,” Quintus said softly. “There’s no fire. You’re safe, and nobody’s going to hurt you. Was it a bad dream?”

He nodded. “The fire in the woods. At the camp. I was there, it was happening all over again. I couldn’t make them hear…”

“You’re at the Fort now, and there isn’t any fire,” I said.

Behind us a woman’s voice spoke sharply. I looked round and was surprised to find Niobe berating the guard.

“Don’t be a fool, man, I’ve got to go to him. Aurelia, tell this idiot to let me through to Ferox. He’s had one of his nightmares, he needs me with him.”

“Let her come in, Ollius,” I said.

She stepped into the room, wearing a heavy wool cloak which incongruously carried the smell of her rose perfume. She sat down beside Ferox and put her arm round him, speaking to him very quietly.

“There now, Ferox, it’s all right. I’m here, and I’ll keep the bad dreams away tonight.” She repeated more or less the same comforting words over and over, like a mother reassuring a scared child.

Gradually he became calm and still, then raised his head and looked round at us all. “I didn’t kill him. I know you think I did, but you’re wrong. I didn’t.”

“Then who did?” The words came out before I could stop them. “You were seen going into the bath-house, Ferox. You went into the hot room, quarrelled with your uncle, and stabbed him…”

“For the gods’ sake!” Niobe snapped at me. “This isn’t the time or the place. Ferox has had a bad night. He needs some of his sleeping medicine, it sometimes helps him. May I fetch it for him, and then stay with him through the night? You can leave your guard outside if you must.”

“We must, I’m afraid,” Quintus said. “But please fetch his medicine and anything else that will help him.”

She stood up, careful not to move too fast. “I won’t be long now, Ferox, and these others will stay here till I get back.” She turned, still moving slowly, and only when she was out of the room did she break into a run.

“I’m sorry I woke you,” Ferox said. “It was just an awful dream. I get them quite often and they make me shout out, silly confused messages, but I don’t know I’m doing it. I’ll be all right now.”

I said, “Nevermind, Ferox, we were awake anyway.” Neither of us could think of anything else to say. Niobe was right, this wasn’t the appropriate setting to discuss Magnus’ murder. Anyway what was the point? We had a reliable witness, sure of his facts, who had seen Ferox go to meet his uncle. He couldn’t talk his way out of that.

We were glad to leave him when Niobe returned. “Don’t let anyone in or out of here, Ollius,” Quintus said as he locked the door and handed the key back to the guard. “Are you here all night, or will someone relieve you?”

“I’m due a relief at bugle-call.”

“Make sure he understands the situation. Nobody to enter or leave that room without me or Aurelius being present.”

“You’re still thinking this might be some sort of ruse?” I asked when we got back to Quintus’ room.

“I’m just being sensible. We’d look pretty foolish if it was.”

We sat down side by side on his bed. “Well, what do you make of Rinacus and the messenger? From Coriu, presumably?”

“Yes. I couldn’t see the man’s face, but I caught the name Vulso, and he’s one of the senior men of the Chief’s guard.”

“And while everyone is eating and drinking themselves into a stupor, he and Coriu will be mounting some sort of raid. With Vividus, we assume, as he referred to Rinacus’ boss.”

“He could have meant Magnus.”

“No. When he heard Magnus was dead, that didn’t alter the plans. And the Gauls are involved too somehow.”

“And all of them will be descending on Candidus and Albia’s farm.”

Quintus nodded. “I take it that was where they meant. They were annoyingly vague about it.”

I smiled. “They were, but there’s no doubt, to my mind. And the whole family plan to be at the feast—or planned, I should say, because presumably they won’t go now. But what’s the purpose of it, I wonder?”

“Obviously they’re looking for the gold. Even you must accept that now, Aurelia.”

“I suppose I must.”

“It all fits together. They’ve been trying to get access to Esico’s property, and to Albia’s. Nowhere else, not in the same way. They must be certain the gold is buried on one of those two farms.”

“They must have thought so for some time. First they tried to get hold of the farms legally. Magnus offered to buy out Esico and also Candidus, but neither would sell.”

“Then they used terror tactics, paying the raiders to do some dirty work, and that scared Esico away, so they’ve looked round his empty farm, but found nothing.”

I nodded, remembering the freshly dug trench we’d seen on our way up from Oak Bridges. “And now they think the gold is on Albia’s land. The terror tactics didn’t work there, though.” I felt a surge of pride in my sister and her husband. “They showed they couldn’t be bullied or frightened off their farm like poor Esico.”

“So the only course left them is to go there in force and search,” Quintus said thoughtfully. “If they’re right, Albia and Candidus are sitting on a fortune—
if they’re right
.”

“We’ve been saying ‘they’ are doing this and that, but I still find it astonishing that Vividus and Coriu are working
together.
They’ve been at each other’s throats for months.”

“Apparently that was all for show. But I got the impression the two of them are working privately, I mean without telling their families. Vulso said that Coriu could use an excuse to get away from the Beltane party. If Bodvocus knew about the raid, he wouldn’t have to bother with excuses. And he said that the same excuse would do for Magnus. That must mean neither of the older men know about it.”

“Oh come on, of course they do. There isn’t anybody north of the Humber who d
oesn’t
know about it.”

“About the gold, yes. But this is different. Vividus and Coriu now know where it is, or they think they do. And they’re not telling anybody else.”

I felt suddenly chilled, and pulled a blanket round me. “So then. We need to send an urgent message to Albia and Candidus. Did Titch get back all right last evening?”

“No, he didn’t. I suppose the storm would have made travelling quite difficult, and he preferred to keep his shepherdess warm.”

“Then one of Lucius’ men will have to go, storm or no storm.”

“We ought to wake Lucius anyway. I’ll go to his room now. It’s only just along the corridor. Leave the door open, I won’t be long. I wonder if anyone tampered with his supper too?”

They had, but Lucius had been woken by Ferox’ shouting, and Quintus met him walking a little groggily along the corridor in our direction.

As he heard about the night’s adventures he became fully alert. “Gods, what a lot I’ve missed! It’s a good job you two managed to see what was happening.” His green eyes were anxious as he looked me up and down. “Are you sure you’re all right now, Sis?”

“I’m fine, except that I’m thirsty and cold. In other words, in need of a drink, but I’m not touching any of the wine from here, and we’ve finished up Quintus’ flask. You haven’t any of Albia’s wine left, I suppose?”

He grinned at me. “That’s a relief. At least I know you’ve suffered no permanent ill effects. You fight off a drunken rapist, you overhear plans for a raid on our sister, and all you can think about is wine! As it happens, I’ve a flask in my room.”

After he’d fetched it and shared out its contents, we began to make our plans.

“First,” Quintus said, “are we all agreed that we need to send as many men as possible over to Albia’s farm, to deal with the raid that Vividus and Coriu are planning?”

We all were, but Lucius pointed out that he needed to send a couple of his troopers to escort Ferox to Eburacum.

“If you take four men to Albia’s, that’ll be enough,” Quintus said. “We’ll have surprise on our side, and Candidus has Brutus and his lads there already.”

“You’re going there too?” Lucius asked.

“Of course. But I can go direct, on pretext of escorting Aurelia. You’ll have to go roundabout. The last thing we want is for Vividus or Rinacus to realise that Albia will be getting reinforcements.”

Lucius nodded. “Understood. We’ll leave at dawn, and I’ll tell the boys we’re heading back to our camp on the Headland. We’ll ride a mile or so towards the coast and turn west again when we’re well away from here.”

“Good. Then there’s just one more matter to be settled.”

Lucius looked grim. “Who tried to rape Aurelia, and how do we find him?”

“Aurelia, you said you couldn’t identify him from the brief glimpse you had in your room. Did you get a better view when we saw him later?”

“No, I’m afraid not. I couldn’t even tell whether his face was bruised, but I hit him quite hard, so he should have some marks on him by morning.”

“Do you want us to organise a full parade of all the men here, so we can pick out the intruder? We’ll execute him here, once we’re sure we’ve got the right man.”

I thought it over carefully, then reluctantly said no. “I’m afraid we’ll have to leave it for today. I want the bastard caught, but it’s more important to go to Albia’s. Picking the right man out from all the other guards here could be a long process, there are so many of them. And that’s assuming he’s still here and doesn’t make a run for it, which I imagine he will. He must know even Rinacus can’t protect him if he’s guilty of attempted rape.”

The men both nodded, and Lucius said, “That’s the right decision, Sis.”

“And a brave one,” Quintus added.

The rest of the night passed surprisingly quickly as we finalised the details of our plans. Lucius roused his men, and left instructions with Ollius and Tertius about escorting the prisoner to Eburacum. Ferox himself was asleep when we looked in on him, with his head in Niobe’s lap. She whispered that she’d stay with him till daylight. I whispered back that we’d leave instructions for her to be released then, but by daylight I’d be on my way to my sister’s. She seemed genuinely sorry to say good-bye.

Chapter XXVI

We left the Fort as soon as there was light to see. We were earlier even than the morning bugle, but the gate-guards let us through, probably glad enough to see the back of us. The storm had blown itself out, and a thick white mist covered everything, It seeped clammily through our clothes and deep into our bones, and as I’d refused breakfast, I felt the cold in spite of my heavy cloak. But I was so pleased to be leaving the Ostorii that I hardly noticed.

We were delayed slightly because we couldn’t find Vividus. We’d decided it would cause comment if we departed without observing the courtesies, and anyway we wanted to convince him that we suspected nothing about his planned attack on my sister. But nobody knew where he was. Rinacus said he assumed his master had gone out early to ride round the farm, since Ferox wasn’t now available to do this. We had to accept his explanation, even though we’d a pretty shrewd idea what Vividus was really up to. For the sake of form we left a message of thanks and farewell with Rinacus, to be passed on to Vividus on his return.

We’d barely ridden through the gates when Titch arrived. We heard hoof-beats first, then saw him looming up out of the mist. He and his horse were sweating despite the fog.

“Good of you to join us,” Quintus said as the panting horse skidded to a standstill. “Better late than never, I suppose. Where were you last night?”

“Sorry, sir, I stayed at Bodvocus’ place because of the storm. But I’ve got something urgent for you. I set out as soon as I could. It’s very important. It might be life and death.”

“Spit it out then. We’ve no time to waste, I’m taking Aurelia back to Albia’s now.”

Titch glanced at the gate, then up at the ramparts. Through the mist we could dimly see a sentry pacing the walkway.

Quintus said loudly, “Ride with us a few paces, so you can tell Lucius too. He’s off to the coast now, so this is your only chance.” We all trooped along the track that led towards the sea, and halted when we were well away from the Fort. “Good luck, Lucius,” Quintus said in his normal voice. “I’ll see you later.

“Now, let’s have your report, Titch. What’s so urgent?”

“Have you found who murdered Magnus yet?”

“Yes. Ferox.”

“Then that’s the start of my report. It wasn’t Ferox. It can’t have been.”

“Oh? We’ve a witness who saw him go into the bath-house at the right time yesterday.”

“He’s mistaken. Or lying.”

“Why?”

“Ferox was wandering about on Esico’s sheep pasture yesterday, just where it joins onto Albia’s farm, from dawn till the middle of the morning. Riding up and down, round and round, searching for something seemingly. He was even making notes. Balca saw him.”

“Balca did? You’re right, this is important. How sure is she?”

“Definite. She’d not make up something like that.”

“No, but she could be wrong. Think carefully, Titch. Did she really see Ferox, or just a distant rider in a heavy cloak and a hood, who was snooping around in an odd or secretive way, and she just assumed it was Ferox?”

“She saw Ferox. She spotted him from the hut, but at the start he was quite a way away, and she couldn’t identify him. He was on his own so she rode over to have a closer look. She shouldn’t have taken a risk like that, but now she thinks she can use a bow….”

“Yes, yes, stick to the point. How near did she get?”

“To within fifty paces, and she knew him without a doubt. She called out his name, and he looked round, she says it was only then that he noticed her, because he was so wrapped up in his own thoughts. He didn’t answer, just turned and cantered away, and she didn’t follow. She told me all this yesterday. I’m sorry I couldn’t get back here last night to report.”

“So Ferox couldn’t possibly have been seen going into the bath-house at dawn,” I said. “And yet he must know Balca would give him an alibi. Why for Mars’ sweet sake didn’t he tell us where he was and prove his innocence?”

“Because whatever he was up to, he shouldn’t have been,” Titch answered.

“And perhaps he thought Balca wouldn’t speak up for him,” I suggested, “given the hostility there’s been.”

“Balca would always say the truth,” Titch said. “It’s one of the things I like about her. Most girls just tell you what they think you want to hear, but Balca says what she thinks.”

I felt my heart sinking. “Gods, this has opened a whole new box of beetles. We can’t leave now till we’ve sorted it out.”

“You can, Aurelia. I know you want to get to Albia’s urgently, and Titch can escort you there now, while I…”

“You’re joking! I’m staying too. Yes, I do want to get away from here, but not if it means leaving without catching the murderer. If Ferox didn’t kill Magnus, then whoever did it is still free, and believing he’s got away with it.”

“Whoever did it? That’s fairly clear now, surely,” Quintus said. “Rinacus lied about Ferox.”

“But to protect himself? Or Vividus?”

“Either way, we must arrest him now, and release Ferox. Come on, let’s do it.”

“First things first, Quintus. We still need to get an urgent message to Albia. As we can’t take it, could Titch go?”

“Yes, good idea,” Quintus said, “but only once we’ve got Rinacus under lock and key.”

But Rinacus had disappeared. None of the other guards knew where he was, or at any rate none were telling. And Vividus hadn’t returned.

We sent Titch to get himself a fresh horse, while Quintus and I released Ferox from the lockup. He was clearly relieved, and he strode out of the small room stretching and breathing in great gulps of the misty morning air. He looked surprisingly none the worse for his ordeal, but it hadn’t improved his temper. You might have thought he’d be just a little grateful for our efforts, but all he said was, “I’ve been telling you I’m innocent all night long. Rinacus was lying his head off, the bastard. Where is he? I’m going to break him in pieces with my bare hands.”

“We can’t find him,” Quintus answered. “We think he’s run away.”

“Run away? Yes, I suppose he would, if he murdered my uncle and realises his lies have been found out. Well, I’ll catch him, never fear. He can’t have got very far. Nobody accuses
me
of murder and gets away with it.”

Quintus said, “Ferox, I’d appreciate a private word with you. Can we go to your office please?”

He settled behind his untidy desk as if he’d never been away, and for the first time in our acquaintance, I found something to admire in him. Strange he might be, bad-tempered, haunted by evil dreams and convinced his home was about to be attacked, but physically he was still as resilient as in his army days.

“Well?” he barked. “I hope you’re going to start by apologising.”

“We do apologise,” Quintus said. “We made a mistake. But we wouldn’t have made it if you’d told us where you were yesterday morning, and that you’d seen Balca while you were there. Then we’d have realised you couldn’t have been with Magnus, and we wouldn’t have believed Rinacus’ accusation.”

“Vividus believed it too!” he exclaimed angrily. “My own brother! How could he? He just accepted Rinacus’ word, he never even came to talk to me himself. And he didn’t let me attend Uncle’s funeral…yes, maybe I’ll have it out with him first of all. A man shouldn’t behave like that to his brother. Where is he? Will you send for him, please?”

“He’s disappeared too. He’s been missing since dawn at least.”

“Disappeared?” He stared at Quintus as a possible reason dawned on him. “Then was he the one who killed our uncle?”

“We think that was Rinacus,” Quintus said.

“Then why has he gone away just when I need him here?’ He made a sound somewhere between a groan and a growl. “Gods, is there nobody who’ll help me?”

“We will,” Quintus answered. “We’ll do all we can, but we’re only a handful, five of us in all. Not enough to make a thorough search quickly. If you can use your men to check that neither of them are in the Fort, we’ve got a couple of other bits of business to attend to. If you don’t find them, we’ll put our heads together to plan the next move. All right?” He stood up, and so did I.

“All right. First I’ll check to see that all the others are here, then I’ll organise a search room by room.” We left him to get on with it.

Back in our tiny office, Titch was sitting at the desk with a tray of bread and cheese and a wine-skin. “You’re here just in time,” he told us cheerfully. “I might have scoffed the lot.”

“Where did you get this?” I asked warily. “Someone tampered with our supper last night, Rinacus presumably, so we’re avoiding the kitchen’s offerings.”

“It’s not from here. Balca made me up a bag of food, enough for a cohort.”

While we all ate and drank, we told Titch what had happened in his absence.

“I’m ever so sorry I wasn’t here,” he said. “I’d have come, storm or no storm, if I’d known you’d be in danger.”

“Well, you’re here now.” Quintus smiled at him. “And you and Balca have prevented a serious injustice. What we have to decide next is why Rinacus tried to put the blame on Ferox like that? Was it his own idea, or was he under orders to protect Vividus?”

“He was protecting himself, surely,” Titch said through a mouthful of cheese. “He wasn’t happy here, he wanted to leave, but Magnus wouldn’t let him. Or maybe Magnus threatened him with all sorts for chasing after Niobe. Either of those would be enough of a motive for a murder in a man like that.”

“But we know Vividus had a motive as well,” I put in. “He thought he’d stand more of a chance of marrying Clarilla without his old uncle offending Clarus and his ancestors. What if he ordered Rinacus to do the killing, and in return he’ll let him leave the Fort, probably with a handsome nest-egg.”

“Or Vividus stabbed his uncle, and Rinacus found out after,” Titch suggested. “He agreed to say nothing, provided he got well paid and was allowed to disappear without a fuss.”

Quintus looked at us, and I recognised the sparkle of rising excitement in his eyes. “So the two of them were working together? They’re both guilty? That makes sense. And they’ll both be punished, whichever of them actually stabbed Magnus.”

“I think,” I said, wiping breadcrumbs from my tunic, “that I’m going to have a chat with Niobe. That girl sees and hears most things, and she must have some kindly feeling towards Ferox, the way she looked after him last night.”

“Right. Titch, I’ll give you the message for Albia, then you ride over there as fast as you can.”

I climbed the stairs to the upper storey, but Niobe wasn’t in her spacious sitting-room. Through its half-open door I could see a tray with the remains of a sumptuous breakfast on it.

I looked along the corridor, which was wide enough to have rooms on both sides of it, and examined the doors opposite me. One of them was Niobe’s bedroom, and she’d mentioned that it was positioned almost above the main house door. I tried to work out where that was, gave up, and decided to try a more direct approach.

“Niobe!” I called softly. “Niobe, it’s Aurelia. I need your help. Are you here?”

For a few heartbeats nothing happened, and then a door further along opened, and Niobe’s face looked out. She was pale and drawn, and her finger was to her lips. I nodded and tiptoed along to the barely-opened door, and into a large and over-furnished bedroom. There wasn’t time to admire the surroundings. Niobe, still signalling silence, motioned for me to move across to her window. It was open, and as I drew closer I could hear voices below.

I ventured a quick peep over the sill, and saw Rinacus. He was looking in through a downstairs window to our left and addressing someone inside, someone I couldn’t see, but whose words were clear enough. Not that he spoke much. The chief guard did most of the talking.

“I’m getting out of here. I don’t know what’s gone wrong, but they’ve released Ferox, which must mean they know I never saw him. You’ll cover for me, as we agreed?”

“Of course. But it’s as we agreed. Money up front.”

“I know, I’ve got it.” There was the chink of coins, and when I peeped over again, I was in time to see Rinacus handing a small leather bag through the window. “Ten gold pieces.”

“You said fifteen.”

They started haggling. As I listened, a detached part of my mind was desperately trying to think how to stop Rinacus escaping. Hearing what was in effect a confession was all very well, but I couldn’t reach Quintus before Rinacus made his run, and if I yelled from here, that would simply make him run faster. I looked round the room and saw a big water-jug on a table, heavy and solid. I stepped carefully towards it, but Niobe, guessing my intention, pointed under the bed, and I realised there was an even better weapon there.

I bent and picked it up just as more money was handed over down below, and the invisible man said, “That’s more like it. You can rely on me. Where will you go?”

“Somewhere safe where I can hide till all this has blown over. I’ll get the blame for Magnus, but they won’t know about Vividus. When he’s got the gold, he knows where to find me, and he’ll see me right.”

“Good luck then.”

“Thanks, but I don’t need luck. I’ve got it all worked out.”

I raised my improvised weapon. Niobe grinned hugely, and leaning out from the window, murmured, “Rinacus, aren’t you coming to say goodbye?”

He looked up just as I upended the chamber-pot over him. I let out a wild triumphant yell as its contents hit him first, and then I dropped the pot squarely on his head.

He jumped to one side and flung it from him, and his howl of protest was drowned by a shout from Quintus as he raced out of the house. I didn’t see the actual capture, because I’d collapsed onto Niobe’s elegant bed, helpless with laughter.