I stood with them for a moment. “Everything all right at the house now?”

“My niece and nephew have both been sedated and put under guard,” Terentia reported quietly. “Ariminius had his wound dressed, and the doctor is waiting here in case he is needed again.”

“Hadn’t the old man collapsed too?”

“As usual, Laelius Numentinus managed to recover as soon as the crisis was over,” said Terentia with asperity.

“You have everything in hand, I see.”

“But you will have to do what’s needed here!” commented the exVestal, nodding towards the well and politely acknowledging that she was not all-competent.

I left the women and rejoined my colleagues.

A basic platform had been thrown up across the wellhead. We could work off it safely. It would not give way. Boots would grip on the wood. Heavy timber beams had been set up to act as anchors for the ropes. More ropes had been brought and woven through the edges of mats made of esparto, the thick grass material that the vigiles used to smother fires. These had been hung down inside the shaft where the sides were most unstable and where there was bound to be most disturbance once the rescue got under way.

I noticed that more and more members of the Fourth Cohort kept coming in over the boundary wall. This was the current big event. Hard men have notoriously soft hearts where young children are concerned. They stood back, very quiet, with the patience of those who understood what they were watching, and who knew that the outlook was grim.

A rope sling had been created. Petronius, who had stood aside while his experts arranged the framework, now took command. He would supervise the actual drop. I knew he would have gone down himself if possible. We all looked at him.

“I’m too big.” It was a call for a volunteer.

I had been a silent observer, but I stepped forward now. “I’ll go.”

“This is for us, Falco.”

“It’s just a job for an idiot,” I answered. “Somebody tough but not too heavy or too large.”

“Are you fit?”

“I’ll do.” Besides, I owed Gaia something. I slapped his arm. “I’d like to know you are on one of the ropes.”

“Naturally.” Lucius Petronius offered me the harness, but first he said, “There is something you may not have thought about.”

I sighed. “No, I do realize. The shaft is too small. The boarding she is lying on blocks the shaft anyway. It is impossible to be lowered past her. If I am to stand any chance of grabbing her once I’m close enough, I have to go down headfirst.”

“Bright boy!” Petro began fixing straps around each of my ankles. “Well, Marcus, my old friend, I hope you are wearing a loincloth, or when we turn you upside down you can prepare yourself for some very bawdy jokes.”

“Dear gods. Send one of your rankers then to make the ex-Vestal move further away! I haven’t worn a loincloth since I was a year old.”

I pulled my tunic well between my legs and made a flap to tuck into my belt. I thought about pinning it, but sticking a crude brooch pin in that sensitive area somehow failed to appeal to me.

“Right.” Petro spoke quietly. I had seen him in this character before; outwardly, he ignored how bad the situation was, but I trusted him. “This is the plan. We put the lantern down first, so you should have light ahead of you. It won’t be much, but a torch would probably set fire to you. The air may be bad; we don’t want to add smoke. We think three ropes should hold you. The third will be around your waist for safety, fixed to the harness, and will be kept loose. All the ropes will be anchored. We have plenty of men to hang on to the slack ends.” He gripped me by both shoulders. “You will be safe. Trust me.”

“Isn’t that what you say to all those girlfriends of yours?”

“Stop playing about. We’ll try not to drop you.”

“You had better not,” I said. “If you do, you can explain everything to Helena.”

“In that case, I’ll jump down the bloody hole straight after you, I think.”

“You always were a pal.”

“Your arms will be free, but let us do the work to start with. Save your strength for when you reach the girl. The blood will have rushed to your head by then. Just grab her, shout to tell us, then hang on.”

Aelianus came forward and asked to be on rope duty. So did Anacrites. Well, well. Always be nice to your partners. One day you may find yourself suspended upside down over a bottomless hole, with three of the friendly fellows hanging on to the ropes and controlling your fate.

LVII

I HAVE ALWAYS hated wells.

The worst part was being first positioned. Upright, I could have climbed in, easing myself gradually into the shaft. Head down, there was a moment when I just had to drop. Had I not already collected quite enough nightmares to haunt me, this would have been the one that woke me screaming for years afterwards.

They did their best to maneuver me safely over the edge. After I was fed past the timbers, the bad moment came when I felt the helping hands let go of me, and my weight tensing the ropes around my ankles. I swung out of control as they first took the weight. I would have screamed with terror but I was too busy stopping myself being scraped against the side wall. I heard a lot of desperate noise above me, then they regained control. I had my arms out to brace myself and control lateral movement. I kept trying to move my feet apart too, forgetting they were taking my weight. The descent was fairly smooth, but if they let me slip unexpectedly, my palms were badly grazed. I swore. In my head. We should have brought in stevedores for this part. At this rate, I was about to find out how a sack feels when it has been carelessly spilt open on the docks.

They steadied. Thank the gods for that. They were learning. I might have been learning too, learning to trust them. In that position, frankly, you never do.

Slowly now they let me down.

Despite the light we had sent down first, it was virtually pitch black. I felt like a trussed goat, but without the support of a spit. Petro was right. The blood had drained from my feet and legs. I was far too hot. My ears throbbed. My eyeballs were straining. My arms felt swollen. My hands felt huge. Sweat began to trickle down my chest inside my tunic and down my face, straight into my eyes.

It was difficult to look down. I kept my head level, except for occasional attempts to see whether I was near the child.

The ropes felt as if they were stretching. Best not to think about that. I tried not to think about anything.

I was so far down, those above had no chance of controlling me. Frequently I bashed against the sides. I used my hands as best I could, but that sent loose material skittering below me. The atmosphere was dank, and sometimes my palms slipped on slime. If there was any sound from Gaia, I was too preoccupied to hear her.

They had stopped lowering. I was stuck. Panic rose, as I hung motionless. I forced myself to keep calm and still.

“Falco!” Petronius. “If you shout, call ‘Down’ or ‘Up!’ ” His voice seemed muffled, yet it echoed around me. My anxiety increased. Soon I would be so frightened I would be absolutely useless.

“Down!” Nothing happened. They had not heard me. After a moment they started to drop me further anyway. Thanks, lads. If I ever yelled “Up” would they hear that?

Suddenly I thought I heard a whimper. Faint light glimmered at last. I knew they had managed to position the lantern right opposite Gaia. As I tipped my head back, my skull hit something. Dear gods-the boards!

I reached out blindly. My hands found something. I clawed into cloth; pulled; felt weight; was kneed in the eye; clung on.

Around me noise roared. I had dropped right into the fallen boards and dislodged them. They were now tumbling down the shaft. For a moment, I felt as if I was going with them. Dirt and timber showered down below us. Noise thundered. I thought I heard water splash. Shouts came faintly from somewhere I could not place. Of course the light went out.