•

Her chair was too long coming.

'What happened with Crispus?' Helena enquired in a colourless voice when our silence became uncomfortable.

'I failed to convince him.'

'What will he do?'

'I can't tell.'

'He may not know himself.' She spoke quietly, frowning. I let her talk. 'This is what he's like. He makes up his mind on a whim, then he rapidly changes it. I can remember him talking about horses with Pertinax; after a long debate, when everyone had agreed how they were all going to bet, Crispus would immediately settle on some different horse of his own…' She tailed off.

'Did he win?' I muttered, staring out to sea.

'No, that was the stupidity. He usually lost money. He could not even grasp how well Pertinax knew horses.'

Despite myself I was being drawn in. 'He mind losing?'

'No. Losing funds-or losing face-never frightens him.'

'This seems a gamble too. Something to do. He has no driving sense of injustice or ambition. At least Gordianus displayed some intensity! If the worst Crispus can complain about is that in Africa Vespasian ran short of cash, the man is certainly not driven by maniacal jealousy-' Helena's stillness beside me was helping me crystallize the problem for myself. 'He could be won over. He has talent; he deserves a position. But the Emperor sent the wrong man to reclaim him. Crispus thinks I'm about as important as a ball of fluff in a lamb's tail; and he's right-'

'He's wrong!' Helena frowned, with only half her concentration. 'You can manage it.' Suddenly she turned to me, leaning against my side. 'Oh Marcus, I can't bear all this-Marcus, hold me! Please, just for a moment-'

I moved abruptly away.

'Other men's women hold certain attractions-but excuse me, I'm not in the mood tonight!'

She stood straight as a spear, and I heard her deep, shocked breath.

I had shocked myself.

•

Time to leave. A chair in the Marcellus livery drew up nearby. Rufus was nowhere in sight.

'There were two things I needed to tell you,' Helena whispered fiercely. 'One I must deal with by myself! But I am asking you to go with me to the villa-'

'Why not your handsome friend?'

'Because I want you.'

'Why should I work for you?'

She looked me straight in the face: 'Because you are a professional and you can see I am afraid!'

I was a professional. She never forgot that. Sometimes I wished she would.

'All right. The usual rates,' I answered softly. 'The same rules as before: if I give you instructions don't argue, just follow them. And to do the job properly I need to know what frightened you-'

Helena said, 'Ghosts!'

Then she walked to her chair without a backward glance, knowing I would follow her.

It was a single chair. I had to stalk the two miles to the villa behind it, chewing over my anger about Rufus as I went. Helena had four bearers and two fat little boys with torches, all of whom started looking at me as if they knew exactly why her ladyship had brought me along. Going up the mountainside there were plenty of places where we could pause to admire the panorama, and I ground my teeth as I sensed the bearers' contempt when we continued without stopping and they realized their mistake.

•

The house lay in silence.

'Let me go first-' I was her bodyguard again, keeping her close to me as I helped her from the chair, glancing round behind us as we went into the portico, then stepping ahead through the house door before I steered Helena in herself. Because we were in the country there was no need to summon a porter; the great doors pushed open easily without bolts or bars.

'Come with me, Falco; it's vital that we talk-' At intervals along the corridors small pottery lamps burned, though no one was about. Helena Justina hurried to the upper floor. We reached a heavy oaken door to what I guessed was her bedroom. As I put my hand on the latch I inspected her set face. I said briefly, 'I can't work in a bad atmosphere. Being rude to a client was unprofessional; I apologize.' Then I opened the door without waiting for an answer, and moved her in past with a light touch of my arm.

There was a short corridor where a slave could sleep, though Helena was never the type to keep attendants by her all night. Beyond a closed curtain the bedroom was lit, but after I closed the door behind us the length of six paces lay dark. I said something conventional like, 'Can you see your way?' Then I found Helena in the darkness, turning back to answer me, so I had to decide rapidly whether to step back deferentially-or not.

The decision made itself. It was a long kiss, with a great deal of pent-up frustration on my side, and if I really thought she was sleeping with the magistrate you may wonder why I did it.

I was wondering myself. But I had no objection to showing the young lady that whatever she was obtaining elsewhere, she might find better value in the rough grip of her bodyguard…

Just as I was deciding I had convinced her, a metal lamp crashed over in the room.

Blazing with indignation, Helena reached the inner room first. I glimpsed someone scrambling out through a folding door: narrow ribs, thin legs, light hair and jaw-line beard, dressed in a white tunic, yet familiar. I ought to have caught him; we were equally surprised, though his lying in wait for the lady gave my anger a real edge.

I had to let him go. I had to, because when she rushed into her bedroom, Helena gasped and stumbled in a faint.

•

I managed to support her as she fell; she was unhurt. I lifted her onto the bed, caught up a handbell and shook it ferociously, then rushed outside to look. A long balcony ran the full length of the building with several stairs to ground level and doors into all the upper rooms. The man had vanished. I sped back to the indoor corridor and bellowed to raise the alarm.

Helena was already coming round. Muttering reassurance I stooped over her, unknotted her belt and unhooked her blue beads; she started protesting confusedly. She wore a fine chain too, which was twisting against her neck. I freed that, expecting an amulet.

Stupid: Helena drove off the evil eye all by herself. Hung on the chain was my silver ring. Instinctively she grabbed it back from me.

In response to my rumpus people started invading the room. I shoved my way out past them, leaving Helena to explain, then set off after our trespasser: I had no doubt it was Barnabas.

I hared round to the stables, convinced that was where he lurked. The trainer Bryon appeared, looking startled. He was muscular and a substantial weight, but before he knew what was happening I had him by both arms and had grazed his head pushing him backwards against a wooden post.

'Where is he?'

His eyes went automatically to the block where they kept the race horses. I set off, running lightly across the yard. The high-strung champion, Ferox, reared up in panic and struck his hooves on the woodwork, though his bottlebrush companion whinnied at me with pleasure. I glanced round frantically. Then I knew: a short wooden staircase led up beside the rackety nag's stall to an overhead loft. I went up without a second thought. The freedman could easily have smashed in my skull as I pushed up the hatch; luckily he was not there.