“That all the colleges of priests are elite cliques, where power is traditionally wielded by nonelected, jobs-for-life patricians, all dressing up in silly clothes for reasons no better than witchcraft and carrying out dubious, secretive manipulation of the state?”
“You old cynic.”
“I am quoting you,” said Helena.
“What a misery!”
“No.” Helena pulled a dour face. “You are an astute observer of the political truth, Marcus Didius.” Then she changed tack: “In my opinion, unless it is already known who killed the man Aelianus found, then my brother should make it his business-with your technical helpto discover the murderer.”
“Why’s this? So that he can inform the rest of the Arval Brothers and in gratitude they will elect dear Aulus to fill the vacancy?”
“No again,” scoffed Helena. “I told you he is better off without them. So that when those snobs gratefully offer him membership he can make himself feel better by crying ‘No thank you!’ and marching out on them.”
Sometimes people suggested that I was the hot-headed one.
“So you will be investigating this with him?” she grilled me.
“I have no time for unpaid private commissions. Helena, my darling, I am very busy making recommendations for the care of things that honk and cluck.”
“What have you suggested to Aulus?”
“That he trots back to the Sacred Grove this morning and pretends to be making official enquiries.”
“So you are helping him!”
Well, I had said he could use my name as a cover, if it persuaded people to take him seriously. “It’s up to him. If he wants to know the truth about his mysterious corpse, he has plenty of free time and a good reason to be asking questions. He’ll have to find all the attendants who were working at the pavilion yesterday, and speak to the priests at the various temples; that will take him all day and prove whether he’s serious. I bet he discovers nothing. The experience will douse his ardor and perhaps be the end of it.”
“My brother can be very stubborn,” warned Helena in a dark voice.
As far as I was concerned, Aelianus could play with this curiosity as long as he liked. I might even give him a steer or two. But the swift removal of the body and the secrecy with which it had happened looked ominous. If the Arval Brothers had decided to hush up the incident, now that I was loosely attached to the state religion myself, I had to hold back. Once I had been a fearless, interfering informer; now the damned Establishment had bought me off. I had held this post for just two days, and already I was cursing it.
“What can he do then?” insisted my darling, being stubborn herself.
“Aelianus ought to present himself at the house of the Arval Master when the Brothers start assembling for today’s feast. He should declare what he saw, making his involvement known at least to their chief, and if possible to the whole group. While he is there, he must keep his eyes open. If he notices any particular Brother is missing, he can deduce the identity of the corpse.”
Helena Justina seemed satisfied. In fact, she seemed to believe I was helping her brother rather more than I had agreed to do.
“That’s wonderful, Marcus. So while Justinus is away in Spain, you have somebody to work as your partner after all!”
I shook my head, but she just laughed at me. Before we left the Arx, we shared a moment surveying the city. This was Rome. We were home again.
If anyone has heard that a procurator attached to the cult of Juno once kissed a girl on the sacred ground of the Auguraculum, it’s just winged rumor flitting around with her usual distaste for truth. Anyway, legate, that girl was my wife.
MAIA WAS BEING far too careful to look normal. She shrank from being hugged as if it seemed an unnecessary display. She was pale but neatly dressed as always, with her dark curls combed back from her face. She wore a dress that I knew was her favorite. She had taken trouble to reassure us; she was certainly making an effort. But her mouth was tight.
With her came all her four children, and when I took them into the other room to show them my goslings, Maia’s eyes followed her little ones overprotectively. Always well behaved, they were even quieter than before, all intelligent enough to know their father’s death would have drastic consequences, the elder ones secretly shouldering responsibility for bringing everyone through the tragedy.
“They make a lot of mess,” said Ancus, now six, as he carefully handled one of the fledglings. He looked very worried. “What are you supposed to do about clearing up?”
“I have to find them somewhere else to live, Ancus. I made arrangements this morning for them to go to Lenia’s laundry over the road. They can waddle around the yard and forage in the back lane.”
“But don’t they belong on the Arx?”
“There are enough geese on the Arx at the moment.”
“So you can keep the spare ones?”
“Perk of my new job.”
Ancus noted that gravely, seeing it as a career inducement.
