Ha! Discovered" makes us sound like territorial pioneers. All we did was walk along here with Ajax. How are your aches and painS?"
Still agony." Cursing myself for asking, I cut in brutally. Anyway, what are you doing here so early?"
I always come down to the port at this time. I like to get settled. Sometimes the view of the sunrise is very affecting." I was not capable of replying to poetic ideas, not at this hour, and certainly not. from Gaius. And you are working too, I suppose?" he asked me loudly.
I enjoy a good sunrise myself There was no point kicking his shin as a hint to shut up; he would Want to know, equally loudly, why I had kicked him.
Yes, I thought you must be here on surveillance; there are some of your friends from the vigiles." I groaned. As the sombre working men at the Dolphin all turned from their breakfast in one synchronised motion to stare, Petro, Fusculus and a selection of their troops sauntered from the ferry direction in twos and threes, unobtrusively, or so they had thought. The stevedores and bumboat rowers might have noticed the newcomers anyway; port workers could smell law and order men a mile away. But the vigiles' arrival was enough to disperse the breakfasters, leaving only a couple of stubborn loaders who watched what happened next with sour expressions, chewing their handfuls of bread and refusing to be bumped out of their routine. The vigiles replaced the departing breakfasters at the counter, where they ordered snacks of their own.
Got an operation on today?" Gaius asked, with his usual lack of tact. Fortunately, Lucius Petronius was chewing at that moment so could not bite off my brother-in-law's nose.
The sunrise will be lovely," I informed Petro as his brown eyes spoke movingly of overwrought feelings.
Nice!" Standing at the bar of the foodstall, we turned our backs to the counter, elbows on the marble. That way, we could gaze across to the Damson Flower unobtrusively. I saw a couple of the men go over to the building, then start surreptitiously checking for the back door. There was bound to be one. No self-respecting bar or brothel lacks a rear exit for a quick getaway, or to serve as a secret entrance for those who burst in for armed debt-collection or a surprise mass raid on the purses of the customers.
That place over the road does a roaring trade," observed Gaius. For a sleepy bug, his feelers were acute. He had honied in dangerously on our object of observation. The Damson Flower."
Yes, the first rays of sunlight are just starting to glint charmingly on the wonky roof finials," seethed Petro. Oh look, now the worn-out pornographic board is shining in the newborn light… Gaius Baebius, shouldn't you be at your tax table?" Gaius Baebius turned his large watery eyes to Petro, and made a huge show of catching on. Yes, Lucius Petronius, I must supervise those slackers who work for me."
Good man." Gaius left. The atmosphere improved immediately. The door of the Damson Flower opened a crack. A young man in a rust-coloured tunic and with rather short hair slipped outside and came over to the bar. He ordered bread and a drink, as if he had just come from a bout with a goodtime girl. Maybe he had. But he was undoubtedly a vigilis. He gave a slight shake of the head to Petronius, drank up, and then left. Another man, in a streaky green tunic, arrived on foot from the direction of the Island, and went straight to the brothel, where he was soon admitted. He definitely belonged to the Fourth Cohort; I recognised him. I remarked to Petronius, Some people will volunteer for anything!"
Sad, isn't it?" he grinned. The rest of his men gradually dispersed around the locality. Most had first obtained a bite to eat; the vigiles regard this as a sacred rite, which they must follow impeccably in order to placate the gods and guarantee the survival of Rome, Senate and People. Once satisfied, they merged into nooks around the port. Fusculus was slumped on his back against the base of a crane, looking like a bundle of rags or a partner in one of the criminal scams that fascinated him. I half expected a sidekick to be hiding nearby, ready to jump out and rob anyone who bent down to see if the apparent heart attack victim needed help. Petro and I remained at the Dolphin, with its excellent view of both the Damson Flower itself and the approach road from the ferries. We were talking about family issues. We took as our starting point Gaius Baebius, which led to how I had always loathed my brothers in-law, and the curious fact that my best friend was now one of them.
You may have to ditch Maia."
How about I adopt her? Then she stops being your sister, so I can't be your brother-in-law."
But Maia becomes your daughter so you are not allowed to sleep with her."
