Spies of Rome Omnibus by Richard Foreman

Author:Richard Foreman [Foreman, Richard]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sharpe Books
Published: 2019-08-21T22:00:00+00:00

13.

Varro developed a new-found affection for the broken tiles on his roof and his unkempt trees and shrubs in his garden as he returned home.

“You seem to be going up in the world,” Fronto remarked, as he told his master about the party invitation from Gaius Maecenas.

“Or down,” Varro replied, pursing his lips and rolling his eyes.

On another day, particularly in his youth, he would have been pleased to have received such an invite. Given the quantity - and quality - of young wives on display he would have been as happy as, to borrow an expression from Manius, “a pig in shit” to rub shoulders with Rome’s gilded elite. He would attend now however out of duty, rather than for pleasure. His time - and life - were no longer his own. He knew Maecenas owned an ulterior motive for inviting him. But even if it was a trap, Varro would walk into it.

As he yawned and stretched, he felt the bones in his spine crack into, or out of, place. His shoulders slumped, as if they might fall to the floor. His eyelids felt leaden. He exhaled - or groaned. He still needed to question Corinna. He still needed to track down and interview the young poet, Publius. He still needed to visit and search Sestius’ house, just in case the dagger was hidden there. Albeit he believed he had more chance of discovering the Shield of Achilles, wrapped in the Golden Fleece.

“The messenger also mentioned you could invite a guest,” the old attendant added, after masticating, like a cow chewing cud, and running his tongue around his mouth as if counting how many teeth he had left.

A plethora of women’s name and faces appeared, like shades, in Varro’s mind’s eye. Or they were presented before him, like the scrolls mounted along the wall in Lentulus Nerva’s study. Before his dalliance with Cornelia he had courted, or been courted by, Hypatia. Hypatia was the wife of the general, Livius Galba. She possessed plenty of virtues. She was Greek - and the poet could practise his second language on her. She appreciated his dry sense of humour and never needed to explain, or defend, any barbed comments. Her thighs were as smooth and burnished as new leather. She was older than most of his lovers, but that was a blessing as much as a curse. He wasn’t her first affair. She was experienced in being discreet, as well as amorous. Hypatia, a former actress, still looked good for her age - although she had a tendency to wear too much make-up. “I’ve grown used to fending off suitors over the years, but now I need to fend off time… My husband still finds me attractive and likes fucking me, which I suppose makes me a rarity in Rome… I like you Rufus. You make me laugh, which might not be good for my make-up cracking, but laughter is good for the soul. You also don’t get jealous, or possessive. Most women like a man to be jealous.

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