Time to Depart-Falco 07 by Lindsey Davis

Author:Lindsey Davis [Davis, Lindsey]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, General, Mystery & Detective, Historical
ISBN: 9780099515135
Publisher: Random House UK
Published: 2008-09-02T07:00:00+00:00

'There, there! They've gone now, Marius.'

'When, they reach ground level they'l realise I was whistling at thin air.'

When they reached ground level they would be exhausted. One was covered in blood, even if his wounds were far from fatal. The other was quite seriously scalded. 'Trust me, they've gone. You were a brave boy.'

'They'l be back,' commented Ma.

'Not tonight.'

We took precautions, then we men started clearing up while the women exclaimed over the incident. I thanked the recruit for his help. 'You're a bright lad, Pardus! Where did Petro discover you?'

'I was a cold-meat-sel er's son.'

'Wanted to clean up society?'

'Wanted to get away from pickled brains!'

Helena had brought in the baby from his refuge on the balcony. She passed him to me; I jiggled him comfortingly, using one arm, though I soon handed him to Ma, for reasons of my own.

As his screaming subsided, I watched Helena anxiously. Her face was white, but she seemed calm as she swept her hair up tidily and refixed two side combs just above her ears. We two would talk after the rest had left.

As I felt my body surreptitiously, checking for permanent damage, I noticed Ma staring at Helena. There was nothing to suggest Helena was feeling bilious, but Ma's face tightened.

Sometimes she piped up at once when she recognised a secret; sometimes it pleased her more to keep quiet. I winked at Helena. Ma said nothing. She didn't know we knew she knew.

Helena looked around the disordered room. Catching her eye, the little dog leapt straight into her artas, licking her frantical y. As a jumper it could have won a crown at the Olympic Games.

'I am not adopting a dog,' I tried instructing them both sternly.

-Helena stil clutched the mad bundle of fur. The dog was ful of life. Wel , she was now she saw a chance of worming her way into a cosy home. 'Of course not,' Ma said, finding a space to sit down and recover. 'But the dog seems to have adopted you!'

'Maybe you, could train her to guard your clothes at the baths,' suggested Porcius. 'We get a lot of theft. It can be very embarrassing o come out naked and find your tunic's gone.'

'Nobody pinches old rags like the tunics I wear!

Ma and Maia were fussing over Marius. Glad to have someone even younger to look down on, Porcius chucked his chin. 'You're a quick thinker, Marius! If your uncle's stil in this business when you grow up, you could make him a fine assistant.'

'I'm going to teach rhetoric,' insisted Marius. 'I'm grooming my brother to work with our uncle.'

'Anna?' I laughed at the way I was being setup. 'Wil he be any good?'

'He's useless,' Marius said.

Life's a basket of eggs; I invariably pick out the one that's cracked.

Ma and Maia had arrived at a lucky moment, but now I had time to think about it I knew there must be a reason, one I didn't like. 'Thanks for interrupting the festivities, but what brought you? Don't tel me Tertul a's stil lost?' They nodded, looking grim.

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