Roma Sub Rosa - 05 - Catilina's Riddle by Steven Saylor

Author:Steven Saylor
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Historical Fiction
Published: 2010-05-03T03:00:00+00:00

XXIII

After the election we spent five more days in Rome. I enjoyed myself more than I thought I would, strolling about the seven hills, seeing old friends, savouring the delicacies of the food vendors in the markets, observing the comings and goings of every sort of man and woman through the streets of the Subura and feeling swallowed up by the never-ending pulse of life in the great city.

Not all was pleasure. One morning, while Bethesda browsed in the shops on the Street of the Silversmiths, I consulted with the advocate who was defending my rights to the stream against Publius Claudius's challenge. His name was Volumenus, and his office was on the second floor of a squat, ugly brick building just a stone's throw from the Forum. The whole building was populated by lawyers and breathed the musty smell of old parchment. The walls of Volumenus's cramped little office were covered with scrolls in pigeonholes. He was rather like a scroll himself, tall and straight with a long face and a very dry manner.

No progress had been made towards having the matter of my water rights heard by the courts, he told me, though he assured me he was doing all he could on my behalf

'Why must it take so long?' I complained. 'When the Claudii challenged my inheritance of the farm, that was surely a more complicated matter, but Cicero managed to have the case settled in a matter of days, not months or years.'

The corner ofVolumenus's mouth twitched slightly. "Then perhaps you would prefer to have Cicero handle all your legal affairs,' he said wryly. 'Oh, or is he too busy for that? Really, I'm doing all I can. Yes, if I happened to be one of the most powerful politicians in Rome,

then I'm sure I could arrange for the courts to expedite this matter, but I'm only an honest advocate—' 'I understand.'

'No, really, if you think you can get the mighty Cicero to take over this case, you're more than welcome—'

"That was a special favour. If you tell me that you're doing all you can—'

'Oh, but Cicero could do more, I'm sure, and better, and more quickly—'

I eventually managed to smooth his ruffled feathers before I left. I stepped back onto the street feeling not so much dissatisfied with his efforts as reminded of just how great a debt I owed to Cicero. Without his assistance and his powerful connections, the question of my inheritance, if not settled against me outright, could easily have been held up in the courts for years while I stayed in Rome and watched my beard turn grey.

On the evening of our seventh day in Rome we packed for the trip home, and set out early the next morning.

We arrived at the farm late in the afternoon, stiff and dusty. Diana leaped from the wagon at once and ran from pen to pen to give a hug and kiss to her favourite lambs and kids. Meto, his energy pent up all day, hiked at once to the ridgetop.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.