thought, the horse was more beautiful than Venantius. The stallion didn’t have to try, he just emanated strength, conformation, and elegance.
Lucius nodded. The handler brought the horse over. Lucius leaped over the paddock fence and went inside. He ran his hands over the horse talking some nonsense that Argolicus could not understand. The horse nudged Lucius with his nose. Lucius looked at Argolicus. This must be the one Argolicus read in his eyes.
The two overseers haggled through the bargaining while Argolicus ate lunch with Venantius on the terrace: stuffed dates, pheasant in wine and plum sauce, puddings of fruit, local wine from the vineyard which was known throughout Italy. Argolicus noticed that in spite of all the puffery about keeping records Venantius was just as happy to have his overseer strike a price as Argolicus was to let Lucius make an offer. Clouds were rolling in from the sea. He found the boy Governor’s conversation trivial. In spite of the horse buying ruse, he was no closer to finding Adeodatus. At the moment, Venantius was going on about wines from the various vineyards and who was using which processes and what results they were having.
“…and in southern Lucania the soil is even dryer so the grapes…”
Venantius paused mid-sentence as Lucius and the overseer approached from the barns. Both whispered—the overseer to Venantius, Lucius to Argolicus. Venantius smiled. Argolicus tried not to frown.
“Nikolaos,” he called. Nikolaos came from the kitchen looking quite sated with the lunch. He pulled out a sack from inside his tunic. Argolicus counted out the appropriate coins.
Mercury’s Flame was waiting along with the other horses by the paddock. The sun was hidden by a towering cloud. Argolicus felt he had learned very little about Venantius except that he was self-centered and self-indulgent. He did not know what he would tell Ebrimuth.
The farewells were brief. Lucius mounted the stallion. The extra fourth horse was tied behind Nikolaos. Argolicus mounted and turned toward home.
“Young master, I need to tell you what I learned in the kitchen,” Nikolaos said.
From behind the cloud, lightning flashed. Argolicus hoped it would be a dry storm.
“Nikolaos, ‘Master’ will do. I’ve been of age some time now.”
Thunder broke over them in a roar. The stallion shied then twisted. Lucius was in the air. The stallion bolted and Lucius was on the ground. Argolicus heard shouts and hoof beats as he struggled to control his own horse in the confusion.
“…and even though some claim that the land in Lucania produces the sweetest wine, we all know that the grapes grown right here in these hills are the best in Italy.” Everyone at the table nodded in agreement with Venantius. Except, Argolicus. He did not know enough about wine and grapes and vineyards and soil and sunlight in combination.
Evening arrived before the horse had been collected and a veterinarian found to deal with Lucius’ shoulder. Venantius insisted that Argolicus stay overnight and that Lucius have a room of his own so that he could rest with the sling-like contraption the veterinarian had placed over his shoulder. He was in the room now sleeping away after drinking some poppy juice mixed with sweet herbs.
Argolicus was disappointed. He had hoped that with the longer stay he would discover more information about Adeodatus, but all he had experienced was a long and boring dinner.
The guests for the evening, a family from a nearby estate, lounged around the table. The father, Gaius Scipio, his wife, Julia, and their daughter, Valeriana. The family had no hint of Rome about them.
The father wore his best but plain tunic, the mother wore some intricately wrapped hair style that was out of fashion when Argolicus was a boy, and the girl, about 14 or 15 years old, was in a modest long blue tunica with a bit of embroidery around the neck. They seemed like honest country folk. Only the daughter wore jewelry. The simple gold links spaced with pearls were no match for Venantius’ dazzling rings and hammered gold bracelet. Julia, the wife, spent most of the evening gazing into the middle distance. Valeriana alternated between aggressive pouts and obvious boredom. A single musician strummed a lyre in a cubiculum off to the side.
Venantius did most of the talking during the meal. Argolicus noticed that Gaius Scipio and his wife made few comments, and those were of assent. Argolicus was tired from the events of the day. The dinner seemed endless but now, finally, they were picking at the honey custards and the end of the evening was near.
Gaius Scipio spoke up. “I’ve been thinking about the new lands and wondering if we will have enough slaves to tend the vineyards.”
Venantius gave a quick glance at Argolicus. “Now, now, Gaius,” he placated. “All in good time. We don’t want to bore our guest recently arrived from Rome. I am certain dinner conversation there is much more sophisticated than our humble country concerns.”
A grunt and a squeal came from the other side of the triclinium. The daughter, Valeriana, stood up covered with wine. Her cup lay on the table. Wine dripped on the floor. At once her parents were on their feet. Gaius Scipio made apologies to Venantius. Valeriana’s eyes met Argolicus’ with a look he could not read. She ran from the room crying.
Gaius Scipio shrugged his shoulders, “She’s been unpredictable lately.”
“Don’t worry,” Venantius replied. “I am certain it is just a stage. I was young once.”
Argolicus refrained from raising an eyebrow, much less laughing.
A servant appeared with a lantern to lead the guests to their rooms.
The cloistered musician ceased playing. Rain spattered on the roof and fell to the courtyard in rivulets. Lightning flashed somewhere in the distance.
“Ah, peace at last.” Venantius leaned back and motioned for more wine.
Argolicus looked through the opalescent blue goblet in his hand. The glass was delicate and very thin. He wondered how it kept from breaking. He speculated on the cost of an entire set.
Aloud, he said, “One of the things I learned in Rome was how precious the quiet moments are.”
Venantius nodded.
“I enjoy being back. Visiting neighbors is a good way to get reacquainted with Squillace. I appreciate your welcoming here this evening.”
Another nod. Venantius was definitely feeling the effects of the copious amounts of wine he’d consumed throughout the evening. His eyelids hung heavy.
“I was looking forward to seeing Adeodatus, an old friend of the family, but I hear there is some trouble.”
The eyelids fluttered up. Argolicus thought he saw an involuntary twitching but he was not certain.
Venantius sobered. “Ah, yes, Adeodatus. I suppose you want to hear about that.”
Argolicus nodded in his turn.
“Who would believe that self-righteous prig would take advantage of a young girl? It was the very Valeriana you met this evening. The one who spilled the wine.”
Argolicus remembered the unfathomable look she gave him before she ran. “It’s no wonder she’s “unpredictable” as her father called her. What an unsettling experience.”
“He was visiting Gaius Scipio to buy a horse, just as you are here. As Gaius Scipio tells me, Adeodatus cornered the girl in a hallway and enticed her into his room. She woke the entire household with her screams. Adeodatus was caught almost red-handed. When the servants arrived he was in his room and somehow fully dressed. The girl was crumpled in the hallway unable to speak. She just sobbed. Well. Gaius Scipio sent a messenger here. We retrieved Adeodatus and he is now imprisoned. No threat to any virgins at this time.”
“He’s here?”
“Yes, and suitably imprisoned.”
“I would like to visit him.”
Venantius’ face shifted. “He’s allowed no visitors. That is part of his punishment.”
“But surely, an old family friend.”
“I have decided. He has no visitors. No family. No citizens. No one.” At last, Venantius showed an aspect Argolicus had suspected all along.
“Well, that’s that then.” Argolicus said, thinking nothing of the sort.
“It’s been a long day. Perhaps someone could show me to my room.”
The Search
The servant handed a lamp to Argolicus and left him at the door to his room. He was tired, fairly cranky, and took complete affront at Venantius’ arrogance. He was too exhausted to check on Lucius. A good night’s sleep and he knew he would wake up with an answer to what to do next. Somehow he would find Adeodatus.
In the room shadows leaped in the flickering lamplight. The young women in the wall fresco seemed to sway and the trickling from the outside rain brought life to the water pouring from the pot one held as it flowed to the basin below. The geometric patterns on the mosaic floor flashed light and dark in the wavering light. The entire room seemed alive with movement except for Nikolaos curled on the floor asleep, gripping his stylus.
He was so still that for a brief moment Argolicus thought his beloved tutor was dead. But Nikolaos murmured and stirred. His hand gripped the parchment and his eyes opened.
"Young Master." He smiled. Argolicus was so relieved he did not correct him.
Nikolaos got to his feet and glanced at the parchment in the dim light. He went around the room lighting one lamp and then another.
"There is someone here. I think it could be Adeodatus. As we ate in the kitchen the overseer came in with two workers…big fellows. The cook filled up a pot from the soup on the fire and the two men left. The overseer gave the cook a wink and then went into the house. I was sketching a map of the