Free The Vestal Vanishes by Rosemary Rowe Page B

the hoop to which the ankle-chains were fixed and the expert way that his bonds had been arranged, he was not the first to be incarcerated here. This was clearly where errant household slaves were held while they were awaiting serious punishment. Most large establishments have some provision of the kind – though in general offenders do not have to share their prison with stores of vegetables.
    The captive muttered sullenly, ‘I’ve already told them everything I know. I saw the wretched woman get into the seat and put the shutters up – that was the last I saw of her.’
    ‘And you drove straight to Glevum after that?’
    No answer.
    A sudden inspiration came to me. This man was almost certainly a Celt – as I was myself – but here was I approaching him in formal Roman dress. I could not tell for certain what his clan might be, because he wore the now-ubiquitous short brown Roman tunic instead of traditional Celtic breeches made of tribal plaid, but he was fairish and I guessed that he came from the local Dubunni. I, of course, had been captured further south and dragged to Glevum by a slave trader, so our respective dialects were no doubt different, but I was fairly sure that he would understand me if I used my native tongue and I hoped he might be more inclined to answer if I did.
    But first I had to win his confidence. ‘Modesta,’ I said, rising to my feet. ‘Fetch the chief slave and tell him to come here, and bring a knife to free these bonds a bit. I cannot usefully question a man who is in too much pain to speak.’
    The girl looked startled but she scuttled off.
    I squatted on the sack beside the man again and said softly, in Celtic, ‘Raedarius, I too have been given an unwelcome task. The bridegroom and my patron – who are hugely rich, important men – have charged me with finding out what happened to the bride. If she didn’t come to Glevum, she must be somewhere else, and if I can find her (which I am very doubtful of) it might be possible to get you out of here.’
    A moment’s silence, before he answered in the same tongue. ‘You would do that, citizen?’
    ‘For a fellow Celt. Especially if we prove you had no part in it. But I can’t do anything if you will not assist. So I ask a second time – did you come straight to Glevum, when she’d got into the coach?’
    He made a huge effort and turned his face to me again. When he spoke, his voice was tight with pain. ‘I’d like to say so, citizen, but it is not quite true. I’ve thought about it half a dozen times. She was sitting in the raeda, I assisted her myself, but then I had to go upstairs and get her other box. It was a large one, very heavy – full of gifts she had been given, I believe – and she wanted it to ride inside the coach with her. She already had her jewel box in there for security.’
    I nodded. Carrying valuable goods inside was not unusual – most travellers did it if they could as it helped discourage thieves. ‘So you went up for the box?’
    ‘Exactly, citizen. And that was the last time I can absolutely swear to seeing her, because the box was so heavy that I could not manage it. I had to send for two of the house-slaves to bring it down for me. Her handmaiden watched them put it in the coach while I saw to the horse.’
    I interrupted him. ‘Ah, the maidservant, who disappeared as well? So she was with Audelia in Corinium? You can vouch for that?’
    ‘Of course she had a maid there,’ he said, reluctantly. ‘An important lady like that would not travel far alone. Indeed, for several days – apparently – she had a mounted guard as well.’
    ‘So what became of him?’
    ‘He left this morning – going the other way, I understand. She had left some things behind the day before and the rider was sent back to recover them.’
    I felt at once this was significant. ‘It must have been something of great importance!’ I exclaimed.
    Despite his discomfort he managed a wry smile. ‘She seemed to think