The Roman Mysteries Complete Collection

by Lawrence, Caroline

‘What is anti boat?’ asked Nubia.

  ‘An antidote,’ said Flavia, ‘is something which makes poison harmless. If you’ve drunk poison, you have to drink the antidote as soon as possible. There are different antidotes for different poisons.’

  ‘And that,’ said Jonathan, ‘is why we have to find out which poison she’s been given. So that if it happens again we’ll have the correct antidote ready.’

  ‘Jonathan’s right,’ said Pulchra, coming into the room with her little dog Ajax on a gilded lead. ‘Another attack might kill mater. We’ve got two days to find the antidote.’

  ‘Or better yet, the poisoner,’ said Tranquillus, who had come in behind Pulchra.

  Flavia glared at Tranquillus. ‘What’s he doing here?’

  ‘Why two days?’ asked Jonathan.

  ‘Tranquillus has kindly agreed to help us,’ said Pulchra, sitting beside Jonathan on Nubia’s bed. ‘And we have two days because that’s how long the doctor has told mater to go without food.’

  Flavia narrowed her eyes at Tranquillus.

  He grinned back. ‘You can trust me,’ he said cheerfully. ‘I like mysteries.’

  ‘How is your mother this morning?’ Nubia asked Pulchra.

  ‘Much better, Nubia, thank you. Ajax! Bad dog! Stop bothering Tigris!’ Pulchra scooped up Ajax and turned back to Nubia. ‘The doctor prescribed a clyster and a fast and told her not to leave her bed for two days.’

  ‘I know a fast is not to eat,’ said Nubia with a frown, ‘but what is a clyster?’

  ‘I’ll tell you later,’ said Jonathan in her ear, then turned to the others. ‘I’ve been reading my father’s scroll on poison. There are at least ten deadly plants within a mile’s radius of the Villa Limona. There are even some here in your gardens,’ he said to Pulchra. ‘Lupus and I have made a list of them.’

  They all bent over Lupus’s wax tablet to see the list written there:

  BELLADONNA

  ACONITE

  YEW

  HEMLOCK

  OLEANDER

  HENBANE

  HELLEBORE

  MANDRAKE

  OPIUM POPPIES

  MUSHROOMS

  ‘Impressive list,’ said Tranquillus, raising his pale eyebrows.

  ‘These bad things are all nearby?’ said Nubia, her golden eyes wide.

  ‘All of them,’ said Jonathan. ‘We need to list their symptoms and find the antidotes. Just in case we don’t find the poisoner in time.’

  ‘I brought three of Pliny’s scrolls about trees and plants,’ said Flavia, ‘and there might be some books on plants in your father’s library.’

  ‘I don’t think you’ll find anything useful there,’ said Pulchra, stroking Ajax’s silky ears. ‘Pater’s collection is mainly poetry and philosophy. But you’re welcome to look.’

  ‘He won’t mind?’ said Flavia.

  Pulchra shook her head. ‘He always lets his guests use the library. We can go now if you like. Pater is receiving clients this morning in the tablinum, so we won’t disturb him.’

  ‘Good!’ said Flavia. ‘Who wants to go to the library with me?’

  ‘I’ll go with you,’ said Tranquillus. ‘I like doing research.’

  ‘I’ll come up with you,’ said Jonathan, brushing breakfast crumbs from the front of his tunic and standing up. ‘I haven’t finished going through my father’s scroll on medicine.’

  ‘Shall I walk dogs?’ asked Nubia. ‘I am not so good at research and they are needing of exercise.’

  ‘Wonderful idea, Nubia,’ said Pulchra, depositing Ajax in her arms, ‘Make sure you don’t let the others leave my little hero behind. He’s not as big as they are.’

  Lupus wrote something on his wax tablet then held it up. IS THERE STILL A SPYHOLE FOR YOUR FATHER’S STUDY?

  ‘How do you know about the spyhole?’ Pulchra’s blue eyes opened wide and she rounded accusingly on Jonathan. ‘That was a secret!’ she hissed. ‘How could you tell them?’

  ‘Sorry.’ Jonathan shrugged. ‘I didn’t think it was that important.’

  ‘I suppose it doesn’t matter,’ said Pulchra. ‘It was last year. Besides, we’re too big to squeeze between those walls now.’

  I’M NOT wrote Lupus, his eyes gleaming.

  ‘You don’t think pater is the one trying to poison mater?’ exclaimed Pulchra.

  ‘Of course not,’ said Flavia. ‘But we’ve got to look out for any suspicious behaviour, and it wouldn’t hurt for Lupus to watch your father receive his clients. The poisoner might be one of them.’

  ‘All right,’ said Pulchra, and turned to Lupus. ‘To get to the spyhole you go through the storehouse by the kitchen. There’s a narrow opening just past the three big amphoras leaning against the wall.’

  Lupus gave her a thumbs-up.

  ‘I’ll come to the library with you three,’ said Pulchra to Flavia, then looked round at the others. ‘This afternoon pater has invited the men and boys to join him in the baths. He has something special planned. We women will bathe in the sea. We have something special, too, as it’s going to be very hot today. Bye-bye my little hero!’ This last was addressed to Ajax, panting happily in Nubia’s arms.

  ‘Let’s meet back here at midday, then,’ said Flavia. ‘Good hunting everyone! Remember, watch out for any suspicious behaviour.’

  BELLADONNA

  Description: woody shrub with glossy dark blue berries.

  Uses: priests use highly diluted juice of the root to go into a trance.

  Poison: every part of this plant is poisonous: roots, berries, leaves, stems.

  Symptoms: large black pupils, frothing at the mouth, loss of voice, bending forward at waist, twitching of fingers, death.

  Antidote: swallow a large beaker of warm vinegar or mustard diluted in water to induce vomiting, then keep warm and still in a dark, quiet room.

  ACONITE

  Description: medium-sized shrub with dark green leaves that look like palm fronds; blue flowers in the shape of a helmet.

  Uses: can be smeared on arrowheads to ensure quick death of wolves, hence the nickname ‘wolfsbane’.

  Poison: the juice in the leaves is violently toxic and is said to be foam from the mouth of Cerberus.

  Symptoms: sweating, tingling then numbness of lips and mouth, painful muscle spasms, cold limbs, irregular heartbeat, drowsiness, convulsions, stupor, death.

  Antidote: victim should be given a clyster and be made to drink tincture of digitalis, then laid horizontally while body is rubbed.

  YEW

  Description: large evergreen tree with very dark green leaves, a thick trunk and rough reddish bark, bright red poisonous berries and no sap.

  Uses: the wood is very useful for bows.

  Poison: the male berries are poisonous.

  Symptoms: dizziness, vomiting, rapid heartbeat, large black pupils, red face, shallow breathing, paralysis of lungs, death.

  Antidote: according to Pliny, if a copper nail is hammered into the tree then it becomes harmless.

  HEMLOCK

  Description: plant with feathery leaves and tiny sprays of white flowers which smell like mice.

  Uses: the reed-like stems are often used to make panpipes or dipped in tallow for candles.

  Poison: the leaves, root and fruit are all poisonous if eaten.

  Symptoms: drowsiness, paralysis of limbs progressing from feet up, staggering gait, thick speech, rapid heartbeat, failure of lungs, death.

  Antidote: warm vinegar in water; the victim should walk about and keep moving as much as possible.

  HENBANE

  Description: sticky, hairy shrub with a yellow bell-shaped flower and a fetid smell. Grows in sandy wastelands. Hogs love the beans but its seeds kill hens.

  Uses: a poultice of the leaves cools inflamed eyes and joints, and eases headaches; the oil of the seed can be dropped in ears against worms.

  Poison: if eaten, the leaves, seeds and juice cause a deep deadly sleep.

  Symptoms: rapid heartbeat, dry mouth, de
lirium, paralysis, coma, death.

  Antidote: a mustard clyster, followed by large beakers of warm water with powdered charcoal; the victim should be rubbed and made to walk about.

  HELLEBORE

  Description: a low-growing plant with dark glossy leaves and white flowers which bloom in mid-winter.

  Uses: to calm hysteria and to terminate pregnancies.

  Poison: the leaves must be gathered while facing east with no eagles overhead.

  Symptoms: tingling mouth, salivation, vomiting, stomach pain, diarrhoea, large black pupils, slowed heartbeat.

  Antidote: after a clyster, drink charcoal powder mixed in castor oil.

  MANDRAKE

  Description: plant with large dark green leaves and root like a forked parsnip; in the autumn it bears a smooth round yellow fruit.

  Uses: the leaves are useful in ointments and cooling poultices, the root can be chewed before operations as an anaesthetic.

  Poison: eating too much of the root puts you in a sleep from which you never wake; ie. death! The roots are said to scream when they are dug out of the ground.

  Symptoms: dry mouth, erratic heart beat, drowsiness, depression, heavy sleep, coma, death.

  Antidote: a clyster followed by large beakers of vinegar or mustard in warm water to induce vomiting.

  POPPY

  Description: pretty flower with big petals and a furry stem.

  Uses: the milky juice is plentiful and can be fashioned into pastilles, then dried in the shade to be taken as pain killer, sedative and cough mixture.

  Poison: if too much is swallowed, it brings about a fatal coma.

  Symptoms: drowsiness, slow heartbeat and breathing, tiny pupils, coma, death.

  Antidote: clyster followed by a tincture of gall-nuts; keep victim awake and moving around.

  MUSHROOMS

  Description: fungi that grow in moist damp places, they look like fat parasols.

  Uses: mushrooms are prized as food.

  Poison: according to Pliny, mushrooms become poisonous after a snake has breathed on them, so they are best eaten in winter when snakes hibernate. NB mushrooms which are naturally poisonous are called toadstools.

  Symptoms: salivation, tears, breathing problems, stomach pain, diarrhoea, vertigo, delirium, excitement, coma, death.

  Antidote: vomiting must be induced by drinking mustard in hot water. Agrippina used mushrooms to poison Claudius, so that her son Nero could become Emperor.

  OLEANDER

  Description: shrub with silvery green leaves and white, pink or magenta flowers.

  Uses: as hedges and borders, because goats and sheep will not eat this plant.

  Poison: all parts are poisonous and even its smoke can irritate; hunters have been known to die after eating meat roasted on skewers made of oleander wood.

  Symptoms: severe diarrhoea, stomach pain, sweating, trembling, irregular heartbeat, paralysis, coma, death.

  Antidote: No known antidote.

  ‘No known antidote,’ murmured Flavia as she copied the words on her wax tablet. ‘Those are three very terrible words.’ She looked around the library table at Jonathan, Pulchra and Tranquillus.

  Jonathan looked thoughtful. ‘What if the poison isn’t in the food?’ he said.

  ‘Where else would it be?’ said Pulchra.

  ‘Lining her cup!’ cried Flavia. ‘If someone smeared the inside of your mother’s cup with poison then poured normal wine into it . . .’

  ‘No,’ said Pulchra. ‘She often gets the slave-girls to drink from her goblet first.’

  ‘I’ve heard of someone having poison poured in their ears as they slept,’ said Jonathan. ‘Or it could be put in perfume.’

  ‘But wouldn’t you have to dab a lot of poisoned perfume on for it to have any effect?’ asked Tranquillus.

  Suddenly Flavia gasped. ‘Some people drink perfume to make their breath smell sweet! Pulchra, does your mother ever drink perfume?’

  ‘I don’t think so,’ said Pulchra.

  ‘No,’ said Flavia after a pause. ‘It must be in the food because Polla was at dinner just before she took ill last night.’

  Tranquillus looked around at them. ‘I’ve just had a disturbing thought,’ he said. ‘What if the would-be killer decides not to stick to poison? What if he – or she – tries something else?’

  ‘Like a knife or a blunt instrument?’ said Flavia.

  ‘Or,’ said Tranquillus, ‘something that would still make it look like an accident. Like pushing her off the upper colonnade, onto the rocks below.’

  Pulchra shuddered.

  ‘Or making it seem as if she slipped in the baths and hit her head and drowned!’ said Jonathan.

  ‘Or,’ said Flavia, her grey eyes growing wide, ‘being eaten by a panther!’

  Nubia smiled as she followed the four dogs into the woven shade of the olive groves. She loved walking them on these fragrant hills, so full of plants and animals and insects. Tigris was the bravest and usually ventured furthest ahead, but he always waited to show her his latest find – a shimmering black beetle or a slow-plodding tortoise with a shell the colour of dark honey. Nipur stayed between Tigris and Nubia, often glancing over his shoulder to make sure she was still within sight. Scuto trotted close beside her and Ajax always took up the rear, eyes bulging, tongue flapping, little legs waddling. He was pathetically grateful whenever she carried him and would cover her face with hot kisses that made her giggle.

  Suddenly she heard a bird’s staccato warning cry and immediately she sensed that something was wrong. Up ahead, Tigris and Nipur stood motionless among the ancient twisted trunks of the olive trees. Beside her Scuto growled and she saw his hackles rise.

  Nubia’s heart beat faster as she moved cautiously forward. Then she followed the steady gaze of the two big black puppies and her blood ran cold.

  On a low, horizontal branch of an olive tree, almost invisible in the dappled sunlight, crouched a black panther.

  Lupus yawned. He had been watching the Patron receive his clients for almost two hours. There had been a steady stream of visitors: tenant farmers from the hills, craftsmen from Surrentum, even a magistrate from Neapolis. None of them had said or done anything suspicious. He longed to swim in the cold plunge of the baths or in the cool blue sea and he was just wondering if he should go when Felix’s secretary said, ‘Your last client of the day, sir.’

  Lupus sighed but his eyes widened as he saw the person who stepped into the tablinum. Justus closed the double doors behind him, leaving the Patron and his client alone. And Lupus’s jaw dropped when he saw what they began to do together.

  Nubia did not take her eyes off the powerful panther crouched on the olive branch. He was alone and unchained. She could see the end of his tail twitching and his golden eyes flicking between Tigris and Nipur, both of whom stood gazing up at him and growling low in their throats.

  Nubia always wore her cherrywood flute on a scarlet cord around her neck. Now she slowly pulled it out and began to play soft breathy notes. Instantly the dogs stopped growling. The panther’s shoulders relaxed and his tail stopped twitching. He slowly turned his head and she felt a thrill as his steady golden gaze locked with hers.

  ‘Oh there you are!’ A woman ran into the clearing from between two olive trees and Nubia stopped playing. Voluptua’s magnificent black curls were loose around her shoulders and she wore only an unbelted red silk undertunic. She glanced at Nubia and smiled. ‘He ran away right in the middle of my coiffure. You’re a very naughty boy!’ This last was addressed to the panther, who regarded his mistress with golden eyes and then blinked. ‘A very naughty boy to make me come out in public in such an immodest state.’

  Nubia lowered her flute and softly called the dogs. When they were close beside her she said, ‘Is he dangerous?’

  ‘Oh, my dear, no!’ Voluptua was fixing the red leash to the big cat’s leather collar. ‘He’s very old, poor thing. I bought him from some Syrian beast-fighters who were badly mistreating him. He’s
been declawed and his teeth are so loose that he can only eat raw meat, ground up and beaten with an egg.’ She glanced over her shoulder at Nubia and gave her another radiant smile. ‘Oh, no! He’s not dangerous. He couldn’t even hurt the fish in the pond. He’s just a big pussycat.’

  ‘Even if the would-be murderer does intend to use another method,’ said Flavia Gemina, ‘there’s no way we could guess how and when they might strike. I think we have to concentrate on poison.’

  ‘I agree,’ said Jonathan. ‘My father says poison is a coward’s recourse and often a woman’s, too. The reason most people use poison is because they don’t have to be in the room when the victim dies. If you push someone over a wall or knock them on the head or set your panther loose on them, well . . . you have to witness the consequences.’

  ‘Yes, it must be poison.’ Tranquillus pushed back his chair. He stretched and yawned, and then stood up.

  ‘That’s what I’ve been saying all along!’ said Pulchra with a scowl.

  ‘I know.’ Flavia sighed.

  A breeze flowed through the open library window and softly rustled the papyrus scrolls on the table. She closed her eyes for a moment and lifted her face to its cool caress. Even though it was nearly midday, she could hear a cock crowing exultantly somewhere outside in the shimmering heat.

  ‘Edepol!’ murmured Tranquillus, who had moved over to examine the scrolls on the shelves. ‘He’s got Ovid’s Art of Love!’

  Flavia looked up to see him pull the scroll slightly from its pigeonhole, so that it stuck out from the others. He glanced around guiltily, saw her watching and grinned. With his brown eyes and straight brown hair he was not bad-looking, she thought. But he was so young. She wanted a husband who was strong and masterful and brave. Like Felix. She sighed and turned her attention back to the twenty-third scroll of Pliny’s Natural History. Expertly twisting her wrists, she scanned the lines passing before her. Suddenly a word caught her eye: ANTIDOTE.

  ‘Eureka!’ she cried. ‘Admiral Pliny never lets you down. This is his universal antidote. Whoever eats this first thing in the morning will be immune to any poison all day long.’