Pompeii: City on Fire by T. L. Higley Read Free Book Online

create wine half as delectable as their women, my business will indeed be in jeopardy." He ran a finger up her arm to the elbow, and Cato saw a small shudder. "You are simply delicious, my dear girl."
    "Pity for you she is a married woman." Cato pulled his sister from the man's grasp, his fingers twitching with the urge to strike Maius. But he should have kept silent. The husbands of beautiful women were never safe from unscrupulous men, and Maius struck him as a man devoid of integrity. His brother-in-law, Lucius, was in danger.
    "Come, Maius." The sound of applause drifted from the theater, and Gracchus and the others backed away. "The performance is about to resume."
    Cato held Portia back for a few moments, to give Maius and his sycophants time to clear the quadriporticus. He returned to watching the mismatched gladiators in silence. Had Portia's thoughts gone in the dark direction of his own?
    He became aware of a small group of men in a huddle nearby, talking together, their eyes on him. He gave them a casual nod, and they glanced at each other and then approached, as if he had invited them to speak. From their dress he could see that they were wealthy men. One of them seemed to lead the group forward.
    "Portius Cato? Newly come from Rome?"
    Cato bowed. "Indeed. And anxious to make the acquaintance of the town's leading men."
    The spokesman smirked. "Spoken like a true politician."
    Cato straightened and raised his eyebrows.
    "I meant no insult. In truth, just the opposite."
    Cato lifted his chin and observed the man through lowered lids. "You have me at a disadvantage."
    "My apologies. My name is Tullius Taurus." He nodded to each of his four companions and introduced them all in turn. Cato knew none of them.
    Taurus inhaled deeply, as though bracing himself. "We saw you speaking with Nigidius Maius."
    Cato tried to read Taurus's eyes, unsure whether to share his mind about the man who seemed to control the town. "Maius was speaking to me. " He held up his palms. "As you said, these politicians must try to make connections."
    "And did he succeed?"
    Taurus's direct question surprised him. Alliances in Rome were a tricky game. Were things simpler here in Pompeii, so far south of the mother city?
    He examined Taurus's eyes once more, than decided on forthrightness. "He did not."
    Taurus's chest seemed to deflate, and Cato had the sense it was in relief. "So you do not intend to be a Maius man?"
    Cato laughed. "I am my own man. Always."
    There were guarded smiles around the little group. Cato glanced at Portia. She'd been here for years and must know these men. Her eyes betrayed that she knew more of the encounter than Cato did. He furrowed his brow with an unspoken question, but she tilted her head, all wide eyes and innocence.
    Taurus was speaking again, this time in a lower tone. He took a step closer to Cato. "There are many who would see Maius extricated from the office he's gripped with greedy fingers for many years."
    Cato nodded. "I do not believe he is the man of the people he purports to be."
    "He is evil, crawled out of a pit from the underworld."
    Cato bit back a laugh, for the man's face bore an intensity that matched his words. "So why is he not voted out?"
    Taurus spoke through clenched teeth. "Because he buys votes with money, blackmails to gain those that can't be bought, and threatens those with nothing to hide."
    Cato eyed the quadriporticus, empty now except for the gladiators and the lanista who trained them. He should be back in the performance with his family, away from the talk of corrupt politicians. Yes, he should leave.
    He must have leaned that way unconsciously, for he felt Portia's hand on his back, as though she would keep him here with her delicate fingers.
    It was time to escape. The next words were inevitable, even before they emerged from the lips of Taurus.
    "We want you to run against him."
    His head was shaking before Taurus finished. "I came to Pompeii to enjoy life." He nodded toward