‘A while,’ Felix admitted.
‘You’ve taken good care of it. Clothes tell a story, love. Yours must be a rough one.’
His mouth dried and he turned his cheek. ‘It’s only fabric.’
Livia folded the tunic neatly, then riffled through a closet to find a piece that might fit. A burgundy wool piece drowned him, while an expensive cotton shift crept past his knees and made him itch to pull it down. Finally, she withdrew a navy garment.
‘Aurelia wove this fabric herself,’ Livia murmured, smoothing the hem. ‘Dyed the fibres and all. I thought I might save it for Loren, but he’s so slender in the shoulder . . .’
She draped it over his head, gathering and pinning and securing it around his waist with a leather belt. The linen brushed softer than the others he’d tried, like a cool breeze in the dead of summer.
‘Look, it has a pocket.’ Livia touched the pouch fastened to the belt.
‘I can’t afford this,’ Felix said as she made him turn for her, checking the fit.
‘Nonsense. You heard my warning to Loren. Besides, it seems you could use a kindness.’ She smiled, wide and warm, and he thumbed the expensive fabric and couldn’t meet her eyes.
Shooed from the fitting room, Felix re-entered the shopfront as Loren and Aurelia clomped down the staircase. Aurelia’s hair was freshly braided, and her scowl had turned triumphant. Loren, on the other hand, looked ill, mouth pinched and skin pasty. Before Felix could read into it, his expression changed.
‘You look,’ Loren said, swallowing, ‘nice.’
‘Navy suits him.’ Livia fetched a stack of fabric squares and added them to Loren’s basket. ‘Run along. Deliver that fabric to Nonna before she chases me down.’
Loren turned to embrace her again. Two hugs in less than an hour – Felix’s stomach roiled. Leaving them to it, he mumbled his thanks and made for the door, winding on his scarf. Despite the heavy late-morning heat, he could breathe easier out here. Livia’s shop wasn’t just cramped, it wasclose. Felix would take sweat over cloying tenderness any day.
The walls of Pompeii threatened to close over him, keep him as the city’s own. He needed to leave. Soon. But before Felix could make a break for it, Loren tripped into the street.
‘It’s easy for you,’ Felix blurted.
Loren gave him a funny look. ‘What is?’
Hugging. Touching. Asking simple favours without fearing the cost. But Felix’s stomach churned again, and he said, ‘Forget it. Where next?’
‘Nonna’s, to drop this off.’ Loren held up his basket. ‘I have questions for her, too. But I’ll walk you to the brothel first. I thought you could spend time with Elias until I’m back.’
Gods. Felix nearly groaned. What Loren meant was to stick him with Elias like a child who couldn’t be trusted – which, in all fairness, Felix couldn’t be. Elias’s focus was keen as a hawk, and though Felix still hadn’t parsed the exact nature of their relationship, Elias would do anything Loren asked. Sneaking off under his watch would prove impossible.
Loren, on the other hand, was more distractible.
‘Let me join you,’ Felix said. When Loren began to argue, he rushed to add, ‘I’ll go mad caged in that place. Or I’ll drive Elias mad. On purpose. I’ll do it, swear to Jupiter.’
Loren bit his bottom lip. ‘It isn’t safe, Felix.’
‘Safe as life.’ Felix pushed from the wall. ‘Show me your city.’
Felix knew he’d confounded Loren by asking for a tour. Tactical advantage. Loren was easier to deal with like this, so consumed bytalking about this and that and everything between that he left Felix ample opportunities to escape. A sidestep down an alley while Loren was locked in conversation. Pushing over a cart of cabbages to cause a scene. Vaulting across the street just before a rush of cart traffic hit. All so tempting. Felix’s fingers twitched with anticipation.
But whenever he nearly committed, Loren would glance back and catch his eye with a grin. Or ask his opinion on a vase in a potter’s stall. Or pass him a sample of fruit. It was maddening how Loren treated Felix as a friend. Then again, he was friends with everyone in Pompeii, and everyone knew him. Worse, they liked him, in that baffled-but-amused way adults indulged chatty children. If Loren wasn’t talking taxes with a merchant, he was shouting a greeting or gripping a hand. Knowing people didn’t pose a risk to him. He doled out smiles without fear of being recognised as a pickpocket. When city guards patrolled by, Loren didn’t cringe.
Felix kept his head down, scarf tight despite the heat. Loren had no idea. No idea how good he had it. Maybe Felix should have taken his chances with Elias.
An ancient woman dozing outside a bakery – Nonna, he guessed – wasn’t amused when Loren nudged her awake to deliver Livia’s fabric. Felix winced when her pinch left an indent in Loren’s cheek.
‘Who is this?’ Nonna demanded, turning her glare on Felix. ‘I do not like the look of him. Shifty. Reminds me of my husband, may Charon carry the old bastard’s soul swiftly.’
‘This is Felix,’ Loren said gently. ‘He’s a ward of Isis. I’m showing him the town.’
‘Bah! That priest stuck a criminal with you? May Charon carry his soul swiftly, too.’
