Rome - 34. Chapter 34

We stayed for four full days. The men had a good quantity of salt to take back. I offered some to Grandfather, and he said he could always get some as he knew Niciu could get the salt from the sea. On the fifth day, after breakfast, we left to go back to the Villa. I think Duccius was anxious to go hunting, and there was no stopping. Leaving early in the morning, we arrived late at night. I knew everyone was tired except Junius. He slept in his mother’s lap. The men came from their rooms to help unload the cart and to assist Grandfather to bed. Duccius took Aleta and headed upstairs, Nour took Junius, Aumen and I headed for our rooms. The men took care of the cart and mules.

The next morning, Felix was ready for us. Another one of his egg creations, we had fruit rolled in one of his egg cakes. He also had chopped up some meat, added herbs, made it into cakes, and cooked them. We had the regular cheese, bread with olive oil and herbs. I was beginning to think Felix would serve us just herbs one of these days. He included them in most of his cooking. The food was good, and it was better just relaxing with the men and friends. I don’t think any of us moved until after midday.

The boys wanted to show me some plants they found in the woods. It was a strange plant, “What is this plant?”

“We don’t know, and neither do the men. It smells nice.”

“Yes, it does but don’t eat any of the leaves or flowers. They may be poisonous.”

“So we can keep it?”

I just nodded. Felix went to look at the plant, he laughed. “My mother had this plant. The leaves are very good. I can add it to my herbal mixture.”

The boys smiled, Felix smiles, I smile because it wasn’t poisonous.

As one would expect, Duccius took some of the men and went hunting. I had a private talk with Grandfather Gaius. He was a little upset over my father. He couldn’t understand why he was so unfriendly to me. He remembered the wine incident, “Your wine is very good, and the trick you played on him, I guess, was your way of letting us understand his feelings toward you.”

“Yes, it bothered me for a long time. I prayed to Apollo for him to change. I think Mars is punishing him. I want to be his son, but now I’ll be your son.”

Smiling, “I’ve always looked upon you as my son.”

I went and got us a glass of wine.

Duccius came home after three days. This time he had a bear. Nathan asked for the pelt, Duccius gave him everything except the head. As before, he took the meat home, leaving in the morning.

Life returned to normal. That is normal for us. I had my ink from the walnut trees, and I spent two days recording all of the past weeks. When I was up to date, I had three more shelves in my room filled with my scrolls. I was going to need a new cabinet soon. I moved everything we had stored in the stables to the storage rooms in front of the house. If we ever needed more rooms, I could move them back to the stables.

Aumen gave the salt to Felix to use in his kitchen. Grandfather was going to send Deacon and the rest of his staff back to the city. They were going to stay in his house, and Deacon was in charge. I knew then that he had freed them. I think Felix learned a few new recipes, and I noticed Grandfather’s cook spending a lot of time in the kitchen. She took a few chickens back with her. I told Deacon to make sure he fenced them in. Grandfather was content to stay, and I was glad. He seemed to be feeling better. He told the boys stories, they took him on walks into the woods behind us, the men asked for his advice. All of this showed our love for him. I momentarily had a thought. This could have been my father, only a moment.

The wheat and oats were doing well, and I think changing the field each year has helped. The boys started to eat the vegetables raw. They said they were good like that. I tried a few, they were good, especially with a little olive oil. The architect had made our Baths larger, actually almost as large as the Baths in the city. The hot bath was twice the old Baths’ size, and the cold water bath was three times larger. One of the men said they needed the cold water to cool down after working in the sun all day. The animal sheds were getting out of control. The chicken shed is three times what I first had. We had enough eggs, we put them in the cold pit and took them to the city to sell. Our baker said they were the best. The sheep and goat sheds were four times as large. Now we were taking cheese to sell, special cheese with herbs. I gave one to the baker, and now he sells our cheese. Aumen said he is getting a reputation. That was good for us, as he paid a fair price.

As the walnut trees began to bear fruit, Felix made a cake with them. The men thought they weren’t sweet enough. I thought they were fine. Felix said he only used a little honey, and yes, they had his herbs in them. I had a large supply of ink, and I was teaching the boys how to write.