Oppius nodded. “I do have a slot or two to fill. I can give you a thousand sestertii for his first appearance. I’ll include it with the rest of the fees I owe Lucullus.”
“Thank you, but this one will be paid directly to me,” Velia said. “Achilles is my gladiator.”
Oppius’s eyebrows shot up. “Yourgladiator? Does Lucullus know of this?”
“Of course. He suggested I take Achilles on in the first place.”
Oppius leaned back, crossing his arms over his chest. “Are you sure about this, Velia? I know you’ve been working for your uncle for a while, but there’s a difference between taking messages and managing your own gladiators. Listen, you’re young, pretty…wouldn’t you prefer to find a nice man to settle down with before it’s too late?”
Velia tilted her head coyly. “Is that an offer?”
Oppius raised his eyes skyward in exasperation. “Not if my wife has anything to say about it. I only meant, if word gets out that you spend your days managing gladiators, no man is going to want you.”
His voice was earnest, and Velia knew he meant well. Oppius was a generally reasonable man, and had barely batted an eye when Velia began showing up as Lucullus’s representative. But it seemed his sense of propriety drew the line at her actually managing her own gladiators. “I can live with that.”
“I have a nephew,” Oppius continued. “Very nice. Not bad-looking. He runs a workshop that makes garum. It’s very profitable, you know. I could introduce you.”
Velia wrinkled her nose. “Not interested. Especially in someone who probably smells like fish guts all the time.” She was donewith this line of conversation, and she held out her hand, palm up. “Do you want my novice or not? Remember, he’s Ferox’s protégé.”
Leaning on Ferox’s fame was the right move, for Oppius surveyed her for another moment, grumbled something under his breath, and sighed in defeat. “All right. Deal.”
She rewarded him with a smile. “Thank you. You won’t regret it, I promise. Achilles is going to be the talk of the city by the time the games are over.”
Velia walked back to the ludus, bouncing the pouch of coin from Oppius in her hand. Despite her excitement over booking Achilles’s first match, a nagging voice in her head questioned if it was too soon. The games were only two weeks away. What if Achilles needed more time to train?
No, it had to be this way. He’d face another novice, so they’d be evenly matched in skill and experience. As in, neither would have much of either. And the sooner Achilles started fighting, the sooner she’d get paid. The two hundred sestertii she’d received today were just a deposit; she’d get the full amount after the match took place. Once he started winning, she could charge more for his appearances.
After returning to the ludus, she divided the coins into two equal halves, then went to find Achilles and Ferox. It was midday, so they were eating lunch in the dining chamber, bowls of steaming lentil stew on the table before them. Lucullus kept a careful eye on his gladiators’ diets to ensure maximum nutrition. Theyrarely ate meat, except at the public banquet the night before the opening of new games, and mostly consumed hearty porridges and bean stews, along with a special drink made of ashes that kept their bones strong.
Velia addressed Achilles. “I’ve booked you to fight on the opening day.”
Achilles’s head jerked up, interest sparking in his eyes.
Velia turned to Ferox, laying half the coins on the table beside him. “This is your half of the deposit.”
Ferox swept the coins into his large hand and continued eating.
Achilles cleared his throat. “I have a request,” he announced.
Velia raised an eyebrow. “Yes?” Ever since the incident with the graffiti, he had refrained from making any requests or complaints.
“I want a woman,” he declared. “At least once a week. All the others have them.”
She grimaced. “That might cost more than you’re worth.”
His gaze raked over her in an evaluative manner. “If you’re looking to save money, I can make do with you, but I’d prefer one with larger breasts.”
A growl rumbled in Ferox’s chest. Velia shot him a quelling look as she considered the request. It wasn’t such an abnormal ask. Achilles was right; gladiators were usually given regular access to a courtesan. And with his first fight coming up, perhaps it would keep him happy and motivate him to train harder.
“I’ll arrange it for the day before the games, as a reward for all the effort you’ve been putting into training,” she finally said, though in fact she had no idea how to actually enact such a thing. She’d figure it out. “With someone else,” she clarified. “Not me.”
Ferox reached over and snatched the mostly finished bowl from Achilles’s hands. “Lunch is over. Go warm up.”
Achilles sighed, rose to his feet, and trudged away.
Ferox set down the bowl he’d seized. “You shouldn’t let him speak to you like that.”
“He said nothing disrespectful,” she countered. “He was only suggesting a way to be more economical.” Her mind turned to this fresh problem she needed to solve. “I need you to help me find a brothel. Somewhere decent, with reasonable prices. I don’t know where to go for such things.”
