XII – The Roman-Patrician! Me!?

Dear Journal:

Well, the night I moved into that awful place, I slept fairly well. I had weird dreams about being chased by giant, toga wearing radishes. Go figure. Anyway, I started to wake up slowly, reaching consciousness in my normal, sluggish way, when I noticed that something was definitely off kilter. There was a giant face staring down at me.

With a shriek, I fell over the back of my couch and landed on the cold, hard floor. The giant face turned out to be a servant carrying a large basin of water and some towels. At my shriek, the poor fellow had stepped quickly backward, sloshing some of the basin water on the floor. With profuse apologies he set down the water and proceeded to mop the mess up. During this, several more servants had come running, along with several guards.

I struggled to my feet and assured everyone that everything was okay. The guards left scowling, insulted that they didn’t get the chance to maim someone. A servant came over to me and explained that the previous owner of the villa liked to wash up as soon as he was awake. I immediately canceled THAT idea. When I wake up, I like to do so without surprises. I instructed everyone to let me wake up first, THEN enter the room. Not before! I would certainly let everyone know if I was being murdered.

I was asked if I would like some breakfast. Sure, I said. Big mistake! Breakfast to a Patrician was not the same as my usual repast. I looked at the food laden table and grimaced. Yup. Some changes definitely had to be made around here. I told everyone present to take half and distribute half to the guards. I kept a few morsels for myself. Also, I figured that if the guards were eating, they wouldn’t bother me. The idea turned out to be a sound one later on.

So, finally, I was washed, fed and settling down in a chair to read the morning news. Some of my staff had headed off to market, despite my protests that I always did the shopping. I was told that the Patrician class did not shop for food. Their servants saw to that task. After all, a Nobleman or Lady could not be seen buying food. That was so….peasent.

Patricians went shopping for the big things. Furniture, villas, more slaves, etc. Defeated by custom and my new social standing, I sank back into my chair and started reading. There was a light rain outside and things were peaceful and quiet. The pattering of raindrops on the roof had lulled me into a light sleep, when I was awakened. Again!

This time it was for lunch. I looked at the table and used the same distribution system that I had used that morning. I was assured that the guards were very happy with the new arrangement. They were really starting to like me. With that news, an idea began to wriggle itself into the thinking part of my brain. It took a few seconds to gel, but I found myself liking the idea. Maybe if I fed AND paid the guards enough, I could win them over to my side. Couldn’t hurt to try. In any case, I had to gain control of this wild ride I was on, if I wanted to survive the near future.

Little did I know that my peaceful morning was about to turn into an eye opening afternoon.

Chapter XIII

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