Fortune Favors

Chapter 23

All Sam cared about was that his daughter was healthy and strong, nursing well and of good color, though she was paler than most Roman babies due to taking after her father. The rest of the household was busy with the offerings. Sabina came to the house and made offerings of wine and fruit at the household altar. Sam set up a table for Hercules in the atrium, so the child would be strong. His mother made a bed for Juno, to thank her for seeing the child safely into the world. Marcus, Nico and Eolus broke the threshold of the house with an ax and pestle and took turns sweeping up the broken pieces, which was to ward off evil spirits.

Sam had little to do himself, often being shooed from the room where Lilah and Lilli stayed by midwives who said they needed rest and little bother. Sam amused himself by getting reacquainted with Cleopatra, entertaining the growing kitten with a string and talking kindly to her. He found her in a little chamber of the main hallway that was rarely used.

"You, Cleopatra," said Sam, "are part of my household. When I find a house for Lilli and Lilah, you will come along. Your job will be to keep mice out of the grain stores and keep little Lilah company as she grows."

"Are you ready to get a step closer to that house?" asked a friendly voice.

Sam turned and saw Marcus in the doorway. He carried a scroll.

"Of course," replied Sam curiously.

"Nico gave me this yesterday," said Marcus, un-scrolling the document.

It was the plan of a ship, a small one that had a design Sam had never seen.

"It can sail as well on the Mediterranean as it can on the Tiber, and there is no need to change vessels."

Sam blinked. "That would take days off the trip."

Marcus nodded. "Vessels of this size are subject to lesser tariffs as well."

Sam smiled. Cutting three or four days off the trip for cargo transfer would more than compensate for having less space, especially if they could run several vessels at once. Not needing dock space at Ostia would also cut costs significantly.

"Nico has five of them being built, not with his family's funds but with his own."

Sam grinned. "That won't please them."

"Not at first," said Nico who sauntered into the room, "but once my grandfather gets over his anger he'll be proud. He thinks I'm weak when this deal goes through, I will be strong in his eyes."

"We will, of course, unload the cargo at the Hadius family docks and store it at the Hadius family warehouse, but it will be sold exclusively through a concern owned by the three of us. Nico will keep things smooth on the Greek side. I'll handle my brother and father and you...will handle getting Augustus's approval and a waiver so we can own and operate them."

Nico handed Sam a document, which Sam examined. "Your Latin needs a little work," he said. "The tells are subtle, but it's obvious you are more accustomed to writing in Greek. It matters little, it will serve its purpose. I've never asked Augustus for anything. I'm sure he'll grant me this favor, but we must pledge to keep the quality high. No dilutions or substitutions and we must make sure our families do not engage in such practices either."

Nico nodded. "We'll set up inspections."

Sam thought of everything. "We'll need Augustus's order before presenting it to Eolus and Maximus. They won't defy us if his seal is on these documents."

"Do you think you can get an audience?" asked Nico.

Sam nodded. He'd been feeding Augustus information about the Hadiuses since he was ten years old, and he had never asked for anything in return. The thought of asking for a favor made him nervous, but he had just become a father and Augustus was sure to sympathize with Sam's desire to have his own household.