I sent the money out within two days of getting the letter asking for it. My mother was extremely angry when she heard that the property had been sold, but I was pledged not to tell her why the money was needed, so I said that I had been playing dice for too high stakes lately and in trying to recoup my heavy losses had lost twice as much again. She believed me, and ‘gambler’ was another stick to beat me with. But the thought that I had not failed Germanicus or Rome was ample compensation for her taunts.
