by C K Ruppelt
“By Jupiter, you must tell us all the sordid details,” Crassus replied, “but let’s get business out of the way first.” He nodded at Caesar to continue who turned back to Pulcher.
“The elections are behind us, but we can’t relax. I’ve heard much slander in the Senate about my motivations for the campaign in Hispania. It seems that several of the tribal chiefs managed to send letters of complaint to Optimates senators afterward. Then a couple of delegations showed up in Rome this summer to accuse me of misconduct. We’ve successfully rebuffed it all, but you know that some of it always sticks with the public. The moment anybody hears about preparations for legal proceedings against me, you come running to me, you hear? I ask that of both of you.” Caesar looked from Pulcher to Crassus. After they both nodded in agreement, his focus turned back to Pulcher. “If that were to happen, I can count on you and your men to do what needs to be done?” He received another decisive nod and sighed. “Thank you. Now I want to talk about Marcus Bibulus.”
“His vote count came in far second to yours, and as the junior consul he won’t have the power the Optimates were hoping for,” Pulcher added. “That said, he will still try to become a pain in our rear.”
“I agree, he will veto every single senate proposition coming from us. Since this will be our most important year yet, we should set our brawlers on Bibulus to make him leave town, which would give us free reign. What do you say?” Caesar asked.
Crassus and Pulcher were both grinning broadly. “I will most certainly enjoy seeing that pompous little twit run for his life,” Crassus responded. “Let’s just make sure our people don’t kill him. We want him gone, not give our dear Optimates a vacancy for consul to be filled by someone more capable.”
Caesar switched his attention back to Pulcher. “I do want to add my thanks to you and your people for how you exposed Cato the Younger. I am in your debt for that and believe he will never live this down.”
Pulcher looked pleased by the compliment. The old families of the Optimates faction had always held Cato in their highest regard, though now the man had lost his impeccable reputation of incorruptibility and honesty. Pulcher had arranged for him to be caught red-handed, buying electoral votes for Bibulus. “Righteous Cato had it coming. Now I will enjoy scaring Bibulus with a good beating,” he replied. Caesar shared Pulcher’s gleeful smile, though when he looked back at the men under the tree, he noted that Hirtius looked pensive rather than amused, while Cinna looked outright troubled over the discussion. Maybe I should not bring these two to these meetings anymore.
After a moment of silence, Crassus gave Caesar a questioning look with a nod towards the third man at the table. Caesar understood and addressed Pulcher.
“Thank you, you know what needs to be done. We’ll meet you in the house later,” he said, dismissing their ally from the conversation.
Pulcher pushed back his chair and looked at Crassus. “By your leave, I will explore your beautiful villa.”
Crassus waved at a house slave waiting at the rear entrance to the villa. “Show our guest around.”
Caesar turned to the men at the tree. “Could you please all check that our men are settled? We will join you in a moment.”
He watched the six men enter the long colonnade at the back of the villa. Crassus spoke up only after the last man was out of sight. “I’m worried about Pulcher. He’s been a great asset these last couple of years, but he seems so capricious to me. Always impulsive, and his violence on the streets knows no bounds. Can we keep him loyal? I don’t want him to turn on us at the wrong time.”
“Have no fear on that account, Marcus. If anything, his failed attempts to get at Cicero and the Optimates have made him a stronger ally. I am not sure if I told you about his latest plot. He returned from his stint as quaestor in Sicilia with this idea of changing from patrician to plebeian status before next year, just so he can get elected as Tribune of the Plebs. For Pulcher, it’s all about revenge against Cicero.”
“But he won’t succeed. Cicero is too careful and too popular,” Crassus stated.
Caesar chuckled. “You and I know that, but our dear friend doesn’t. Becoming a plebeian is a crazy scheme, even for him. He’ll legally renounce his name, but only by changing his main nomen from the patrician Claudius to the plebeian Clodius. Yet another way of making fun of the Optimates by butchering ancient traditions.”
Crassus burst out into roaring laughter. “I can already hear Cicero ranting about that fact alone.” He continued, mimicking Cicero’s high-pitched voice. “This goes against everything our Optimates hold dear.” Caesar laughed at Crassus’ impersonation which had become quite good over the years. “We simply must keep our noble elite pure, in thought as in deeds, so we can always keep the ideals of our great ancestors firmly in place.”
“The best part is that our Pulcher found his adopter already, a young plebeian in dire need of funds. The official paperwork will legalize the whole thing, though the real scandal is that his new father will be younger than himself,” Caesar added. They shared another laugh.
Crassus looked at Caesar. “I am glad your election worked out. Next year we will be able to push all our planned laws through, and we’ll set you up with a lucrative proconsul governorship for the year after. Having your young Legatus Publius Vatinius as Tribune of the Plebs during your tenure will be another huge help. He is just the man to introduce the law for stretching your term as governor to five years. If Pulcher’s crazy scheme works, he can support us the year after when you are off campaigning,” Crassus paused and turned pensive. Caesar wondered what else was on his mind.
“We’ve worked well together and I consider you a friend, so I want to share this with you,” Crassus continued. “I have only two ambitions left in life I truly care to achieve. First, I want to keep growing all my business ventures until my wealth is so vast that nobody else will ever come close. For that, I need to keep most of my activities secret from the Senate. If they ever find out how much trade I’m involved in, I’ll either get shut down or forced out of the Senate. Every senator is supposed to be a simple land owner, and nothing more. So, they can only ever know about what’s publicly visible.”
This much I knew or at least suspected. What’s the second thing?
Crassus’ determined face changed and his eyes seemed to look far into the distance. “My other ambition? Since I was a child, I dreamt of Rome conquering Parthia, of making it into a Roman province. I’d like to take a few legions to them and pick up where the Greeks stopped after being victorious against the Persians at Salamis and Plataea. Xerxes was on his knees, but all they did was free Greece instead of invading his homeland in retribution.”
Caesar raised his eyebrows. All Roman noblemen grew up with the tales of ancient Greece’s struggles, including the three hundred Spartans holding back the Persians at Thermopylae, giving all of Graecia time to gather its armies in defense, and of course the tales of Alexander the Great’s exploits in the East two hundred years later.
“Only Alexander ever conquered Persia, though he never tamed it. Everything was left in place when he died, so just think about the treasures I could find there. Even now the Parthians keep buying hundreds of thousands of slaves every year, at least that we know of.” Crassus sighed. “But beside the riches, there’s also the glory. By now you must know my vanity. The idea of being known throughout eternity as the conqueror of Parthia quite appeals to me.”
Nothing ever seems to be enough for the man. The richer he becomes, the more he still needs to add to his wealth. It’s like a sickness.
Caesar cleared his throat. “I have one more thing of my own I would like to discuss with you, and I urge you to keep an open mind. You know I’ve been working in the courts as a lawyer every bit of free time I have, ever since I came back from Hispania.”
“Of course. Your eloquent rhetoric there is adding to your already stellar reputation as a statesman,” Marcus cut in. “Plus, you’re winning bonus points with the populace by
going after the worst of the former offenders. Some just don’t know when to keep their mouths shut about what they do in their province and don’t deserve better than what they get from you. As expected as it is for a governor to bleed a province, there is still a fine line not to be crossed. Opportunities for future revenues need to stay intact, and uprisings need to be avoided at all cost,” Crassus replied.
I should have figured that this is how he views my work as a prosecutor. It’s always about business for him.
“Thank you. Did you know that my younger sister’s husband Marcus Atius Balbus is the nephew of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus? Balbus negotiated mutual support between Pompeius and myself for several court cases, and I started wondering about our long-term prospects. You have never gotten along with our great Pompeius, especially not since Sulla’s death, but could you imagine the possibilities if we would ally with him?”
Caesar held his breath. He felt relief at Crassus pondering the idea instead of outright dismissing it, so he continued. “He would only indirectly support us and the Populares for now while officially keeping both feet in the Optimates camp. The path to him switching sides starts at helping him fulfill his promise to his veterans to get rich lands in the east. His so-called friends in the Optimates faction have shut his senate proposal down twice, leaving him fuming—giving us this opening. If we promise to help him push that law through, he’ll join a long-term alliance. I’ll give him my Julia’s hand to cement it. She turned seventeen not long ago, and I am willing to break her current engagement if you agree to this.”
He watched Crassus’ face go from pensive to amused in a split second. “Pompeius is forty-seven now, right? Julia is young and beautiful. He will jump at the opportunity to marry her.” Caesar must have shown his pain at the thought of his daughter with the old man since Crassus paused to laugh in his face. “I just hope she will forgive you for this. Don’t look so downtrodden! You have to admit, the thought of him marrying your daughter is quite ironic. After all, he divorced his third wife because of the persistent rumors of her affair with you. Which I remember were quite true.”
Caesar smiled and looked out at the beautiful Latium countryside that so many wall painters tried to capture. I hope you will forgive me, dear daughter. In my mind, I am still the insecure young man running from Sulla in search of allies that can help me become safe and untouchable.
Crassus cut into his silence. “If we can form a lasting alliance with Pompeius, the three of us would be the most powerful political entity Rome has ever known. Think about it, you, the nobleman from impeccable family loved by the masses. Me, the adored hero of the slave uprising. Add the great Pompeius, the most successful general of our time and the man who finally rid the Mediterranean of Piracy. In only three months, with just two hundred seventy Roman galleys to boot. Together, nobody could stand in our way. Whatever we want to happen…”
“…will happen,” Caesar finished his sentence. They both grinned at each other. I knew you would bite. With this alliance I will never have to worry again.
Crassus stood up. “Let’s see what the others are up to, shall we? I need to keep Pulcher and young Antonius away from my prettier servants.”
Caesar laughed as he followed his ally to the villa.
695 AUC (59 BC), summer
Clusium, Etruria, Italia
“Lethie, I don’t know what do,” Velia Churinas said to her best friend. They sat on a settee, the single piece of furniture Lethie’s parents had gifted her for her new room a couple of floors up from the bakery. Velia was shaking from grief and impotent rage. “You know things have gone from bad to worse since my father’s death.” I couldn’t even pay for a funeral. I had to let them burn his body on the garbage pile outside the city walls like so much refuse.
She took a deep breath. “I tried to pay the weekly loan payment today, but Minatus refused to take my money. He said it needed to come from my father, or in his absence from his son.”
“That son of a mangy dog! May the gods curse all dishonest usurers,” Lethie replied in disgust. “Did you send your letter to Numerius?” Lethie asked.
Velia nodded. “I sent it off to Hispania yesterday with a trader, but it cost most of my remaining money. Which means I can’t buy enough grain now to keep the bakery going without taking from the loan payment I set aside.” Despite her attempts to talk him out of it, her brother had followed his friend Vibius to the legionary recruiters late last year, and the two had shipped out to Hispania after four months of basic training. Though Numerius had promised to figure out a way to send some money home, she had not received any news from him since his departure.
“I told him about our father’s death and the situation with Minatus. I just don’t know what he can do from Hispania besides send money. Which would be too late to help with whatever is going to happen.”
Lethie moved in close and hugged her friend. “I wish I could do something myself. My father has not been able to work for weeks since he fell ill. I am supporting him and my mother with every spare sesterce.”
“And it’s not like you have much to start with,” Velia replied. Her friend worked as a cook for a small eatery, dreaming of eventually running her own or becoming a personal chef for a wealthy family. Velia knew from her visits at the eatery how Lethie struggled with the unwanted advances of overly eager male customers frequently mistaking her for one of the two food servers that freely offered sexual services on the side. She finally let go of her friend and stood up. “I should go, you need to get ready for your dinner shift.”
Lethie nodded in thanks. “Good night, Velia.”
“See you tomorrow.” She left Lethie’s apartment and walked the stairs to the bakery’s side door at ground level. Once inside, she closed the door, hoping to keep this bad day from following her inside.
***
Two weeks later, Minatus filed her father’s loan as forfeit with the local magistrate on account of non-payment. His men confiscated all bakery utensils, handing her receipts for a handful of sesterces to count against the full debt. The remainder totaled eight hundred sesterces. The law said she was liable as the closest available relative to the deceased debtor. She had asked everyone she knew for help, but none of the people willing had enough money to make a difference. If legal help would be affordable I’d have a chance. I have never felt so helpless before.
And as of this morning she had acquired a shadow, somebody following her everywhere she went. The man had even introduced himself, apologizing for what he had to do in Minatus’s name, mainly ensuring that she would not run away, or gods forbid, take her own life. She currently walked back home from yet another attempt to secure a loan from different loan sharks in the city. If successful she could still legally pay off her debt and continue the bakery, but the man shadowing her was well known as Minatus’ man and none of the lenders wanted to cross him.
Her shadow followed her to Lethie’s door. She knocked without answer and went back downstairs to the backroom of the bakery where she closed the door, but the man shoved his foot in at the last moment to keep it open. “Sorry, I need to come inside with you,” he insisted before stepping inside. “I also urge you to collect your most important things. After we leave in the morning, you won’t be coming back.”
She had figured they would evict her from the bakery sooner or later. I just wish I could have let Lethie know!
She closed the door to the insula’s hallway before walking to the back of the room where she opened a small leather bag to pull out her parentes statues, carefully arranging them on the sideboard of her sleeping corner. She knelt and felt tears well up in her eyes. What will happen to me now?
She heard a cough behind her, making her turn her head. The man slid down a wall to sit on the floor while curiously staring at her. She closed her eyes, wishing the unwelcome intruder far away. “Vesta, goddess of the hearth, watch over this family,” she whispered. “Keep our spirits connected, so we can support each other.” I need all the help
I can get.
She took a deep and calming breath before opening her eyes and drawing two of her family figurines forward; roughly carved depictions of a male and a female figure representing the spirits of her mother and her father. She cleared her throat to speak loudly. “Father, Mother I hope you are watching. Please, please help me figure out what I can do!” When she tried to continue, her voice faltered, and she reverted to whispering. “If Minatus were an honest man, I would now run the bakery. As it’s going, I am sure he will sell me as a slave tomorrow.” She raised her hands up and hissed “Father, Mother, please help me!”
She heard a chortle from the man behind her. Her feeling of helplessness fell away, replaced by anger. Tears still streaming down her cheeks, she turned to stare at the man sitting on her floor. After a minute he finally stopped grinning in amusement and raised his hands in silent surrender. She turned back to the sideboard and moved the two statues back to pull a third forward.
“Numerius, hear me, wherever you are. I have never needed you as much as I do now. Please, please hear me! Don’t forget your little sister,” she screamed loudly into the ether.
She rolled her statues up in her shawl and laid down, clutching the bundle tightly. I know they are listening, yet I have never felt this alone in my life.
Wherever she would end up, she hoped her new owners would let her keep her parentes figures. Her family’s spirits were now her only comfort.
Illustration: Typical permanent Roman legion fort
695 AUC (59 BC), summer
Aquileia, Roman Province of Gallia Cisalpina
“Are we agreed?” Oz asked the camp prefect’s man.
“We are.” The men clasped arms in the Roman fashion to seal the deal. “You will get thirty custom cavalry shields for your turma, pricing as just discussed.”
