Knight of Rome Part II

by Malcolm Davies

  Clodia Albus had decided it would be a good thing if Lollia were to marry Otto and enlisted the tactical and logistical support of Sabina. They began their campaign to make it happen without enquiring if the potential bride and groom would be happy with each other. In truth, they had no need to do so. The looks passing between the young pair said enough. Vitius and Sabina hosted a dinner to which the Albus family and Otto were invited. For reasons neither mother could understand, Poppaea and Lollia insisted on going to look at Ursus, the Molossian hound, before they entered the dining room. Like well-mannered Roman girls, they sat at the foot of their parent’s couches throughout the meal, not speaking unless spoken to.

  “It seems from all I hear, Otto Longius, that you are a young man without fault, a very paragon…” Clodia said.

  “True, if you do not count his eccentric taste in household slaves.” Sabina responded. “They are really, shall we say, an “unusual” sight?.”

  “How so, Otto Longius?” Clodia asked, suddenly wary. Was his household composed of tattooed barbarians or dancing girls and ex-gladiators?

  “My people were unwanted; unfortunates who needed only an opportunity to live with dignity,” Otto responded, uncomfortable at the direction the conversation was taking.

  “Noble, I am sure but why were they unwanted in the first place? Surely there must have been something unpleasantly wrong with them?” Clodia asked.

  She and Sabina shared a complicit smile at the undoubted naivety of this young man in taking on wiser people’s discards. Otto bridled and flashed an irritated look at her. For the first time, Clodia saw the stare that Sabina had mentioned. She shivered.

  “I have an excellent cook called Tullia. She was burnt on part of her face and one arm when hot oil flared up on her. She was sold by her owners because they no longer liked the look of her. She has a little son, Pollux. When I bought her he was dying. Now he chatters and toddles about the place. Didia my housemaid was raped by a cruel master and flung onto the slave market by an even crueller mistress. Libius, an educated, thoughtful man, fell deaf after an illness three years ago. He was beaten about the head and face for not being able to respond to orders quickly enough. He is my gardener and decorates the walls of my home. Oh, and my major-domo is an ex-legionary called Felix who limps because a German battle-axe smashed his left leg. After he was discharged as medically unfit, he became attached to me and my dearest friend Lucius Longius. Felix was awarded a gold chain for courage by acclamation of his comrades and a medal for his part in the defence of our besieged camp. These are the folk of my household. None of them are slaves, I freed them all. I will not support slavery where I can avoid it.”

  “But if everyone did as you, the whole system would fall apart; it would be dreadful,” Clodia exclaimed.

  “It would not,” Otto replied. “It would be better. My people can leave my service if they are unhappy or if I do not treat them fairly. This makes me try to be a better man. And I am not the one who is frightened of having my throat cut in the night by some desperate slave abused or flogged into madness.”

  “How could society function without slaves, Otto? What a ridiculous idea!,” Sabina suggested.

  “The wealthy would be poorer by the wages they had to pay the people who worked for them and richer in humanity because they would no longer be free to act viciously and cruelly on a whim.”

  Lollia’s eyes were shining in admiration. Aelia caught her glance and nodded at her in approval.

  “I didn’t know we had a philosopher in our company,” Julius said, trying to change the subject before things became even more controversial.

  “I am no philosopher, sir. I see the world as it is but I do not have to accept everything upon it.

  Otto decided he would return the hospitality he had received and ask Julius Albus, Clodia and Lollia to attend as well.

  “We shall have to find a catering company who can bring the food in for the feast….” he began.

  “Bring food in? What am I, then, a scullery maid? Tell me how many guests and the date you want to hold the party and I’ll cook your feast in a proper manner, not like some greasy caterer with rats and roaches all over his kitchen!” Tullia scolded him.

  “Alright, alright, you shall cook but I don’t know what to do about having ladies here if they need to…”

  “You put a table with a mirror and a basin of clean water on it in a side room. You provide a chamber pot or two behind a screen and some towels That’s how it’s done, sir.” Didia told him.

  “Why can’t they just go to the jakes like the rest of us?” Felix asked.

  “Oh yes,” Tullia said. “In the middle of dinner one of them is going to stand up and ask, “Where’s the jakes then? I need a piss.” That’s very polite that is, I don’t think.”

  “Well I didn’t know,” Felix grumbled.

  “No, you didn’t, so perhaps you and the master should leave it to them as does.”

  They scrubbed and polished the villa until it shone. They hired couches and a flautist. They garlanded the dining room with flowers. Tullia cooked roasted capons and quail in honey. She stewed a brace of hares in red wine with pine nuts. There was fruit, cheese, freshly baked bread, steamed vegetables, bowls of garum and Falernian wine. A side room was tastefully decorated with vases of blooms, a table and chair set against one wall and the modesty screen placed across a corner.

  When everything was laid out and the visitors due to arrive, Otto thanked his small staff with a beaming face. He had not completely believed it was possible that they could transform his house as they had done. He was delighted and it showed. They glowed under the appreciation and it was a happy home that greeted the first to arrive. Didia led the ladies away to refresh themselves leaving Otto, Vitius and Julius waiting their return before going in to dine.

  Otto took a deep breath, went red, then pale and spoke in an unnaturally loud voice.

  “Julius Albus, sir, I admire your daughter Lollia Albus and I would like to offer her marriage.”

  “Otto Longius, that strikes me as a very good plan. I accept your offer.”

  “You do?” Otto asked in genuine surprise. He had prepared complicated arguments, sure that Julius would be reluctant.

  “Of course I do. You’re a grand match for her and her mother will be very pleased.”

  “But what about Lollia?”

  “What about her? She’ll do as she’s told.”

  At that moment, the ladies returned, escorted by Didia who would leave them at the dining room door but be ready to attend to any needs they might have later.

  “Wife, daughter,” Julius said, without any preamble. “The Equestrian Otto Longius has asked for Lollia in marriage. I have consented.”

  Clodia took Lollia’s hand and brought her forward. “Kiss Otto Longius, my dear,” she instructed. Lollia kissed him, briefly and blushed. “There, now you are betrothed. We shall get the contract drawn up as soon as possible.”

  Otto was elated. As far as he was concerned, Felix and Libius preformed the duties of butler and waiter to perfection, the food Tullia presented was the Ambrosia of the Gods, and the flute music better than anything he had ever heard. Now he could look at Lollia openly, he could talk with her, he could show her around his home, soon to be hers, accompanied by her mother for the sake of propriety. Lollia told Tullia her dinner had been superb and that she hoped she would want to cook for them after she and her master were married. She asked Didia to be sure to stay on as she was such an excellent lady’s maid. She made herself pleasant to Libius, as best she could, and to Felix.

  The Albus family left first. Otto handed Clodia and Lollia into their carriage, was kissed again, by both of them and watched them rattle off into the distance. Sabina cried and kissed him, Poppaea blushed and pecked his cheek. Aelia took his hand and looked up into his eyes.

  “You have chosen well, Otto. Lollia Albus will prove to be the wife you need to complete your life. Cherish her. She thinks she loves you becaus
e she is young and full of dreams; make sure she has reason to love you truly when you are one. To have an advantageous marriage where, in addition, the young couple have warm feelings for each other is a true blessing.”

  The contract was written and signed. Lollia came with five thousand denarii, her jewels, her clothes and a set of bedroom furniture suitable for a lady’s boudoir. Otto had consulted Aelia about suitable gifts for her mother and father. For his bride he had something special; the gold cup given to him by the late General Drusus now called Germanicus. On the Ides of May, the priest cut the white kid’s throat and examined its guts. The omens were favourable; the priest always said when they were at a wedding. Why disappoint people and lose a generous tip? Most of them would only marry anyway and live to regret it or otherwise. Lollia came to him wearing a saffron coloured veil and matching shoes over a white dress. He carried her over the threshold and they feasted with her family and his friends. Their wedding night was satisfactory. Both of them were virgins but neither had any inhibitions about sex or any other bodily functions. They came together naturally, explored each other and enjoyed their mutual pleasure without guilt.

  For a week or two, Otto treated Lollia as if she was fragile and might easily break. Then he came to realise she was strong, bold and quite capable of looking after herself. She told him she could ride but had been forbidden to do so. Her mother had been afraid she would break her hymen. That was no longer of any concern. Her legs were long enough for her to ride Otto’s grey gelding. Wearing boots and a tunic with her hair tied back under a straw hat, Lollia roamed the estate lands and hillsides for miles around with Otto beside her riding Djinn. She asked him to teach her how to use a sword and a lance and he was happy to indulge her. Otto found he had two wives. The demure Lollia with her face and hair covered by a veil when they went into the city to call on their friends or her mother visited. The other was the free spirit galloping her horse and laughing beside him or sweating as she thrust and parried with a short sword in the privacy of their walled courtyard. She was like the Roman ladies he saw all around him in public; when alone, she was like one of the powerful, confident women of the northlands he had known as a boy.

  She was happy to have a husband who was strong enough to allow her to be herself but respected the conventions in public for both their sakes. The only cloud on her horizon was quickly blown away. Her mother and Sabina had spoken to her about the household staff.

  “A deaf man? A scarred cook and that limping old soldier? You must make your husband find you some more suitable slaves. It won’t do to be talked about you know,” Clodia told her.

  “Be clever, though; don’t come straight out with it, my dear,” Sabina added. “Men are easily manipulated but confrontation seldom achieves anything with them.”

  “Tullia is an excellent cook, her little boy is lovely. Didia is a skilful hairdresser and Libius, the “deaf man”, is teaching me how to draw and paint flowers. Limping Felix is a war hero. No, I like things as they are but thank you both for the advice.”

  “For your own good, you really must make some changes….”

  “Mother, Lady Sabina, I believe I am the mistress of this house. It will be run as I choose…”

  They said no more to her on the subject. Lollia did not repeat the conversation to Otto but did speak to Aelia about it.

  “You were right to stand up to them, Lollia. You must let them know you are in charge. In any case, I agree with Otto; it must be better to be served by free people than slaves.”

  Their idyll lasted the summer. Long days of spending each moment together; riding in the cool morning air, swimming in the green depths of the river and drying in the warm air of secluded glades; dozing, limbs intertwined, under the arbour on hot afternoons hearing the crickets chirruping all around them. Then there were their nights. It was as near to perfection as possible but it came to an end one day in September.

  An Imperial Courier, cantered into their courtyard on a foam-flecked horse.

  “You are the Prefect Otto Longius?” he demanded.

  “Former prefect,” Otto replied.

  The courier made no remark but handed a leather scroll case out of his satchel. The wax was sealed with the Sphinx of Augustus. Otto signed the receipt and began to offer rest and water but the horseman shook his head and rode off as quickly as he had arrived. Otto opened the scroll.

  “To the Prefect Otto Longius. You are to attend the Emperor in Rome. Leave Luca as soon as you receive this. Your permit to use the Imperial Relay Stations is enclosed.

  Menities”

  No greetings, no friendly aside; an order and one clearly to be obeyed without the slightest hesitation. Otto passed it over to Lollia.

  “What can it mean? It’s very cold; have you done something wrong?” She was picking up the same impression as he had. “It doesn’t say the “former” or “ex” prefect. Do you think he knows you have resigned?”

  “The Emperor gets to know everything, sooner or later. Lollia, you understand I must leave straight-away? You had better go back to your father’s house…”

  “No.”

  “For your security, please?”

  “No. I’m closer to the city here. I have Felix and Libius on hand. I’ll be safe enough.”

  “As a Roman husband I can insist that you obey me.”

  “You can but I’ll never forgive you.”

  Felix drove Otto into Luca where he stopped at the barracks to pick up a post-horse.

  “I’ll keep an eye on your house while you’re away. Good luck,” Massus said.

  The Emperor kept his head down examining a document in the same room where Otto been given his first audience.

  “Why aren’t you in uniform, Prefect Longius?” Augustus growled after letting Otto wait a long time, becoming more nervous by the minute.

  “I am no longer a prefect, sir. I resigned,” he replied.

  “Resigned? Who gave you the right to resign? Eh? Did I say you could, eh?” Augustus almost shouted. Otto was so shocked he could not speak. “Come on, answer. You look as scared as a man giving an elephant a penny bun for the first time. I’ll answer for you. No-one. No-one said you could walk away from your duty and your emperor on a whim…”

  “But, sir… Otto began, piqued at the unfair direction this interview was taking.

  “Don’t dare interrupt. Listen. You are a prefect until I say otherwise. Spoken with Rufus Vulso Soranus, know what went on. It enrages me. Battle-hardened legion where I want it for home defence and in a year, officers and best part of the men who served on the frontier are gone. Who replaced them? Cousins, brothers-in-law, political allies. Disgraceful. I dream of restoring the old Republic of Rome but I am thwarted. Intrigue, petty corruption everywhere. You are an Imperial Military Prefect appointed by your Emperor. You have responsibility for the city garrisons of Pisae, Luca and Spedia. Salary twenty, no eighteen thousand denarii, permanent mounted escort of six. Second ‘em out of The Second Lucan cavalry to be maintained at the legion’s expense. I require your commission read out to the assembled officers and men before you pick who you want. That’s it, off with you.”

  Otto saluted and marched towards the door. Augustus called after him.

  “You are my man, Otto Longius, not the army’s. I will have work for you in the future. Best wishes on your marriage. Menities has my gift to your bride as well as your paperwork.”

  Otto thanked him, but the Emperor waved him away and returned to his scroll.

  Massus stood at the head of a guard of honour as Otto rode back into Luca. They came to attention and saluted as he stepped down off his tired horse.

  “Greetings Imperial Military Prefect Longius,” the centurion said with a broad smile.

  “How did you know?”

  “Courier. Will you be wanting to inspect the men and the barracks now?”

  “Very funny; I just want to get home. Oh, one thing, I am to have an escort. Can you accommodate six troopers and their mounts?”


  “Yes, no problems with the men, the horses will be a tight fit but we’ll manage, no doubt, sir.”

  “Centurion Massus, is the “siring” going to be necessary?”

  “In front of the men, absolutely necessary, sir!”

  Lollia opened the package Otto had brought her all the way from Rome. She unrolled the scroll inside and read.

  “To the Lady Lollia Longius. Greetings.

  Best wishes on your marriage to my esteemed Imperial Military Prefect Otto Longius. May good health and prosperity be yours and your children’s.

  Augustus.

  She held it up and showed it to Otto, wide-eyed. “It’s from the Emperor. I’ve got a letter from Emperor Augustus!”

  “Yes, what has he given you for your wedding present?”

  She prised open the lid of a carved onyx box sitting among the wrappings. It contained a pair of earrings. Each one was a delicate cage of gold filigree holding a pearl as large as her little fingernail. She held them up and was about to put them on when Otto asked her to wait and called in their servants.

  They looked a little apprehensive as they lined up but Lollia’s radiant face reassured them.

  “You all know I was called away to Rome; well, I have come back with good news. Our Emperor has appointed me to his staff. I am a military officer once more. He has also sent a marriage gift to Lady Lollia. Didia, help your mistress,” Otto ordered. Didia came forward and threaded the gold wires through the piercings in Lollia’s earlobes. “In view of the good fortune that has come to this house, I am increasing your salaries by one quarter as of today. If we perform our duties as best we can, we will give the Gods reason to continue to favour us.”