‘And have you noticed what happens to people who refuse her?’
‘They end up either dead or banished.’
‘And you still think you will be able to say: “That’s it, no more, Messalina; I shan’t open my legs for you again”?’
‘She loves Britannicus and values the friendship that he has with Titus; she won’t harm me if I refuse to “open my legs” for her.’
‘Well, you won’t refuse; you will carry on as before.’
‘What, in Mother Isis’ name, do you mean?’
Vespasian found himself cooling in the face of her obvious confusion. ‘Flavia, you weren’t asked to move into the palace as a favour or an honour to me or you; quite the reverse: Claudius was manoeuvred into extending the invitation to you by someone who wanted vengeance on me, someone who wanted to scare me by showing how much power he could have over my family.’
‘Who would do a thing like that?’
‘Messalina’s brother.’
‘Corvinus? But he’s so polite to me; he’s even taken Titus on his knee on the few times that he’s visited.’
Vespasian shivered at the image. ‘He fully intended to harm you and still might. We are not safe. Somehow he knows of your relationship with Messalina and he wants to use it to his advantage; and to be frank, we’d be stupid if we didn’t take advantage of it ourselves.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘I mean that the tide has turned against Messalina and she is not long for this world. Corvinus is conspiring against her and if he adds his weight to Narcissus and Pallas they will soon persuade Claudius how worthless she is; but to do that they need someone close to her to report her activities and, if possible, her plans.’
Flavia put her hands to her chest. ‘Me?’
‘Yes, my dear, you. You are to act as if nothing is wrong; you’ll tell her that just because I’m back doesn’t mean that you should deprive each other of – what was the word she used? – ah yes, each other’s nectar. You’ll kiss her sweetly and moan at her touch and listen to all her stories. If Narcissus agrees to Corvinus’ proposal then he will reveal what she’s planning and it will be down to you to keep us informed of the progress. If we’re part of bringing her down we’ll gain tremendously from it.’
‘You’re asking me to whore myself for our political gain.’
‘No, Flavia, it’s not whoring, any more than sleeping with another woman is cuckolding your husband. You just said so. This is business. It may be business that I would rather not be involved in, but seeing as your affair with this harpy has dragged us into imperial politics it seems to me that the best thing that we can do is try to survive and come out with credit.’
Flavia slumped down onto a couch. ‘How am I supposed to act naturally with her when I’m part of a plot to bring her down?’
‘I’m sure you’ll manage; you were quite prepared to lie to me just now and pretend you had been faithful. If it helps, try to remember that this woman has already caused the deaths of over a hundred senators and equestrians, the latest one being Asiaticus. There will be many more if she stays in power and I may well be one of them if I refuse the advances that she made to me yesterday.’
‘She wouldn’t harm you, you’re under my protection.’
‘Under your protection! Flavia, just who are you trying to delude?’ Vespasian scoffed. ‘However, whilst we’re in a position to take advantage of your relationship with Messalina, we should try and make some money out of it.’
‘But we’re already in her debt.’
‘I’m now in a position to pay that off and retrieve the debt marker, which will release us from any obligation to her for the moment. However, it would be a shame if she was to cross the Styx and we didn’t owe her money; so when the time draws near you will ask her for another loan, twice the amount. Tell her that it’s without my knowledge so you’d appreciate it if it was just a private agreement between the two of you.’
‘So that there’s no record of it when she dies?’
‘Exactly; without the debt marker we get to keep the money and you’ll see some reward for all your hard work.’
‘Vespasian, don’t put it like that, that’s not fair.’
‘How else can I put it? You’re going to get money out of her because you have sex with her.’
‘What if she refuses?’
‘Do whatever you must to make sure that she doesn’t and you’ll find me a little better disposed towards you. If not you’ll find me extremely well disposed towards Caenis, who’s offered to lend me the full amount to pay off your original debt.’
‘Don’t start playing me off against her after I’ve been so understanding about the situation, Vespasian, I beg you.’
Vespasian paused and drew breath, contemplating his wife’s pained expression. With a conciliatory nod of the head and a half-smile he held out a hand. ‘You’re right, my dear, that was unbecoming of me. Just do your best.’
Flavia took the peace gesture and held it to her cheek. ‘I will, husband; and I’m sorry, I was weak and I didn’t think about the consequences of what I was doing.’
Vespasian cupped her face in his hand. ‘It’ll all be fine if you play your part over the next few months or however long it takes. Now I wish to see the children.’
‘Of course, husband, and whilst you do that I’ll make the arrangements to dispose of whichever of my girls drew the long straw; we can’t afford to have the slaves snooping—’
A knock at the door interrupted her.
‘Enter.’
The door opened to reveal Cleon the steward.
‘What is it?’
‘Caenis has sent a message for the master. The imperial secretary will see him at the fourth hour.’
‘I don’t suppose you had to pay for the privilege of such a quick appointment,’ Narcissus observed as Vespasian was shown into his office, ‘at least not financially.’ A rare trace of a humorous smile graced his lips and he indicated the chair on the opposite side of his desk.
‘We all use what we have to gain advantage, imperial secretary.’ Vespasian sat and adjusted his toga, conscious of Narcissus’ penetrating gaze.
‘And what advantage are you trying to gain? Be quick because I’m leaving for Ostia with the Emperor to inspect progress on the new port.’
‘I’m here to offer you a way into Messalina’s plans and thoughts.’
‘I already have access to them.’
‘Access through kin and lovers or just through the titbits picked up by spies?’
‘Only the latter, I’ll admit.’
‘Well, I can give you the former.’
Narcissus steepled his hands and tapped his forefingers against his pursed lips, studying Vespasian intently. ‘At what price?’ he asked eventually.
‘At no cost to you personally.’
‘What do you want?’
‘I’ve got three requests. The person who offers their services has come to me to broker a meeting between you both as they are naturally wary of contacting you directly for fear of Messalina’s agents. This person is prepared to give you information that’ll help you bring down Messalina in return for their life. I want you to charge them for access to you and give me half the fee of two hundred and fifty thousand denarii.’
‘That’s a lot of money.’
‘Which they will be willing to pay if it buys them their life.’
‘Granted. And if you set up the meeting and I don’t pass on my share to you?’
‘I will get the money off them in advance and give you your share before the meeting.’
‘And if I take the money but don’t bother with the meeting?’
‘Then you won’t have access to Messalina’s private pillow talk.’
‘None of her lovers is going to be foolish enough to admit sleeping with her to me, even though I have a list of some of them already. There’ll be a lot of executions when she falls.’
‘I imagine that once Claudius finally believes in his wife
’s infidelity then he’ll want any man who slept with her punished.’
‘Impossible, we’d lose most of the Senate, the command structure of the Praetorian Guard and a goodly amount of the normal citizenry who frequent the brothel that she whores in when she fancies it rougher than usual. But certainly her more regular lovers will die; he won’t pardon them.’
‘But if I were Claudius I think that I might be able to pardon a woman – if she was even to come to my attention in the first place.’
Narcissus leant forward, genuinely interested. ‘A woman, you say? I know she has sessions with men and women together but I’m not aware of a female lover.’
‘A lover of two years’ standing; a regular lover to whom Messalina talks intimately.’
‘Information from that source would be priceless. Are you sure that you can deliver it and that it would be trustworthy?’
‘Yes, Narcissus, because that lover is also my wife.’
For the first time in their relationship Vespasian was aware that he had actually surprised Narcissus. He watched the freedman’s eyes widen a fraction and his steepled hands fall to the desk.
‘Now that was something that I confess I was not aware of.’
‘Well, it’s true; Flavia has just admitted it to me.’
‘And you are willing that this, er, arrangement carries on?’
‘As a favour to you, yes.’
‘And what favour would you ask in return?’
‘My second request is just as simple.’ Vespasian took a scroll from the fold of his toga. ‘Do you know the slave-trader, Theron?’
Narcissus thought for a few moments, trawling through the vast amounts of information stored in his head. ‘He has a licence to purchase captives in Britannia, doesn’t he?’
‘That’s right.’ Vespasian unrolled the scroll and placed it on the desk between them. ‘This is a contract that I had with him that gave him exclusive rights to the pick of prisoners in return for a percentage of their end sale price. He’s refusing to honour it.’
Narcissus picked up the document and perused it. ‘Because he thinks that you won’t take him to court as it shows you being, shall we say, a bit too Republican in these days of the Emperor?’
‘That’s what he’s gambling on but I didn’t get him to sign a contract so that I could take him to court; I did it for precisely a time like this. Everything was done legally; the Emperor got his purchase tax in Britannia and I would assume that Theron was not stupid enough to avoid paying the sales tax here in Italia.’
‘Very commendable. So what do you want me to do?’
‘Revoke his licence for Britannia, ban him from conducting business in Italia and make it clear to him that unless he honours his debt to me and pays a premium of another hundred per cent of the amount, he will never have the chance of favour from you again.’
Narcissus raised his eyebrows. ‘You set a high price on your wife’s virtue.’
‘I just intend to benefit from a situation that is not to my liking.’
‘Very well; I’ll have Caenis summon this Theron for a little chat as soon as I get back from Ostia.’
‘I have men following him to find out where he’s staying; I’ll give the address to her.’
‘Very good. To show my good faith in this matter, that business will be concluded by the time I meet with Messalina’s mystery relation. How will we manage that?’
‘We’ll be on the steps of the Temple of Jupiter at Plautius’ Ovation. Look out for us; the meeting will be as if by accident as he doesn’t want to risk the—’
‘“He”?’
‘What?’
‘You’ve been careful with the sex of your kinsperson, I was assuming that it was because it was a woman; perhaps one of her cousins, like Vipstania, the sister of the Vipstanus Messalla brothers.’
‘Knowing the way that imperial politics works, I was just keeping as much information to myself as possible.’
Narcissus inclined his head and spread his hands. ‘You’ve learnt well.’
‘I’ve learnt from the masters.’
‘I’ll take that as a compliment.’ Narcissus got to his feet, indicating that the interview was at an end. ‘I will look out for you at the Ovation. My guess is that you will be accompanied by Lucius Vipstanus Messalla; I’ve heard that he’s disaffected because I blocked his consulship next year and Messalina couldn’t persuade Claudius to overrule me. Perhaps he wants me to unblock it in return for his cousin’s life.’
Vespasian kept his face neutral as he rose. ‘Perhaps, Narcissus.’
‘I would like to think it was Corvinus, but that would be too good to be true: you and him working together; I don’t think that you’ve come that far yet. But nothing should surprise one in imperial politics.’
Vespasian shrugged non-committally. ‘Before I go there is the matter of my third request, which I believe is the hardest of the three.’
‘Go on.’
‘When all this is over I want you to persuade Claudius to allow me to remove my family from the palace. If he wishes that Titus is still educated with Britannicus then he can come on a daily basis, but I have to get Flavia out before she spends all my money or compromises me again.’
Narcissus picked up Theron’s contract. ‘You are asking a lot of me.’
‘I’m giving a lot to you.’
‘If I get everything that you’ve promised then I’ll see to it.’
‘Thank you, imperial secretary,’ Vespasian said, turning to go. For the first time in his political career he did not feel out of his depth. He walked to the door with an accelerating heart and allowed himself a satisfied smile only after he closed it behind him.
CHAPTER XVII
THE PEOPLE OF Rome had begun to congregate along the route of the Ovation well before dawn; now, at the commencement of the third hour, the centre of the city swelled with the populace bent on watching the spectacle and benefiting from the largesse that would accompany it. Every street was crammed and every vantage point had been taken along the circular route from the Porta Triumphalis – the gate at the foot of the Quirinal Hill only opened for a Triumph or an Ovation – along the Via Triumphalis, then around the base of the Palatine, in the shadow of the Temple of Apollo, along to the Circus Maximus, back up to the Via Sacra and then into the Forum Romanum.
Vespasian walked with Gaius and Sabinus, amongst the senators as they processed, in the growing heat, from the Curia to assemble in the shadow of the Servian Walls. Here they would greet Aulus Plautius as he returned to Rome to give up his command officially and celebrate a lesser Triumph through the graciousness of his Emperor.
‘Where’s Claudius?’ Vespasian asked Gaius, looking towards the head of the procession, led by the two outgoing Consuls each preceded by their twelve lictors.
‘I’ve no idea, dear boy, but I presume that he’s going to make the day his own. There’s no precedent in these modern times for the conduct of an Ovation for a man not of the imperial family; Claudius can do just what he wants.’
Sabinus wiped the sweat from his cheeks with a handkerchief. ‘Don’t you mean he can do just what his freedmen want?’
‘It comes to the same thing, dear boy.’
The Senate arrived at the Triumphal Gate and lined the street on either side; the crowd quietened and a sense of expectation hung in the air filled with the aromas of roasting meats and baking bread from the kitchens set up to feed the spectators throughout the day and on into the night. A booming series of knocks on the gates prompted the Consuls to step forward and unbolt them as the first fanfare of massed bucinae, cornua and tubae rang out from the head of the parade, waiting on the Campus Martius beyond the walls. Slowly the gates swung open to the thunderous cheering of the populace and the lead horn players processed through with unhurried dignity.
Rank upon rank of musicians slow-marched into the city, their horns blaring out a repetitive, ponderous tune, and their feet moving in time to the measured beat of resounding drums tha
t was taken up by the chanting and clapping of the crowd.
Following them came wagons laden with booty drawn by lumbering oxen that had no trouble keeping up with the pace. Files of shackled, matted-haired prisoners punctuated the inanimate plunder, their overseers cracking their whips in unison over their filthy backs in bizarre accompaniment to the music. Cart upon cart, file upon file of the spoils of war were driven into Rome and her citizens cheered every one.
‘The odd thing is,’ Gaius commented, ‘I seem to remember most of these bigger pieces of booty from Claudius’ Triumph.’
‘It’s very kind of the Emperor to share his spoils with the man who won them for him,’ Vespasian observed as the first of the floats carrying tableaus depicting scenes from the invasion came trundling in; each had a figure representing Plautius in a heroic pose amongst cowering Britons but each also had a depiction of Claudius, much idealised, placed higher and more prominently and vanquishing more foes. Interestingly, for Vespasian, none of the tableaus specifically depicted Caratacus. He had heard no news of the rebel Britannic King since leaving the infant province; it was as if he had just disappeared. Nevertheless, Vespasian suspected that his resistance was still as bloody and resolute as ever but Rome’s masters had decided not to trouble Rome’s citizens with the details – especially on this day. The sight of druids, however, even though they were represented as almost comedic caricatures, gore-splattered, wreathed in mistletoe and brandishing bloody, golden sickles, brought a chill to his heart as if it had again been squeezed by the hand of the Lost Dead. As they passed, Vespasian muttered a prayer of thanks that he would never have to face such horrors again.
Following the floats were the four white bulls destined as gifts for Rome’s guardian god in thanks for yet another victory. Beribboned and unblemished they plodded along, led by tethers, slowly tossing their heads and lowing as they went. Then came the weapons and the standards of the defeated chieftains followed by the men themselves and their bedraggled families. Some Vespasian recognised as men he had conquered in his push west; amongst them he spied Judoc, looking very much the worse for wear after his spell in his own tin mines. Unable to resist gloating he jeered at the treacherous chieftain of the Cornovii sub-tribe but as he did the cry was strangled in his throat. He pulled at his brother’s sleeve. ‘Look, Sabinus,’ he said pointing to a man just behind Judoc.
Masters of Rome: VESPASIAN V (Vespasian 5) Page 32
