‘How are things here, Drusilla? You must be struggling with your deputy missing and so few others to help.’
‘My deputy has been removed – they said he shouldn’t be doing women’s work. They’ve given him an accounts job in the comptroller’s office. Poor Marcus, he hates it. Half the domestic staff were dismissed the day after the first consul moved in. The senior steward lost her job and her deputy who’s taken over keeps grumbling about managing the whole palace with only three of them. The imperatrix’s private secretary was kept on for two days and ordered to hand over all her files to the nats. They dismissed her two secretaries, then gave her the option of staying on as a typist. She told them to stuff it.’ She glanced around and bent her head towards me. ‘People are so frightened. The new chef is a hard, cruel man. He’s one of these Roman nationalists. He beat two of the younger girls yesterday just for spilling flour when they were making bread.’
‘Don’t worry, Drusilla, I have a worse one to deal with upstairs.’
She gave me a strange look.
‘But everybody knows you’re under the first consul’s protection.’
‘What do you mean, “protection”?’
‘All the security staff, and the heads of services have been forbidden to stop you going anywhere within the palace and none of them are allowed to touch you. I heard yesterday that that nasty piece of work Phobius wanted to flog you for cheeking him but the first consul said that if Phobius laid another finger on you, he, the first consul, would personally cut Phobius’s hand off. I know you sleep down here, but others draw different conclusions.’
Pluto in Tartarus. Not only did my comrades-in-arms think I was a collaborator but apart from Drusilla, nobody here, where I thought I could find some help, would come near me now because they thought I was Caius’s tart.
*
I took myself off around the palace to see if what Drusilla said was true. Whether from the remaining staff, military or the nats, resentful looks followed me. I escaped into the room where we’d held the imperial council meetings and where so many had died on the night of the fires. Autumn sun streamed in through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting diamonds of light through the glass onto the stone wall opposite. The purple velvet padded chairs were still strewn all over the room. Dark stains on the purple carpet could only be blood. Severina, Fabia, Tertullius Plico, Julian, Calavia senior, the brave Praetorians – all gone. Tears rolled down my face. I dropped into a chair and waited until I became calmer. I couldn’t allow myself to look weak in front of these brutal people who had usurped all we cared about. I closed the door softly as I left this sad and abandoned place an hour later.
In the side corridor, I looked to see if I could reach the tunnel entrance I’d pushed Silvia and Volusenia down on the night of the fires, but there were two guards at the corridor entrance. It didn’t mean Caius knew about the tunnels, but it was safer to assume he did.
Back in the vestibule, I was about to return downstairs to the domestic hall when I saw an elegant figure handing his coat to a steward.
‘Quintus. Oh, gods, I’m so pleased to see you.’
‘Aurelia. Are you well?’
He spoke in a measured, cool tone and looked over my shoulder as if he couldn’t bear to look at me.
‘Well? A prisoner, no, a virtual slave in this hell-hole, at your bastard brother’s beck and call?’ I shook my arm, letting the tunic sleeve fall back to reveal the tag and slave ring. ‘And considered a collaborator or a tart? Yes, I’m wonderful.’
He frowned, took my arm and led me back down the corridor to a small office strewn with abandoned files. In the corner, he opened a flush door ostensibly to a cupboard, but which led to another, smaller room for confidential work. He looked around, then lifted the desk lamp and examined the telephone. I shook my head.
‘There hasn’t been time to seed bugs everywhere,’ I said, ‘and not down to this level. You and I know this place inside out. Caius’s people won’t get down to this small office for weeks.’
He perched on the edge of the desk and crossed his arms.
‘Kindly explain exactly what you meant.’
I plumped myself down in the chair behind the desk and told him the whole story.
‘I see,’ Quintus said. ‘I apologise for my frosty greeting. Caius told me you had returned voluntarily and had reconciled with him. Apparently, you, too, had despised Severina and were ready to go along with his plans for the sake of Roma Nova.’
I leapt up. ‘Is that what people are saying? Dear gods, your brother knows how to twist everything, doesn’t he?’ I seized Quintus’s hand. ‘You must believe me. I only complied to save my comrades so they can come back to look for Silvia. Although Atrius looked in bad shape…’ I glanced at him. ‘You haven’t heard anything about Silvia, have you?’
‘Nothing. I had hoped she’d got away with you.’ He tapped his fingers on the peeling leather top of the desk. ‘I’m sure Caius hasn’t got her. He’d never be able to keep it to himself.’
‘Agreed. So the search must go on.’
‘What about you, Aurelia?’
‘Once I know they are safe, Caius can whistle.’
‘Be very careful, he doesn’t let anything go. He’s not stupid. Look how he’s outmanoeuvred you.’
‘But he doesn’t know why I’m doing it. He thinks I’ve given in.’ All the same, Quintus wasn’t entirely wrong. Everything I said, every public gesture I made was carefully choreographed by Caius. Through his threats, he’d pushed me into apparent dependence on him.
‘Why are you here, Quintus? I thought you hated him as much as I do.’
‘I’m going to try and get Conradus away from him.’ He sighed. ‘It’s unlikely, but as he’s so busy ruling the country, he might be distracted enough to hand the child over.’
‘I doubt it. Remember the words you spoke ten seconds ago about him not letting go. How is Conradus?’
‘Neglected, but the servants at Caius’s villa do at least feed him. But he runs wild and there is no one to love him. Last time I could get in, the little chap sobbed in my arms and they had to prise him off me when I left.’ His fists balled. ‘He’s such a sensitive child. I just hope he’s not been ruined for life.’
‘Are you safe, Quintus?’
‘So far. Mostly, Caius ignores me. I ignore him. I refuse to be afraid of him. I still hold my deputy praetor job, but how long that’ll last, I don’t know. Let me tell you, being Caius’s brother is no sinecure; few speak to me in the department now and those who do are either toadies wanting an introduction or true friends. The praetor urbanus, my chief, doesn’t know whether to be frosty or friendly. The office is half empty as the women magistrates and managerial staff have all been dismissed. Two young men, who know as much law as Cato’s cat, have appeared to fill two of their places. At present, we’re all very civilised and polite, pretending nothing’s happened.’
‘What’s it like in the city? I mean, how are people taking it?’
‘People were confused at first, but quite a number are pleased things have settled down. There’s the odd shuttered up shop here and there, and I’ve noticed women go around in groups on the streets, rather than in ones and twos. I was surprised when my clerk asked if her job was safe this morning. She hesitated, then asked if there was any possibility of taking her sister on – she’d just been chucked out of the vigiles. What I’m going to do with a former police shift leader, I don’t know.’ He sighed. ‘I have a horrible feeling this is just the beginning. It all seems normal out there despite the curfew and these bloody toga toughs. Mars, but they’re rude, shoving people off the street as if they own the place.’
‘I think they think they do. Caius’s sidekick, Phobius, struts around like a pompous ostrich, but he’s a vindictive little sod.’
Quintus uncrossed his arms and walked over to the filing cabinets, turned and l
eant back against them. ‘It’s intolerable the way he’s treating you. If I weren’t here for Conradus, I’d demand he release you. You know you’d be welcome at my house.’
‘Thank you, Quintus. You have no idea what a relief it is to talk to a rational human being. Caius is taking revenge and using me to manipulate others. Until now, I’ve complied because he threatened to execute my comrades-in-arms and send the Mitelae to his new work camps. He’s supposed to have released the two Praetorians across the border this morning.’
‘I’d have thought you’d be planning your escape.’
‘That’s moved to the top of the agenda today. It’s just a question of whether I can organise it before Caius snaps and finishes me. But then what happens to my cousins and household?’
He took my hand. ‘You know I’ll help if I can, but—’
‘No, you must concentrate on protecting the child.’
The tag buzzed and flashed.
‘My cue. You might as well come with me, Quintus.’
*
Caius was sitting on the sofa in a group of easy chairs by the tall windows. A large manila envelope and a number of small colour photos were scattered on the low table in the middle of the group of chairs. He looked up as we came through the doors and frowned when he saw Quintus.
‘What are you doing here?’
‘I’ve come to ask you a favour, brother to brother.’
‘Really?’ Caius snapped back. ‘Bad luck. I’ve exhausted my count of favours for today.’
Quintus looked at me. I shook my head.
‘In that case, I’ll call another day,’ Quintus said, ‘if, of course, it’s not too inconvenient.’ The irony seeped out of every word.
‘Make an appointment,’ Caius retorted. He glanced up at Quintus and shifted in his chair. Just for a moment, a fleeting moment, I felt sorry for Caius. Beside the hard-working and career-minded Quintus, who was universally described as ‘sound’, Caius looked shallow and undeveloped.
Quintus didn’t have a tenth of Caius’s undoubted charm and although he’d had a good education, he’d grown up in circumstances in their father’s house far more modest than the privileged and undisciplined Tella household headed by their redoubtable grandmother where Caius had been granted every expensive whim.
Rumour had it that the brothers, never close, had had a major falling out a few months ago and Quintus had beaten Caius unconscious. Neither had confirmed or denied it. Perhaps if Caius had had more discipline and less privilege, he might have trodden a straighter path and the brothers might have enjoyed a completely different relationship. Perhaps.
‘I will leave you to your, er, business,’ Quintus said. He took my hand, raised it and kissed the back of my fingers. ‘Look after yourself, Aurelia. It was a pleasure to see you, even in such difficult circumstances.’ He looked at Caius. ‘I’m sure my brother will ensure your welfare, won’t you, Caius?’
‘See yourself out, Quintus, and don’t meddle in my affairs.’
I swallowed hard as I watched Quintus leave; it was like the tide going out, leaving me high and dry on the beach.
XXXI
‘Fetch me a whisky and then sit down, Aurelia. And have the courtesy not to gather wool over my tiresome brother while I’m talking to you.’
I poured a double measure over ice and placed the tumbler on the table. Damn, I had obeyed him like a good servant without thinking about it. Had I been so well ‘trained’ in the past few days, then?
He sat up, gathered the photographs together and half threw them at me. They were a series of the instant self-developing type, washed-out colour, but I could clearly see Calavia and Atrius. In the first one, they were sitting in a train carriage and looking out of the window at the New Austrian border post. The next, they were walking up to the customs office and then they were through the border. The last showed them getting into a Vienna registered taxi on the New Austrian side.
‘Convinced?’
‘Thank you.’ Now I could relax a little and possibly claw back some of my dignity. ‘I’ve done as you’ve asked, Caius, and you’ve honoured our agreement. But now things must change. You have no right to treat me like a household skivvy at your beck and call. You’ve destroyed my reputation with my peers and colleagues and falsely increased your own. Most of the palace staff think I’m sleeping with you. This stops here. Put me on trial or let me go.’
‘Dear me, quite the little rebel speech. You’ve been very useful to me these past few days, Aurelia. The answer is no.’ He looked me up and down, then brought his gaze back to my face and half closed his eyes. ‘Sleeping with me? Now there’s a thought.’
‘No.’
‘You wouldn’t be disappointed, Aurelia. And when was the last time you had sex? You must miss it without your gypsy to service you.’
‘You’re revolting.’
‘Merely stating the obvious.’
‘You can’t force me. I refuse.’
‘We’ll see. In the meantime, we continue as we are.’
‘No, I will not cooperate any longer.’
‘Let me show you some more photos that might help you change your mind.’
Oh gods, what did he have now? I couldn’t save everybody. The only way to do that was to get rid of Caius. And after his off-colour suggestion, that was a more attractive course of action than merely escaping. But he was almost always guarded.
He passed me the manila envelope. My hands trembled as I drew out three black and white photographs. Taken from a distance, so probably surveillance, my analytical mind told me. When I turned them the right way up, there was no mistaking the young woman’s identity. Marina. She was huddled up against William Brown and they were coming out of a hospital. Even though the image was blurred, she looked as though she was crying her heart out.
‘Read the letters,’ he said.
I tipped out two envelopes with EUS stamps and New Hampshire postmarks. The sender’s name was ‘M. Brown’. How strange that looked. They were addressed to me at Domus Mitelarum and had been opened.
‘How did you get hold of these?’
‘Really, Aurelia, don’t be so naive.’
‘Now you’re intercepting private post – how is that a sign of “fair” rule?’
‘Be careful. Just read your letters.’
Marina chattered on in her usual style, mostly about her new house and going shopping for curtains and clothes, and towards the end, she wrote, …oh, I’m going to have a baby.
I nearly dropped the letter. ‘Oh, that’s wonderful news. I must phone at once to congratulate—’ I caught Caius’s eyes watching me. ‘No, I suppose it won’t be possible.’
‘Read the second one.’
I took it out of its envelope. The paper was curled as if it had been damp, then dried out. Inside were two pages of sadness, rage and tears. She’d lost the baby. Gods, I needed to be with my daughter now. When I’d miscarried my unborn child thirteen years ago due to this brutal man opposite me, I’d nearly died inside. The injury had closed off any hope of conceiving another. He knew nothing of the devastation, nor could he even imagine it. And nor would he care if he could.
‘Caius, please let me go to her.’
‘That’s not possible.’
‘I will promise to stay in the EUS and not come back to Europe. Please.’
‘No.’
‘You’re a complete bastard.’
He said nothing, but lit a cigarette and took a sip of his drink. After a few minutes, he said, ‘You can telephone her, but I will listen. And the second you say anything I don’t like, I will cut the call. Understood?’
I stood at his desk while he pushed the zero key for the palace switchboard and instructed the operator. He didn’t ask me for the Browns’ ex-directory number; he already knew it. That was unnerving. And why had he allowed me to make the call? I
couldn’t follow his thought processes. When it rang back, he stretched his arm out with the handset, which I grabbed. He pressed the loudspeaker button.
‘Hello?’ All I heard was a ring tone, then clicks just before the call was answered. Somebody was listening in and recording this.
‘William? It’s Aurelia.’
‘Thank God. We’ve left several messages on the answerphone. Are you all right?’
‘I’ve just received Marina’s latest letter. I’m so, so sorry.’
‘Speak to Marina herself, why don’t you?’
‘Hello, darling.’
‘Oh, Mama,’ she sobbed down the phone.
‘I know, truly, I do. You’ll feel better in a few weeks’ time. You’re young, so another baby will come along. Try not to fret.’
More sobbing. Caius raised an eyebrow and looked at his watch. I glowered at him. ‘I only have another minute. Give yourself time to recover and eat properly. You have all my love. You know that, Marina. Now put William on again, please.’
‘Make her rest,’ I said, ‘and please don’t worry about us here. We’re…we’re fine,’ I lied.
‘You expect me to believe that?’ William replied.
‘Not really, but all will be well. Eventually.’
Then Caius jabbed the hook and cut the call.
I stared at the handset I was gripping, then looked up at his face. He was frowning and his faced flushed dark pink with anger.
‘That’s the last phone call you’ll make.’ He slammed the flat of his hand on his desk.
‘What did you expect me to say? I kept it as neutral as I could.’
‘Not enough.’
‘You can’t make things happen exactly as you want all the time, Caius. That’s how life works.’ My poor child, distraught after losing her own child, was breaking apart while this stupid man was having a tantrum about a few words that nobody would believe anyway.
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