Bedrock of Empire

by Thomas M D Brooke

  I clapped my hands. ‘Perfect, we can sign over the gold to you straight away!’

  Livianus held up his hands. ‘No, no, I won’t hear of it. This is for Augustus’ grandson after all. Call it a gift. Keep your gold.’

  I couldn’t believe it. ‘You’re passing up a fortune … surely you’ll reconsider?’

  Livianus gave a great sigh. ‘When you reach my age, you realise you can’t take it all with you. Gold and silver really doesn’t have the same appeal it once did. That is why I am trying to give something back to the people who have been so good to me, using my wealth to construct the circus you saw being built outside. The people of Tarraco will soon benefit from the civilising effect of the summer games. I plan to have many varied gladiatorial combats, not to mention the chariot races – some of the greatest riders from the Roman world will compete.’

  As soon as anyone mentioned chariots, Aulus got excited, and a great smile broke out on his face. ‘Really? That will be something worth seeing.’

  Livianus rubbed his hands. ‘It certainly will be. You’ll have to come to the games as guests of honour before you ship back to Rome. You can tell Germanicus how a great spectacle should be done. I might not have the resources of Rome, but I plan to really have an amazing finale to my reign here.’

  I was relieved this was working out amicably. ‘We’d be delighted to join you.’

  Livianus smiled, but then he winced, holding his stomach. ‘Blast, my gut is playing up again.’

  I saw the pain etched in his wrinkled face. ‘Is there anything we can do to assist?’

  He shook his head vigorously, still holding his gut. ‘No, no, my Greek doctor tells me it is simply due to too much rich food and wine. I should have known not to drink this early in the day. That’ll teach me.’

  Aulus’ brow furrowed in concern. ‘I know of a herbal remedy that is said to help the ailments of stomachs?’

  Livianus shook his head, his face red from pain, and gave a small laugh. ‘Trust me, I’ve tried them all. Nothing seems to help. But don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. It passes in time. I’ll have one of my slaves show you to your rooms, and then you’ll have to join me for dinner.’

  It was clear he wanted to be left alone, so we went, as various slaves rushed to assist the ailing governor.

  Later, Aulus, Marcus and I joined the governor for dinner, which turned out to be several courses of rich food washed down with fine wine from his own province. The wine was surprisingly good, a match even for some of the Italian wines we were used to. It was no wonder his doctor disapproved of his rich diet if this was a taste of the fare he normally dined on. Not that you’d notice on seeing him now. His earlier discomfort seemed to be gone and he appeared to be in high spirits. Possibly this was due to the governor’s wife, Abelia, being there too, something that livened up the evening. The old governor seemed completely besotted by his extremely young wife and doted on her unashamedly.

  Abelia was cheerful and giddy with excitement at the visitors to their table, especially me, it seemed. I don’t think she understood the authority of my title, but she was certainly impressed that Augustus had loaned me a small detachment of Praetorians for my trip. I didn’t have the heart to admit that it was actually his adopted grandson who’d arranged it. The young wife, however, didn’t have much of a head for wine, and the governor soon asked her to retire once her behaviour turned from friendly to flirtatious. There are drawbacks to having such a young wife after all.

  After she left, the conversation turned to his new circus and the games he planned to celebrate its opening. I didn’t dare tell him that I actually didn’t like watching the games – something about gladiatorial combat always brought back bad memories for me. But I was sure I could sit through one day of it. It was a long time since the horrors of Western-Gate Pass, and I’d come a long way since then. The Teutoburg had hardened me.

  We left him just before midnight, a slave taking us up to our plush and grandiose apartments in one of the wings of the palace. I bid Marcus and Aulus goodnight and found my rooms. As soon as I opened the door, I realised I wasn’t alone. Call it an old soldier’s instinct if you like, but I was certain.

  I walked into the small reception room and scanned it. Nothing but empty divans and an ornate table in the centre.

  ‘Blasius, is that you?’ I’d sent my lictor to accompany the Praetorians and the gold, and I’d not seen him since before dinner. I walked through the small reception room to the bedroom that adjoined it and then froze.

  ‘I’m afraid there is no one by that name here tonight. Are you disappointed?’ asked Abelia, who lay on my bed, wine goblet in hand, wearing a very sheer and thin silk gown.

  I swallowed hard. ‘My lady, you really shouldn’t be here.’

  She gave a small smile over her wine goblet and took a slight sip. ‘But we never finished our conversation tonight. I knew you wouldn’t come find me in my rooms, so what’s a girl to do?’

  I said carefully, ‘Your husband will be furious if he finds out you were here. You should leave.’

  She gave a little laugh. ‘You really think so? He does whatever I say.’

  ‘You know he will,’ I said firmly. ‘This is dangerous for both of us.’

  Abelia raised one leg and ran her fingers along its length, the sheer silk falling off it. ‘Oh, don’t be so boring. Come sit next to me. I only want to talk. Life can get so tedious in the palace with absolutely no one my age.’

  I was nearly ten years older than her, but I guessed that, compared to Livianus, that was practically nothing. ‘Look, Abelia, you seem a nice girl, but I really can’t be found talking to you.’

  I saw a spike of annoyance on her face, but she covered it with a smile. ‘Don’t you find me attractive, Cassius?’ She pulled back the silk gown covering her breasts and naked body underneath; clearly Abelia wasn’t someone who left anything to the imagination. If it had been before I’d returned to Germany, I might have even been tempted. Abelia was certainly a beauty, and I’d been just as promiscuous as her during that period of my life.

  But now, times were different.

  I said calmly, ‘Look Abelia, your husband was very clear to me that I should know what I can touch and what I can’t. You very much come under the latter of those.’

  She threw her goblet of wine on the floor. ‘I don’t care what he wants and what he doesn’t. Livianus is kind to me, and I love him in my own way, but I need some distraction. I need a man to touch me properly, not an old fool who can barely mount me any longer.’

  ‘Abelia, really—’

  She cut me off. ‘No, you don’t know what it’s like. I have my youth, my looks, but they’re wasted on him. He hardly lets me see anyone. You’re only here for one night. What harm can it do?’

  I looked into her eyes and saw the loneliness there. ‘I’m sorry. If it was just your husband, maybe you’d be right. But I love someone in Rome. Someone I love completely and entirely. If I were to sleep with you, it would be as much a betrayal to her as it would be to your husband. I’m sorry.’

  She stood up from my bed and wrapped her gown back around her body. A tear ran down her cheek. ‘I wish I’d been allowed that sort of love.’

  I didn’t say anything. What could I say? She walked past me and I heard a sob as she walked towards the door.

  There was a knock on the door.

  We both froze, and she turned to me in panic. ‘Where can I hide?’

  ‘Cassius, are you asleep?’ said Aulus from the other side of the door.

  I looked up to the ceiling in relief. ‘It’s alright, it’s only my brother-in-law.’

  ‘Thank the gods for that!’ she said, and she sprinted to the door. Before I had a chance to stop her she’d opened it and ran past Aulus, who watched her in stunned disbelief as she ran down the corridor.

  ‘By all the gods, Cassius!’ blasted Aulus. ‘What do you think you are doing? That’s the governor’s wife!’

  I sat down on one o
f the divans in the reception room adjoining my bedroom. ‘Keep your voice down will you. It’s not what you think.’

  Aulus shook his head in denial. ‘I can’t see what else it is. Your sister has always told me your morals are no better than those of some of my seedier clients, but I never thought you’d—’

  Marcus walked into my room. ‘What’s all the noise about? I thought you were going to bed?’

  I gave a deep frown. ‘That’s the best idea I’ve heard all night. Let’s do that. Just make sure you lock your door tonight.’

  Marcus looked around my rooms in befuddlement. ‘Why? Do you think there’s trouble lurking?’

  Aulus shook his head in annoyance. ‘More than you could ever know,’ he said, and stormed out.

  Chapter Fifteen

  The preparations for our departure moved on quickly the next day. Livianus had told me that as we would be returning in the next few months, I could leave all our possessions in our rooms and nobody would touch them. It was a huge palace and guests were not expected until the end of August, so there was no need to transport anything unnecessary to Gallaecia. I was grateful to leave a few of my formal togas and some other items that I didn’t think I’d need on my journey, but I wasn’t ready to leave the gold. There were dangers with taking a fortune that size on such a long journey across the Iberian Peninsula, but I was damned if I was just going to leave it lying around in an empty room. I still wasn’t quite sure of the governor and his magnanimous gift to Germanicus, so I thought it wise not to take any chances. Having said that, I didn’t want to offend him either, so that meant taking the gold with me without anyone knowing – not easy, when the gold in question weighed one full talent, the same weight as a grown man.

  This was why Marcus and I were now emptying the large chest in my room of gold coins and dividing them into three saddlebags. ‘You asked the stable-master for sturdy strong horses, didn’t you?’ I asked Marcus.

  He smiled. ‘I’ve already told you. I said that we were going on a journey of undetermined length, so we required the strongest and most sturdy he had.’

  I looked at him. ‘Are you sure you don’t want to ride alongside Aulus, Blasius and me?’

  He shook his head. ‘No, I want to march alongside the men. I think it will do them good to see that their commander is prepared to work as hard as them.’

  I grunted. ‘Aulus will be glad I haven’t decided that we should all do the same. It’s a long way to walk.’

  Marcus looked up from the chest. ‘Why haven’t you? You said you wanted to find a way to keep fit?’

  I grinned, scooping out another handful of coins. ‘If I was here in a military capacity, I might have considered it. I agree with you that the men need to be set a good example. But I remember Livia telling me the importance of appearances. If I’m going to turn up and adjudicate on a court case in this new province, I need to look the part. I need to appear to be a quaestor of Rome. Turning up with sore feet and covered in road dust is unlikely to impress.’

  Marcus cocked his head slightly. ‘Isn’t the court case just a ruse anyway? I thought you were coming to Spain to pick up this Flavus Arminius. Why didn’t you tell the governor your true mission?’

  I stopped shovelling coins. ‘Well, the court case is important. If I mess it up, the imperial family is liable to never forgive me, Spain’s gold trade is so important to the empire. But Germanicus told me it was best not to mention Flavus. If Livianus were ever to find out that the brother of the most wanted traitor in all the empire was within striking distance, he is liable to act. What those actions would be are anyone’s guess, hence us keeping it secret. We know Flavus’ legion, the Sixth Victrix, is based in Gallaecia, which is where we’re heading, so we’ll enquire when we get there.’

  Marcus grunted. ‘Livianus is unlikely to be happy if he ever finds out you’re keeping secrets from him.’

  I looked down at all the gold we were secreting away from the governor and laughed. ‘That’s not the only thing we’re keeping from him.’ I ran my hands through the six thousand small gold aurei coins.

  Marcus smiled, eyes shining with wonder as he looked down at all that gold. ‘How much do you think all this is worth?’

  I picked up one of the coins. ‘Well, each one is worth twenty-five denarii, so that means the whole hoard is worth one hundred and fifty thousand. Quite a tidy sum.’

  Marcus said with wide eyes, ‘Such an amount.’

  I frowned. ‘Don’t get any ideas about this gold. It belongs to Germanicus and Augustus. Nobody steals from that family and gets away with it.’

  Marcus shook his head in innocence. ‘I wouldn’t, Cassius. I wouldn’t know what to do with so much money.’

  I continued picking up the coins. ‘Don’t worry, I know I can trust you. But this goes no further. I don’t even want your Praetorians to know we are taking it with us. The less people who know the better. You’re not to speak of it to anyone except Aulus and me. Oh, and I will need to tell Blasius. He’ll have one of the saddlebags on his horse too, so I have no choice. We will divide the weight between the three saddlebags so the horses aren’t too overburdened and no one else need suspect.’

  Marcus said softly. ‘Can you trust him?’

  I nodded. ‘Yes, he was recommended by Germanicus, and Blasius knows who the gold belongs too.’

  Marcus shovelled a few more coins into one of the bags. ‘Do you really think that Livianus would take it if we left it here? Why offer to give the monoceros to Germanicus as a gift only to take the gold anyway?’

  I shook my head. ‘I’m probably worrying over nothing. Most likely Livianus wouldn’t go back on his word. But now Livianus has turned the money down, it’s my responsibility. I don’t want to be explaining to Germanicus how I left his gold unguarded when I have a whole century of Praetorians at my command.’

  Marcus nodded. ‘Fair enough. What if someone moves the chest by accident? They’ll know it isn’t full of gold.’

  I smiled. ‘I’ve thought of that. Livianus said nothing would be touched, but just in case, I’ll put all of Aulus’ wooden sheaves in the chest and then lock it. The weight won’t be quite right, but it should fool all but the most vigorous of examinations.’

  Marcus laughed. ‘Won’t Aulus be furious you’re leaving behind all his work?’

  I shrugged. ‘Well, as he’s not speaking to me at the moment, it won’t matter.’

  We finished transferring all the gold coins to the three saddlebags and then we filled the chest with Aulus’ wooden documents. Once we’d piled them up neatly inside, I then locked the wooden chest. Almost as an afterthought, I took a little bit of the sealing wax that Aulus kept in his bags. I grabbed one of the small oil burners in the room and melted a little of the wax, which I then pressed into the back hinge of the chest. I stamped my gold ring into the seal and told Marcus, ‘It won’t hurt to know if anyone has discovered our little subterfuge when we return.’

  He nodded and slung two of the heavy saddlebags over his shoulder. ‘I’m glad I won’t need to carry these far.’

  I smiled and picked up the third one. ‘Come on, let’s find the others. They’ll be ready to go now.’

  We left Tarraco soon afterwards, Aulus, Blasius and I mounted, with my century of Praetorians following behind on foot. I wore my full armour, which had been polished to shine by a helpful slave of the governor; peaceful province or not, I wasn’t about to be caught without helmet, breastplate, and a gladius by my side. Also mounted was our guide, a man named Audax, a small wiry man dressed in the leather armour that was traditional amongst the Celtic-Iberian tribes of the peninsula. He had a close-fitting leather cap on his head, and the compact caetra shield, similar to the type of small round shield that I favoured myself, but with a larger shield boss. This he hung on a long carrying strap, which bounced off the rump of the lively young mare he rode. His horse was a local breed that was diminutive in stature compared to the large mounts Marcus had requisitioned for us, but it looke
d agile and fleet of hoof, and he spent much of his time riding ahead.

  Where he was going was anyone’s guess, as the land on this first part of the journey certainly didn’t need scouting. The road up to the recently renamed city of Caesaraugusta was well trodden, with many villages and way stations along its length. Finding accommodation each night was straightforward, and most nights Aulus and I slept at the inns, whilst the Praetorians were billeted in a local stable or animal shelter. It wasn’t exactly the comfortable life they’d left behind in Rome, but it wasn’t far short, and on the whole I think the men were happy. According to Blasius, who joined them each night to play at dice, most of the men were now prepared to accept Marcus as their commander. The day of the storm aboard the Severitas had done much to lift the standing of the new young tribune. Although, if the men’s rumours were to be believed, Centurion Iovis was still reserving his judgement. I knew from my own experience how hard it was to win over some men, and I sympathised with Marcus but didn’t interfere. Marcus would either convince Iovis of his worth or he wouldn’t. Nothing I could say or do would sway the opinion of an experienced centurion like Iovis.

  If an inn wasn’t available, many of the local Romanised villas that dotted the landscape were only too happy to accommodate a quaestor of Rome, especially when they saw the smart line of Praetorians on my heels. The villas were sometimes surrounded by rich barley fields, but more often than not endless rows of olive groves covered the hills, farmed by slaves. It was now mid-June, and the sun beat down over the baked Spanish hills, making our stops each night most welcome.

  Our errant guide, Audax, rode up to me one afternoon telling me that the large Roman villa we could see on the next hill was prepared to cater for us. He told us in his rough Latin, ‘At first they didn’t believe me that you were a quaestor, but when they saw your column’s signifer, they changed their tune. I think the farm’s owner might just offer you the pick of his daughters now.’ He gave me a big wink before spitting on the ground.