Rome and the Conquest of Mesopotamia (Book 8 of the Veteran of Rome Series)

by William Kelso

  Hadrian said nothing as he took the report and, without looking at it immediately passed it to Adalwolf, who hastily and nervously placed it in a drawer beside the desk. The awkward silence returned. Standing in the middle of the room, Fergus at last raised his gaze and looked at his patron, wondering whether Hadrian would actually bother to read his report. As he gazed back at Fergus, a cold, ruthlessness had appeared in Hadrian’s eyes and suddenly Fergus had the distinct impression that something had changed since he’d last seen Hadrian all those months ago. This was not a meeting of friends, nor of an employer with employee, or even a master with a slave. No, Fergus thought with sudden insight, this was different. It was as if Hadrian was becoming a different, more remote person. He was distancing himself from him. He was cutting the bonds of friendship and mutual respect that had bound them together for these past ten years. Hadrian was preparing to become emperor of the Roman world and would no longer need his loyalty and service. This was goodbye. Hadrian had not summoned him here for a debrief. He was here to say goodbye, Fergus realised with a shock and, as he did a little colour shot into his cheeks.

  “You once told me that you wanted to return to active service in the army,” Hadrian said sharply. “Do you still wish for this?”

  “I do Sir,” Fergus replied stiffly.

  “Good,” Hadrian said glancing quickly at Adalwolf. “As a reward for your service to me and for bringing Adalwolf back, I have arranged for you to be posted to the Fourth “Scythica” Legion. Their HQ staff are based at Zeugma on the Euphrates. You will join the legion as their tribune laticlavius, their second in command.”

  Fergus’s cheeks burned with a deep and sudden excitement. He was being promoted. Second in command of a whole fucking legion. The blood seemed to rush to his head. Suddenly he was back in the muddy fortress of Deva Victrix in Britannia, as a young, newly trained legionary, dreaming of one day becoming a legionary legate, a commander of a legion. And now his dream suddenly seemed to be within reach.

  Hadrian had paused to watch Fergus’s reaction.

  “I hope that you will understand that this is quite a promotion,” Hadrian said sternly. “Tribune laticlavius, second in command of a legion is a fiercely sought after and competed for position amongst the sons of senators. Believe me that there were some very good alternative candidates whom I could have appointed.” Hadrian was studying Fergus carefully. “So, count yourself fortunate Fergus that I chose you for this role. I trust that you will not make me regret this appointment and I hope too, that when the day comes, I will be able to count on your support.”

  “You shall always have my support Sir,” Fergus replied hastily, lowering his head in a respectful manner, “I owe you everything and thank you for this posting. You are most generous. I shall make a success of it.”

  Slowly Hadrian nodded as he gazed at Fergus.

  “Adalwolf will hand you my letter of introduction confirming your position,” Hadrian said. “Give it to the legionary legate when you arrive in Zeugma. After that you will have re-joined the army and officially left my service. Is that all clear?”

  “Yes Sir,” Fergus replied.

  “Good then, this is goodbye, Fergus,” Hadrian said coldly. “You will have to make arrangements for your family to leave my home and move to Zeugma, but I shall leave that up to you. Flavius will be promoted to be my new head of security. I expect you to leave within the week.”

  Hadrian paused.

  “Good luck,” he said at last in a tight voice, as he kept his hands firmly clasped behind his back.

  “Thank you, Sir,” Fergus muttered. An awkward silence followed, as Fergus refused to leave the room. From the corner of his eye Fergus saw Adalwolf fidgeting nervously with his fingers.

  “Was there something else you wished to discuss?” Hadrian said with a sudden frown.

  “Sir,” Fergus said, clearing his throat as he looked up at Hadrian. “The last time we spoke you promised me that if I were to bring Adalwolf back to you alive and well, that you would take my father off your death list. I ask you now to honour that pledge. That promise that I was given.”

  The room went quiet. From his position beside the window Hadrian gazed silently at Fergus. Slowly he shook his head.

  “No Fergus,” Hadrian said in an ice-cold voice. “I am not yet ready to forgive those who tried to have me murdered. There will be no compromise. Your father Marcus shall remain on the list until I have heard from Attianus in Rome. That will be all. You are dismissed.”

  ***

  “He lied to me,” Fergus hissed angrily, as he led his horse along the river bank. It was late in the afternoon and, along the banks of the Orontes the tall reeds swayed in the hot desert breeze. In the distance the walls of Antioch were just about visible, shimmering in the heat. Walking along at his side, leading his own horse, Adalwolf sighed.

  “He is Hadrian,” Adalwolf said wearily. “He is going to be the next emperor of Rome. He can do what he likes.”

  Above the two men and their horses, in the blue sky, the fierce, hot sun beat down on the earth.

  “I don’t care who he thinks he is,” Fergus said bitterly. “A promise is a promise. A man who breaks his word has no honour.”

  “Careful Fergus,” Adalwolf replied in a warning voice, glancing sideways at Fergus with a disapproving look. “He is Hadrian. There is no man like him. That’s all I can say.”

  Fergus muttered something to himself and turned to gaze at the Orontes as it wound its way towards the distant metropolis. He had thought it prudent to take the horses, to get out of the city and to go for a ride along the river, before giving Adalwolf a piece of his mind. The fewer eyes and ears the better, for Antioch was rife with informers and spies. Out on the water a solitary fishing boat was gently bobbing up and down on the current and, in the forested mountains to the east, a large flock of birds had risen and taken to the clear skies.

  “You could change his mind,” Fergus snapped, turning to Adalwolf. “He listens to you. You are his adviser. This is my father’s life that we are talking about. I can’t just not do anything. I was promised that his name would be taken off that list. A fucking solemn promise was made.”

  But Adalwolf wearily shook his head. “I am your friend Fergus. I already tried to get him to change his mind, but he won’t do it,” the adviser said. “The memory of the assassination attempt still haunts him. He wants vengeance and he is going to get it.”

  “My father had nothing to do with the assassination plot,” Fergus snapped. “He is not the kind of man who would have taken part in such a thing.”

  “He must have known about it though,” Adalwolf shot back. “And for Hadrian that is enough. You father is a member of the War Party. They are our political rivals. You know this. Hadrian cannot afford to show weakness. Not now that the emperor’s health is starting to deteriorate.”

  “Trajan’s health is deteriorating,” Fergus said sharply, as he turned to stare at Adalwolf in alarm.

  “Yes,” Adalwolf muttered. “I am not supposed to tell you this, but Hadrian has received reports from the emperor’s doctors. It’s nothing specific but Trajan is succumbing to old age. The reports are top secret you understand. Not a word of this must get out.”

  Fergus nodded, and for a while he said nothing as the two of them walked their horses along the river bank.

  “If Trajan’s health is deteriorating then the matter of his succession is becoming more urgent and with it the fate of the men on that list of death,” Fergus said. Turning to look at his friend, Fergus took a deep breath. “I am running out of time. Please old friend,” he pleaded. “Speak with Hadrian again on the matter of my father. I beg you. You owe me. I saved Hadrian’s life twice. Don’t make me regret this.”

  But once again Adalwolf shook his head.

  “You have no choice but to accept what he says,” Adalwolf said firmly. “Be thankful for your army promotion. It is what you wanted after all. And have hope that Hadrian will show leniency and merc
y when he becomes emperor. It is possible.”

  “So, you want me to trust a man who has broken his promise to me,” Fergus said in a sarcastic voice.

  “Hadrian is preparing to succeed Trajan,” Adalwolf said in a serious voice as he ignored the jibe. “He is steadily moving his supporters into senior positions within the legions and the army. Soon he hopes to be officially appointed as Trajan’s deputy. In command of all military units in the eastern provinces of the empire - effectively in charge of the war with Parthia. When that happens his control of the eastern legions will be complete. If Nigrinus wishes to challenge Hadrian he will have to rely on the legions in the west, but it’s doubtful they will support him. Our agents are at work amongst them too. The tide is turning against Nigrinus and the War Party. Your father would do well to switch sides whilst he still can. Maybe you should tell him this.”

  Fergus looked down at the ground as he walked along. “My father is an honourable man,” he replied at last. “Once he has chosen a side he will not change, not even when faced with death. There is no chance that I could convince him to change sides and I will not try. He would think me weak if I tried.”

  Adalwolf nodded as he gave Fergus a quick sideways glance.

  “There is something else that you should know,” Adalwolf said. “I am not supposed to tell you this either so not a word to anyone you understand.” Fergus nodded and Adalwolf continued. “Remember those intelligence reports you gave to Hadrian concerning the Parthian attempts to ferment rebellion in our provinces and amongst the Jews.”

  “What about them?” Fergus murmured.

  “Well Hadrian is not going to act on them,” Adalwolf said smoothly. “He is going to let it all play out. He hasn’t even passed on the information to Trajan. No special counter measures are being taken.”

  “What?” Fergus exclaimed as he turned to look at Adalwolf in astonishment. “Hadrian is going to do nothing. But there have been several confirmed reports. Prince Sanatruces was in fucking Derbent precisely for this purpose. I myself saw Parthian spies in the Bedouin camps out in the desert. This is sheer madness. Counter measures must be taken. To do nothing is to invite disaster. It’s criminal.”

  But Adalwolf shook his head. “No,” he replied patiently. “It is called politics. Hadrian is set on doing nothing. Your reports and others have been buried. Hadrian does not want to know.”

  “Why?” Fergus blurted out.

  Slowly Adalwolf turned to gaze at Fergus. Then he sighed. “Because Hadrian does not believe in this war with Parthia,” he replied. “Because the Peace Party believe that the empire has reached its natural limits. When Hadrian becomes emperor the age of conquest will end and will be replaced by retrenchment. Trajan may wish to follow in the footsteps of Alexander the Great and conquer the world, but Hadrian knows that even an empire like Rome has its limits. He will use the coming rebellions to justify his policy.”

  “He will do what?” Fergus said as he came to a halt and stared at Adalwolf in astonishment.

  “If serious rebellion breaks out amongst the eastern provinces,” Adalwolf said calmly. “It will mean the end of the war with Parthia, for the troops will be needed closer to home. It will give Hadrian an excuse to make peace with Parthia and return to a more sensible frontier.”

  For a moment Fergus stared at Adalwolf in stunned silence. Slowly he shook his head in bewilderment.

  “You talk lightly of these coming rebellions,” he hissed. “But you do not have a wife and five daughters who may be caught up in it all.”

  ***

  The excited shrieks of the girls playing in the swimming pool filled the garden of Hadrian’s villa. It was nearly noon and under the blazing hot sun, Fergus sat watching his daughters playing in the pool. At his side, lounging in her own chair, Galena had stripped to her sunhat, bra and undergarments, as she sunned herself whilst keeping a watchful eye on her girls. But she did not look amused. She looked furious.

  “There is nothing I can do,” Fergus said quietly as he ran his fingers lightly across his wife’s naked skin. “So, I have accepted the posting. Zeugma is not far from here. I am sure that the town and fortress have adequate facilities for the family of senior officers. It won’t be so bad.”

  “I am not concerned about the facilities in which we shall live,” Galena retorted, speaking in her native Briton language. “It is Hadrian that I am upset with. He made you a promise and he broke it. The man is worthless. We have served a worthless man all these years and it makes me sick.”

  Fergus sighed and looked away.

  “What would you have me do?” he murmured.

  “I want to return to Britannia,” Galena said sharply, as she turned to look at her husband. “It is time we went home.”

  “We will return to Britannia but just not yet,” Fergus said in annoyed voice. “I have been promoted and have accepted my posting. This is important to me. We discussed this. Don’t make this difficult.”

  Looking frustrated, Galena turned to stare at her daughters in the pool and, for a while she said nothing. At her side Fergus sighed again. He could sense that she was thinking something through - some plan, which she was keeping from him. Then at last Galena turned to him, her eyes flashing angrily.

  “No man shall betray my husband like this,” she hissed in her native language, her fury flowing through her voice. “If Hadrian thinks he can treat you in such a manner then he is gravely mistaken. Gravely mistaken. Such betrayal angers not only me but also the gods.”

  As she finished speaking and turned to gaze at her children, on cue, the peaceful day was suddenly rent by a deep rumble and for a moment the whole world seemed to shake and sway beneath them. Alarmed, Fergus leapt to his feet, but the swaying movement had already died away. In the pool his daughters had fallen silent and were staring at him with confused, frightened eyes.

  “It’s all right,” Fergus called out to them, trying to sound reassuring. “It’s just an earthquake. That’s all.”

  Chapter Thirty – An Unexpected Intervention

  Fergus’s head hurt as he slowly made his way down the stables, pausing now and then to stroke the noses of the horses. It was morning and his last day in Hadrian’s service. Tomorrow he and his family would be leaving Antioch and heading for Zeugma on the Euphrates. The farewell party that his companions had organised for him had gone on long into the night and he still wasn’t sure how he had managed to find his way back to his quarters in Hadrian’s villa. The one thing he did remember was the warmth from Galena’s naked body, as he had slipped into bed beside her. Out in the courtyard of the large villa complex, Galena’s slave girls were packing the family’s belongings into a horse-drawn wagon. Fergus groaned as he tiredly rubbed his face and turned back to gaze at the horses. Tribune laticlavius, second in command of a legion! He would be one of the principal advisers and deputies to the legionary legate who was in command of five and half thousand men. It was a very senior rank, the first ambition of every senator’s son. The position as senior tribune of a legion was only open to the senatorial class, a privileged rank that gave the holder a taste of army life and prepared him for a further career in the senate or the provincial administration. Fergus sighed as he stroked the horses nose. If only Titus and Furius, his former commanding officers in the Twentieth could see him now. As he thought about his old comrades a sudden nostalgia seemed to take hold. Muttering a short silent prayer, Fergus turned his gaze to the straw-covered ground. If only his grandfather Corbulo could see how high and far he’d risen, he thought. Corbulo in his twenty-five years of service had never risen above the rank of tesserarius, company watch-commander but Fergus was sure he would be proud today. He would be proud of what his grandson had become and as he thought about it, Fergus smiled, a warm contented smile. All those years ago, back in the legionary camp at Deva as a young new-recruit, he had resolved to make his grandfather proud and he had never wavered in that ambition.

  The sound of someone entering the stables made Fergus
look up, and as he did he saw Adalwolf accompanied by Galena, coming towards him. Both looked serious and both were not smiling. Fergus straightened up as Adalwolf came up to him and for a moment Hadrian’s adviser studied him in silence.

  “I have come to inform you, old friend,” Adalwolf said in a stiff, awkward voice. “That Hadrian has reconsidered and has decided to take your father, Marcus, off his death list. Your father is no longer an enemy of Hadrian.”

  And with that, Adalwolf abruptly turned around and marched out of the stables leaving Fergus alone with Galena. Stunned, Fergus watched him go. Slowly he switched his gaze to his wife. Galena was looking at him with a sudden mischievous smile.

  “What just happened?” Fergus exclaimed in confusion.

  “I told you that Hadrian was gravely mistaken,” Galena purred, her eyes twinkling.

  “This was your doing?” Fergus said with sudden insight. “You managed to get Hadrian to change his mind? How?” he snapped, frowning, his insight turning to suspicion.

  Galena stepped up to her husband, smiled, and fondly ran her fingers across his cheeks.

  “Oh, you can be so blind sometimes, husband,” she said with a little chuckle.

  “What did you do?” Fergus exclaimed.

  “Do you remember when you were here in February,” Galena replied, as she looked up at him. “I told you that I had become friends with Plotina and Matidia. They are Trajan’s wife and niece, important supporters of Hadrian. Well I went to see them at the imperial palace and I told them how Hadrian had broken his word and his promise to you. I told them that Hadrian had acted in a disgraceful manner and they agreed. They said they would speak to Hadrian directly and make him keep his promise. And they did, and now Marcus is no longer an enemy of Hadrian. You saved your father, Fergus.”

  Fergus looked down at Galena in stunned silence, as she smiled sweetly back at him. Then Fergus shook his head in amazement.