by David Adkins
I do not think my credentials particularly impressed her but she was eager to share this news. “If I tell you, Parthenian, you must give me your word not to say anything.”
“I give you my word.” My assurance seemed to satisfy her.
“Julia is pregnant.” I was staggered by the revelation because of the impact it may have on the Empress. I tried to do some quick arithmetic for many weeks had passed since the murder of Sabinus. She must have read my mind. “It is Domitian’s child. Even before my master’s death Julia was not sleeping with her husband.”
“The Emperor will have an heir,” I gasped.
“You see now why you must say nothing, for I am the only one who knows. Julia must inform Domitian and the rest of the royal family herself. Domitian must hear the news from her.”
“In that case, Petronilla, I suggest you tell no-one else. It is our secret until the news is public.”
“I had to tell someone,” she said apologetically. “What do you think the outcome will be?”
“I do not know,” I said, but I did know that Domitia Longina would be far from pleased, for this news threatened her position. I would let the news break from Julia’s own mouth and I would not even tell the Empress and in the meantime I would think about the consequences. Petronilla may be very loyal to her mistress but she had a foolish side and a loose tongue. “I do know that you must not tell anyone else,” I emphasized.
“I will not.” She sounded suitably chastised though I was well aware that I had encouraged her into sharing the news.
I left deep in thought.
Later that day I paid a visit to the office where I hoped to find Drucilla. I wanted to show some interest in how more mundane palace business was progressing. I interrupted a conversation she was having with Maximus. “How are you both?” I inquired.
They both muttered that they were well. “I hope you have had no more problems with the Emperor,” I said to Maximus.
“No, he has been leaving me alone recently and Drucilla helps me to stay out of his way.”
“Good, I am pleased to hear it,” I smiled.
“Is that all?” he asked. “I have things to do.”
“That is all,” I replied and he hurried off.
“He is not much of a conversationalist,” I said to Drucilla.
“It is just his way,” she replied.
“How is the work progressing?” I asked.
“Everything is fine, except that I have just had a talk with Maximus and you know that you suggested we should keep an eye on Stephanus.”
I braced myself for even more revelations. “I did say that.”
“He has asked Maximus to stand in for him tomorrow evening and to watch out for any requirements from Flavia Domitilla. That is what we were talking about. He told Maximus that he intends to leave the palace as dark falls. I fear that he is doing something which interests the Praetorian Guard.”
“Well, we know they are following him for some reason. Perhaps he is aware of this and he intends to give them the slip under cover of darkness. If he is at odds with the Guard then I am on his side but if we are to help him we must know what he is up to. I suspect that if I were to ask him he would not be forthcoming and so I will follow him, and at the same time look to see if the guard are also following him.”
“I will come with you,” she stated firmly.
“That is not a good idea, Drucilla, for it may be dangerous, particularly if the Praetorian Guard is involved.”
“I will go anyway,” she re-iterated. “A bit of excitement may be just the thing I need after doing your humdrum work for you.”
I smiled at her persistence and at her accurate remark. She seemed adamant so I did not argue further. It might even be an advantage, for we would just appear like a man and a woman on a night out.
“As you wish,” I conceded. “I will see you tomorrow evening if not before.” I would hit back at the Guard in whatever way I could and there was a slim chance that this might just give me an opportunity. Why were they so interested in Stephanus I wondered, but this was just one of the many issues that were spinning around in my head.
Chapter 8
That evening I was once again in bed with Marcella. I knew that she was a dangerous woman but perhaps that was part of the attraction. There was an adventure and a sense of the unknown in being with her and it excited me. I was kissing my way up her back when she looked over her shoulder and smiled at my ardour. She believed that she had bewitched me and indeed I was beguiled and filled with lust, but I was also very aware that she was trying to manipulate me. “I will be away from the palace for several weeks,” she informed me.
“Where are you going?” I asked as I reached her slim neck.
“A sorceress never answers the questions of her victims,” she smiled.
“She just places them under her spell,” I confessed.
“Are you under my spell, Parthenian?”
“Of course, I am. You know that I cannot resist you.” I was making my way down her back.
“Then you will do what I ask,” she stated.
“Yes, I will help you with Hylas.” I had no intention of delivering Hylas like a fly into her deadly web, but I was enjoying myself and also buying time for myself. I knew that with Julia pregnant Domitian was unlikely to be returning to Tibur in the near future. She thought she was in total control but I liked to think that I was.
When I reached her buttocks she turned over and looked into my eyes. “If I asked you to wield the blade then would you do that for me?” Her eyes were stunning and enticing.
“Yes I would,” I lied. I could play this game too.
She laughed. “I would not trust you to do that, Parthenian. I have experts who have no scruples with doing that. You just have to bring him to them.”
“Are you really a sorceress?” I asked.
“I have travelled much in the east and I learnt many things there. I saw things that you would never believe.”
“I have never left Rome. What things did you learn? Show me one of your spells, Marcella.”
“I make it a rule never to cast spells just to impress, but only to achieve objectives.” Her dark eyes sparkled mischievously and I could almost believe her words. She might not be a sorceress, for I was certainly sceptical on that, but I believed that she could be deadly and what worried me was that I knew that eventually I would have to cross her. In the meantime I would enjoy her, and there was so much to enjoy.
*
The next evening was unfortunately so very different to the previous two. I met Drucilla in the office just before dusk and we then waited in the gardens for Stephanus to leave the palace. The guards on duty at the gate would believe that he was out for some clandestine fun and they would also believe the same about us, but would he again be followed by any of Casperius’s guardsmen? I was beginning to regret my decision to interfere, for if Stephanus was followed it would be awkward for us to do likewise and we could be seen. On reflection I would have much preferred another night of bliss with Marcella. Darkness was falling rapidly and the moon shone brightly in the night sky. We did not have to wait long for, sure enough, Stephanus emerged from the palace looking furtively around him while we stayed carefully out of sight. He hurried through the gate with a nod to the sleepy guards who barely acknowledged him, for they were not concerned with people leaving the palace. We peered at the barrack building in the very poor light but the door did not open and so it seemed that Stephanus had eluded Casperius; but he had not eluded us. We followed him through the gate waving to the guards as we went out into the cobbled streets of our great city.
“Stay close to me, Drucilla,” I whispered for I knew that the city could be dangerous at night. We made our way down from the Palatine Hill and into the Vicus Tuscus, past the Temple of Castor and into the forum. There were people about for us to mingle with and the moon provided adequate light for us to keep Stephanus within sight. He started to cross the forum and we stayed close t
o him but he did not suspect, for our robes covered us, hiding our identities, and we just looked like an ordinary couple out for the evening.
“Where is he going?” Drucilla asked as we passed the Senate House and into the Argiletum.
“I have no idea, though he could be going to the other residence of his master, Clemens,” I replied. The people were more numerous around the senate building but we still had little difficulty in following our mysterious colleague. I looked up towards the towering Capitoline Hill but it was towards the lower Esquiline Hill that Stephanus was heading. Perhaps one of the grand houses that covered the lower slopes was his destination. The houses were very impressive and mostly owned by senators who favoured their proximity to the Senate House.
Drucilla was having the same thought. “No, Clemens lives on the Capitoline but he could be going to one of these great houses on the Esquiline though I do not know why.”
“Perhaps he is bearing a message from Titus Clemens to one of them,” I offered.
It soon became apparent that one of these houses was not his destination, for we were leaving them behind us. We were now passing the host of small shops that formed the ground floor of many of the tall tenement buildings. I was struck by the number of cobbler’s shops that were located in this area. “Perhaps he is having his boots mended,” I suggested flippantly.
Drucilla gave me a withering look. “At this time of night?”
The many fine mansions that nestled on the leafy, respectable heights of the Esquiline Hill were now far behind us and even the shops were turning into slums. I pulled Drucilla close to me. “We are now entering dangerous territory, stay close.”
“Have you been to the Subura before?” she asked.
“I have not been here in recent years. I only came occasionally when I was a youth but I doubt things have changed much.”
She looked at me knowingly. “Did you come in search of cheap pleasure?”
“I was young and did what many youths do. Have you been here before?”
“My mother lives nearby on the edge of the Subura and I visit her often.”
“I did not know you had a mother,” I said.
“I did not tell you because you never asked. It seems Stephanus is heading deep into the Subura,” she said nervously.
We were now in the crowded and notorious crime and prostitute driven area that formed the heart of this infamous district, and Stephanus was getting difficult to follow. A foul smell of burning and waste was now filling our nostrils even though the atmosphere seemed damp. I put my arm around Drucilla as we pursued Stephanus through the well populated poverty stricken district. There were beggars on every corner pleading for bread or coins and others who looked more likely to take what they wanted. Fortunately our robes and hoods, that we had worn to fool Stephanus, made us look like ordinary Subura dwellers and therefore not worth robbing. “Have I died and gone to Hades?” I asked looking around me cautiously at our grim and dangerous surroundings.
“It is very different from what we are used to,” she whispered.
I was beginning to regret bringing Drucilla here, or coming myself for that matter, for even in the days of my reckless youth I had not ventured this far into the Subura. Why would Stephanus come to such a place? As I was thinking this he stopped outside an unusually large building, which was scruffy looking even by Subura standards, and started talking to two men standing at the door. “It seems we have arrived,” I muttered.
“What is that place?” she asked.
“It could be a whorehouse,” I suggested. “Perhaps Stephanus is not as fastidious as he makes out.”
“No, the building has been chosen for its size. A lot of people can congregate in there.”
Stephanus only spoke briefly to the two attendants and then he entered. “Shall we see if we can gain entry?” I suggested.
We crossed the cobbled street and tried to brazenly walk straight in but our way was barred by one of the attendants. He looked at me in expectancy and I wondered if he wanted payment. Drucilla was quicker than me and made a strange signal with her hand and the attendant stood aside. I looked at her in amazement and followed her inside. We passed through the door and entered a large open indoor space that was full of people. I searched the area with my eyes for Stephanus but could see no sign of him, for most people wore similar dress and it was difficult to distinguish an individual among them. I turned to Drucilla. “What is going on here and what was that sign you made?”
“It is a gathering of Christians and that was a Christian sign,” she explained.
“What, that outlawed Jewish cult?” I was aghast. “What was that sign?”
“I drew the figure of a fish in the air.”
“Why a fish?” Now I was incredulous.
“It is something to do, I think, with their God being a fisherman.”
“How do you know all this? Are you one?”
“No, I am not but my mother is and she has told me how she goes to gatherings such as this. She would probably be here if she had not been feeling unwell these past few days.”
“Would she dare to come this far into the Subura?”
“She lives in the Subura. Such gatherings are held here because the authorities have abandoned the place to vice and crime. It is the only safe place in Rome to meet in numbers for Domitian is determined in his persecution of these people.”
“By the Gods, soldiers could burst in now and arrest all of us. We could end up in the Colosseo as lion food.” I was horrified.
“Relax, Parthenian, for they have watchers. If soldiers came anywhere near, this crowd would disperse in seconds.”
“How do you know all this, Drucilla?”
“I told you my mother is one and she tells me in the hope that I may embrace her faith, though she does not try to force it on me.”
“I hope not. It would be a great pity if I was to lose such a good worker to the lions,” I almost smiled.
“You are all heart, Parthenian,” she grinned. “Look over there, it is Stephanus.”
I followed the direction she was pointing and I saw him. He had lowered his hood and pushed his way towards the front. I saw him speaking to a hooded person who then disappeared from view. I noticed there was a small podium at the front of the vast room close to where Stephanus was standing. I took Drucilla by the arm and moved my way closer to the front. “This will do,” I said. “So what can we expect?”
“I imagine some preaching but I have never been to one of these gatherings.” Just as she spoke two men stepped on to the podium and lowered their hoods and one of them spoke. “Welcome brothers and sisters on this most wonderful night. Be assured that the Lord Jesus is with you now and always. You are his children and he loves you all. He loves you so much, fellow Romans, that he has sent a great man from the east to talk with you. This is Timothy, beloved of Paul, and he has come all the way from Ephesus to be with us here in the Subura.”
I barely heard the words for I was staring at the man speaking in total disbelief. It was Titus Flavius Clemens, the husband of Domitian’s niece, Flavia Domitilla. I looked at Drucilla and she was obviously as dumbfounded as I was.
“No wonder he has been looking worried of late,” I offered.
“Particularly as Domitian has stepped up the persecution of these people in recent months, for the Emperor hates them with a vengeance.”
Timothy was now speaking but I was not hearing him. “Many have been executed recently, for any problems or disasters that afflict Rome are blamed rightly or wrongly on them.”
“I think wrongly,” she said.
“I am sure you are probably right but what I do know is that we are standing here in the midst of hundreds of them. We have more than found out what we came for and so I suggest we leave. Being here makes me very nervous.”
“Wait a bit, Parthenian. I am listening to Timothy.”
I could not drag her out, for the crowd was now vast and where we were standing was closely packed. I looked
around in amazement, for the people were totally attentive and absorbed. It was as if his words were reaching out to them and as a result they seemed to visibly grow in stature. He seemed to me like a farmer scattering his seed. Religious mania was at work and the audience of Timothy were completely rapt. Clemens stood next to him looking at this old man with boundless admiration. I was in the middle of an enraptured mob overcome with religious fervour and I did not believe in any God, not even the Roman Gods. I felt uneasy and simply wanted to leave. “Please, Drucilla, let us be on our way. This is not a safe place.”
She shrugged. “As you wish, Parthenian, nowhere in Rome is safe for Christians with Domitian and his Praetorian Guard around.”
“My gods, the Praetorian Guard, that is why they are following Stephanus,” I gasped.
“You are right, let us leave,” she conceded.
We pushed our way through the mass of swaying people and left the religious gathering behind us. I was pleased to be back on the streets even if it was the grim streets of the notorious Subura. “Timothy was a wonderful and clever preacher,” she said with feeling.
“I do not understand the appeal,” I countered.
“Did you not listen to his words? He promises them paradise.”
“More like a place in the arena or nailed on a cross,” I replied.
“Do you not see, Parthenian, they would embrace that. The people are starving, they are diseased, they suffer much and they have nothing to live for, in fact many of them in the Subura will be lucky if they live past thirty. Timothy promised them a second life, a life after death, a much better life in a much better place.”
“Then they are mad if they believe such nonsense,” I muttered.
“Perhaps, but it is something for them to cling to when they are at their lowest ebb. They are desperate to believe in something and that is what he offers them.”
I shrugged. “Come on we must leave.” We left the Subura as fast as we could while at the same time keeping our eyes open for any sign of possible trouble. We had survived the Christian gathering and I did not want to now fall victim to any petty criminal or assailant. At one point I saw a mob gathering but we managed to keep our distance and avoid trouble. It was with great relief that we eventually returned to the comparative safety of the respectable upper reaches of the Esquiline Hill and even greater relief when we arrived back at the Imperial Palace.