by Simon Rumney
Clitumna’s involvement made perfect sense to Julia because as with all Romans the Proconsul’s wife would have known from an early age that the success and power of Rome stems from the ability to organize.
Things were beginning to fit into place for Julia and she asked herself if a patrician Roman woman secretly controlled the ocean could there not also be someone of intelligence behind the oaf Bromidus? In search of an answer to this question Julia probed into his life and the more men she asked the more she become aware of what each of her informants referred to as, “The change in him.” Apparently everything altered soon after her meeting with the Captain. Bromidus started talking about life outside the Subra he wanted more and more information about the distribution of goods throughout Rome. He even told his men to get jobs on the docks and to observe everything that went on. Bromidus also told others of his clan to go and get work with every kind of shipping agent and food merchants. At the end of each working day he would question as many of them as he could, one by one, draining them of any facts that may relate to the workings of food distribution.
None of Bromidus’s men would ever question his orders because they knew he would kill them but they did wonder what on earth they were doing with regular jobs. Part of the brief he gave his minions was to observe their employers to see who was susceptible to a bribe and all of the men told Julia that they understood that command better than any of the others.
After a little too much wine one of her spies told Julia that until the change in Bromidus they had been used to leaving the tavern only when ordered to kill someone for a few sesterces or to collect protection money from the shopkeepers and merchants in the Subra but a regular job had never been heard of.
During the course of many months of drunken interviews Julia began to understand that Bromidus was not the fool she originally took him for. Much to her surprise he was both cunning and a strategist. After interrogating so many of his men Julia realized that Bromidus must know all there was to know about Roman commerce. The other surprising realization about Bromidus was everything to do with his network was completely in his head and no other person knew the complete structure. If he were killed the organization would collapse and no one would benefit, it was the perfect way of protecting himself. His men would defend Bromidus as though their life depended on it because their livelihood certainly did and Julia concluded that he was not just a big brute after all.
Julia also realized that the Marsic war would have been the making of Bromidus. When it came he would have hardly been able to believe his good fortune. Almost the entire Roman war fleet had been tied helplessly to Italian docks and the pirates who now ruled the great ocean would deal only with him. When the first of the stolen cargo galleys arrived Bromidus would have known exactly who to approach with his wares because of his most thorough preparation.
Bromidus had his hands firmly around the throat of Rome and he could choke the whole city to death if he wanted to but the big man was obviously far too bright for that. He merely held back supply and increased his prices, no one complained they all knew the way of things just pass on the increase to the customer. His motto was, “Give them high prices but never any answers.” If a trader asked too many questions his supply of black-market produce was immediately withheld and restored only when the retailer lost their curiosity.
Each of his men had been tasked to find out small things about trade within Rome and by questioning them Julia now knew it all. At the completion of her interrogations Julia not only knew everything about Bromidus and his network but as an additional bonus she understood the principles of supply and demand.
Quite staggered by the sheer scale of his black-market interests Julia set about the task of understanding why Bromidus was entertaining the idea of doing business with her. The realization that he held total control and did not need another source of supply frightened Julia. Her naïve act of walking into the big man’s lair as an unwelcome and unnecessary competitor should have got her killed so why was she still alive?
Pondering her good fortune Julia surmised that Bromidus was entertaining her proposal to bring produce from Hispania because the Captain’s pirates completely controlled his supply and just as he was extorting Rome they must be extorting him. Her proposition gave him another source of produce and therefore competition. His plan was probably to deal with the pirates in the East until her foodstuffs started arriving from the West then renegotiate with the Captain.
Bromidus was quite obviously a very clever man whose understanding of commerce was extremely extensive and it was at this stage in her pondering that Julia woke up to the fact that he must see her as just an aid to his negotiation with the pirates. With a shudder she also realized that at the conclusion of these negotiations Bromidus would see her as a threat and she began visualizing what he had done to his competitors in the Subra which led to Julia taking a deep draft from a large flagon of un-watered wine.
The perils of dealing with a psychopath like Bromidus were so mind numbingly horrifying that Julia felt a strong urge to stop everything and return to anonymity but she craved the wealth that was required to buy her “lions”. Nothing could be allowed to come between her and the security they represented, any risk that brought them closer was acceptable.
Julia realized that this knowledge may one day save her life. It had been worth all the money Gavius paid for the wine she concluded as she took another very large gulp to help kill the growing anxiety. Bromidus was a real danger but at least she knew the direction death would be coming from.
Deceit
“FETCH WINE!” shouted Sulla, seemingly mesmerized by his hand playing in the bubbling stream of sparkling water. Broad shoulders slumped over the ornamental fountain he sat defeated on the marble bench in his courtyard. Unseen at his clandestine house since the night of the great chariot race he was very angry and in a vindictive mood. The house slaves who had grown complacent in his absence were now running around in a state of total panic as Julia arrived home.
Grasping the situation instantly she volunteered to carry out his jug of wine and as she poured Julia asked sweetly, “How was the election?”
The look on his face made it obvious that he had been defeated but she wanted to open the wound and extract maximum pain.
“That horse’s ass Marius has fucked my chances!” The words fell out in a slur. Sulla was totally drunk. Any more wine would cause suffering, so Julia refilled his beaker right to the brim.
Sulla’s words were music to Julia’s ears. She knew that Sulla was not a swearing man and for him to curse with such venom meant he must be in great pain. In an attempt to twist the knife a little more, she asked with mock innocence, “The Gaius Marius?”
“Yes, the fucking Gaius Marius!”
The force of the hatred behind his words caused tiny droplets of spittle to land on Julia’s face and it felt wonderful to see and feel him in such agony. “Are you still Head of the Army?” This question was as rhetorical as her first.
“Yes they left me in charge of getting the Republic back in order but they think I’m not good enough to be a Consul of Rome!”
This information came as no surprise because Julia already knew that Sulla was Supreme Commander of all armed forces throughout the empire. In truth she knew everything about him because Julia had researched his life like a hunter studies the behavior of their prey.
Refilling Sulla's goblet Julia mentioned in passing that the great Marius had a son.
“So what?” spat Sulla, draining the wine and holding out the empty clearly angered by Julia’s use of the word “great.”
“He is fighting in Hispania,” answered Julia as she filled his goblet.
“What in the name of the Gods has that to do with anything you stupid little bitch? Thousands of Rome’s sons are fighting in every corner of the world why should I care about that runt.”
“I have heard people talking about him, that's all.”
“What are they saying?” spat S
ulla, his anger driving him to take another large swig.
His response was just as it should be. She knew that he would be unable to resist the chance of an intelligence report on one of his enemies. Delaying her reply to heighten his curiosity Julia carefully refilled his goblet for the third time. Then, while maintaining her look of innocence she answered his question, “It would help the Father of Rome greatly if his son could return to help him.”
Looking up he examined her expressionless face before asking, “Where do you hear such things?”
“At the market mostly, everyone talks about the great Marius and when you mentioned his name it reminded me.”
Clearly antagonized Sulla slurred,”You are truly a stupid little bumpkin tart, very easy on the eye but stupid.” With that he stood up took Julia by the arm, knocked the silver jug from her hand and dragged her towards his sleeping chamber.
Julia did not protest or struggle because she had become resigned to his abuse; anyway, her thoughts were miles away with the poor unsuspecting boy in Hispania. She had just connived a fix to her most pressing problem but the guilt of harming Young Gaius was going to divert her fragile mind even while Sulla used her body to grunt his way to a drunken climax.
Unfortunately for Young Gaius it had been his own letter which provoked Julia into her instinctive use of reverse psychology. According to his last communication the constant fighting had not gone as well as expected and as Young Gaius wrote, time was becoming a problem:
I fear that I will not be able to get to the estates until almost nine months after my tour of duty began and even then no time will remain to lick them into shape as my year of service will be coming to an end.
Julia had been worrying about how to keep Young Gaius in Hispania long enough to make her plans successful when as though by fate Sulla’s sudden appearance had provided the answer to her dilemma. She knew him well enough to know that planting an idea in his head would drive him to a spiteful act of vengeance.
The following morning Sulla walked out in his typically ill-mannered fashion leaving his slaves in their habitual state of shock. Julia swiftly cleansed Sulla from her body by bathing and from her mind by drinking strong wine. She also responded to the letter from Young Gaius in an attempt to assuage her feelings of shame. As she wrote Julia forced the memory of her conversation with Sulla from her mind by describing events in Rome then having taken care of gossip, she addressed the specific issues.
Three months later a scroll containing the inevitable news of Young Gaius’s extended term in Hispania arrived and Julia could no longer deny her involvement. Unable to stand the shame of her blatantly manipulative actions she left the house and walked sadly through the streets to the jeweler’s shop where she sat alone for most of the day peering into her “lions” while sipping wine and silently begged them for forgiveness.
There she remained and, as evening fell, the flickering olive-oil lamps seemed to make the feline faces come alive and while her “lions” offered no redemption their beautifully carved features provided a spark of inspiration.
Julia could no longer delay her inevitable reply to Young Gaius as she had to bring her “lions” home so after returning to Sulla’s house alone in the dark Julia slipped into the role of a loving fiancée and penned her fabrication:
Such terrible news my darling that you will not be coming back to me for two more years. Of course, I understand that it is out of your hands and there is nothing you can do to change the situation. If the Commander of the Roman army has ordered you to stay, then stay you must and yes of course I will wait for you my love. I will wait for you until the end of time, if need be, but please do something to help me remember you. Please ask one of the mapmakers you mentioned in your last letter to draw your likeness from every perspective and send it to me with your next letter.
The rest of the letter dealt with the usual bits and pieces that lovers exchange then Julia added a seemingly last-minute addition just below her signature:
P.S. My uncle Gavius is coming to Hispania to see you soon and he will convey my true feelings.
Young Gaius had never heard of Uncle Gavius but that could easily be explained by the fact that he had spent so little time with Julia. There were many thing he did not yet know about her.
Uncle Gavius
Gavius stood behind his counter with a look of total disbelief; he had almost collapsed with fear and shock when Julia told him where he was going.
“I have written to my fiancé to inform him of your impending arrival,” was all she said. Then added as though he were going to the shop to buy a loaf of bread, “You will inform Bromidus that you need one of his trusted, cargo galley Captains to take you to Hispania and you will need to arrive no later than two months from today.”
Gavius simply stared at Julia and with his mind in a spin said. “You, who only months before appeared as an innocent young house slave, are telling me, a notorious coward, to inform Bromidus no less. I can’t go back there—he will kill me this time for sure!”
“No he will not!” snapped Julia with authority; then in a more thoughtful tone, “Not yet anyway, you are the only link to me and what I have to offer. Bromidus is greedy and he needs me for the moment. He will not harm you for as long as he can use me for leverage.”
Going on as though her words were describing a simple shopping list, Julia added:
“You must also tell him to arrange ten more galleys to arrive in Hispania discreetly within six months of your arrival. I don’t know how he will do this but we must have transport for whatever you find on the estates. Bromidus will already understand the level of secrecy required for this enterprise but you must impress upon him that the pirates in the East must never be allowed to find out!”
The girl had Gavius over a barrel and he could do nothing to change it. His alternatives were to comply or face the wrath of Sulla or Bromidus and whichever path he took looked as though it would end with his untimely death.
“Why am I to go to Hispania?” he asked with a resigned tone in his voice and the look of a broken man on his face.
“You will tour my future husband’s estates; you will accompany him in order to offer advice about farming techniques and methods of harvesting.”
“I know nothing about farming. I’m from the city.”
“I will teach you about farming at the same time as teaching you how to be my uncle.”
“What?”
“Young Gaius Marius is expecting you as my uncle.”
“What?” repeated Gavius, and in a cynical tone added, “Oh I see the problem I’ve lost my mind I thought I heard her say I was to deceive the son of the great Father of Rome. My mind must be going; that’s it, my mind is playing tricks on me.” But of course he knew Julia well enough to know that whatever she said was true, however fantastic, it was always factual, she never joked.
A few days later Gavius explained with an air of amazement, “Bromidus didn’t touch me! He furnished a galley for the journey to Hispania without hesitation there were no questions he simply called one of his henchmen over and told him that he was going on a trip, can you imagine that? At a moment’s notice the poor man is being sent across the world.” Pausing, Gavius pondered the similarity of his own predicament.
“Anyway,” he continued, “Bromidus told the man to introduce me to the Captain of the galley sitting in the harbor unloading its cargo. He also told him to tell the pirates on board that I have full authority and must be obeyed. His only question was in relation to my departure date and when I told him that I have to be in Hispania within two months he told me that timing would not be a problem because if I sail within seven days I will arrive well ahead of my deadline. What power do you hold over him?” Gavius was clearly in awe of Julia.
Ignoring his question Julia asked, “What of the ten galleys?”
“The fellow who was told to travel with me is going on to recruit more galleys in Cyprus after delivering me to Hispania.”
As always Jul
ia found it hard to accept how successful her manipulations were becoming and it simultaneously excited and terrified her. Unwilling to show any outward reaction she shrugged off the fat man’s suggestion of influence. “It is not power,” she said. “He just has an eye for a good business deal; that’s all it is.”
For a very brief moment Julia wondered if maybe she did have some kind of power over Bromidus but her constant insecurities would not allow her to take credit for any accomplishments so she concluded, “Anyone could have achieved the little I have. I’m just lucky that’s all.”
By the time Gavius was aboard the galley bound for Hispania he was an expert in the ways of growing olives and grapes. Julia who was of course a child of the groves had no trouble imparting the information Gavius needed to appear knowledgeable about that subject.
In order to find out about vineyards they employed the services of a wine merchant by the name of Durell who had fled to Rome as a refugee during the war. He told them things such as how to tell when the grapes are ripe and ready for harvesting.
“The best grapes have what looks like a layer of white dust on them—bloom we call it,” he explained, “and the best method of extracting the juice from the fruit is with the feet. It is good to have many slaves available for this process because it is extremely hard, miserable work.”
Then he added with a crafty look in his eye, “Make sure that the slaves have had nothing to drink they must also be naked so that you can watch their pricks. Sometimes we even tie them up with twine because they piss in the presses you know!”
Upon hearing this Julia turned to look at her full goblet and for just a brief moment considered giving up wine but the idea was far too ridiculous she could not do what had to be done without the strength of wine; a little barbarian piss would have to be endured.
At the completion of their tutoring Gavius paid the wine merchant’s fee because Julia still had no money of her own and watching him hand over the silver pieces annoyed her greatly. Julia was constantly frustrated because he had enough for small things but not enough to buy her “lions” and it drove her to distraction.