by Simon Rumney
“Are you questioning my intentions as a Roman Senator?” Shouted back Marius in his distorted voice then, tottering slightly he added, “How dare you accuse me of disloyalty to Rome!”
“What will happen if you have another stroke during the campaign? Who will lead the army if your body fails as it did before?”
This time everyone present could see that Marius would be physically unable to lead an army. Sulla’s angry words made complete sense to everyone and most in the Senators called out “Here! Here!” in complete agreement.
“Rome is bankrupt because of the civil war and I am offering to do my duty as a citizen,” spluttered Marius. His dignitas had been brought into question and that could not be allowed to go unanswered.
There was an audible sigh of shock in the house because the Senators could not believe that he referred to the war with the primitive tribes as a “civil war”. The fact that they were not of the same nation had been the very point of the conflict.
Most of the Senators respected what Marius had done for Rome but he was manifesting more and more eccentric even liberal habits and they feared giving so much power to such an unstable man. With an army of twenty legions Marius could march on Rome if he so wished and they would be unable to retaliate.
The vote when counted was for Sulla to depart with an army of five legions as soon as possible. The cost was to be met by borrowing from the moneylenders of Rome which by coincidence meant that much of the cost was to be borne by Julia’s wealth.
Leaning on a straining Caesar, Marius stood shaking in the Senate after the vote and hurled abuse at Sulla. “You are a dishonest man who has misled Rome on many occasions — how dare you accuse me of disloyalty!’
Much to the amazement of even his closest friends Marius went on to accuse him of illegally causing the Marsic war.
A few of the Senators had their suspicions — they had even discussed it privately with Marius but accusing Sulla in the Senate without proof was going too far.
Two of his dearest friends came to Marius and escorted him politely but firmly from the floor of the Senate. As he went Marius shouted over his shoulder bearing an unfortunate resemblance to a pathetic drunk being removed from a party.
Sulla reveled in the moment. He had won a battle with Marius at last and he stood on the floor of the Senate with a look of sympathy on his face but a gloating feeling of ecstatic pleasure in his heart.
Pardoned
Marius was escorted home from the Senate, following his outburst, by a number of his old friends. All of them had known the great man for many years and they could not remember a time that they had not loved and trusted him. Many of these proud men fought back tears. This was a tragic way to end a life such as his and they were all connected to his pain. Leaving him in the care of his servants and the boy Julius they filed out into the street wondering what would become of the old man.
The once great Father of Rome felt foolish as he sat by the fountain in his courtyard. In his fury he had delivered his suspicions about Sulla like a pathetic fool, he had never let his anger get the better of him in the Senate before and it worried him greatly.
As he sat pondering his stupidity, his manservant approached saying, “I am truly sorry to disturb you at such a time my Lord but there is a delegation here to see you. They have traveled from Hispania for the purpose of gaining an audience with you.”
Young Caesar quickly stood saying, “Tell them to return tomorrow, today we are too busy for any meetings.”
Marius turned his twisted face admiringly to look at the boy. “You will be a truly extraordinary asset to Rome when you are a man. So young, yet totally self-assured, and already in command.’ Marius turned to his most loyal employee and told him to, “Show our visitors into the dining room. They have come a long way; I should see them as a matter of courtesy.”
Marius limped into the dining room to discover a small delegation comprised of two centurions, a man with the weather-beaten face of a sea captain and a strangely familiar-looking Roman woman. They were standing nervously by the bust of Young Gaius and the sight of his son warmed the old man’s heart.
While the secure feelings bolstered his bruised ego Marius silently assessed their appearance and indicated that they should all take a seat on one of the many dinning couches. “You are a Persian?” he asked the captain.
“That I am, Sir.”
“What news of my son?”
One of the young centurions stood up and gave a clenched fist salute. He came forward to speak. “He is well Sir. He has given a good account of himself during our campaigns in Hispania.”
“I am delighted to hear such good news,” said Marius then added, “and how may I help you today?”
The same centurion answered with, “It is a somewhat delicate matter that your son felt you would be able to adjudicate upon.”
“Please, go on.”
“This is Clitumna Drusus, daughter of Marcus Livius Drusus,” said the centurion in a serious tone while remaining on his feet.
Even more heartened by the sight of a familiar face Marius exclaimed, “I thought you looked familiar, of course the daughter of my old friend Drusus. How have you been and what brings you to me with this somber-looking bunch?”
“I have been abducted by pirates, Uncle,” replied Clitumna with a sad face.
All of the men who had accompanied her on the crossing from Hispania shook their heads in disbelief.
“My poor dear girl,” said Marius with real concern in his voice, “that must have been a terrible trial, are you feeling strong enough to talk about your experience?”
As she was about to deliver the fabricated version of her past, the Persian captain interrupted by saying in his heavily accented voice, “I caution you this is an extremely manipulative woman who will try every trick to avoid paying for her sins. If it pleases you Sir, I will tell you the truth of how this woman has spent her time with the pirates.”
The centurions were nodding their agreement as Julia wandered in seemingly by chance. Still unsure if Antonius was going to obey her order to depart for Hispania, Julia was deeply concerned. Putting on her bravest smile she said, “I am sorry for my interruption Father — I did not know you were all in here. The servants told me that someone from Hispania was visiting and I assumed you would be in your private office.” Then, lifting a scroll Julia added, “There is wonderful news from our beloved Gaius, he is to return within the month. He is crossing the great ocean even as I speak.”
Smiling at the second, happy surprise Marius beckoned her to him saying, “Julia my dear come in, come in, this is indeed great news but I do believe we are just about to hear even more intriguing news about someone else.”
Clitumna’s attention turned to the beautiful young woman whose name had been mentioned as she stood on the blood-soaked dock at Saguntum.
Patting the couch next to him Marius said, “Please stay Julia it is better to have another woman in the room with us to monitor fair play and …” Before he could finish his sentence he was rudely interrupted by the Persian captain.
The foreigner was unable to believe the civilized Roman nonsense he was hearing and reaching for his dagger he advanced on Clitumna. Restrained by the centurions he shouted, “She is not a woman of compassion — she does not deserve fair play! She has killed many men on the high seas, good honest men whose only crime was sailing too close to one of her pirate vessels!”
“Hold your tongue!” snapped Marius. “You are referring to a Roman of the highest caliber. How dare you make such accusations! This is the daughter of a personal friend of mine.” Marius then looked softly at Clitumna and began to tell her the sad news of her father’s death from natural causes. He also went on to say that her husband had been killed recently in the Asian province by Mithridates.
Clitumna had already received news of her father’s death but the death of her husband came as a wonderful surprise and she burst into floods of sobbing tears in an attempt to prevent herse
lf from laughing.
Her sadness seemed to inspire even more sympathy within the old fool in front of her so she turned on the flood with a vengeance. Between sobs her lies weaved themselves into a tale of great hardship which all followed with various levels of disbelief.
The only person in the room who felt any sympathy for her was Gaius Marius; the centurions had both been treated to her conniving on the voyage home from Hispania; the Captain knew who she really was; as did Julia, and even young Caesar could see through her act; but the old man could see only the little girl who had visited with his dear friend during better times.
The Persian had to be further restrained after lunging a second time at the woman he hated more than anyone alive. Marius ordered the centurions to return him to his ship which required manhandling him as he refused to leave until the leader of the pirates was brought to justice.
“Don’t make trouble for yourself,” were the final words of Marius.
The centurions had difficulty believing what had just happened but neither of them were about to question the decision of the great man. If he wanted to pardon the bitch that was up to him so they obligingly carried the noisy captain kicking and screaming back to his ship and as ordered made sure it and he sailed as soon as the cargo was unloaded.
Taken as much by surprise as the Persian, Julia had no idea what to say. When Marius insisted that Clitumna move into his home for as long as she wished to stay, Julia was flabbergasted. Believing that the pirate queen would be killed by Young Gaius in Hispania, or by Gaius Marius in Rome, Julia had made no contingency plan. Before she could think of which course of action to take the exhausted Marius ended proceedings abruptly with, “Now I really must rest. This has been a most eventful day indeed.” With that, young Julius helped him through the doorway to his private chamber where no one dared disturb him.
The two women remained alone in the room and as Clitumna wiped away her crocodile tears they sized each other up.
“You must be tired after all you have been through,” said Julia feigning sympathy.
“That I am. I have been through many terrifying ordeals over these past years,” replied Clitumna clearly wondering what part this radiant-looking young woman had played in the demise of her pirate empire.
“I will ask a housemaid to show you to one of the guest rooms,” said Julia as she walked towards the scullery.
When she returned with the slave, Julia asked as though in passing, “Did you see my darling Gaius in Hispania? We are betrothed you know?”
“Yes he rescued me from the pirates; he beheaded their leader with his very own hands.”
Young Gaius was obviously too much of a dignified Roman to mention his part in the decapitation so the brutality of his act caught Julia off balance.
“The maid will take you to your room now,” she said waving her hand at the servant while fighting to give no outward indication of her inner turmoil.
Julia alone understood how Clitumna felt about the Captain. It was such bad luck that out of five thousand Roman soldiers on the dock it had been her fiancé who cut off his head.
“Thank you for your kindness, I look forward to seeing you again,” replied Clitumna holding out her hand to be shaken.
As Julia reached out hers in return, the golden “lions” slid slowly from within the folds of Clitumna’s sleeve. Like a galley being launched into the ocean the amulet moved gracefully down her wrist and stopped at the outstretched hand. Standing rigid as the statue of Young Gaius behind her, Julia stared unable to move.
All of the pain which had mellowed with time returned with renewed force and Julia feared passing out as she slumped onto a couch. “Wine! Fetch wine! … Now!” she snapped at the house slave who was too shocked to move.
Of all the Greek captains on the great ocean, Clitumna’s was the one who purchased my “lions”. As that thought passed Julia realized how vulnerable she was. The Captain must have traveled to Rome with the first shipment and she had not been told. Had Gavius deceived her or, was he just being his usual incompetent self? Then, a wave of cold surged through Julia. The Captain must have used money from that first shipment to buy her “lions”. If only Gavius had paid the pirates after her. If only she had not stopped to admire the money, the “lions” would be hers not this big woman who now stared at her like a hawk.
Clitumna subtly moved her wrist from right to left and Julia’s following eyes made it perfectly clear that the Captain’s fine gift held some kind of power over her. Clitumna asked, with mock sincerity, “Are you alright my dear? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
In many ways that is how Julia regarded this piece of jewelry; it had exactly the same influence as a lover returning from the dead. Overwhelmed, she was struggling to put all of the events leading up to this agony into a believable sequence. The fact that the pirate queen had survived in Hispania was remarkable enough. Knowing Marius was simply uncanny. Being brought before him on the very day of his humiliation in the Senate was too far-fetched to be believed, but to be in possession of the only thing she loved was too much of a load for Julia’s unhinged mind to bear.
Vulnerability
Leaving the home of Marius, and that “lion thief” Clitumna behind her, Julia meandered through the streets. She was going in no particular direction to get to no place in particular with her distorted mind raging in turmoil of anxiety and panic. Imaginary hazards swamped her thoughts, they appeared in rapid waves from every direction. Julia knew that everything she had achieved must be closed down; nothing should lead that horrible Clitumna woman back to her.
What a fool I was to believe that my double dealings would not be found out! I am a stupid country girl with a slow mind — how could I possibly have hoped to get away with it? “I am such a fool!” Noticing the surprised looks on nearby faces Julia realized that she had converted her usually silent self-admonishment into spoken words and she had shouted them at the top of her voice in the middle of the busy street.
Completely disorientated and unable to calm herself, Julia determined that she was far too vulnerable with Clitumna in Rome and, while anticipating weakness everywhere, Julia considered how to close down her operations in Hispania.
The country was now completely in her grasp. The wagons from the estates were no longer traveling to Saguntum alone but to the ports of Tarraco in the north and Carthago Nova in the south.
At her suggestion, Young Gaius had purchased many more of the slaves taken in Hispania and they were now loading her cargo in shifts, day and night. Julia’s rapidly expanding fleets were plying the routes between all three harbors as fast as they could load and unload.
In complete surprise, Julia realized that all of these activities were perfectly legal and above board. She had always thought of them as corrupt because they were put into action while deceiving Bromidus, the pirates, Young Gaius and Rome, but in reality they were all perfectly legitimate. It amazed Julia to think that not only was there nothing wrong with her involvement in Hispania, even if there was she could not be linked with any of it.
With panic subsiding for only a moment, Julia’s mind went searching for the inevitable mistake which would link her to the illegal activities closer to home. I am simply not bright enough to get away with what I am doing in Rome, she reasoned. But try as she might Julia could not find her Achilles’ heel. Bromidus was her major danger but he had fled across the great ocean. He would never be able to return to Rome, and anyway, he had always dealt with Gavius; he would not bother himself with her, even if he could remember who she was.
It was also Gavius who instructed the moneylenders to employ her vast, daily cash-flow to purchase anything to do with food production. I cannot be associated with any of the substantial purchases of farmland around Rome and Italy, she reasoned. Julia could not be linked to the buying of future harvests from farmers who would not sell their land because she had never even discussed such things with anyone but the fat man. Other than coming up with the ideas she had abs
olutely nothing to do with any of the negotiations.
Even the transportation, storage, cargo galleys and retail outlets which were being snapped up on her behalf could not be linked to Julia. Quite remarkably, she was now responsible for feeding a population of over one million people. Her agents were even purchasing everything they could find in Egypt and the East; nothing linked her to any of it and, yet again, even if she were implicated there was no crime to answer for because it was all above board and legitimate.
Becoming frustrated and angered because she was clearly too stupid to find her inevitable weakness, Julia’s subconscious could not even consider the idea that she may be too competent to have one. Any notions of accomplishment were false and must be corrected so, in the course of looking for flaws, Julia’s mind sifted through her involvement in bribery and corruption, but even that did not provide the expected frailty.
Whilst it was technically illegal to pay Senators to speak her words, bribery seemed to be common practice; she was by no means the only one doing it. Anyway, Julia’s first efforts in this arena actually made her a hero of Rome. Had the Senators known it was Julia who prompted them to smash the pirates on the great ocean they would probably have given her a reward so that attempt to berate herself also had to be discarded.
Julia’s dysfunctional mind doggedly craved proof of her incompetence. The thing that would inevitably catch her out had to be found and to this end every aspect of her life was turned out and picked through. While still weaving her sad way to nowhere, Julia realized with a twisted sense of satisfaction that her rapidly growing property transactions were very probably corrupt enough to bring her undone so she focused all of her attention on the dealings which had begun as a sideline.
Her real-estate venture was inspired by the moneylenders who told Gavius that many of the public works in Rome and war-damaged Italy were being financed by her money. As a result of this information the same moneylenders had been instructed to bribe Senators to award civic development contracts exclusively to her companies which had grown into significant organizations.