The Last King of Rome

by Laura Dowers

  ‘Lucius, I’ve been thinking.’

  Lucius opened one eye. ‘Don’t,’ he said and shut it again.

  ‘No, listen,’ she insisted, prodding him.

  Lucius wiped his hand over his face, licked his lips and finally opened his eyes. ‘What?’

  ‘Do you love Tullia?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Do you love me?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘And you would prefer to have me all to yourself, yes?’

  ‘Where is this going, Lolly?’

  Lolly began plucking at the blonde hairs framing his navel. ‘I just think it would be better for us both if Tullia was out of the way.’

  ‘I can’t divorce your sister,’ he said, closing his eyes again. ‘Servius wouldn’t allow it.’

  ‘I’m not talking about a divorce.’

  ‘Then what are you talking about?’ he asked impatiently.

  Lolly paused before answering. ‘What if Tullia were to die?’

  ‘Die?’

  ‘Oh, don’t be obtuse, my love,’ Lolly said, ‘you know very well what I mean.’

  ‘You want me to kill Tullia?’

  ‘Why not?’

  Lucius withdrew his arm from around her waist and sat up, drawing up his knees to rest his elbows. ‘Are you serious?’

  ‘Perfectly.’

  ‘But what good would come of it? It’s not as if I could marry you.’

  ‘You could… if Arruns was also dead.’

  Lucius’s eyes widened. ‘Kill my brother?’

  ‘How is that any worse than killing your wife, my love?’

  Lucius stared at her for a long moment, then scrambled over her to get off the bed. He began to pace the room. Lolly watched him, for once not noticing his physique or the lithe way he moved, both of which normally aroused longing in her. She concentrated on his face, trying to read what was going on behind his eyes.

  ‘No,’ he said at last, ‘he’s my brother, I can’t. You will not talk of such things.’

  ‘But—,’ Lolly began.

  He rushed at her and grabbed her shoulders. ‘No,’ he said through gritted teeth. He shoved her away and snatched up his clothes from the floor.

  ‘Lucius, don’t go,’ Lolly called after him as he headed for the door.

  He cast a contemptuous look back at her, then pulled the bolt to the side and strode out.

  ‘Oh, that went well,’ Lolly murmured and massaged her shoulders, noting the red marks that would turn into bruises by the next day. Although a little disappointed, she had expected Lucius to react the way he had. For all his bluster and swagger, for all his talk, she knew Lucius’s heart was not made of stone as hers was. His heart was penetrable. Lucius felt little love for others, it was true, but she knew from seeing him with Arruns that he suffered guilt. A worthless emotion, Lolly felt; it served no useful purpose and made one weak.

  No matter, she would work on him. Only a feeble-minded woman took a man’s first no for a final answer. The direct approach had failed. Well then, she would try the indirect way. Whisper in his ear when they were in bed about how badly her sister treated him, how Tullia never cared about what he wanted or tried her best to please him. She would move on to how badly Arruns treated her. Perhaps when the bruises appeared, she would show him those and say Arruns had made them.

  She would find some way of convincing Lucius that Arruns and Tullia should die.

  ‘You’ve been avoiding me,’ Lolly said, pressing her hip against Lucius’s arm as he sat at his study desk.

  ‘I’m busy,’ he said, refusing to look up.

  ‘Stop being busy,’ she said, lifting his arm aside and sliding into his lap.

  ‘By Dis, Lolly,’ he hissed, ‘someone will see.’

  ‘I don’t care if they do,’ she said, nuzzling his ear. ‘I’ve missed you, my love. Tell me, are you angry with me?’

  ‘Go away.’

  She bit his neck. ‘Are you?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Then why have you not come to my bed?’

  ‘I… I thought you were bleeding.’

  ‘Liar. You are angry with me.’

  ‘Can you blame me after what you said?’

  ‘Yes,’ she said sharply, causing him to at last look at her. ‘I blame you for being a sentimental fool. If only you knew.’

  ‘If only I knew what?’

  ‘No, I shan’t tell you,’ she said, turning her head away. ‘You’ll stay angry with me.’

  ‘I will if you don’t tell me,’ he warned, and clamping his hand around her jaw, turned her face towards him.

  ‘I’ll show you,’ she said and rose from his lap. She held out her hand. ‘Come on.’

  With Lucius’s hand in hers, Lolly led him out of the study and to the garden, along the stony path that led to the enclosed arbour. Putting her finger to her lips so he would be quiet, she pointed and whispered, ‘Look.’

  She knew what he would see as Lucius peered carefully around the hedge because she had made sure they were there: Arruns and Tullia sitting together on the stone bench. Standing on tiptoe, she peeped over his shoulder. Arruns and Tullia were talking in low voices and she saw Lucius half-turn towards her, no doubt to ask what was so wrong about them talking when Arruns pressed his lips to Tullia’s neck in a very unbrotherly kiss. She felt Lucius stiffen as Tullia angled her body towards him and kissed Arruns fully and deeply on the mouth.

  Lolly tugged Lucius’s hand. He turned to her and she saw the fury in his face. Worried he would attack Arruns and spoil her plan, she pulled Lucius away from the arbour and hurried him back to the study.

  ‘You see?’ she said, pushing him down into the chair. ‘They are deceiving both of us.’

  ‘The bitch,’ Lucius hissed. ‘How dare she?’

  ‘How dare Arruns?’ Lolly countered. ‘Does he not think of me, how hurt I must be that he is betraying me with my own sister? And you. I know a man may take his pleasure where he will, but could he not have found a woman other than his own brother’s wife?’ Once again, she slid onto his lap and this time, he didn’t complain. ‘You’re angry,’ she said, putting a hand on his chest. ‘How your heart beats.’ He stared at her, his breath coming hard and fast. ‘Take your anger out on me.’

  Lifting her dress to her hips, she straddled him and slipped her hands beneath his tunic, stroking him until he became hard. He didn’t remind her of where they were, didn’t say they should retire to their room. Lucius didn’t say a word as she sank onto him and began to move.

  Lucius’s head was between her breasts, his breath blowing hot on her skin. They had moved from the study to Lolly’s bedroom, and as Lolly told him he could, Lucius had been rough with her, holding her down on the bed and thrusting into her hard. She had bit her lip, determined not to cry out, revelling in the pain, relishing his anger. He had worn himself out and now she felt she had him just where she wanted him. She played with his hair, curling strands around her fingers, while her other hand stroked the damp skin between his shoulder blades.

  ‘That’s nice,’ he murmured and kissed the jutting bone of her breastbone.

  ‘I do love you, you know, Lucius.’

  ‘I know.’

  ‘And you know I only want what’s best for you?’

  ‘I know.’

  ‘That’s why I showed you how they were deceiving us.’

  He lifted his head and rested his chin on her. ‘What does she see in him?’

  ‘What does he see in her?’ Lolly countered. Although she was not hurt by Arruns’s infidelity, she did feel a little insulted by his choice of lover. That he could be aroused by such a mouse as Tullia!

  ‘I should have confronted them,’ Lucius said, rolling over onto his back.

  Lolly, able to breathe easily again, turned onto her side to face him. ‘What would you have done?’

  ‘I’d have shown her,’ he growled.

  ‘Shown her what, my love?’ When he didn’t answer, she said, ‘Would you have hit her?’
<
br />   ‘I’d have smashed my fist into her face.’

  ‘Just the once?’

  ‘No, again and again until her face was nothing but blood.’

  ‘Her face would mend in time. And then another man would take her fancy and she’d be at it again.’

  ‘Then I’d hit her again. Or I’d keep her locked up.’

  ‘My father wouldn’t let you, you know that, my love. And what about your brother? He is not innocent in this, you know.’

  ‘I’ll pay Arruns back, don’t you worry.’

  ‘How? Hit his face until it’s nothing but blood?’

  Lucius fell silent and Lolly knew her moment had come.

  ‘And there would be talk in the city. It would get around that your own brother had made you a cuckold. I know you, Lucius, I know you couldn’t bear that, to be gossiped about and laughed at. And I couldn’t bear it for you.’

  She watched Lucius as he stared at the ceiling, knowing he was thinking how he could pay Tullia and Arruns back for their treachery.

  ‘How can we do it?’ he said coldly.

  Lolly’s heart began to beat faster. ‘Poison,’ she said, trying to keep the excitement from her voice. ‘It’s quiet and simple.’

  ‘Poison is a coward’s weapon. I should fight Arruns.’

  ‘My love, if you fight your brother, people will want to know why. And besides, you don’t have to do anything. You can leave it all to me.’

  ‘Tullia, too?’

  ‘Tullia, too.’

  He nodded, satisfied. She put her fingers to his eyes and she felt his lids flicker. ‘Rest,’ she purred and kissed him lightly on the mouth. He needed little persuading.

  Lolly smiled down at him as he slept. How fortunate it had been to learn that Arruns was sleeping with Tullia. It had made her task of convincing Lucius that their siblings should die so much easier.

  16

  Lolly donned her heavy woollen cloak, pulled up the hood to cover her head and so concealed, returned to the shop by the Temple of Vesta. The woman who had served her the love philtre raised an eyebrow when Lolly said she wanted poison.

  ‘What you looking to kill?’ she asked.

  ‘Vermin,’ Lolly answered. ‘Rats.’

  ‘Rats?’ the woman said. ‘Why don’t you just get a cat?’

  ‘I don’t like cats,’ Lolly replied, thinking quickly. ‘They make me sneeze.’

  ‘I’ve heard they can do that,’ the woman nodded. ‘Very well.’ She went to the back of the shop again, this time to a different chest. The lid creaked as she opened it. ‘This’ll do the trick,’ she said, holding up a large brown bottle. ‘Put a spoonful on the food you put down and those little bastards will soon be dead.’

  Lolly took the bottle. ‘It will be quick, then?’

  ‘Oh, it’ll be quick,’ the woman promised.

  ‘Will it hurt?’

  ‘What does that matter? They’re only rats. You want them dead, don’t you?’

  ‘Yes, I… how does it kill them?’

  ‘Look, love,’ the woman said impatiently, ‘I can’t tell you what it does to the little bastards on the inside. All I can tell you is it kills them.’

  ‘Can you tell that they’ve been poisoned?’ Lolly pressed.

  The woman put her hands on her hips. ‘All right, my sweet, you tell me, and you tell me true. Is it really rats you want this poison for?’

  Lolly swallowed and raised her chin defiantly. ‘Not rats, no.’

  The woman nodded, unruffled, not shocked. ‘Well, if you don’t want to leave a mark on the body, then that one won’t do you any good.’ She went back to the chest and rummaged through it. Lolly heard the clink of glass. ‘This is what you want. It’s a lot more expensive than the other.’

  ‘That doesn’t matter,’ Lolly said, taking the bottle and handing the other back. ‘How much?’

  The woman told her. ‘That’s just for the bottle. My silence will cost you more, my sweet.’

  Lolly’s skin turned cold. ‘How much more?’

  ‘Quite a bit more, but not so much you can’t afford it. Not a lady like you.’

  Lolly told her to name her price. When she did, Lolly felt like laughing out loud. The sum named may have been a great deal to the woman, but it was nothing to Lolly. She had plenty in her purse, enough to cover the cost of the poison and the woman’s discretion.

  ‘How do I do it?’ she asked, delving into the leather pouch and handing over the bronze ingots.

  ‘Just put a spoonful in a bowl of strong-tasting soup or sauce, or into a cup of wine. Add some honey to the wine and the drinker will never notice the taste. They’ll start to feel ill in a few hours.’

  ‘How soon will they die?’

  ‘There’s no saying,’ the woman shrugged. ‘Some it takes after a few hours, others linger on for days. But they all die in the end.’

  ‘And the deaths will look natural?’

  The woman smiled. ‘People die all the time, my honey. Who’s to say what takes them off?’

  Lolly tucked the bottle into her pouch, satisfied. She nodded at the woman and left the shop, taking care to adjust her hood.

  Tullia accepted the plate her sister offered her with a smile.

  Why was Lolly being so nice to her? It wasn’t usual. Tullia’s mind turned to the night she had just spent with Arruns and sweat pricked out on her top lip. Maybe she should end the affair. No, not maybe, she knew she should end it. How could she live with herself knowing how cruel she was being to her sister who had no idea of her treachery?

  It wasn’t fair to Lucius either. It wasn’t his fault he didn’t love her. She was his wife and she had a duty to be faithful to him. But oh, Arruns… their time together meant so much to her. Not once since their marriage had she ever felt Lucius cared anything for her while she wholeheartedly believed Arruns when he said he loved her. For so long she had thought herself unlovable, that there was something wrong with her and that was why Lucius had no time for her. Arruns made her feel worthy, wanted, desirable even. Could she give him up just like that?

  Tullia forced herself to listen to what her sister was saying.

  ‘You really are looking very pale, Tullia,’ Lolly said. ‘Are you eating properly?’

  Tullia felt like saying Lolly sounded exactly like their mother, but she knew that would annoy her sister. Instead, she said, ‘Yes, Lolly, I am. I feel fine. There’s nothing wrong with me.’

  ‘Well, I don’t think you look well. It’s not morning sickness, is it? You’re not pregnant, are you?’

  Tullia flushed. A few months earlier she would have shook off the suggestion, knowing it was impossible, for Lucius hadn’t touched her for so long. But Arruns had. He’d been inside her so many times, had so many opportunities to seed her womb. And she hadn’t cared that she might become pregnant by him. For him, she was willing to risk the dishonour and the shame.

  ‘I… I don’t think so, no,’ she said in a voice barely above a whisper.

  ‘Lucius does his duty, doesn’t he?’ Lolly asked.

  Tullia steeled herself to deliver a rebuke. ‘That’s really none of your business, Lolly.’

  ‘Oh, come, Tullia, we’re sisters. We can tell each other anything. I would tell you about Arruns if you asked.’

  ‘But I wouldn’t ask,’ Tullia snapped.

  ‘All right, there’s no need to bite my head off,’ Lolly said, punching her cushion.

  Tullia groaned inwardly. ‘I’m sorry, Lolly. Maybe I am a bit under the weather and it’s making me irritable.’

  Lolly smiled graciously. ‘You must let me give you something to make you feel better. It’s something I take myself now and then.’

  Tullia watched with reluctant interest as Lolly took out a small bottle from her purse. ‘What is it?’

  ‘Just a tonic.’

  ‘I’d rather not, Lolly, if you don’t mind. I really don’t like taking those kinds of potions. You never know what’s in them.’

  ‘Nonsense, Tullia,
’ Lolly said, pulling out the cork and snatching up Tullia’s cup from the table. ‘It hasn’t done me any harm, has it?’ She tipped the bottle up and a thin dark liquid trickled into Tullia’s wine. She added a spoonful of honey and stirred the mixture. ‘Here, drink. What? Don’t you trust me?’

  ‘Of course I do,’ Tullia said, taking the cup. She put it to her nose and sniffed. There was a faint odour of something not quite pleasant.

  ‘Drink,’ Lolly urged, ‘drink.’

  Tullia took a sip. Despite the odd smell, it tasted just like sweet wine. Glancing over the rim of her cup and seeing Lolly’s eyes firmly upon her, she took a mouthful and swallowed, draining it.

  ‘There,’ she said, showing Lolly the empty cup. ‘Happy now?’

  Lolly sank back onto her cushions with a languid smile. ‘Oh yes, sister, you’ve made me very happy.’

  Everything was dark to her. Trying to open her eyes hurt and her lids fluttered like butterfly wings, batting feebly. Best to leave them shut, Tullia decided, turning her head on the pillow to the side where the coolness of the fabric momentarily gave ease to her feverish cheek.

  Oh, how she hurt. Her very bones ached. She tried flexing her arms and legs to ease their muscles but the movement cost her dearly and she cried out in pain. She heard voices, female voices, and thought she recognised them. Was that her mother and Lolly? And then another voice, male, unfamiliar. Who was he?

  Something touched her arm. It hurt and she tried to move her arm away but she had no strength, no power to defend herself. Go away, she mentally begged, leave me alone.

  But whatever it was, it didn’t leave her alone. It poked and prodded, forced her to open her mouth, felt around her head, and didn’t seem to care that every touch was agony.

  Lolly had been right after all, Tullia realised, she had been ill. And she deserved to be ill after all she had done. Perhaps this illness was a punishment from Vesta, for betraying both Lucius and Lolly with Arruns. If she recovered, she would end it, tell Arruns she couldn’t continue to share his bed. She would be a better wife to Lucius and a kinder sister to Lolly. If only she would get better. She tried to move again and groaned. She had to get better so she could put things right.