Caligula

XXXIII

He was old, and very thin, and he rocked back and forth mumbling almost inaudibly to himself. Livia sat by his side, bathing his forehead with a damp cloth. She looked up as Rufus entered, the relief written clearly on her face.

'I… I feared you might be gone for longer.'

He almost smiled at the understatement. The truth was she had feared he might be gone for ever.

'Did they harm you?'

He shook his head. 'No. I was never in any danger — at least I don't think so. It was a mistake, but a mistake which took all night to correct. Once I convinced them who I was, they freed me. Who's our new friend?'

Livia chewed at her lip. 'I don't know. I found him.'

Rufus laughed. It sounded so unlikely. If you were lucky you found a sesterce someone had dropped. An addled old man was different.

Livia explained: 'I went out this morning hoping to see you, or at least hear news of you. He was lying on the grass near the wall babbling to himself. I think he must have tried to climb it and fallen.'

'Then he's doubly fortunate. If he had managed to get over it, the fall on the other side would have killed him. And if you hadn't found him when you did he might have died of cold. He looks very frail.'

'I'm frightened of him. He keeps talking about some terrible river. He was wearing this round his neck. Is it some kind of strange charm?'

The object she handed him was a piece of metal, about six inches in length and in the shape of an elongated T, except it also had two prongs protruding horizontally from the bottom end, slightly shorter than the upper arms of the T.

He shook his head. 'I don't know. I've never seen anything like it. I don't recognize him, but he must belong somewhere in the palace. Someone in the guard will know him. I need to talk to Cupido. I'll ask him if anyone has lost an old man.'

The object of their discussion gave a start, as if he had been listening, and his eyes opened in alarm as if he could see something they could not.

'So many. So many I cannot count them all,' he groaned, rocking his head from side to side. 'But I must help them on their way. Where is the ferryman? There must be a ferryman. Have they not paid him? Have they not paid him to make the journey over the river?'

The words emerged in one long, rambling sentence and Rufus could barely make them out. He knew he should have felt pity, but his long night with Chaerea had robbed him of any capacity for sympathy.

'What river? Tell us what river?' He shook the old man by the shoulder, and for a moment the eyes focused.

'The Styx.'

Rufus pulled his hand away as if he'd been burned, and when he looked at Livia her eyes were as wide as he knew his must be. She was making the sign, and, belatedly, he followed her example.

'What can we do with him?' she whispered. He was tempted to say 'Take him back where you found him and leave him there,' but he had seen enough death recently not to want to add to it, even by natural causes.

'What else can we do? Give him a bowl of broth and hope he gets better and goes back where he belongs.'

A few hours later, Rufus called at the guardroom and asked for Cupido. One of the Praetorians he knew by sight answered. 'He's on watch, but if you come back later he should be here around the eighth hour.'

He spent the rest of the morning exercising Bersheba, and he was surprised when, close to midday, he turned the elephant to find Callistus watching them. For once, the palace secretary wasn't accompanied by his normal entourage. Instead, a small boy who looked about five years old stood at his side, pointing excitedly at the elephant.

Rufus brought Bersheba to a halt a few paces from them and slid from her back. He approached Callistus and bowed.

'My son has been asking to see the elephant ever since I told him about her,' the imperial secretary explained, smiling indulgently at the child. 'I promised to bring him today, though he should be at his lessons.'

This was a different Callistus from the one who organized the parade for Drusilla's divinity. The cloak of official menace he habitually wore was missing and his voice held a deep affection for the boy that surprised Rufus.

The child stared wide-eyed at Bersheba, as if he could not quite believe what he was seeing. He had short-cropped dark hair, and his father's long nose was already making its presence known, but there was a glint of mischief in his eyes that Rufus liked. He had an idea.

'Would he like to ride her?'

The boy grinned shyly but Callistus's face took on an expression heavy with paternal protectiveness. 'Will he be safe?'

Rufus laughed. 'Bersheba has carried the Emperor himself. He did not complain.'

Callistus nodded. 'Of course. In that case, yes, but only for a short time.' He ushered the boy forward. 'Do not be frightened, Gnaius. This is the Emperor's elephant and she is very tame.'

Rufus ordered Bersheba to kneel and lifted the wriggling child on to her back, then settled into place behind him. He slapped the elephant on her shoulder. 'On, Bersheba.' As they lurched forward he felt the boy laughing, and when he turned to Callistus the imperial secretary's normally solemn face was split in a wide smile.

By the time they were finished Rufus and the boy were firm friends. He had difficulty persuading Gnaius to dismount, and it took an order from his father before the child would get down from Bersheba's back.

Rufus returned Bersheba to the barn and tried to prepare himself for the meeting with Cupido. The encounter with the strange old man and the morning with Callistus's son had allowed him to put the dilemma to the back of his mind, but now he could not hide from it.

How could he tell his friend that they had become involved in a plot against the Emperor and, perhaps more important, how would Cupido react towards the man who had involved them?

The Cupido who ruled the arena dealt only in certainties. On the bloodstained sand the simple choice was between life and death and he killed without hesitation in order to stay alive. But in Caligula's Palatine, there were no certainties. Here Narcissus, and his rival, Protogenes, were the masters. Their weapons were information and intrigue and they used them with the same deadly subtlety with which Cupido wielded his long sword. Chaerea might believe he was their equal, but Rufus sensed the Praetorian commander was out of his depth. He was too blunt an instrument to challenge the rapier intellects arrayed against him. Rufus now realized that his arrest was a measure of the veteran soldier's desperation in the wake of the failed assassination attempt.

But he was still dangerous.

'I should kill him,' Cupido said reasonably.

They were sitting in a small annex to the guard quarters Cupido shared with his comrades. The young German had produced a flagon of rough wine and Rufus was enjoying the unfamiliar warmth of it in his belly.

'Yes, you probably should… if you don't care whether you live or die. And Aemila, of course. Chaerea's friends would never leave her alive.'

'You think Chaerea's Scorpions could best me? I'd squash them flat and take pleasure in doing it.'

'Not the Scorpions, the Emperor. Caligula believes Chaerea has served him well. It wouldn't look good if he allowed some rogue gladiator to slaughter the commander of his Praetorians. When you are dead, Aemilia will have no one to protect her.'

'But he is a traitor and I have the Emperor's favour.'

'True, but the only evidence you have against him is my testimony of what was said at the Castra Praetorium, and if you kill Chaerea I will be dead before I can give it. Do not concern yourself too much, though. The Emperor will no doubt show his favour by allowing you to flavour your wine with a little hemlock.'

Cupido's handsome face creased in a frown. 'So Chaerea lives, for the moment. Do you have any other clever suggestions?'

Rufus thought for a second. 'You can't confront Chaerea for the same reasons you can't kill him. I am the only leverage you have and my life wouldn't be worth a bent sesterce if Chaerea discovered that. I don't know what else we can do.'

'Kill Caligula.'

Rufus choked on his wine at the words, which came from the corner of the room.

'Well, do I have no say in this because I am a mere woman, even though I am the only one this… this piece of vermin has actually threatened?' Aemilia demanded. 'Am I to sit here awaiting my fate while you dither over a decision which is already made for you?'

Cupido took the outburst with remarkably good grace. He had sent for Aemilia as soon as he heard of Chaerea's threat, and she had been sitting quietly and listening. Now her eyes were lit with righteous outrage, and Rufus realized for the first time that any man who shared his life with this woman would not have everything his own way. Perhaps it might help if Cupido could be persuaded to take a stick to her.

'If the decision is so simple, what should it be?' Cupido asked his sister.

'Do nothing. What can you do but wait? If Chaerea is going to act it cannot be soon. Callistus is now responsible for the Emperor's security and you are agreed it is tighter than ever. Only the Wolves who fought for him when Drusilla was deified are assigned to him for any period of time. All the other Praetorian units can be rotated at short notice. Chaerea cannot afford to strike until he is certain of success.'

The gladiator looked thoughtfully at Rufus. 'What she says is true.' He winked. 'Even if she is a mere woman.' He ducked as a leather cushion narrowly missed his head. 'But we cannot wait for ever.'

'No. But time is on your side. Wait, and who knows what might happen? The Emperor's investigators have an endless supply of victims. It is not unlikely that one of the names they hear will be Chaerea's, in which case he would be wise to fall on his own sword. Also, we know Chaerea and his fellow plotters are not the only people seeking change. Others have more subtle methods. Remember Drusilla.'

Rufus grimaced. 'Drusilla died from some sort of sickness. The only person who thinks she was poisoned is her brother.'

Aemilia snorted. 'Believe what you like, Rufus, but Agrippina thought her sister was murdered, and who should know better than she, who understands more about the properties of mushrooms than she needs for the kitchen.'

'You think she had something to do with Drusilla's death?'

'No, but perhaps you should look to your own friends.'

'What do you mean?'

'Only that you keep strange company. It is well known in the palace that Narcissus is Claudius's spy. Why would a slave spend so much time with him, unless it was because he was a spy in his turn? Tell me,' she said sweetly, 'will you report our conversation to your Greek master?'

Rufus leapt to his feet. 'You — '

Cupido put a hand on his chest. 'Enough. We did not come here to quarrel. Aemilia, Rufus is my friend and yours. He risked his life to warn us. We are in his debt. You should apologize.' He waited for a reaction, but Aemilia only stared all the harder at Rufus. 'In any case, there may come a time when it is to our profit to keep Narcissus informed. We will see,' he said thoughtfully.

'And now?' Aemilia demanded.

'Now we do as you suggest. We wait. But first we let Cassius Chaerea believe I am considering his offer. He will accept the lie at face value because it suits him to do so. At the very least it will keep you safe, Rufus. And you, Aemilia.'

'I don't need any protection from Chaerea or anyone else,' she said contemptuously. 'The royal household is more secure than any other in Rome. Look to yourself, brother, and you, elephant boy.'

Rufus ignored the insult. 'Don't underestimate Chaerea. He may be a brute, but he is not stupid and he has a soldier's eye for an opportunity. If he strikes, it will be when you least expect it.'

Her eyes caught fire. 'I am a princess of the Tungri, and I can protect myself.' Suddenly her mood changed, her face and her posture softened and she laughed and moved close to Rufus, so he could smell the scent of her body. 'Forgive my harsh words, Rufus,' she whispered. 'But know this: if Chaerea strikes he should look to himself, for I too am not to be underestimated.' He felt a slight prick at his throat and looked down to see a jewelled dagger she had produced from the folds of her dress.

Cupido laughed. 'You look a little pale, Rufus. It appears my sister's company does not agree with you?'

Rufus swallowed. 'It is just that I am not used to dealing with naughty children. Do you know of a crazy old man who wanders the palace grounds talking of the River Styx?'

The change of subject caught Cupido by surprise. 'Only one old man walks the palace grounds talking to himself and that is Senator Claudius.'

'No, not Claudius.' Rufus explained how Livia had discovered the old man by the Palatine wall. He tried to describe him. 'Very thin, with long white hair. He wore this on a piece of leather round his neck. Do you know what it could be?' He produced the strange piece of metal. Cupido looked at it for a few moments.

'Yes, I have him. I don't know his name and from your description he has changed since I saw him last, but I believe he has a room in the Domus Augustus. He's certainly a little strange. He walks the grounds with his head down as if he is forever looking for something. The guards call him the Scavenger, but I think he has something to do with the water supply.' He took the metal T from Rufus and studied it. 'I have never seen anything like it, but he has had it specially made. Look, you can see the smith's mark just below the crosspiece.'

'Could you visit his quarters and find out if there is anyone who can come for him? His ravings are beginning to frighten Livia.'

'Do I look as if I have nothing better to do? I will provide you with a pass to get you to his rooms. Why don't you go with him, Aemilia? But leave your little sword behind — you might hurt someone with it.' He left the room and returned a few minutes later. 'Take this,' he said to Rufus. 'It gives you authority to enter and asks the guard to show you where you wish to go. Do not lose it.'