Scourge of Rome

XVI

‘The legate’s uniform and armour were the only things that made me think I might be mistaken,’ Paternus explained as they walked back through the trees to the camp. ‘It would have been a sudden and unlikely elevation for a man in your position.’

Valerius turned to stare at him. ‘You mentioned my particular circumstances. What did you mean by that?’

‘I heard what happened to you in Rome.’ For the first time the scarred tribune looked uncomfortable. ‘I was on garrison duty in Achaea during the troubles, and glad of it. My commander declared first for Galba, then Otho. Dithered in terror for six months when Vitellius came to power, before declaring for Vespasian. By the time the Palatium recalled me to Rome it was all over, though the ruins of the Capitoline still smouldered and they were cleaning blood from the Forum. Mucianus, Domitian and Primus apart, Gaius Valerius Verrens was the talk of the city. To some …’ He looked to Valerius, wondering if he should continue, but the one-handed Roman gave him no hint.

I heard what happened to you in Rome.

Just how much, Valerius wondered, had Paternus heard and from whom? Pliny would have told him that Valerius risked his life to reach Aulus Vitellius, persuade him to give up the purple and spare Rome from sack and massacre. He would have said the Vitellian attack on the Capitoline, in which Valerius had taken part, and the burning of the great Temple of Jupiter were the result of the cowardice, intransigence and downright foolishness of Vespasian’s brother Sabinus. Domitian’s allies, on the other hand, would have condemned Gaius Valerius Verrens as a traitor who betrayed his friends and his Empire and quite possibly threw the brand that razed the temple to the ground.

Paternus read the message in Valerius’s eyes. ‘I’m sorry if this causes you pain, but if we are to travel together I feel it is wisest to be frank. To some, you were the traitor who had destroyed and defiled Rome’s most sacred site. Still, I wondered how such a man could escape execution. I spoke to a young tribune who’d been deputy commander of the Seventh Galbiana …’

‘Claudius Ferox?’

‘I believe that was the name,’ Paternus nodded. ‘He had a different story. Of a soldier who had lived up to his reputation as a Hero of Rome, saved Primus’s command on the road to Cremona, and somehow become involved in negotiations too secret ever to be revealed. He didn’t believe what he heard at your trial. His version went some way to explaining why Domitian chose to sentence you to exile instead of crucifixion, so I reserved judgement. I had no idea you were travelling east.’

Valerius knew Paternus expected some kind of reaction or explanation, but what was the point? Words would change nothing. The only way he would regain his reputation was on the battlefield and only Titus could give him the opportunity. Still, politeness required a response. ‘I suppose you should …’ The words froze in Valerius’s mouth and his sword came up in a blur of light as a figure appeared on the slope above them.

Paternus placed a hand on his arm. ‘My servant, Gavvo. He must be searching for me.’

Valerius studied the man, who stared back impassively. He reflected that the last time he’d looked into eyes with quite that hint of menace had been on the day he’d first met Serpentius. Nondescript and so ordinary as to be almost featureless, he none the less possessed a stillness that sent a message to anyone capable of understanding it. Valerius lowered the sword.

‘You pick your servants well,’ he said with heavy irony. Paternus laughed and they continued up the slope. Valerius avoided making eye contact with the lithe, shaven-headed figure who sat unnoticed among the trees on a stump, cleaning his fingernails with a fruit knife.

Later that day the column left the river for a broad valley and made good time on another of the well-found roads that spoke so eloquently of Rome’s long-term presence. At first the surrounding country appeared barren – a few isolated farmsteads eking out a living on the thin, dry soil – but with every mile south the land became more fertile. Soon they rode through a landscape of well-cultivated wheat fields and vineyards. Valerius the farmer noted a familiar golden tinge to the wheat crop that warned a landsman to start preparing for harvest, and the individual ears had begun their characteristic bow in homage to the sun. It didn’t look like a place ravaged by civil war for five years.

‘The land all the way to Heliopolis and beyond belongs to the city of Berytus, which is loyal to Rome,’ Gaulan, who accompanied them, responded to a question from Paternus. ‘Most of the farms you see are owned by the families of retired legionaries settled here by Augustus. They are Roman citizens and Rome’s rule here is absolute. You are as safe in the valley as you would be in Antioch or Apamea, even Rome itself. That is why the men are so relaxed. Any Judaean rebel who ventured this far north would find the entire countryside against him. We will not reach Judaea proper for another three or four days. Then it will be different.’

If Paternus realized that Valerius was doing his best to ignore him he took no obvious offence. The scarred tribune seemed to assume his fellow Roman would be desperate for news of Rome. Valerius faced the choice of listening politely or dropping back to ride beside Serpentius a few files back.

‘You know about the Temple of Jupiter and the Castra Praetoria, of course? Domitian, who rules as city prefect, has pledged that his father will rebuild them in greater splendour than before. He sent two of the three legions that took the city south under Primus to mop up the last of the rebels. The third provides security until a new Praetorian Guard has been formed.’ Valerius heard Gaulan curse as they came up behind a farmer driving his herd of skinny goats to another field or a nearby market. Despite the muttered grumbles from his rear, the ragged herder showed no inclination to allow the column to pass and they were forced to slow. Paternus frowned irritably at the delay, but he could see no solution and continued: ‘Most of Vitellius’s supporters died when the city fell or in the bloodletting that followed.’ Valerius had to grit his teeth. Had the man no feeling? Valerius had been there; he’d seen the chopped-off limbs, gaping mouths and staring eyes. ‘But Vespasian has pledged that any man who takes the oath to him will be pardoned. For his own reasons Domitian claims not to have received the instruction. He continues to hunt down any former Vitellian he can find, especially those involved in the murder of his uncle, Sabinus. Despite his youth he commands respect as well as fear among the populace, but he will never be liked for himself. Any popularity stems from the efforts of the lady who is to be his wife, Corbulo’s daughter Domitia, who it is said works tirelessly for reconciliation.’

Valerius flinched at the mention of the name. Had things been different Domitia Longina Corbulo would have married him. Instead, she’d sacrificed her future to save his life, pledging herself to Domitian. Valerius still didn’t know whether to admire or hate her for it.

‘It is Domitia,’ Paternus continued, ‘who controls the effort to feed the poor and hungry, who are legion in a city where most of the supplies burned during the fighting. She persuaded Domitian to send aid to the city of Cremona and to incorporate the survivors of the old Guard into the legions rather than executing them …’

I am my father’s daughter. Valerius heard the words ringing in his head as the goatherd bustled his animals on to a track with whistles and the use of his staff. That was her fate and what defined her. Of course she would use Domitian’s power to help the poor and the dispossessed. What power could Valerius have offered? Ruling over the little farming estate at Fidenae they’d have shared with his sister Olivia and her husband? It would have been like putting her in a cage. And what was the alternative? An army wife playing hostess at a crude fort on the Danuvius frontier or in the wilds of Britannia? How could he ever have dreamed she would be his?

He looked up to find Paternus staring at him. ‘I asked what you expect from your meeting with Titus, but you seemed distracted for a moment. Perhaps my news of Rome troubled you. I apologize; I didn’t mean to cause offence. I have always lacked subtlety, even before this.’ He indicated the burns on his face with a tight smile.

‘Titus knows what I did to advance his father’s cause.’ Valerius cursed the lack of confidence in his voice. He’d failed utterly to achieve what Titus had asked of him. ‘Tame the tiger,’ Titus had said of Marcus Antonius Primus, Vespasian’s impulsive general of the Balkan legions. Instead all Valerius had achieved was to hang on to the tiger’s tail as he launched his army impetuously into northern Italia. Primus’s victory at Cremona changed the course of the war, but at what cost? Blood and fire. Raped women, merchants crucified on the shutters of their burning shops, and babies spitted on spear points. Primus lost control of his legions and Valerius could do nothing to stop it. Desperate not to repeat the disaster, Primus had sent Valerius to Rome to talk his old friend Aulus Vitellius into giving up the purple. But Vitellius’s soldiers refused to let him abdicate, Rome burned and Domitian branded Valerius a traitor. Valerius counted Titus a friend, but why would he reward failure or risk being tainted by dishonour? ‘All I can ask of him is an opportunity for redemption,’ he said stiffly. ‘A chance to prove myself in battle.’

‘Perhaps I could be of some help,’ the disfigured veteran offered. ‘As aide to Tiberius Alexander I will have his ear.’

Valerius shook his head. ‘I prefer to fight my own battles.’ Paternus froze and Valerius realized he’d been more blunt than the generous offer deserved. ‘Now it is for me to apologize.’ He gave the other man a conciliatory smile. ‘These past months have not been easy and I find it difficult to talk about. Titus will listen to me, I hope, and, if not, he is unlikely to be swayed by anyone else, however persuasive.’

Paternus nodded his understanding. Valerius knew what he was thinking – bad enough to lose your hand, but your reputation too? – and willed him not to say it. Perhaps Paternus had the same thought, because he wisely changed the subject. ‘What do you know of these Judaeans?’

‘Poorly armed fanatics.’ Valerius repeated Ariston’s estimate of their fighting qualities. ‘But men who will fight to the death rather than surrender. They are split into several factions, and when they’re not trying to kill us they’re killing each other. They even kill their own women and children to stop them becoming Roman slaves.’

‘Fools then,’ Paternus sniffed. ‘For even a child growing up a slave has opportunities for advancement in Rome.’

‘Perhaps,’ Valerius agreed, ‘but brave fools. An enemy that can destroy a legion and take its eagle is worthy of our respect. Titus’s strategy is to break the back of the rebellion in the countryside and force the survivors to flee to Jerusalem. But Gaulan tells me Jerusalem is like no other Judaean city. It won’t be easy to take even with three or four legions.’

‘It was simpler in Britannia where the Celts hid behind their pathetic wooden fences on top of a hill and thought themselves invincible.’

‘If Boudicca had listened to her advisers,’ Valerius pointed out, ‘and drawn us to her, neither you nor I would be here to discuss it. In the end the Celts were defeated by their own courage. Even Paulinus admitted that if he’d been forced to attack that day he would have been beaten.’

‘More brave fools,’ Paternus conceded with a bitter laugh. ‘And of all the brave fools in Britannia,’ he added significantly, ‘Paulinus awarded only one the Corona Aurea.’

Valerius might have dismissed what amounted to an impertinent question, but despite his earlier doubts he’d begun to warm to Claudius Paternus and he didn’t object. The scarred tribune reminded him of someone, but he couldn’t think who. Something in his mannerisms; the way he held himself? ‘One man was awarded the Corona Aurea,’ he agreed, remembering a similar conversation a decade earlier with Julius Agricola, Paulinus’s aide. ‘But only because the men who truly deserved it were already dead. We couldn’t hold Colonia’s walls, so we did what a legion does best and fought them on ground of our own choosing.’

‘A legion,’ Paternus frowned. ‘I thought …’

‘Two thousand militia,’ Valerius corrected himself, ‘and a few hundred stragglers rounded up from the Londinium garrison. The militia were veterans of the battles against Caratacus and legionaries to their core; men past their prime, but their swords were sharp and they could still hold a shield. The rebels covered the entire north slope across the river, but we had left them only one bridge. The Colonia militia defended it to the last man and gave me a breathing space to retreat to the temple perimeter.’

‘Where you held them for three days.’

‘Just two,’ two days of stifling heat and all-pervading fear as the glow of the fire eating through the oak door grew ever brighter, ‘but every man who fought for the Temple of Claudius was a hero who deserved the Corona Aurea more than I, because it cost them far more than it cost Valerius Verrens. We beat off a dozen attacks before they swarmed across the walls, then the few of us who were left fought our way back to the temple. After that it was just a question of waiting.’

‘Yet you survived.’ Paternus glanced at the wooden hand.

‘Let us just say that the gods were kind to me that day.’

Paternus knew he would get no more. ‘I liked Britannia,’ he said, ‘apart from the weather. Good soil and lush pastures. I think I could have settled there.’

‘Even after what happened?’

‘This?’ Paternus laughed. ‘We were on patrol. Armed reconnaissance, Paulinus called it. Clever Ordovice swine managed to separate the head of the column and captured a few of us. Of course, we knew what was coming next. They strung a few poor bastards from the trees by their entrails, and got ready to burn the rest, but they wanted information from me. So they set this little fire, and forced my face closer and closer until my hair was burning and I thought my head was going to explode. When I wouldn’t say anything they pushed my face into the embers. Venus’ wilted tits, how I screamed. I would have told them anything, but I was fortunate. The cavalry arrived and a second later the fellow holding me down didn’t have a head. The medicus did what he could and treated my face with a salve, but when it came off I looked like a piece of roast pork, and here we are, ten years later and nothing has changed.’

‘Yet you’re on your way to be aide to one of the most powerful men in the eastern Empire,’ Valerius pointed out.

‘Ah,’ Paternus smiled knowingly, ‘but previously I had been destined for greatness. I had been promised a quaestorship and that was only to be the start. My family had influence, through my father, and money through my mother. Who knew what honours were to be mine?’

‘But?’

‘But when I went for my interview on the Palatine, the Emperor happened to catch a glimpse of me through a window.’ A shadow fell over the unravaged portion of his face. ‘Nero, as you know, had an eye for beauty and I must have been the least beautiful thing his eyes witnessed that day. He banished me from the palace and my hopes of advancement were gone. Fortunately, I had been a decent officer and in the legions there were plenty of men with worse injuries. I have been content enough, but I haven’t seen my family for five years.’

They rode in silence for a while before Valerius excused himself and dropped back to join Serpentius, who slipped away from the Chalcideans he’d been regaling with tales of his romantic triumphs.

Valerius drew the Spaniard to one side. ‘What happened back at the camp this morning?’

Serpentius shrugged. ‘When the first one came down the hill, I followed him, but I could tell he was unarmed. In any case I was sure you wouldn’t find him any trouble. The other one, the one with the killer’s eyes, was different. When I saw him slipping through the trees I decided he was the bigger threat and stayed with him.’

‘You’re sure he was following me?’

‘I can’t be certain,’ the Spaniard admitted. ‘He might have been going for a piss or down to the river to wash himself. But you’ve seen the way he moves, and all it would take was a half turn and he’d have been coming at you from behind with all your attention on the handsome one. It was only when the Emesan vixen …’

‘Lady Tabitha,’ Valerius corrected him.

‘… appeared from nowhere that he took himself off in a different direction. Then she saw you were occupied with your new friend and disappeared back up the hill.’

Valerius tried to visualize the scenario as Serpentius described it. Had Paternus been distracting him to allow Gavvo to surprise him from behind? But if he were going to do that surely he would have been armed as well. ‘Paternus didn’t have a hidden blade?’

Serpentius nodded. ‘He wore only a tunic. You know how a man carries himself a certain way if he’s armed.’

‘What about the servant?’

A shrug. ‘He was wrapped in a blanket so it was hard to tell, but I know the type and their hand seldom strays far from the knife hilt. For a servant, he moves like a soldier, but he’s too young to have been pensioned off.’

Valerius looked thoughtfully at the soaring hills to right and left and made his decision. ‘All right. Gavvo will never be far from his master, so keep your eyes open and don’t mention this to anybody.’

‘Not even …?’ Serpentius grinned.

Valerius allowed himself a smile. ‘I suspect she already knows more than we do.’