Caligula

Three days after Caligula left, Claudius appeared at Bersheba's barn.

At first Rufus wondered whether the limping patrician with the drooping eye sought revenge for his humiliation, but Claudius motioned him to continue his work and moved into the interior of the barn where he could study the elephant more closely.

This happened on three consecutive evenings. On the fourth night, as Rufus lay on his pallet, he heard the creak of the barn doors opening, and then closing again.

Claudius was back, standing in the darkness talking softly to the elephant, but what was more astonishing was the manner of his speech. The stutter that made him the butt of cruel jokes for everyone from the meanest palace slave to the Emperor himself was gone. This was a Claudius none would recognize. The tone was confident, the words flowed unhindered and the thoughts were articulately expressed.

And he was talking treason.

'Oh, Tiberius, what have you done to us? I know, I know, I had such high hopes for them too; the one so adventurous and full of ideas, the other a thinker, an organizer, and born to rule wisely. How naive we were, how reckless. How long did we expect the stronger eaglet to share the nest with the weaker?

'Now your grandson Tiberius Gemellus is dead and Gaius Caligula holds Rome by the throat. Do you know what he said to me only a week ago? He said: "If the mob had but one neck I would sever it with a single stroke." He despises them, and they begin to hate him. Only the spectacle of the arena binds them to him, and they will only be blinded by blood for so long. Then we will all reap what he has sown.

'Yet I truly think he does not know the ruin he is causing. He is like a small child who has stumbled upon an ant heap. He is fascinated by the comings and goings, but how long before he decides to stir it with a stick and discovers he has the power to cause havoc among its populace? When he does, how much longer before, if he is that kind of child, he discovers he has the power of life and death over them? And how much longer before he uses that power? A certain kind of child might grow up to stick pins in the eyes of frogs and burn fledglings in their nests. Perhaps, as an adult, he would burn men.

'Caligula is curious to find out the limits of this power we have given him. But it has no limits; nor, I fear, does his curiosity. He will not listen to reason. Those close to him who spoke out are all long gone. The Senate lives in terror of his every pronouncement. I don't have the courage to stand in his way, and if I had I would be dead by now, "Uncle Claudius" or no. Only the army has the strength to rid us of him. But who gave him this childish nickname he bears so proudly, Caligula — Little Boots? No, the army loves him. But if not the army, then who?'

Having no answer, he left, shaking his head.

There were other such visits, and Rufus learned more than he wanted to know about the inner workings of the palace before the return of Caligula brought the encounters to an abrupt end. However, they did have one other consequence.

Narcissus appeared without warning on a fine morning when the dew still sparkled on the grass and clung to the gossamer webs the spiders had spun on the bushes.

'I am glad to hear you have settled in so well,' he called, as Rufus gave Bersheba her morning feed. 'You will no doubt have seen your friend? I understand he is high in the Emperor's favour. He has much to be thankful for… as do you.'

Rufus stared at him. He had turned this matter over in his mind a thousand times and every time he had come to the same conclusion.

'This is your doing, Greek,' he said accusingly. 'It was you who had me brought here, to this place where the stink of death taints every hall. Do not expect my thanks for that. Cupido is my friend and I rejoice at his safety, but I would rather spend a thousand nights among Fronto's big cats than one more day on the Palatine Hill.'

'You think you would be safer with Fronto?' Narcissus laughed. 'Perhaps I should arrange to have you sent back to that fat oaf. We could have a wager. Will Rufus the slave live one week or two? Why do you think I suggested to the Emperor's chamberlain that an animal trainer of mighty talent could be bought to work with the Emperor's elephant? Sometimes, there is safety in proximity. You may not believe it, but you have the Emperor's favour, for what it is worth. None will harm you while you are here.'

'I still don't understand. Why should you do this for me? I am a slave. I am nothing to you, unless…' Rufus's face coloured and his eyes filled with horrified confusion. Visions of a day in the bathhouse with Albinius, the slave who ran Cerialis's household, flew through his mind. He could still feel the loathsome touch of the oily fingers on his upper thigh and the rubbery tongue pushing at his lips. He had eventually escaped, but it had cost him a night with the guard dogs.

Narcissus shook his head. 'No, not that. I can assure you I have interests in other directions. But have you forgotten already what you said? "I would always be in your debt." It so happens you might be able to repay your debt more quickly here.'

'How can I do that?'

'I understand you have had a night-time visitor. I hope he did not

… expose himself to any danger… with your elephant?' Narcissus said, weighing each word carefully. 'It would not do if my master put himself into that situation. I don't suppose he said… anything of interest while he was here?'

'I don't know,' Rufus lied. 'He comes at night. He spends time with Bersheba. He talks, but I don't listen.'

The Greek shrugged. 'No matter. There will be other occasions, and perhaps you will find it profitable to listen. If you have something for me, hang a white cloth on the barn door. The next day, be at the little fountain behind the palace of Augustus at the seventh hour and I will meet you there. You can never have too many friends, Rufus. And I would make a very dangerous enemy.' The last words were said with a gentle smile, but Rufus understood the threat that lay behind them.

Narcissus then asked about Caligula's banquets. Of course, he knew Rufus attended. Who else was there? What was said? Who was chosen and what was her husband's reaction? Small things, but morsels that could be traded for other morsels. Here, Rufus was happy to supply the intelligence the Greek sought, and Claudius's freedman left satisfied. Rufus wondered if he would have been quite so sanguine if he had known what passed between Caligula and Claudius at the last banquet.

'Tell your Greek to keep his long nose out of other people's business, Uncle Claudius, or I will have the guards cut it off,' the Emperor had warned.

XIX

It had been more than three months since Rufus was last ordered to the palace and he allowed himself to believe he was safe from further summonses. So the shock was all the greater when he was shaken awake in the middle of the night to find a young legionary officer in a red tunic standing over his bed.

'You are to come with me,' the soldier ordered brusquely and hauled the blankets back.

While he followed his escort through the endless corridors and stairways, Rufus had time to wonder why the man wore the uniform of a regular unit rather than the black of the Praetorians, normally the only military presence in the Palatine complex.

His confusion increased when they reached their destination on one of the upper floors of the grand building originally built by Tiberius. He was certain he'd never been in this part of the palace before. A great gilt-inlaid door, intricately carved with scenes of hunting and the games, barred their way. The young soldier stepped forward and knocked gently, then turned and walked away without a word.

As Rufus stood with his heart thundering against his ribs, the door opened a few inches to reveal a pair of jet-black, almond eyes. Before he could say a word a slim arm slipped through the gap and a hand took his wrist and pulled him inside.