Vespasian owed his career to Claudius. He finished the job. He reduced the beautiful waterworks system to a more economic level but otherwise he turned a neglected eyesore into a striking structure. Despite that, no one had ever really loved the place.
The fabulous monument’s footprint was larger than that of the new amphitheatre, which lay across the road from it at a slight angle. The back of the temple’s platform had been cut into the long main ridge of the Caelian, while the front occupied one of the most elevated positions in Rome. Steep stairs led up from lower levels, deterring all but very fit visitors. The temple stared across to the Palatine Hill, as if to remind new generations of emperors that even the so-called divine could be despatched by wicked wives and quickly forgotten.
We met in one of the awe-inspiring colonnades. The main temple would have dwarfed our group. Tall-backed thrones had been set out. It was early evening. Everywhere here seemed deserted. Faustus and I sat a little behind the rest. It had been agreed with Ennius that the meeting was private so we would remain silent and not keep a record.
All five children of Verecunda came. Four brought a spouse each, the husbands all looking subdued. One grandchild, Julia Valentina, was deemed old enough. She arrived from the Callistus house with Julia Laurentina and Volusius Firmus; she sat with them, though her mother rushed over to kiss her when she arrived.
I had forgotten that Julia Optata would bring Sextus Vibius. He nodded to Faustus, then took no part in the formalities.
A whisper of gold silk and a waft of expensive perfume announced Julia Terentia, with her husband, the tipsy candidate, Dillius Surus. She was the only sister I had not yet met, physically like the others though looking even more pugnacious. She and the wavering Dillius held hands tightly, no doubt to emphasise to her hostile mother how fond of each other they were. The fourth sister, Julia Pomponia, was brought by a protective escort. She alone had no husband with her; Aspicius would not show his face lest he be arrested.
Last of the five siblings was Ennius Verecundus, no longer smiling as he had done so inanely during the campaign. His pale wife arrived on his arm, then sat leaning towards him; I found her manner indicative. I deduced that when they were alone in private they held long conversations. The pale thing was a traditional confidante and her presence was giving Ennius courage. I bet she had advised him what to say.
Last, the mother stomped in. Her freedwoman followed her and two male guards; she waved them away truculently. After they stood back on the edge of the circle, Julia Verecunda was left looking old, frail and alone. That was deliberate theatre. Nobody would have called her vulnerable. Without actually refusing to appear at the council, she showed she was here on sufferance. She was swathed in black, with a long Livia veil.
At first I thought she intended to remain covered, but she put the veil back from her face because it hid the glares that she directed at everyone. Even silent, she emitted loathing for everyone present. Now that I knew her history, I saw near-mania in the way her eyes darted to anyone who spoke. I could imagine the decades of long-distance envy she had sent towards her happier sister, the vengeful thoughts she had aimed at Callistus Valens.
She did not care that he was dead. She would have obliterated all of us, and never shown remorse.
I had attended a family council once before. They have the force of law. Ours had been a last resort in combating some truly terrible crimes; in retrospect, attending that meeting twelve years ago had marked my true growing up. I wondered, would the same be true for young Julia Valentina, brought to witness proceedings as a bereaved granddaughter? I had been a little older than her. At thirteen, she sat twisting her girl’s skinny bracelet and dangling her feet, visibly awed by the occasion.
Ennius took charge. He was thorough, yet did not allow delaying tactics or emotional outbursts. He said the purpose of the council was to ensure his mother’s rights as a citizen: not to have anyone lay hands on her nor have her liberty constrained. As a woman she would be accorded the decency of a private judgement. She had the right to a trial. Her family would judge her actions and, if they found her guilty, would decide what happened to her. It might also be necessary to compensate the Callisti for their loss. Ennius had promised Callistus Primus that a council was being held and that he would be told the outcome.
Ennius stated the charges: that his mother had arranged the attack on Callistus Valens, employing her son-in-law Aspicius; during his ordeal Valens had somehow perished; his body had been impiously concealed. There were witnesses to the initial attack and the corpse had now been identified. Aspicius had gone on the run, which argued his guilt.
Ennius asked if Julia Verecunda wanted to say anything. She refused to speak.
I had seen killers take the stubborn, silent route. Sometimes they, or their slaves or associates, were persuaded through the use of torture. Ennius pointed out that he would prevent that.
Others then made statements. They spoke solemnly. The rest listened without interruption.
Julia Pomponia, Aspicius’s wife, was the most important witness. She stated that early in July her mother had come to their house to see her husband about some special task, for which Aspicius was paid money. At first Pomponia was unaware what had been discussed. After the event, Aspicius told her all about the attack. According to him, Callistus Valens collapsed of heat exhaustion when they reached Rome. He was not beaten up, but died of natural causes. An accident, Aspicius claimed; there had been no intention to kill him. Verecunda had said that the point of capturing Valens was so she could humiliate him, avenge his rejection of her all those years ago, and gloat about how she had punished his family since. She had arrived on the scene soon after Valens died. She ordered the incarceration of the body in the strongbox in the storeroom. She decided they would keep Valens’s death a secret from his family, to cause them more distress as they agonised over what could have happened.
Next, Julia Optata gave witness. It was the first time I had seen Sextus’s wife speaking at any length. She managed to come across as the sweet woman Marcella Vibia had once called her. Julia confirmed that Pomponia had told her the same story, terrified of what Aspicius would do to her and the new baby when it came. Pomponia had been so frightened that Julia Optata helped her escape the marital home, after which another sister was intending to give her refuge overseas. Julia Optata added that yesterday Aspicius had turned up at the Vibius house. He believed his wife was there, and demanded access to ‘deal with’ Pomponia. He issued wild threats, terrified everybody, then stormed off.
Next was Julia Laurentina, Firmus’s wife. She reported news from her brother-in-law, Callistus Primus, not present because he was no longer a relative. He had now ascertained from Palace sources that a senior official called Titinius Capito had been paid by Julia Verecunda to remove the Emperor’s grant allowing Volusius Firmus to call himself ‘Caesar’s candidate’.
At that, Firmus himself growled from where he was seated that he would never be able to stand for election again, due to lack of funds. Julia Laurentina resumed her seat, putting an arm round him.