Germanicus

I shifted in my chair. 'What you're saying, lady, is that Sejanus has got you beat. You may've won one battle but you'll lose the war.'

'Exactly. And that state of affairs is neither one that I am used to nor can I bring myself to tolerate it.'

'Hence me?'

'Hence,' she smiled again, 'you. Oh, there's nothing you can do immediately, and you'd be a fool to try. I know about my son's silly warning, and I also know that Sejanus will go from strength to strength because he's the only person now whom poor Tiberius trusts. As you said at the beginning, his eventual succession to the purple will be…legitimate. Soon he'll be emperor in all but name, and finally the name will come too, because he'll have disposed of my grandson Drusus and Germanicus's three boys and there will be no one left to hand over to except him. But then there's nothing either of us can do about that.'

'So where do I come in?' Shit, this was depressing as hell. Worrying, too. I couldn't think of a worse fate for Rome than to have Sejanus emperor after the Wart.

'As I said, Corvinus, my one hope is that before my son dies Sejanus will become too self-confident and overreach himself so badly that even Tiberius will recognise him for what he is. I want someone to be there when that happens, and who is equipped to go to the emperor and present him with categorical proofs which he will have to accept. I've given you' — her mouth twisted — 'a small start with Germanicus. As you can appreciate.'

'And if Tiberius doesn't accept these categorical proofs of yours? Or if they aren't good enough?'

'Then you're dead, young man.'

'Hey, thanks, lady!'

She laughed: the sound like the dry rustle of winter leaves in a graveyard. 'You're a gambler, Corvinus. So am I. The difference is that I bet only on certainties. And I'm betting now on you. Tiberius may be a difficult person to convince, but his mind isn't completely closed. He is fair, even harshly fair, to himself as much as to others. Above all he feels he has a duty to Rome, however much she rejects him. If you can show him that Sejanus is a threat to the state then my son will squash him like a cockroach.'

'Unless by then the cockroach is powerful enough to do the squashing himself.'

'There is that danger, yes.' She nodded. 'But remember, the emperor's no one's fool. He may raise Sejanus up, but it will be on his own terms and subject to his own safeguards. And if Sejanus doesn't realise that then he's the fool, not Tiberius.'

'Okay.' I set the wine cup down on the floor beside me. 'So that's the future taken care of. What about the present?'

'I told you. There isn't anything either of us can do about that. Forget it. For the moment.'

'That wasn't exactly what I had in mind. Sejanus must be aware that I've been raking through the laundry basket and I've come up with a dirty set of smalls. What's to stop the guy sending me the same way as Carillus, down the Tiber with a knife in my back? Or maybe doing things more genteelly with a trumped-up treason rap?'

'Nothing. Nothing at all. It's a risk that both of us take.'

'Hey, that makes me feel a lot better.' I picked up the wine cup again and took a good swallow. 'And I like the both.'

Livia sighed. 'Corvinus, I told you. I bet on certainties. You're quite safe from Sejanus. At least if you keep out of his laundry basket from now on.'

'Is that right? And what makes you so sure, Excellency?'

'Because you don't matter,' she said gently. 'You're like my grandson Claudius, a useless, divine idiot who will never in a million years amount to anything.'

I stared at her with my jaw hanging. Jupiter! Not even my father had ever called me that. 'Hey, thanks,' I said at last. 'Thanks a bunch.'

The tone didn't faze her. 'Oh, dear,' she said. 'Now I've insulted you, and I'm sorry. But I'm telling you how you appear to Sejanus, which is the important thing. You're not political, Corvinus, you pose no threat in yourself. You're not even especially rich. In fact, you're beneath his notice altogether, and killing you wouldn't be worth either the trouble or the risk. Stay as you are — and especially keep away from dirty laundry — and you'll stay alive.'

'Until the next time.'

'Until the next time. But then you'll have to choose your moment. You'll have to choose it very carefully indeed, because you won't have a second chance and I very much doubt if I'll be around to help you. I can do no more than wish you luck.'

There wasn't anything else to say. I stood up, drained the wine cup — even the Caecuban tasted sour — and set it on the desk. She could clear up after me for a change.

'Oh, and young man?'

I turned, on my way to the door. I felt used, like a pair of second-hand sandals. Worse, the bitch would still be using me long after she was dead.

'Yeah?' I said.

'Thank you. Thank you very much. In case we don't see each other again.'

I left without replying. Divine idiot. That had really hurt. Especially since it put me on a par with Claudius. The lily-smelling Hermes was waiting to escort me back to the exit. Maybe I'd gone up a little in the world since my last visit, but I doubted it: the guy was probably going that way anyway. The street outside the palace gates was cold, despite the sunshine. I wrapped my cloak round me and set off for home.

Ah, well. At least this time I was ahead a cup of Caecuban.