Pallas inclined his head a fraction. ‘Indeed, Narcissus.’
‘But we had a deal!’ Sabinus exploded.
Narcissus raised a warning hand. ‘Hush, my friend; the operative word in that sentence was “had”. We had a deal but now what we have is a difficult issue to resolve, and if we are to stay with that deal the terms of it may need to be strengthened on your part.’
Vespasian kept his expression as neutral as possible as he once again found himself disappointed but unsurprised by the ruthlessness of those with power. But then was he any better? Was he not willing to let an innocent man take the place of his brother? That was what he was here to negotiate after all. ‘We’re in no position to bargain, Sabinus; we should just sit and listen.’
Narcissus watched Sabinus gather himself and, once satisfied that he was paying attention, continued: ‘To put it bluntly, I have two things to balance here: Asiaticus’ usefulness compared to that of your family’s in my struggle with the Empress and then, more importantly, once that is decided, how it affects mine and my esteemed colleague Pallas’ standing with the Emperor.
‘Asiaticus is to appear before Claudius in the morning to face the accusations that we all know are false. Messalina has persuaded her husband that she too should attend to help shoulder the burden of judgement of a man who was hitherto a friend of his. Unfortunately for Asiaticus, I was not there when she made the request, so naturally Claudius has agreed, believing that Messalina is just being a considerate wife. Lucius Vitellius, who as you know is Claudius’ other great friend, will appear for Asiaticus against Suillius and Sosibius.
‘Now, I have two choices: firstly to tear the case against Asiaticus apart by naming Sabinus and thereby admitting that I knew this all along and kept it from my patron; not a happy admission, I think you’ll agree. Or I could go the other way and save my face by making the case against Asiaticus irrefutable.’ He paused and looked meaningfully at Sabinus.
‘How do you mean, “irrefutable”?’ Sabinus asked, looking justifiably nervous.
‘By having you testify that when you served in Britannia with Asiaticus you too heard him boast that he was the man behind the mask.’
There was silence in the room, a long silence, as the enormity of the lie was contemplated. Sabinus opened his mouth and closed it a couple of times before realising that there was nothing he could say: to argue against it was to argue for death.
‘I see you understand, Sabinus,’ Narcissus said with a hint of a smile and an even colder glint in his ice eyes. He turned to Vespasian. ‘You would naturally be on hand to corroborate your brother’s statement by saying that he told you of this; you will also beg forgiveness for not having brought the matter to my attention to pass on to the Emperor and I will support you in that.’
Vespasian nodded dumbly, wondering if Narcissus would really stick his neck out that far for them; but he could see no option but to take that risk.
‘This course of action has, obviously, one possible disastrous side effect: Asiaticus may well denounce the Emperor and us for the murder of Poppaeus.’
Vespasian’s blood chilled; was that dishonourable deed always going to come back and haunt him? But then, would this equally as unworthy act also prove to be the cause of years of unease and guilt? Or would he be able to reconcile himself to it as the only option to protect his brother as well as the whole family?
‘But surely if he is condemned and despatched quickly he won’t be able to make the accusation,’ Gaius pointed out.
‘Not so. If I were Asiaticus I would be writing a new will tonight and depositing it with the Vestals.’
‘Ah!’
‘Ah, indeed. I could get access to that will before it was read but I’m sure that Asiaticus will have thought of that and will have ensured that another copy exists to be read by persons unknown at a time unknown. The Emperor will naturally deny he had any part in the affair and place the blame solely on us.’ He paused to contemplate the problem and then turned to Pallas. ‘Do you have any observations on the matter, dear colleague?’
‘Only this: as I’m sure that these gentlemen have noticed, our third colleague, Callistus, is not present: and I’m sure they’ve worked out why.’
Vespasian realised that an explanation was required. ‘Because you no longer trust him after he revealed where he stood by rejecting Corbulo’s case against Corvinus?’
‘Exactly. So, imperial secretary, we have also got to balance which of these two courses of action will also do the most harm to our former trusted associate.’
‘How right you are, secretary to the Treasury. Obviously, as secretary of Justice and the Law Courts, Callistus will wish to be present at tomorrow’s hearing; how he acts will be an added factor in making my decision.’
Vespasian realised the truth of the matter. ‘There’s nothing that we can do or say to persuade you, is there, Narcissus? You’re not going to make up your mind until tomorrow during the case, are you?’
‘Of course not; would you? How can I make a decision without all the relevant information? And that won’t be apparent until I see what the Emperor and, more importantly, Messalina and Asiaticus have to say. I’m a cautious man, as all politicians should be; only once I know what position everyone else is taking will I commit myself to either course of action. Therefore I expect all three of you back here at the second hour of the morning.’
‘Why me?’ Gaius asked. ‘What use do you have for me?’
‘That may become apparent tomorrow, senator. In the meantime, if you’ll take my advice, have a good night’s sleep.’
CHAPTER XIII
‘It’s out of my hands,’ Pallas repeated in a voice barely audible above the clatter of four sets of footsteps reverberating off the corridor’s marble walls. ‘Whatever debt of gratitude I might owe you all as a family, I cannot influence Narcissus on this matter.’ He stopped suddenly and turned to face Vespasian, Sabinus and Gaius, halting them too, and continued in a whisper: ‘Believe me, gentlemen, if there was any argument that I could put forward to keep you out of this, I would have made it this afternoon whilst Narcissus and I were discussing what to do after Messalina persuaded Claudius to order Asiaticus’ arrest.’
Gaius was outraged. ‘You planned this with Narcissus!’
‘Keep your voice down,’ Pallas hissed, looking up and down the corridor, ‘Narcissus has ears everywhere. Of course I did; our positions with the Emperor are at stake. We’re nothing without him and if we lose his trust then Messalina would have us dead within a matter of hours. And what then, senator? Would you place the governance of Rome in the hands of that harpy?’
Sabinus thrust his face close to Pallas. ‘But forcing me to accuse an innocent man of a crime that I’ve committed is-’
‘Is what’s going to keep you safe, Sabinus; that was my idea and it was the only way that I’ve been able to help you.’
‘Help me?’
‘Yes!’ Pallas snapped. He paused to gather himself, having raised his voice, albeit in a forced whisper, for only the third time in Vespasian’s recollection. He turned and continued down the corridor so that their conversation would again be masked by their footsteps. ‘Who do you think is behind all this?’
‘Messalina, of course,’ Sabinus hissed dismissively.
‘Think, Sabinus. Yes, she wants Asiaticus dead because she covets his gardens and was preparing smaller false charges against him; but how did she manage to come up with just the right charge that would not only finish Asiaticus but also compromise Narcissus and me?’
Vespasian suddenly understood. ‘Callistus!’
‘Exactly. It must have been him who suggested to Messalina that she accuse Asiaticus of being the man behind the mask because he’s the only other person who knows who it really was. He’s sure that neither Narcissus nor I will try and save Asiaticus by naming Sabinus — for obvious reasons.’ He paused as they went by a couple of slaves tending to the oil lamps; the slaves bowed as the group passed. ‘Then, once Claudius has been manoeuvred into executing or forcing his old friend to suicide, Callistus will go to the Emperor and tell him that he’s found out that Asiaticus was innocent after all and both Narcissus and I knew it was Sabinus but said nothing. Claudius’ remorse will then be our downfall.’