Ovid

'So the whole thing was a mistake,' I said. 'Varus believed he'd some sort of gentleman's agreement with Arminius while Arminius was planning all the time to make sure Rome pulled out of Upper Germany altogether.'

'That's right.' Asprenas reached over and took the wax tablet from me. 'Which of course is virtually what happened. The loss of three legions tipped the balance. I doubt if we've the forces for a major expansion beyond the Rhine now even if we wanted to try. Maybe we never will have.' He paused. 'So you've got it all now, Corvinus. The whole dirty truth. We're in your hands. What do you intend to do with us?'

I'd been hoping no one would ask that question, because I had no answer to give. Quinctilia, too, was watching me, as was Agron. I could see the old lady wanted desperately for me to make the certain decision but that unlike her nephew she was too proud to ask. They'd been open with me. The least I could do was be honest in return.

I gave it to them straight. 'I don't know. I honestly don't know. But believe me I won't use the information unless I have to.'

The tension in the room relaxed. Even Agron stopped scowling.

'That is all we can reasonably ask, young man.' Quinctilia smiled for the first time.

'There's only one thing that still puzzles me,' I said.

'And what is that?'

'It has nothing to do with what happened in Germany. At least not directly. All I'd like to know is why Augustus didn't pull your brother in with the rest of the conspirators.'

'I'm sorry. I don't follow.'

'If Varus was involved in the Paullus plot — genuinely involved — how come he got away with it? Initially he'd have Augustus's protection, of course, but that would've been withdrawn when the emperor found he'd been freelancing. So if the fourth conspirator was your brother, what was it that protected him?'

'Maybe he simply wasn't identified,' Asprenas said.

I shook my head. 'No, that won't wash. Not with Junius Silanus playing kiss and tell. And Varus's connections wouldn't've helped him this time because even Julia got exile. Unless of course he had some major hold over Silanus that kept the guy's mouth shut…'

'I'm sorry, Corvinus.' Quinctilia stood up. 'I'm afraid we can't help you any further. As I told you, we knew nothing of my brother's involvement in the Paullus plot. No doubt there is an explanation but I'm afraid you must look elsewhere for it.'

So that was it. Still, I had to be grateful for what I'd got. As I rose to my feet and prepared to murmur the polite phrases I noticed a child's wax tablet lying beside the ornamental pool. I picked it up. Scratched onto the surface was a drawing of an old man's face.

'You have grandchildren, Lady Quinctilia?'

'Great-grandchildren.' She peered at the tablet in my hand. 'That must be Hateria's. She's quite the little artist, so I'm told.'

'It's very good.' I was lying through my teeth. The thing was a travesty. There was something wrong with the lower part of the face, the eyes were too far down and the forehead was a confused mess.

'My Greek secretary showed her the trick. It's very clever, really. Turn it round and you'll see what I mean.'

I turned the crude drawing round. The lines seemed to flow and change, one face becoming another. The smiling old man was suddenly metamorphosed into a frowning old woman. One head, two faces. I remembered the figure of Augustus in my dream, and something shifted…

The world suddenly turned itself inside out.

'It's not a man after all,' I whispered.

'I beg your pardon?'

'The drawing.' I held the tablet out towards her. 'I thought it was a man, but it isn't. It's a woman.'

'Of course it is. But only when you look at it in a certain way. That's the whole point.'

I began to laugh; and once I'd started I couldn't stop.

'Corvinus! For Jupiter's sake!' Asprenas grabbed me. 'What's got into you?'

'It wasn't Augustus at all!' I managed to get out. 'It was never Augustus! It was sodding Livia!'

Asprenas froze. 'What?'

I had a hold of myself now; only I had to sit down. I was shaking so badly that I would've fallen if the chair hadn't been there.

I understood! Finally I understood! Why hadn't I listened to Perilla when she'd suggested that I had the Paullus plot upside down, that it had been aimed at Julia all along? Or maybe I had. Maybe that's why I'd had the dream in the first place…

Quinctilia had drawn herself up to her full height, her stoop forgotten.

'Young man,' she said. 'That was the most disgraceful display of bad manners and bad language that it has ever been my misfortune to witness. You will please leave my house at once.'

'No.' I shook my head. 'No. I'm sorry, Lady Quinctilia. Deeply sorry. I apologise for my bad manners, I really do. But I can't leave yet.'

'If the mistress says you leave, Corvinus, then you leave.' Agron hadn't moved from where he'd been standing behind Quintilia's chair. 'You want to do it feet first that's your decision.'

'No, Agron. Wait.' Quinctilia turned back to me. 'I don't understand. Why should you suddenly be so anxious to stay?'

'Because I haven't finished,' I said. 'Because I've just realised how the whole thing fits together.'

31

They stared at me. All three of them. Then the questions began.

I held up my hand. 'Do you think I could have a cup of wine first? Please?'

My throat was parched. Keeping up the politenesses was one thing, but after what I'd been through I'd've killed for a drink. Besides, this was a celebration. Although the puzzle wasn't complete at least I could see now where the missing pieces had to fit in.

'Of course.' Quinctilia was trying hard to preserve her impassive dignity. 'Of course you may. Agron, find one of the slaves and tell him to bring a flask of the guest reserve.' She turned back to me as the big guy went out. 'It is my turn to apologise, young man. My lack of hospitality was unforgivable. I told the servants to stay out of earshot until our…discussions were completed, but I should at least have offered you wine.'

'Forget the wine.' Asprenas's eyes were boring into me. 'What did you mean, Corvinus? About the empress?'

'Just that I've been looking at things the wrong way up,' I said. 'Oh, sure, it was a natural mistake to make. I'd assumed because the Paullus plot was infiltrated and Augustus was the one to take action then he must've known what was going on all along. Maybe he didn't. Maybe Livia was the one to bust it up and Augustus didn't know a thing about it until she chose to tell him.' Gods! Where was that wine?

Asprenas was still staring at me like I'd made an indecent suggestion. 'Why should the empress keep Augustus ignorant of a plot against the state?

But Agron had arrived back at last with the wine slave. I grabbed the cup from the guy's hand and drained it, then refilled it from the flask. Agron jerked his head towards the door and the man scuttled out.

I turned back to Asprenas.

'But it wasn't a plot against the state,' I said. 'That's the whole point. The conspirators didn't want to organise a rebellion, they wanted to put the skids under Livia and Tiberius. It was Julians against Claudians. So who had the biggest vested interest in seeing the plot bomb? A big enough interest actually to get it off and running just so she could pull the floor out from under?'

I could see that I'd rocked Asprenas. 'You're saying that Livia encouraged the Paullus plot? The empress?'

'Sure. Why not? She provided the rope and watched the poor bastards hang themselves.'

'So how did it work?'