Ovid

Dead.

'You asked to see me, Marcus Valerius Corvinus.'

Her voice was dead, too.

I swallowed. 'Yes, Excellency.'

Shit. Maybe I'd made a mistake. If so it would be the last I ever made. My insurance policy suddenly seemed pretty thin. Thin and juvenile.

'And the purpose?'

Gods! I was close to panic. How do you accuse the mother of a reigning emperor and the wife of his deified predecessor of treachery to the state?

I think you betrayed Varus, Excellency. I think you caused the death of fifteen thousand men and the loss of three Eagles and almost lost us Germany just to give your son a better chance at the purple…

She was waiting. I cleared my throat. 'I've discovered some…irregularities, Excellency. In connection with the conduct of Lucius Nonius Asprenas.'

I'd expected the name to cause a flicker in the dead eyes. It didn't. I began to sweat.

'Irregularities?'

'Yes, Excellency.' I paused for effect. 'Treasonable irregularities.'

She just stared at me. Maybe I was wrong after all, I thought. There was nothing in her eyes, no guilt, no unease. Nothing. A fly buzzed across my face and settled on the desk in front of her. Jupiter, if I was wrong now wasn't the time to find out.

'Treason is the province of the emperor,' she said. 'Your appointment was with me.'

'I believe Asprenas was working for Your Excellency.'

Did I say that? The mask set. Silence stretched between us like an over-tuned lyre string. Finally, she spoke.

'You came to the palace some time ago enquiring about the poet Ovid. Is there a connection between that and your present impertinence?'

She was testing me, I knew. This was crucial. I had to convince her that I knew everything. Even if I didn't.

'Yes, Excellency. There is.'

'Then perhaps you would be good enough to explain it to me.' A flick of her finger indicated the visitor's chair. It was old Egyptian, and pretty frail, maybe even part of the stuff Augustus had brought back from Alexandria after Cleopatra had her run-in with the asp. I sat cautiously. The chair creaked.

'Now, young man,’ she said. ‘What are these "treasonable irregularities" that you say Nonius Asprenas was responsible for? And why should he be working for me?'

Her eyes were like iron spikes. 'Asprenas was a member of the Paullus plot, Excellency. He represented — claimed to represent — his uncle Varus whom your late husband-'

'The Divine Augustus.'

'I'm sorry, Excellency.' Shit, my hands were starting to sweat. I wiped them on my mantle. 'Whom the Divine Augustus had appointed to the German command.'

'You're saying that Varus was involved with Paullus and Julia?'

'No, Excellency. Not directly involved.' I paused. 'Not that there was much to be involved with.'

'How do you mean, young man?'

I could feel the sweat beading my forehead now, but I didn't wipe it off. She knew I was nervous. Sure she knew. Just as I knew that I had to keep my dignity because it was the only defence I had. 'The conspiracy was a fake, Excellency. It was intended to destroy Julia as the rest of your husband's line had already been destroyed.'

The mask-face didn't move, but the eyes behind it glittered. 'Destroyed by whom?'

This was like juggling with razors. 'That's not for me to say, Excellency.'

'Very good.' Was there the trace of a smile on her thin lips? 'Go on.'

'May I speak frankly, Excellency?'

'I was under the impression that you already were.'

I moved nervously and the chair creaked again. Suddenly I smelt camphor; an old smell, the smell of age. Livia or the chair? Old age, old bones, old crimes.

'The problem was that Augustus wouldn't believe another adultery charge,' I said. 'His daughter, the Lady Julia's mother, had been exiled for the same reason, and it was too pat. Even with Junius Silanus's confession to back it up the evidence would have been shaky. What was needed was something more…significant. Something Augustus would take seriously, even although he could never make it public.'

'And that was?'

'Proof that Julia was a traitor.'

Livia said nothing. The fly hesitated, rubbed its front legs together and began to crawl across the vast expanse of desk that lay between us.

'The problem was, Excellency,' I went on, 'that Paullus and Julia were on their guard. They knew they'd been targeted. Also, they weren't content to sit and wait. Sooner or later they'd have got through to Augustus, convinced him, if he didn't know it already, that his successors' deaths weren't just bad luck and that they could offer a viable alternative to your son.'

I could feel the sweat pouring off me now.

'That alternative being?'

'Postumus. Julia's brother. Your husband's grandson.'

Her lips pursed. 'Postumus was a moral degenerate. Augustus knew that. My husband would never have agreed to him as a successor.'

'Yes, Excellency. But it's just possible that — latterly — the emperor had begun to suspect he had been…misinformed about his grandson's character.'

'Misinformed by whom?'

Again the challenge. Again I ignored it.

'Julia and Paullus weren't traitors. Not in the true sense of the word. Even if they had wanted to conspire against Augustus they knew it would only be playing into their enemies' hands. Yet the plot was real enough. It happened. Why?'

'You tell me. This is fascinating.'

'There was a conspiracy, Excellency, only it was a conspiracy with the emperor's full approval. Or so Paullus and Julia thought. Its intention was to set the succession on its proper course.'

Livia sat forward. The fly, perhaps seeing the movement as a threat, stopped and flexed its wings.

'Its proper course?'

Fool! 'I'm sorry, Excellency. Perhaps I should have said, "to follow the Julian line".'

'I see.' She leaned back again. 'We'll let that pass. But your interpretation of the Paullus plot seems a little far-fetched, young man. If you don't mind my saying so.'

'I don't think so, Excellency. I have proof.'

'Then by all means let me hear it.'

'Paullus and Julia were approached by Asprenas, who was Quinctilius Varus's nephew; and Varus was Augustus's man. Asprenas tells them he represents the emperor. Augustus will appoint Varus as commander in Germany. He'll then allow Postumus to "escape" from his island and take refuge with the Rhine legions. Paullus and Julia will do the same. The military situation being what it is, Augustus will permit himself to be pressured by the Julian party's supporters into a reconciliation with his grandson which will develop in time to his appointment as successor.'

The fly twitched nervously in the sudden silence.

'This is theory, Corvinus. You said you have proof.'

'I can prove it,' I lied.

'You're mad.'

I shook my head. 'No, Excellency. I don't think so.'

'Paullus and Julia would never have believed Asprenas. Not without a clear sign that he was my husband's representative.'

'But he did have a sign.'

'Namely?'

'The emperor's own signet ring.'

'The Sphinx seal never left Augustus's hand.'

'Not the original, Excellency. The ring you yourself gave him. Your own copy, which you used to seal documents in your husband's absence.'

The silence was total. Finally, Livia broke it.

'I could have you killed,' she said softly. 'I could call my guards and you would not leave this room alive. You know that, don't you?'

'Of course,' I tried to speak with more confidence than I felt. 'But you won't.'

'Why not?'

'Because I didn't come here unprepared. If I die your son will learn the truth behind the Varian massacre. And if that happens, Excellency, I wouldn't give a gnat's fart for your own chances of living the month out.'