Ovid

'Varus was a natural choice. He was a proven administrator with wide military experience, loyal to my husband…'

'That doesn't answer the question.'

Her eyes flashed. 'I told you. He was a natural choice. That should be enough.'

'Sure he was; but not for the reasons you've given. You chose Varus because first he was rotten as a bad fig where money was concerned and second because his nephew was Nonius Asprenas.' Her mouth was tight as an iron trap. 'When they got to Germany it was Asprenas's job to encourage the old man's greed, see to it that he made himself unpopular with the natives, maybe even lay himself open to a charge of maladministration. Only that wasn't enough for your purposes, was it? You needed something that would really smack the emperor in the jaw. You needed Arminius.'

Silence. Her eyes glared at me through the whiteness of the powder. I went on.

'Arminius was pure gold. Ambitious, two-faced as Janus, a natural actor and a natural liar. Roman-educated, Roman-trained. Plausible. Asprenas was to be your pimp, introduce the two, make sure they ended up in bed together.'

'An intriguing metaphor. You are speaking metaphorically, I trust?'

'Luckily for him, that part turned out to be easy. Varus saw a quality in Arminius that he'd always respected but never had himself: commitment. Varus took it for commitment to Rome, but that was his bad judgement and Arminius's good acting; and when the time came it swung the balance, because the old guy wanted to believe Arminius could be trusted.' I paused. 'So. By the time he gets to Germany Varus is pretty well softened up. Arminius comes to him and spins him a fairy-story about creating a client-kingdom between the Rhine and the Elbe…'

'No fairy-story. The concept was quite sound. And we needed a change of policy.'

'Sure. Okay, if you say so, Excellency. Anyway, Arminius offers Varus a pretty big retainer for his co-operation, and Varus, who trusts his motives, agrees. The scam's very profitable, and it doesn't even rub his conscience up the wrong way. Then comes the crunch.'

She'd tensed herself again. We were on the most sensitive ground of all here, and I knew it.

'Arminius tells Varus that he needs one last favour: a military embarrassment to consolidate his hold over the tribes. On the march back to Vetera he's to allow himself to be decoyed into the Teutoburg. There Arminius will attack him but allow him to withdraw with his army intact.' I paused again, and then said softly: 'Only that wasn't the real agreement, was it, Excellency? The attack wasn't going to be the farce the old guy was expecting. When Arminius hit it would be for real.'

I'd got through to her at last. The mask cracked completely, and the frightened woman showed through.

'It was a mistake!' she whispered. 'We wanted a humiliation, not a massacre!'

'Sure.'

'Believe me! Arminius swore that the attack would be a limited engagement!'

A limited engagement. I felt like throwing up all over the bitch's marble flooring.

'Three legions,' I said quietly. 'Fifteen thousand men butchered, just so your boy could take a step nearer the purple. How the fuck do you sleep at night, lady?'

But the mask was back in place and the empress had herself under control again.

'I use poppy juice, Corvinus. I always have done,' she said. 'And in any case bad dreams are a small price to pay for the safety of Rome. Which brings us to yourself. What is your price, young man?'

The suddenness of the question took me by surprise.

'My price?'

'The price of your silence.'

'Nothing, Excellency.'

'Nothing?'

'A handful of ashes. You would call it nothing.'

She stared at me so long I felt the sweat breaking out on my forehead. Then she said, very quietly:

'Don't presume to dictate my own values to me, Corvinus. Political advancement would be nothing, property or money would be nothing. Ovid's ashes are not nothing.'

Shit. 'Did you hate him so much, Excellency?'

'He nearly ruined all my plans for my son, all my plans for Rome. Had he been a politician we could have dealt with each other, but he was not. He was a well-meaning bumbler who wouldn't have understood bargaining if it had hit him in the face. Yes, I hated Ovid that much. I still do. I would have had him killed, only Tomi was worse.' She stood up, and for the first time I realised how small she was; small and frail. I could have reached over and snapped her in half like a rotten branch. 'Nevertheless, young man, you will have your handful of ashes. But never believe that you have let me off lightly.'

I stood too. As if at a signal (had she given one, somehow?) the doors behind me opened and the secretary was there waiting to escort me out.

'Goodbye, Valerius Corvinus,' Livia said with stiff formality. 'I will see that the necessary arrangements are made.'

I bowed and turned to go. I had almost reached the door before another thought struck me.

'One more thing, Excellency,' I said. 'I want a woman.'

She stared at me and I heard the secretary's sharp, scandalised intake of breath. Then for the first time the empress smiled.

'Any woman?' she said.

'No. You know the one I mean.'

'Very well. It will be arranged.'

I bowed again, and left.

44

But the day wasn't over yet. When I got home Bathyllus met me in the lobby.

'You have a visitor, sir,' he said quietly.

'Yeah?' I stripped off my cloak and my mantle and handed them to him. 'Who's that?'

'I took the liberty of showing him into your study. I thought perhaps you would prefer to talk in private.'

The study door was closed. As I opened it, the man inside turned…

Asprenas.

My hand had reached for the dagger at my left wrist before I remembered that I wasn't carrying it. You don't, usually, on visits to the palace. Asprenas had caught the movement. He smiled and shook his head.

'No, Corvinus,' he said. 'You're quite safe from me now, especially since you've chosen to handle this thing sensibly. It's over. And if I'd wanted to kill you I would hardly choose your own house to do it in.'

Without taking my eyes from him I half-turned.

'Bathyllus! Some wine. I'll talk to you later.' Then, to Asprenas, 'You're not welcome here. Get out. Now.'

He pulled up a chair and sat down.

'Don't blame the slave,’ he said. ‘I twisted his arm.'

'He should've known better.' I sat down myself, far enough away for safety. Also I didn't want to breathe the same air as him any more than I could help.

'You've just come from your interview with the empress.'

'Yeah.'

'And she told you that our intention was to humiliate Varus and through him the emperor.'

I nodded.

'I thought she might. By the way, I'm glad you chose Livia and not Tiberius. It relieves me of my obligations.'

I gripped the arms of my chair, hard, to stop my hands shaking with disgust.

'So what do you want, Asprenas?' I said. 'Tell me, then get the fuck out of my house.'

He smiled. 'I don't want anything. I have everything I need, thank you. But I thought perhaps you deserved congratulations. And, perhaps, some final clarification.'

'What sort of clarification? If it's about what you did to Varus you can save your breath.'

'That's precisely what it's about.' He leaned back in his chair, completely at his ease. 'Admissions first. Yes, I arranged things on Livia's behalf with Arminius. Yes, I forged the letter we showed you. That ought not to have been necessary, but my uncle persistently and categorically refused to incriminate himself in writing. And yes, of course I was wholly responsible for the attacks on yourself and for the Lady Rufia's kidnapping. These last the empress knew nothing about, although she would have approved if she had. However I cannot leave you with the impression that Livia is totally innocent- I mean innocent of fifteen thousand deaths. I'm not that altruistic.'