‘Run,’ Sabinus shouted, ‘run like the three-headed hound of Hades is after you.’
They hurtled round the corner and sped down the hill towards Antonia’s house, less than a third of a mile away. The furious speed was too much for Caenis and she slipped on the wet stone surface, falling to the ground with a cry. Vespasian grabbed her arms, pulled her up, threw her over his shoulder and pressed on as fast as he could, aware that the Praetorians had now rounded the corner of the alley and were racing down the hill behind them.
Caligula came skidding to a halt in front of Antonia’s door and thumped on it repeatedly.
‘We’ll carry on down the hill and try to lead them away,’ Magnus called to Sabinus.
‘Good luck,’ he replied as the crossroads brothers disappeared shouting into the night.
The viewing slit slipped back briefly before the door was pulled open and they piled in. Vespasian looked up the hill to see the torches about three hundred paces away. They were safe. On a night as dark and rainswept as this the Praetorians would never have seen which house they’d gone into; they could only guess, but it would be an easy guess, he was sure. He stepped into the atrium and put Caenis down. The door closed behind him. Completely out of breath he leant against the wall and sucked in the air.
Caligula knelt on the floor next to him, panting also. ‘That – was – brilliant – fun,’ he gasped, looking up at Vespasian with a smirk on his face. ‘What did I tell you? A jolly caper indeed. We should do that more often, my friend.’
Vespasian smiled back at him and held out his hand to help him up as Antonia came running into the room.
‘Thank you, gentlemen,’ she said, seeing Caenis and putting her arms around her. ‘I trust you didn’t have too many problems?’
Caligula grinned widely. ‘Easy as slitting a suckling pig’s throat.’
‘Speak for yourself.’ Sabinus puffed, his chest still heaving from the exertion. Outside they could hear the Praetorians running past following the sound of Magnus and his men down the hill.
Caenis looked round at Vespasian. ‘Thank you,’ she said, ‘thank you all.’
Her beautiful eyes gazed at him in admiration. Her wet dress clung to the contours of her body and he felt a surge of desire for her.
Antonia must have sensed this and released Caenis from her grasp. ‘You’d better go and change into something dry. Hurry along, and come and see me when you are warm.’
‘Yes, mistress.’ She bowed her head and left the room. Vespasian’s eyes followed her retreating form hungrily.
Antonia broke the spell. ‘Where’s Magnus?’
‘He and his mates carried on down the hill to lead the Praetorians away.’
‘Good,’ she said, although to Vespasian’s mind there was a hint of disappointment in her eyes. ‘Were any of you seen?’
‘I may have been, domina,’ Vespasian admitted.
Sabinus groaned.
‘I recognised Sejanus as I slipped back over the wall, though I don’t know if there was enough light for him to see me clearly.’
‘Well, at least he doesn’t know you so he can’t have recognised you even if he did see you clearly,’ she replied. ‘But to be safe we’d better get you out of Rome as soon as possible. You, Sabinus and Gaius should stay here for the night. It won’t be wise for you to try to get home now. I imagine that we shall get a visit from our esteemed prefect very shortly; I shall deny everything, of course, it will be most galling for him. He will however have my house watched so we’ll have to smuggle you out tomorrow somehow.’ She looked at Pallas who was standing dripping by the door. ‘Give orders for the floor to be mopped dry and then change into a fresh tunic. There must be no sign of anyone having been outside when Sejanus arrives. And have these gentlemen shown to the guest rooms and provided with dry clothes.’
‘Yes, domina,’ he said, and clapped his hands. Four house slaves appeared from the other end of the atrium. Within moments buckets and mops had arrived and Vespasian, Sabinus and Caligula found themselves being led down a grand corridor to the guest wing.
‘Get changed quickly,’ Caligula said as they were shown their rooms, ‘I want to see how my grandmother deals with Sejanus. She’ll see him in the formal reception room; I know a place where we can listen in to everything that goes on in there.’
Vespasian and Sabinus met up with Caligula in the corridor not long after. He led them quickly down a couple of passages and stopped outside a panelled door painted crimson with black inlays.
‘There’s no lock on this door,’ he said, opening it and stepping into a small room with a curtain on the far wall. ‘The reception room is on the other side of that curtain; let’s take a look.’
He pulled the curtain back a fraction and they put their eyes to the gap. Beyond was beautiful room with a ceiling so high that it was almost in darkness, despite the efforts of the numerous oil lamps scattered around on tables and stands beneath it. Painted wooden chairs with delicately carved backs and legs and couches with cushioned upholstery of lushly coloured fabrics stood ready to receive Antonia’s official visitors.
A slave hurried into the room and looked around, checking that everything was in order; he made a couple of adjustments, repositioning two chairs so that they sat opposite each other either side of a low marble table, and then scuttled away.
Footsteps approached. In came the inscrutable Pallas leading Sejanus, dripping wet. A thin steam rose from his damp tunic and his thick black hair hung in lank clumps around his square-jawed face. He did not look happy.
‘Please take a seat, master,’ Pallas crooned, every ounce of Greek courtesy being used to the full. ‘The Lady Antonia will be with you presently; she has been in bed these past couple of hours.’
‘I’ll bet she has,’ Sejanus growled.
‘She told me to tell you that she will dress as fast as possible so as not to keep your eminence waiting too long. Would you care for some refreshment, master?’
‘No! Now get out of here and leave me alone, you smarmy little Greek cum-stain.’
Pallas bowed and beat a dignified retreat leaving Sejanus looking around the room. He picked up and admired a couple of bronze statuettes that were on the table and then, placing them back down again, started a slow walk around the room. They watched him as he inspected the furniture and ran appreciative hands over the statues and busts. He was directly opposite them when he noticed the curtain and started to move towards it.
‘Quick, out,’ Caligula hissed, leaping back. They slipped out of the door just as the curtains were ripped apart, and darted into the nearest room.
‘It would have been nasty coming face to face with Sejanus in that sort of mood,’ Gaius said, quickly closing the door of the unlit room. They heard footsteps out in the corridor.
‘Hades! There’s no lock on this one either,’ he said, running his hands up and down the door in the dark. ‘Quick, lean against it.’
They pressed their bodies hard against it; a few moments later they heard the door to the room they’d just vacated open and close. Purposeful footsteps approached their door and they felt the pressure of someone trying to open it from the outside. The pressure grew; they braced themselves harder against it.
‘Prefect, there you are.’ Antonia’s voice came from the end of the corridor.
The pressure ceased suddenly and they slumped against the door.
‘My dear Sejanus, what are you doing trying to get into that room?’
‘Don’t give me that “my dear Sejanus” rubbish. Someone was spying on me and they ran in there.’
‘Impossible, that room is always kept locked.’
‘How? I see no keyhole.’
‘It’s bolted on the inside. It can be accessed only from the library on the other side. Now, enough of this foolishness; tell me why you’ve had me dragged from my bed in the middle of the night?’