Rome's Lost Son(29)

Vespasian turned away, unwilling to watch any more. ‘So you think all this has been done without the Emperor’s knowledge?’

‘I’m not sure what to think, which is why I’ve come straight to the Forum to present myself to him before anyone else has a chance to tell him that I’m here. It’ll be interesting to see his reaction.’

‘More to the point, it’ll be interesting to see the reaction of those surrounding him. I would say that whoever feigns the biggest surprise at the sight of you is your secret patron. And if it’s who I suspect it is then I should watch my step.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Let’s just say that you don’t want to be involved with her.’

Corbulo contemplated this as a heavily muscled man carrying a wooden block and a cleaver passed them, heading into the court, followed by two more men with a brazier full of red-hot coals. ‘But surely Agrippina would never dare to meddle so obviously with imperial policy. She may be the Empress but she’s still only a woman.’

‘Perhaps, but yesterday she was seated next to the Emperor on a dais of equal height and then instigated imperial policy by recommending Caratacus’ life be spared.’

‘That’s outrageous; sparing a rebel! If I’d done that in Germania, we wouldn’t receive any tribute and would be in constant fear of invasion across the Rhenus.’

‘For all Claudius’ concern about “the ways of our ancestors” he’s unable to control his wife as they did.’

There was a lull in the commotion coming from the court broken only by the pleading screams of one man.

‘I’ll not be beholden to a woman for my position,’ Corbulo asserted.

‘It’s that or quiet retirement on your estate until she’s gone; that’s the choice we all face.’

The screams abruptly stopped, silenced by the dull thump of honed iron striking solid wood; then followed a howl of agony accompanied by a low gasp of appreciation from the crowd. A few moments later the crowd gasped again but the sound did not mask the desolate wail of a man freshly deprived of both his hands.

Vespasian tried to block the pitiful noise from his mind, standing in silence with a thoughtful Corbulo as the court slowly broke up and the spectators dispersed in search of new amusement, chattering happily together about the outcome.

‘Ah! Th-th-there you are, Consul,’ Claudius called cheerily, lurching behind his lictors as they cleared a path for him towards his litter. ‘We have much to discuss.’

‘Princeps,’ Vespasian replied, acknowledging the Emperor with a slight bow of the head.

‘Princeps,’ Corbulo echoed.

‘C-C-C-Corbulo? Did I summon you too?’

‘You did, Princeps.’

‘All the way from G-G-Germania Inferior?’

‘Indeed, Princeps. You’ve replaced me there and have given me the province of Asia to govern.’

‘H-h-have I now? Well, well, that is fortuitous. Join us; you might as well hear what I have to say to Vespasian as it may well affect you if you are going to Asia. After all, Asia is almost next door to Armenia.’

‘So you see,’ Claudius said, adjusting his position amongst the copious cushions in his litter, ‘it’s of vital importance to our eastern policy and to our dealings with Parthia that Armenia remains in our sphere of influence. Should we lose it, the client kingdom of Pontus would be open to Parthian meddling or even annexation and our provinces of Asia and Syria would both be under threat.’

He had surprised both Vespasian and Corbulo by the fluency of his speech; he had hardly stuttered at all as he explained the present crisis in the region while they progressed along the Via Sacra. His grip of the detail, however, was not a revelation to them; they were both well aware that this chaotic man had a sharp mind for facts, both legal and historical, having written many books that had been praised for their learning. It was a scholarly inner-self betrayed by the drooling, twitching, limping exterior that was compounded by his feeble wit, his blurted, inappropriate comments, his malleability in the hands of his wife and freedmen and, of course, his increasing drunkenness. Although Claudius could see through a problem, the solution, however, was normally placed in his mind by one of the schemers who parasitically sucked on his power. And this case was no exception.

‘So Pallas has suggested that the best way to counter this is to send an embassy to Armenia and I agree with him, as does the Empress. She also believes that you, Vespasian, are the most suitable man for the job: as my junior colleague in the consulship this year you will still carry much authority when you step down. That should impress these petty easterners. I had been going to give you Africa to govern, but Agrippina persuaded me a couple of days ago that your family perhaps don’t make the best administrators and that your talents would be wasted there and that I should wait to see if something more suitable came along for you. I’m so pleased she did; she must have had divine guidance as Pallas only made his suggestion this morning.’