‘Yes, yes,’ Vespasian interrupted, not liking the image even before it was completed. ‘What about Caligula?’
‘Antonia told me to tell you that he’s worked out a way of getting us on to the island.’
‘Well, tell me then.’
‘I have.’
‘No you haven’t. What is it?’
‘Ah, I don’t know that part; she just said to say that he’s found a way, she didn’t say what it was, she doesn’t…’
‘Talk to you much, I know.’
‘No, exactly. Still, you can ask her yourself very soon, if you want.’
‘How? I’m going to be staying here until at least March.’
‘If you do, you’ll be in trouble.’
‘What are you talking about now? I thought that it was safer for me to stay out of Rome for the time being.’
‘Well, Antonia said to tell you that she thinks that it’s safe for you to come back. Sejanus is to be Tiberius’ colleague as Consul in the New Year and has been given permission to become betrothed to Livilla.’
Vespasian frowned and took a sip of wine. ‘How does that make me safe?’
‘Because he’s feeling secure, he thinks that he’s now untouchable and is pursuing vendettas against people who’ve crossed him in the past rather than worrying about Antonia’s plans for him in the future. He hasn’t made any more attempts on your uncle, who’s been back in his own house for the last three months. And as you may already know, they left your estate at Aquae Cutillae alone after they found the pyres. Antonia thinks that you and Sabinus are both — how did she put it? — “too small a pair of fish for Sejanus to have noticed”.’
‘That’s very comforting, I’m sure. So why will I be in trouble if I stay here?’
‘Because Antonia and Senator Pollo have managed to get you a position.’
‘What sort of position?’
‘Now that is a silly question,’ Magnus said, draining his cup and helping himself to more. ‘On the next rung of the ladder, of course; one of the twenty junior magistrates, the Vigintiviri.’
Vespasian’s eyes lit up; he had not been expecting to be able to further his career until Antonia had won her struggle with Sejanus. But now, if she thought that it was safe for him to return to Rome and take another step up the cursus honorum he would grab the chance. He would be closer to Caenis and would not have to have his brother’s happiness shoved down his throat all the time.
‘That’s excellent news.’
‘Well, yes and no, sir.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘It’s the least popular position.’
‘Not working for the aedile in charge of roads?’
‘No, I’m afraid not. You’re going to be one of the triumviri capitales.’
Vespasian groaned; he knew what that entailed.
‘I’m afraid so, sir,’ Magnus said sympathetically, ‘one of the three men in charge of book-burnings and executions.’
CHAPTER XV
‘My dear boy, you’re as white as your toga,’ Gaius boomed in alarm as an attractive new doorkeeper let Vespasian in through the front door of his house.
‘That’s because again today my service to Rome amounted to nothing more than cold-blooded murder,’ Vespasian replied, irritably brushing off the attentions of one of Gaius’ many new young German slave boys.
‘Aenor, bring some wine,’ Gaius ordered the young lad, who immediately scuttled off to do his master’s bidding. ‘Come and sit down, Vespasian.’
‘The irony of it all is that for the last three months I’ve been doing the dirty work for someone whom I’m meant to be helping Antonia try to destroy,’ Vespasian said, taking a seat next to the impluvium in Gaius’ spacious atrium. The fountain’s continuous tinkling helped to calm Vespasian as Gaius sat down opposite him and Aenor served them their wine.
‘So whom did Sejanus get today?’ Gaius asked once the boy had been dismissed with a hearty slap on the arse.
‘I forget his name,’ Vespasian replied, taking a long slug of wine and savouring its delicate taste with his eyes shut and shaking his head slowly. ‘He was an equestrian who had business connections in Egypt; apparently he had defrauded Sejanus’ father, Strabo, shortly before he died, whilst he was the prefect of that province.’
‘And sixteen years later Sejanus gets his family’s revenge.’
‘Exactly. On a trumped-up charge of treason. The man wasn’t even allowed the citizens’ right of decapitation. I’ve just had to watch the public executioner strangle an innocent Roman citizen. Then, to cap it all, his family weren’t allowed to take the body for burial and it’s now lying on the Gemonian Stairs for anybody to dishonour as they see fit. It’s an absolute disgrace.’
‘Calm, my dear boy, there’s nothing you can do about it at the moment. Just be thankful that Sejanus is concentrating his energies on the long list of people who’ve upset his family in the past; although not a day goes by when I don’t worry that some snotty-nosed little urban quaestor is going to appear at my door with a summons.’
‘I wouldn’t call Paetus “snotty-nosed”.’
‘Well, he’s younger than me. Anyway, what was the actual charge?’
‘That he’d entered Egypt without the Emperor’s permission with the express purpose of defrauding the Emperor’s personal representative in that province.’
‘Very neat. Had he obtained permission?’
‘He swore in court that he had and then the prosecution brought out the list, supplied by guess who, of every equestrian who had applied for permission to visit Egypt in the last twenty years and, would you believe it, his name turned up missing.’
‘And that was that?’
‘Yes, Uncle, that was that. I had to take him away for immediate execution, no right of appeal, and all his property was forfeited to be split between the crony of Sejanus who’d accused him and the emperor, leaving his family destitute.’
‘Try to remember his name, will you, because when the situation changes here it may be possible to redress some of Sejanus’ wrongs.’
‘How? Sejanus has evidently removed his name from the list.’
‘Ah, but that isn’t the only list, there’s a duplicate in Alexandria — there has to be otherwise the prefect wouldn’t know whom to allow in. When Sejanus is no more I’ll ask Antonia to write to her friend the alabarch to see-’
‘Alabarch?’ Vespasian interrupted. ‘That’s the second time that I’ve heard that word recently. What is an alabarch?’
‘The alabarch of Alexandria is the secular leader of the Jews of that city. He’s used by the Emperor to collect taxes, like import duties and such, from the Jewish population. They resent paying them to Rome but don’t seem to mind paying them to a fellow Jew, even though the money ends up in the same place.’
‘What’s Antonia’s relationship with him?’
‘Not surprisingly she has a massive amount of land in Egypt. The alabarch looks after her interests there and has done since before he was appointed. He’s the first alabarch to be a Roman citizen; his grandfather was granted citizenship by Caesar.’
‘Gaius Julius Alexander,’ Vespasian said slowly, dragging the name from his memory.
‘You know him then?’
‘No, but Sabinus and I need to find him,’ Vespasian replied. He then told his uncle about Ataphanes’ last
