I could tell this pleased him, but it wasclose enough to the truth that I did not feel I was playing himfalse. Besides, I thought, compared to what I've been through withthe upper classes, the kind of things that Didius did to undermineme were so minor that it was hard to remember why it angered me inthe first place. Scribonius and Didius exchanged pleasantries as Iwas approached by another man that I had served with, and I wasreminded of the fact that for a brief period of time, Scriboniusand Didius had been close comrades, forced into it bycircumstances. Because he stood next to me when we were information, and Didius was on the other side of him, Scribonius hadapproached me about being his close comrade, but of course Vibiusand I had already chosen each other, both of us sure that we wouldbe friends for life. Yet, a part of my mind reflected even as Italked to other men, here we were now, standing together one lasttime, and he was risking everything to be here alongside me.
"Prefect!"
I turned to see young Tribune Pisoapproaching, followed by one of his slaves, carrying a number ofitems that I supposed were materials related to the coming ordeal.Piso snapped at the men standing in the way with the authority thatcomes from being lucky enough to be born into one of the ancientfamilies of Rome, and I felt a twinge of anger at his treatment ofthese men. They were here, after all, to show their support of me,and I began to take a step in Piso's direction to admonish him forhis behavior when I felt a hand grab my arm.
"Titus, he doesn't know why they're here,"Scribonius told me quietly, instantly understanding the situationand my likely reaction. "As far as he knows, they're just here tobeg for more money."
I relented, but it still angered me.Somehow, I managed to keep that from showing when he reachedus.
"Salve, Prefect," Piso said,completely oblivious that he had done anything that might upset me,offering his hand. "Are you ready to be exonerated?"
"Tribune, I normally don't ascribe to theidea that there are stupid questions, but I'm afraid I have to saythat one qualifies."
He laughed, and I was not sure whether thatboded well or ill for my prospects. Piso turned to Scribonius, whoI had only introduced as a friend visiting from Alexandria, givinghim the name Asinius Fronto on the fly, and essentially continuedthe fiction that Scribonius had created in his letter about being abook dealer.
"Fronto, I'm afraid that you're going tohave to wait outside with this rabble." Piso's lip curled up indistaste as he swept his arm to encompass the small crowd.
Before Scribonius could do or say anythingto save me from myself, I crossed the couple of steps separatingthe Tribune and me, grabbing his elbow and squeezing it, hard. Hegave a yelp of pain, and he turned to me, his eyes wide with alarm,and more pleasingly to me, more than a little fear.
"This rabble you're referring to areall men that I've served with," I told him quietly, but with amenace to my tone that I reserved for special occasions such asthis when I needed to emphasize a point, "and you need to respectthe fact that they've served under the standard longer than you'vebeen alive. Do you understand me, Tribune?"
"Y-yes, Prefect, and I apologize, I do mostsincerely," he stammered. "I didn't realize who they were. Andyou're right, of course; they certainly do deserve more respectthan I gave them."
I released my grip, and gave him a smilethat I hoped conveyed the right balance between good humor and themessage that his disrespect would not be tolerated.
"That's right, but I know that you won'tmake the same mistake again. And," I indicated Scribonius, "myfriend Fronto here is going to accompany me to this Tribunal. Now,"I patted him on the shoulder, "I'll leave it up to you to work outhow you're going to make that happen."
I will say that Piso was a nimble thinker;when we entered the Praetorium, he informed the guards thatScribonius was his scribe, and needed to record the proceedings.However, it was apparent the guards had been given strictinstructions, and no amount of Piso's wheedling or my blusteringwould sway them, and Scribonius was left standing outside. Beforewe parted, we clasped arms once more, then I drew him into a hug tokiss him on both cheeks, whispering my thanks for all that he haddone. I made sure not to meet his gaze, knowing that I would startweeping as he already was. Turning, I caught up with Piso and hisslave, passing through the doors into the Praetorium.Entering into the room that is used for larger briefings,conferences, and banquets held by the senior officers, I did sowith my head erect, staring straight ahead and trying to send amessage to the four Tribunes sitting at a table that had beenplaced a short distance from one wall. Facing the table was a pairof a shorter tables, separated by several feet. At one was a pairof young men wearing togas, one of them with the stripe thatsignified his status as a Tribune. He, I assumed, would be incharge of the prosecution. The other man's role I was unsure about,and I asked Piso, who looked over and then frowned.
"I'm not sure what he's doing here," he toldme, then gave a shrug. "Perhaps he's going to assist Sulpicianus."He gave me a grin. "Frankly, he's going to need all the help he canget."
I did my best to keep my expression neutral,but inside I felt a flare of something that I did not want to thinkof as hope, if only to keep my emotions under control. In case youhave not surmised, this was the very same man that Agrippa hadwarned me away from, because of a lack of intelligence. CouldAgrippa be doing whatever he could to help me? I wondered as we satdown at our table. Despite
