‘So then.’ Claudius turned back to Cato and Macro. ‘What were two legionary officers doing in the P-p- praetorian Guard, under false names? Unless you were part of the plot against me.’
Narcissus stepped forward with a light cough. ‘Sire, I can vouch for these men. They are indeed officers from the legions. It was I who summoned them to Rome to carry out a mission, in your service, sire.’
‘Mission? What m-mission?’
‘You recall the matter of the theft of the silver bullion, sire?’
‘Of course. I’m old, not st-stupid.’
‘Indeed, sire.’ Narcissus bowed his head. ‘Then you will remember that I reported discovering a connection between the theft of the silver and certain members of the Praetorian Guard. Men who I suspected were linked to the Liberators.’
Claudius nodded. ‘Continue.’
‘In order to pursue my investigation I needed some men on the inside, sire. Cato and Macro have served you well before and such is their loyalty to you that they willingly agreed to risk their lives and go under cover in an effort to penetrate the conspiracy.’
‘Agreed?’ Macro whispered. ‘That’s pushing it.’
‘Their mission was dangerous,’ Narcissus continued. ‘But between their efforts and those of my most trusted agents, we were able to identify the ringleaders of the conspiracy, as well as uncovering the full scope of the plot, sire. We discovered that the traitors were behind the grain shortage. They intended to provoke civil disorder by deliberately starving your people. Luckily the Liberators’ grain hoard has been located and it is now under the protection of one of the urban cohorts, sire.’ Narcissus paused and coughed. ‘I gave the order in your name, if you’ll forgive me.’
The Emperor’s eyes lit up and he leant forward. ‘This grain is safe, you say? Then we must start feeding the m-m-mob as soon as p-possible.’
‘I have already given the orders to begin moving the grain to the palace, sire, so that you may take credit for restoring the grain dole.’
‘Very good!’ Claudius smiled in relief. Then he waved a hand. ‘Go on.’
Narcissus paused a moment as he looked meaningfully at Centurion Tigellinus. ‘Although two of the officers who led the plot are dead, and the other would-be assassins are also dead, or captured, there are still others involved in the conspiracy against you. Or, more precisely, the two conspiracies.’
Claudius frowned. ‘Two? Explain yourself.’
Narcissus gestured towards Cato and Macro. ‘My agents discovered the existence of a parallel plot, sire. The Liberators were not the only traitors working towards your downfall. The collapse of the dam and the attempt to disrupt the Naumachia were the handiwork of other conspirators. Those who hoped to turn the Liberators’ efforts to their own ends …’ Narcissus turned towards Tigellinus and paced slowly round him so that he could look back, in the direction of Pallas, before he resumed. ‘It was only with tonight’s attempt on your life that I began to grasp the scope of their plans. It was their intention to do what they could to help the Liberators murder you, sire. And then make use of the chaos to replace you with their choice of Emperor.’
Cato saw the blood drain from Pallas’s face as the imperial secretary outlined his thoughts. Pallas glanced quickly at Agrippina before he got control of himself and stared rigidly at his rival, Narcissus.
‘Who are these other traitors then?’ the Emperor demanded. ‘Who do they intend to r-replace me with?’
Narcissus turned and bowed his head towards Nero. ‘Your adopted son.’
Claudius sucked in his breath and turned towards Nero. ‘Is this true?’
The boy’s jaw sagged and he shook his head. Before he could speak, Agrippina jumped to her feet with a furious expression and stabbed a finger at Narcissus. ‘He’s a liar! Like all these Greek freedmen you choose to surround yourself with.’
Pallas winced.
‘How dare you accuse my son?’ Agrippina said furiously. ‘How dare you?’
‘I did not accuse him of taking part in the conspiracy,’ Narcissus responded loudly enough to override her protest. ‘I said that there were others who wished to use Nero to replace the Emperor. Presumably so that they could manipulate him for their own ends.’
‘Who are these traitors?’ Claudius repeated, his mind concentrating sufficiently to eclipse his stammer. ‘Name them.’
‘I can’t, sire. Not yet. Not quite,’ Narcissus apologised, even as he looked at both Pallas and Agrippina. ‘But I know the identity of one man close to the heart of the second conspiracy. Notably this officer.’ He pointed at Centurion Tigellinus. ‘My agents, Cato and Macro, caught him with the bodies of the two officers who led the attempt on your life, Prefect Geta and Centurion Sinius. He was with them then, and he fled with them, and it is clear that he killed them in order to cover up his part in the plot. Naturally, the centurion protested his innocence, and claimed to have chased them down and engaged them in combat before killing them.’
‘That is the truth, sire,’ Tigellinus cut in calmly.
‘No, it is a lie,’ Narcissus responded. ‘As will be proved when you are handed over to my interrogators who will find out exactly who your accomplices are. They have something of a knack for getting answers out of traitors.’
Tigellinus looked at Agrippina and she glanced at Pallas and discreetly made a gesture to urge his intervention. Pallas licked his lips anxiously and then stepped forward.
‘Sire, this man, Centurion Tigellinus, is innocent. I swear it.’
‘Oh?’ Narcissus could not help a small smile. ‘And how can you be so certain?’
‘He is working for me,’ Pallas replied. ‘He has been from the start.’
Claudius looked confused. ‘This traitor is your agent?’
‘He is no traitor, sire,’ Pallas replied. ‘I too had discovered that the Liberators were plotting to bring you down. Like Narcissus I decided to place a man inside the conspiracy to find out who was behind it. Is this not true, Centurion?’
‘That’s right.’ Tigellinus nodded steadily. ‘That was the plan.’
‘Even though we did our best to infiltrate the conspiracy, we were unable to achieve as much as my esteemed colleague and his team.’ Pallas bowed his head politely towards Narcissus who responded to the words of praise with an icy, hate-filled glare. ‘Tigellinus was still in the process of gathering intelligence tonight when your enemies struck, sire. However, he did manage at least to warn the Empress and Prince Nero before they could be attacked.’
Claudius held up a hand to still Pallas’s tongue, and turned to his wife. ‘Is this true?’
Agrippina nodded. ‘He entered my sleeping chamber to tell me and Nero to go and hide. He said he would try to save you.’
Claudius stared at her. ‘Nero was in your room? In your bed?’
‘He could not sleep,’ Agrippina replied steadily. ‘The poor boy had a headache and I was comforting him.’
‘I see.’ Claudius turned to Pallas. ‘And how did you come to know this?’
‘Sire?’
‘That Tigellinus managed to warn my wife?’
‘She told me, as we were waiting for you here, a moment ago.’
‘Very well.’ The Emperor scratched his chin. ‘I think I’ll hear the rest of it from the centurion’s lips. Speak up, Tigellinus. What happened next?’
‘I left the Empress, sire, and ran to catch up with the traitors, but they had already burst into your study to attack you. I heard sounds of fighting then saw the traitors fleeing. I recognised Geta and Sinius and pursued them. I brought them to bay at the far end of the garden. They were forced to fight and, by the grace of Jupiter, I overcame them. That’s when Capito and – I beg your pardon, sire – that’s when the agents of Narcissus turned up, together with the Praetorians. Too late to be of assistance, alas,’ he added in a regretful tone.
‘So you say,’ Narcissus intervened. ‘But the truth is that you murdered these two officers to prevent them from implicating you. Far from investigating the Liberators’ conspiracy, you were actually doing everything you could to further it so that your masters could seize power in the name of Prince Nero, after the Emperor was killed. It’s clear that you warned the Empress to hide in order to preserve her and her son, and had no intention of
