Chapter 7
As he explained, not entirely telling the full truth, he had visited to ensure that she was being well looked after, that she was safe, and. .
"The legion, or the river, kept the barbarians at bay," she smiled, then she shuddered, and added, "and Little Boots is far away."
"I'm sure you're exaggerating the problem," Gaius tried to comfort her.
"He's quite a vile beast," she shuddered. "You don't know. You're not a woman, and you're not in Rome."
"And neither are you," Gaius said, then hastily added, "in Rome, I mean."
"You noticed the other?" she said, then suddenly she became more serious as she realized that he had gone out on a limb for her, and she added, "I'm sorry! I should thank you for your kindness, and not. ."
"I can ignore a pretty lady once," Gaius interrupted, "and that's careless, but to ignore her twice, to discard her to the vilest of the little or big boots, that is, well. ."
"In Rome, it's what's called 'playing it safe'," she reflected sadly. Then she decided to change the subject. "How did your expedition go? How many barbarians did you kill, how many villages did you burn, how many. .?"
"We killed those we had to," Gaius replied simply, "and we brought back the minimum required tribute. Rather than pillage, I tried to make the local villages semi-allies. I see no reason to kill or destroy for no reason."
"I'm sorry," she frowned. "Neither do I, but that view is not commonly held. Tell me, what are they like, these barbarians."
"They're not barbarians," Gaius corrected her. "They're civilized, in their own ways. They dress differently, they don't inflict shaving on themselves, they don't wash as much as we do, they pray to different Gods, but they make quite intricate metal ornaments." He paused, then added, "I've brought members of the family of the chief back. They speak Latin. Why don't you ask them what you want?"
"Prisoners won't. ."
"They're not prisoners, and they're not slaves," Gaius interrupted. "They will be treated as chief's sons and daughters, and eventually they will return to their tribes, to lead them. They are to return with the feeling that Rome is good."
"Even if in some ways, it isn't," she muttered.
"Look, I'm sorry for your problem, but I promise you, you're safe here."
"Even you can't refuse Little Boots," she warned. "If he orders me back to Rome. ."
"I'll say you're unavailable."
"He's hardly likely to believe that," she snorted. "He'll come here for me personally, probably kill you, and. ."
"If you're polite and look after our guests from across the river," Gaius shrugged, "you could always escape across there. I can't see Little Boots going after you himself."
"Living amongst the barbarians could be nearly as bad," she said. "There'd be nobody to protect me, and. ."
"On the contrary," Gaius interposed, "if the chief gave his word, you'd be quite safe. But it mightn't come to that. Let's try to enjoy the present and let the future take care of itself. Will you join me for dinner?"
"I'd like that," she smiled.
The dinner was small, informal, but Gaius had ensured that the cook understood that he wished to impress his guest. Vipsania was impressed; even Gaius was impressed. Since he was aware that Vipsania's father was interested in wine, he had found some older Pannonian wine that had been stored in a small cask for some time.
"This's marvellous," Vipsania said, after tasting it for the first time.
"Those in the know only buy old casks," Gaius said. "Most people drink fresh wine."
"I thought old wine turned to vinegar," Vipsania frowned.
"That's the downside of buying old casks," Gaius agreed. "If the air gets in, it's awful."
They ate, they drank, and when Vipsania asked him about dropping rocks into rivers, he took her hand and invited her outside. It was cold, and he wrapped a cloak around her and drew her close to him. She put her arm around his waste, and almost snuggled against him.
"Look up there?" Gaius said.
"Stars?" Vipsania asked. "I know some of the constellations."
"Do you know what the stars are?"
"Just stars? What do you mean?"
"Aristarchus thought. ."
"Who's Aristarchus?"
"A Greek philosopher," Gaius explained, in what he was to reflect later was an overly serious tone. "He said that the Earth is a planet like Mars, and goes around the sun. Other Greeks thought the stars are other suns, in which case there could be other planets going around them."
"And you believe that?" she asked curiously.
"I don't know," Gaius said. "What I do know is that because heavy objects fall at the same rate as light ones, it's at least possible, which is why I got so carried away when I saw a sword, a shield and a body hit the water at the same time. As you said, I was so excited, I ignored you."
"I suppose that was important," she said doubtfully.
"So I'm not forgiven?"
She looked into his eyes and said, "I've always wanted to meet a philosopher, so yes, you're forgiven. But don't do it again!" she added with a smirk.
"I don't think that's likely," he said, and drew her more tightly to him. Her arm also drew him more tightly towards her.
Chapter 8
A week later, under leaden skies, the Legion, apart from the fifth cohort, whose turn it was to be left behind to maintain a frontier presence, marched towards the coast and their winter quarters. The march was uneventful, but Gaius noted that Vipsania was becoming more apprehensive as the time approached. Burnum was near the coast, and that meant that a boat could take her back to Rome.
Gaius had already sent Timothy ahead to secure a villa for Vipsania and her family. When they arrived, he found that Timothy had done well and had secured a small villa about two miles from the town itself, but not that far from the formal residence of the Legatus. He had told nobody what it was for, or who would be in it, and officially the villa was in Gaius' name. As Gaius assured Vipsania, anybody who wanted to find her would have to do it through him.
For the next five weeks, it was unlikely that Gaius had any deep philosophical thoughts. Since the administration of a legion was essentially carried out by the Tribunes, and in this case only they knew enough about Burnum to make sensible purchases, and since there were no uprisings, barbarian attacks, or any other discernible problems, Gaius had little to do other than to be with Vipsania. Winter storms were howling, and it was very pleasant to sit together beside log fires, tending to crackling roasts and drinking more fine Pannonian wine.
The Iazygian families had settled with reasonable grace and were in frequent contact with their families. Vipsania was fascinated by Iazygian jewellery, so Gaius purchased several items for her, and as a consequence of her wearing them, the "hostages" became friendlier towards her. She ordered a number of scrolls from Rome, and began to teach them to read. Timothy noticed this, and he acquired copies of some of the Greek plays. Then, when the weather broke, Gaius would take Vipsania on horseback rides. Because of his rank, a small detachment of cavalry would follow them, at a very discreet distance. And so, despite the cold and the bitterness of the weather, Gaius felt as happy as he had ever felt.
It did not last. On one morning when the weather was particularly mild, Gaius called to see Vipsania. This would be a particularly good day to go riding, and he had brought the usual two horses. However, when he reached the door, to his complete surprise the slave refused him admission.
"The master has gone to the marketplace, and he has ordered me to refuse entry to everybody until he returns," the slave said.