"It'll be dark in an hour or so," the other voice said. "Then, either we use a road or we'll be stuck in the forest. If we use the road, the cavalry will catch us in no time. There's only one horse here, and. ."
"Then if you want to run, take it," Messala scowled, "but remember this. If we win, you'll have to keep running, and if he wins, you'll still have to keep running. So if you ever want to see your property again. ."
"You think they'll bring him back?" The voice was riddled with doubt.
"He'll be back," Messala said, with a strange mixture of lack of conviction and of bluster.
"You're certainly correct there," Gaius said, as he leaped into the room. "There's one door to this room, and I cover it. It's your turn for the cellar, or the underworld. Take your pick."
"Gaius! Don't be stupid," Messala almost whined. "This is your chance. ."
"To be loyal," Gaius said. "To behave with honour, to keep my promise. You may not understand that, but I assure you that you can reflect on that in the cellar. Move!"
To his surprise, they both acquiesced. This had to be the most pathetic revolt he had ever heard of. As they descended the stairs, Gaius slammed the door shut, and immediately bounded outside to bolt the trapdoor. In principle, they could have climbed up and out through the trapdoor, but true to form, they did nothing of the sort.
A quick search of the rest of the house showed that nobody was there, so Gaius mounted the remaining horse and rode towards the legion's base. There were no more than two men who had seemed to have weapons skills, and they had probably gone in different directions, so he felt confident of outrunning or outfighting one man. In the event he reached his base without further contact with the insurgents.
If nothing else, this would provide a useful exercise for the cavalry. At first they were annoyed to be brought out so close to the evening, but when informed that, although it was an exercise, there were real targets to capture, keen enthusiasm followed. The turma that caught someone would have boasting rights for days, and their stories would almost certainly lead to much free wine.
There were two more things that required immediate attention. He must find out where the seventh stood, and he must find out what his future with Vipsania held. He would leave the worst until last.
* * *
When he was within sight of the seventh, he requested his escort to remain outside the camp. There was an element of risk in meeting with Cinna if he was really involved with Scribonianus, however there was no option but to discuss this issue with him. He felt certain that he knew Cinna, and Cinna had honestly not known where he was supposed to march, let alone why. Nevertheless, he was somewhat nervous as he rode into the camp. He was a little fortunate, however, in that he saw Cinna talking to a Tribune in the open, while seemingly inspecting an exercise in progress.
"This is a surprise," Cinna smiled, as he walked over to Gaius as he was dismounting. He ordered a soldier to look after Gaius' horse.
"It may not be a pleasant one," Gaius said. "I've found out where we're supposed to march to."
"Oh yes. Where?"
"Rome."
"What?" Cinna's eyes were pure disbelief, which gave Gaius a feeling of relief.
"Some Senators arrived this morning," Gaius explained. "They informed me that Scribonianus is going to try to overpower the Princeps, and he wants to use our legions."
"That's. ." Cinna started, then seemed to realize this position was more delicate than he had imagined. "What are you going to do?"
"I am going to honour my vow to the Princeps," Gaius shrugged. "My eagles go nowhere except to Lussonium, and I hope you will join me."
"Not quite!" Cinna said with a serious tone, then he smiled at Gaius' look of horror and added, "I was ordered by Scribonianus to follow you, but frankly, I don't see the need for me to go to Lussonium too. My eagles stay stuck right here."
"Good!" a relieved Gaius replied.
"The last thing we need now is for legions to fight each other," Cinna added, "but we have to try to stop the German legions following Scribonianus. Any ideas?"
"I'll go and see Plautius," Gaius said. "If Pannonia stands with us, I doubt the German legions will have any faith in Scribonianus."
"If I can help in any way, let me know."
"Thanks," Gaius said. "I think the only thing we can do now is keep each other informed, and don't let a word of this get out until this revolt is stopped."
"What about the Senators? If they. ."
"Two are captured, and my cavalry is out looking for the rest. I don't think they're going anywhere soon."
"Then good luck."
* * *
The words of the prophecy came back to Gaius as he rode up to the villa. There would be two women in his life, and only one of them would be beautiful. That implied that Vipsania, the beautiful one, would be replaced. If she were part of this revolt, he would have to send her back to Claudius, and probably to her execution; he would have no option. He had to know, no matter how much he did not wish one of the answers. Then there was the problem, how would he find out the truth? He could lose her while she was quite innocent. The problem seemed impossible, but he had to face it.
As he opened the door, he saw Vipsania on the far side of the room. She looked up to see who it was, then she ran towards him, arms outstretched. "Gaius! How. ." She stopped about three meters away, as she saw the look on his face, and asked, "Gaius, what's wrong?"
"Vipsania, why did your father come here?"
She looked surprised. "Why?" Then she looked irritated, and said, "Why don't you ask him? I thought he was looking for you?"
"He was, and we met," Gaius replied. "I'm sorry, I really am, but I need you to convince me."
"Convince you of what?"
"What your father wants."
Vipsania looked puzzled. "I have no idea what he wants," she said, "except he did say it would be good for us."
"Are you sure you don't know?"
"Yes," she said, now a little angrily. "Why this interrogation?"
"Because your father is involved in a plot to overthrow Claudius," Gaius said flatly.
"What?" she said in surprise. "That's impossible! You must be mistaken." Then the significance of what Gaius had said sank in, and a look of apprehension crossed her face. "You believe, don't you?"
"More than that, I know."
"Then what happens now?"
"The legions here stay put, and Scribonianus is doomed," Gaius replied.
"And me?"
"I need you to swear truthfully you knew nothing about this."
"I knew nothing about this," Vipsania replied, a little defiantly.
"Thank the Gods," Gaius said, and he stepped forward to embrace her. "I really thought that would be the case, but you must believe me that I had to know."
"You didn't trust me?"
"I didn't know what your father told you," Gaius replied. "For all I knew, he could have told you I was on his side, in which case if you trusted me you would be involved."
"What happens to my father now?" Vipsania asked cautiously.
"If he can be made to promise that he will stay out of politics forever, I think Claudius could be persuaded to be lenient, particularly if he isn't openly named by Scribonianus. After all, Claudius' wife is in the same gens, and he won't want to irritate her unnecessarily."
"And the other senators?"
"They'll have to take their chances," Gaius shrugged. "Since one of them tried to kill me to save his own hide, I don't feel I owe him anything."
"So what are you going to do now?"
"Go and discuss this with Plautius. We have to make sure this disease is contained."
"And me?"
Gaius paused for a moment, and said hesitantly, "I would really love you to stay, I would really love to spend nights with you, but I also think it is imperative to separate you from your father. If things go wrong for him, I want you to be somewhere else, so I'm going to ask Timothy to escort you back to Rome. There's a ship heading to Classis on the morning tide. I want you to be on it, and when you get back to Rome, if anyone asks where you were, say Ravenna. Take a quick look around Ravenna so you can think of an excuse for having been there, then go to the ranch and stay there for a while."