"I didn't know what to do," Timothy explained. "The man who had been associated with Vipsania's father presumably knew where she was, so it would have been easy for him to ambush me if I went back there. I had to escape, so I came here."
"As did they," Gaius mused, "still I suppose if they knew who you were, it wasn't too difficult to work out you might come here."
"What's it all mean?" Timothy asked.
"I don't know," Gaius admitted. "It could be someone stealing money, but I'm starting to think there's more to it. With Vipsania's father's acquaintance involved, and that soldier who was going to kill you, I'm beginning to suspect the theft was to raise money for another plot."
"How do you know he was a soldier?" Timothy asked.
"I thought I recognized him before," Gaius explained, "except I couldn't remember where. Now I do. He was the soldier that escaped from that time when they tried to coerce me into that ridiculous plot to get rid of Claudius."
"So you think they're still at it?"
"Someone is," Gaius said. "That soldier took a real risk coming here, because if I saw him, he was dead. He wouldn't take a risk like that simply to silence someone who was a witness to someone else stealing money. No, your problem wasn't that you saw the theft; it was that you saw who did it."
"So, what now?"
"We try and capture them. They're not Celts, so they'll have trouble hiding, but I suppose on the other side of the coin, the Celts hardly like us either, so maybe they'll get help. We'll just have to wait and see."
In the event, the men seemed to escape. As Gaius knew only too well, a few gold coins would buy a lot of protection, and probably a fishing boat would be only too happy to take two men over to Gaul.
The incident led to an irritation for Gaius, for if someone was carrying out organized theft to raise money for another move to overthrow Claudius, then it was quite likely this theft was widespread. He should write to Claudius and warn him that there were further moves against him, but what did he really know? Messala's ex-slave and a soldier known to have been a conspirator were involved, but was Messala? That was possible, but hardly proven because if Messala had used this man before, other conspirators would know of his involvement and could encourage, or even force the man to comply with the new conspirators' demands.
Quintus' slave was involved, but was Quintus? He was quite prepared to believe Quintus was inept, or that he was not very good at keeping vital information secret, but that did not make him a conspirator. That Quintus was married to Lucilla meant that he had to be very careful not to make wrongful accusations.
Then there was Vipsania. Was it possible that he was wrong about her after all? He was only too well aware that thinking like this was a poison, but it was a poison he could not leave alone.
There were letters from Vipsania. They seemed so innocent, he felt so badly about his suspecting her, but he could not let it go. The news from the estate passed over him, he had little enthusiasm for the news of the Princeps' court, all he could do was look for clues. His mood finally lifted a little through some quite perverse news:
Speaking of Quintus, I gather he has a new scheme in mind. As you will know, one of the reasons for invading Britain was to secure a supply of tin. Apparently tin is found in the extreme southwest, which is where Vespasianus is heading with the Augusta. I think Quintus thinks he can cash in on the very distant relationship and become the major trader in tin. It will be particularly interesting to see what Claudius thinks of that.
Gaius smiled to himself. Quintus was probably going to be out of luck. It was true that military invasions brought the opportunities for riches, but those opportunities did not involve the reason for the action in the first place. If Claudius invaded this island to secure the supply of tin, Claudius would know of its value, and he would have first say as to who had the right to develop it. If Claudius wanted to be generous, he would offer it to senators, to make such senators beholden to him. Still, an interest in tin was harmless enough, and it was possible Quintus could get involved since while Claudius would control the supply of tin, there were many things that could be done with it, and guaranteed access to some tin could bring riches. Since his engine would require quite a lot of bronze, maybe he should take some interest in tin as well. If Vipsania's letter was to be believed, Claudius might grant him some rights to tin or bronze! He glanced through the rest, then his eyes caught the last lines:
Spring will be coming soon, which means a return to campaigning. May the Gods be with you, and bring you victories quickly.
And bring him back to Rome, except the prophecy said he would not return to Rome until Rome fell. That would mean that something quite remarkable was going to happen in the coming year.
Chapter 29
Spring! The breakout was underway. The ninth was now marching north with the east coast on its right flank. Vespasian, having now successfully secured Cogidumnus as a client king and thus having appropriate control over the tribes to his rear, was now marching westward, the south coast on his left flank. The fourteenth was to strike out northwest to the lands of the Cornovii. Its primary role was to secure the left flank of the ninth and also to provide support for Cartimandua, Queen of the Brigantes, who had wisely elected to side with Rome. The twentieth, less a cohort left behind to maintain security at Camulodunum and the Thames harbour, was marching between the second and the fourteenth, directly towards the Dobunni.
Progress for the twentieth was rapid, as the first advance was through the land of the Atrebates, who, in the main, were allied to Rome. However, just as the British as a whole were not united against Rome, tribes of the Atrebates were not united for Rome, and this meant there would be the occasional skirmish. Roman policy was clear here. Tribes that rebelled would be punished mercilessly, but loyal tribes would be encouraged to be loyal. Recalling both Athene's prophecy and Rebecca's advice, Gaius implemented his own policy: after quashing the initial resistance, tribes were advised to become loyal, and if they took the advice, he would overlook the initial resistance. As he explained to Timothy, who was now accompanying him, he saw no reason to impose unnecessary slavery, nor to generate unnecessary hatred. This gave Timothy a slightly misguided feeling of pleasure, for he had initially railed against slavery when he had taught Gaius, and he felt this beneficial outcome was due to his own teaching.
* * *
Gaius strode into one of the villages that had offered particularly stiff resistance. Celtic women and children were cowering against a wall, while the remaining men were herded into a fenced enclosure. There was a noise on his left, and he turned to see a Celt shielding a young girl with his body, while threatening a soldier with a hammer used for beating metal.
"Stop!" Gaius commanded. "Soldier, step back for a minute. You, put down that hammer!"
"I'll kill my girl before you pigs get her. ."
"Stop!" Gaius yelled again. The Celt, strangely enough, did lower the hammer. "There's no need to kill anyone."
"My daughter's not going to be your. ."
"There's no need for that either," Gaius said simply. "Let me be clear about something," Gaius said, turning to the villagers. "If you wish to fight Rome, you will be enslaved, the men can be games fodder, and the women, well, he's guessed," Gaius said, pointing back to the Celt. "On the other hand, agree now to accept Roman occupation, pay a tribute, and you may continue living."
"Under Rome," someone said.
"True," Gaius said, "but how many of you get killed each year in intertribal conflict? How many have your crops burned? In the last ten years, how many harvests have you had without any loss through thieves, raiders, other tribes, how much have you had to give to your king? Think about it! Pay your tax, and that's it. All those other problems go. My legion will enforce that.