His heart jumped and he almost stumbled; she smiled at him discreetly with only her eyes.
‘General Plautius,’ Narcissus crooned, bringing Vespasian back to the matter in hand, ‘and Legates Corvinus, Vespasian, Sabinus and Geta, I’m pleased to see you all looking so well in this bracing northern climate. Be seated.’ He indicated to Caenis who took up a stylus and began to write. ‘This is a formal meeting so my secretary will be minuting it. The Emperor sends his greetings and instructs me to tell you that I speak for him.’
‘That is impossible!’ Plautius exploded as Narcissus finished speaking.
Narcissus remained unmoved. ‘No, general, it’s not impossible, it’s necessary.’
‘We are going mid-June so that we only have to take a month’s supply of grain with us to see us through until the harvest is ready.’
‘Then you’ll just have to take more with you.’
‘Have you any idea how much more we’ll need if we go next month?’
Narcissus shrugged his shoulders, half closing his eyes and held out his hands, palms up, as if the question was completely irrelevant to him.
‘Three pounds a day, times forty thousand men, times sixty days until the earliest harvest is ready, that’s … that’s …’ Plautius looked around at his legates for help with the arithmetic.
‘That’s one hundred and twenty thousand pounds a day making a total of seven million, two hundred thousand pounds, general,’ Vespasian offered helpfully.
‘Exactly! And that’s just to feed the troops; I’ll need a quarter as much again to feed all the ancillary people and then there’s the barley for the cavalry mounts and beasts of burden. And it will all have to be transported by pack-mules taking a maximum load of one hundred and sixty pounds each, until we can get a decent road built.’
‘Then I suggest making road building one of your priorities, general, because this is how it’s going to be.’ Narcissus laid a hand on the desk in front of him in a gesture that was at the same time gentle and resolute; his eyes hardened. ‘I calculate that it will take one hundred days between the sending of your message and Claudius arriving with you. So if he’s to be back over in Gaul before the autumn equinox and the real threat of gales in mid-September you need to have crossed the Tamesis by the beginning of June when you send your message to Claudius.’
Plautius stared at Narcissus with loathing. ‘And what should this message say?’
‘Oh, that’s very simple, general. You should tell your Emperor that you have met with fierce resistance and that you need reinforcements and, if at all possible, his presence, in order that he can take over the reins of command that are proving so weighty. I will then have it read out to the Senate who will beg him to personally come and save Rome’s beleaguered legions, and, dropping everything, he will rush to your aid and bring those much-needed reinforcements.’
‘Which will be there ready and waiting outside the city?’
‘Wrong, general, they will be here, ready and waiting; you’ll be able to inspect them in a few days’ time, if you like.’
‘You’ve brought them with you?’
‘Of course, Decimus Valerius Asiaticus commands them until the emperor arrives.’
‘You’re just setting me up to look like a fool.’
‘No, general, I’m setting Claudius up to look like a hero; how you appear is completely irrelevant.’
‘Do you think that the Senate will believe it?’
‘Not for one moment; but the people will and when he comes back laden with booty and captives to celebrate his triumph they will see the hard evidence of it.’
‘My triumph.’
‘No, general, the Emperor’s triumph, the triumph that will make the people love him. What use have you for the love of the people? What would you do with it?’ Narcissus paused to let the implied threat sink in. ‘Now, you can either go along with this in the knowledge that you will be rewarded or I can find someone else who is willing to help my master to win the people’s love. Which is it to be?’
Plautius pursed his lips and breathed deeply. ‘We go in seventeen days, four days after the ides of April.’
‘An excellent day, general, my master will approve; I’m sure the auguries will find it most auspicious once they hear that it is the Emperor’s preferred date. Let me not detain you, you all must have much to do.’ With an airy wave of a pudgy hand he dismissed his social betters, none of whom saluted him.
Aulus Plautius got to his feet, puce with rage, spun on his heel and almost barged his way through his legates as they too stood. As Vespasian turned and followed he saw Corvinus and Geta exchange a worried glance, echoing how he felt about this new development that threatened the success of the enterprise; Magnus had not been wrong, he thought, as he fell in beside Sabinus who was looking equally concerned.
‘Legates Sabinus and Vespasian,’ Narcissus crooned just as they reached the door, stopping them, ‘a brief, private word with you both, if you please.’
Corvinus gave the brothers a quizzical look. They turned as Narcissus dismissed Caenis; she left the room passing closer than necessary to Vespasian so that he smelt her scent.
‘You may wonder why you both remain in favour,’ Narcissus mused as the door closed, ‘especially you, Sabinus, seeing as you did not complete your half of our bargain.’
‘We found the Eagle,’ Sabinus protested, sitting back down. ‘Gabinius took it from …’
Narcissus raised a hand, silencing him. ‘I’m well aware of what happened, legate, and of why and how it happened, because I sanctioned it. As I’m sure you’ve both surmised, it made no difference to me who found the Eagle so long as it was found. When Callistus came to me in private, after you had left Rome, saying that he had information as to where it was hidden, I gave my permission for him to send Gabinius after it. It suited me to have two expeditions and it suited me to have my colleagues squabbling over who would gain the glory for finding it. What didn’t suit me, however, was Callistus’ little plan to have you killed because that reduced the chances of success; had I found out about it sooner I would have put a stop to it.’
Vespasian met Narcissus’ eyes and, for once, believed him. ‘We’re very pleased to hear that.’
‘That’s gratifying but neither here nor there. What is relevant, though, is my other reason for not wanting you killed. As you know, I’d specifically instructed Gabinius that he was not to harm you if your paths crossed, and I also sent him a copy of your orders so he fully understood that you were under my protection.’
‘Even if the Eagle had not been found?’
‘Even if the Eagle had not been found.’
The brothers glanced sidelong at each other, utterly confused.
Narcissus’ face betrayed a rare hint of amusement. ‘Believe me, that was not the case when we made our bargain; then I fully intended to have you killed, Sabinus, had you failed. But things change very quickly in politics and politicians must change with them if they are to survive.
‘I will be frank with you. In the first few months of Claudius’ reign it became apparent to me that I was not the major influence over my impressionable patron; I may have my mouth to his ear but, unfortunately, his very attractive young wife, Messalina, has hers to his cock and I think that we can all agree that is a far more influential position to be in.’
Vespasian was not about to argue the point as a vision of Caenis rocked his concentration. Sabinus grunted his agreement, no doubt contemplating Clementina’s favours.
‘Messalina, however, unlike me, does not have Claudius’ best interests at heart; in fact she has no one’s interests at heart other than her own and those of her brother, Corvinus. Now, that’s not surprising in itself but what does concern me is that her interests are purely pleasure and power and that the Emperor’s cock is not the only such organ that she has her mouth close to.’ Narcissus steepled his hands and leant across the desk. ‘She is starting to build a formidable network of ambitious young men tied to her in bonds of mutual gratification and lust for power; in other words, an alternative court.’