‘Then why don’t you tell the Emperor?’ Vespasian asked, struggling to see what this had to do with him or his brother.
‘I have, and so have Pallas and Callistus but he doesn’t believe us, he won’t believe anything against the mother of his new son; so I need to drive a wedge between them, and you are both to be a part of that wedge.’
‘Why us?’
‘Because I need men whom I can trust.’
The brothers looked at Narcissus in astonishment.
‘You seem surprised, gentlemen. Of course I can trust you because I am the only person who can advance your careers as I have proved by giving you both legions to command. You both have a choice between me and obscurity — or worse. Do we understand each other?’
Of course they did. Vespasian and Sabinus mutely accepted the truth of the statement.
‘Good. Now, I believe that Messalina’s objective is to fill the top ranks of the army with her lovers, then rid herself of her husband and have Corvinus adopt her new son. The siblings will rule as co-regents until the child comes of age, or for even longer, supported by her network of loyal bed-sharers who will guarantee the loyalty of the legions. She canvasses Claudius regularly, seeking positions for men who have just left her bed as a thickstripe tribune or auxiliary prefect or as a legate, as she did in Geta’s case right at the beginning.’
‘Geta’s her lover?’ Sabinus was shocked.
‘One of the many.’
‘But he was made a legate in Mauretania shortly before she gave birth.’
‘He has specialised tastes, I would assume. But I knew they were having an affair whilst she was pregnant. What was strange, however, was Claudius appointing Geta without me or my colleagues suggesting it; most unusual. This is what first alerted me to Messalina using her influence over Claudius. Then, shortly after you left Rome, Claudius insisted on something that made no military sense whatsoever. We had already decided the makeup of the Britannia invasion force: three legions from the Rhenus, which is sensible, now that we have an understanding with the Germanic tribes; and then one of the legions from Hispania, which has been peaceful since the Cantabrian war, almost thirty years ago. However, Claudius vetoed this Hispanic legion and demanded instead that Corvinus’ Ninth Legion should be sent from Pannonia, a province that is, to say the least, restless. He could not be talked out of it, saying that his darling wife’s family deserved their share of glory.
‘At that point I could only guess at her real motives but I knew that she would not insist on her brother being put unnecessarily in harm’s way without a very good reason; I therefore began to counter her. I immediately began placing my people into as many positions in the other three legions as possible. Vespasian, you had already been appointed to the Second Augusta, which suited my purpose; but to strengthen my position I decided to overlook your part, Sabinus, in my patron’s elevation and, due to your experience as legate of the Ninth Hispana, which I felt might be helpful in the future, give you the Fourteenth. But then, a couple of months ago, my nomination for the legate of the Twentieth was recalled by the Emperor and replaced by Geta, ostensibly as a reward for his part in the campaign in Mauretania and its annexation. That move confirmed my suspicion: Messalina was hijacking the invasion for her own purposes.’
Vespasian looked at Sabinus and then back to Narcissus, frowning. ‘How come we’re still here? Surely she would have persuaded Claudius to replace us as well.’
‘Oh, she tried; she tried very hard, in fact, but one factor confounded her: the Nineteenth’s Capricorn. By this time I had been forced to confide in my two colleagues my fears of what would happen should she get her nominations in all four legions. Pallas showed me the Capricorn that you’d sent him.’ Narcissus paused and let his gaze pass between the brothers. ‘That you’d sent him, not me; but I shall put that bit of disloyalty aside. Anyway, it was just what we needed. We presented it to Claudius saying that it was a gift from you two. He was thrilled and made a big public spectacle and propaganda coup as he returned it to the Temple of Mars. After that you were safe; Claudius will hear nothing against you. Not even Messalina can get him to replace his “two loyal Flavians”, as he’s taken to calling you.’
Sabinus ran his fingers through his hair. ‘Why was the Capricorn so important to him when he already has the Seventeenth’s Eagle?’
Vespasian took one look at Narcissus and understood. ‘Because he doesn’t know about the Eagle yet, brother; does he, imperial secretary?’
‘The Eagle will be found at the appropriate moment.’ Narcissus’ tone showed that discussion of that subject was over. ‘So, I knew that I still had two of the four legions going to Britannia under my control and not hers. I also managed to ensure that Asiaticus commanded the reinforcements; as you both know well, he’s been of great use to the emperor before.’
Vespasian remembered the part that Asiaticus, whilst consul, had played when he and Corbulo had murdered Poppaeus, at the behest of Claudius’ mother, the Lady Antonia, eight years previously. The murder had been planned by Pallas and Narcissus and had left Claudius fabulously wealthy. He blanched at the thought; it was not a deed to be proud of. ‘I imagine that their shared past ensures his loyalty.’
Narcissus’ hand gesture dismissed the notion. ‘It’s more the fact that Asiaticus helped Claudius to invest his windfall from the Poppaeus incident and has done very well out of it; in fact, he’s recently purchased the Gardens of Lucullus. He’s very grateful and I can rely on him as I can on you two. If all four legions and the reinforcements were commanded by Messalina’s men, Claudius would not get his victory.’
‘She would sabotage it?’ Vespasian looked incredulous. ‘But that would be madness; she needs Claudius to secure his position in order to safeguard hers.’
‘Not if you look at the bigger picture. When Aulus Plautius was appointed to the command there was a debate about who would take over if he were to be killed. The obvious choice would be that fat pig Sentius but even Claudius recognised that that would be a disaster, and I wasn’t foolish enough to try and persuade him otherwise. It would take too long to get a suitable candidate from Rome or one of the provinces, which is why I chose Asiaticus to command the reinforcements; he would only be a couple of days away. But to counter me, Messalina suggested, whilst no doubt working her feminine charms on her husband, that her brother should be nominated as the commander designate as he would be closer to the action, and Claudius agreed and cannot be argued out of it. Corvinus has an imperial mandate to that effect and I believe that he intended to make use of it.’
‘He’s going to murder Plautius?’
‘He was going to murder Plautius; now he’s not so sure. That worried look that you may have noticed pass between him and Geta was not concern for the success of the invasion, it was because their plans have been disrupted. Corvinus and Messalina’s original idea was for him to seize command once victory was assured. He would claim the glory, which, as the brother of the Empress, Claudius would not be able to deny him; Claudius’ position would therefore be weakened by the invasion, not strengthened. So to counter that, I decided that Claudius should be present at the final victory and lead the army in person, even though I knew that it would mean bringing the timetable forward considerably and put a great strain on the logistics of the whole enterprise. Having never had the chance of personal military glory, he jumped at the idea and Messalina couldn’t be seen to argue with it, although I’m sure that she’ll express many a false concern for his welfare from beneath the sheets. So now if Corvinus was to decide to murder Plautius he knows that the Emperor will be coming to claim all the glory anyway, so what’s the point?’