Even Timeon, who disliked Marcellus more than any of his other pupils, had to concede that the boy did well at his lessons. His Greek was perfect, he was numerate and wrote and spoke well in Latin and as he approached the age at which a boy puts on his manly gown, Lucius Falerius could look at his son, now taller than himself, and feel that the predictions he had made upon the boy’s birth, that he would achieve greatness in areas that had been denied to his father, were well on course to becoming reality. The summons to attend upon Lucius came late in the day, when Marcellus was tired from his exertions on the field, as well as the long swim he had enjoyed in the river. Macrobius had been summoned first, to report progress, while Marcellus ate a hasty meal and ordered a quick change of clothes, for it would never do to attend upon his father in a garment reeking of sweat. Macrobius emerged from the study, beckoning that he should enter, and he did so to find Quintus Cornelius in attendance.
‘You may feel I’ve been ignoring you, Marcellus,’ said Lucius, managing to make it sound like his son’s fault. How the boy wished he could explain how much he relished his recent freedom. ‘It is not through choice, I assure you, since what is happening now stands at the very centre of the difficulties assailing the Republic.’
Marcellus offered a silent prayer that he was not going to be subjected to a speech, but he realised that Quintus’s presence would spare him a repetition of the standard report on the current state of Roman politics.
‘It was ever thus,’ said Quintus. ‘Whatever we in the Senate consider we might surrender, unruly elements always demand more.’
‘Surely your quarrel is with the knights?’ said Marcellus, an intervention which produced an unwelcome reaction in his father.
‘Who do you think whips up the passions of the mob?’ he snapped, leaning forward. ‘They do, promising them free food and a better life, then they stand aside while their creature attacks the most august body of men the world has ever seen. The life they live now is that which we gained for them. The world trembles to hear our name, fears to cause us offence. Kings and ambassadors come to Rome, and bend the knee to us…’
Lucius’s voice tailed off and he sat back and closed his eyes, looking thin and tired. Marcellus glanced quickly at Quintus to see if he had formed the same impression, that such a careless outburst was unusual from a man who had always been famous for his self-control. Now his temper seemed, increasingly, to get the better of him. But Quintus sat stony-faced, as though what had been said was oratory rather than the start of an impassioned rant.
‘You have often explained to me that any system will be one of continual strife, as each group, pursuing its interest, tries to enhance its power. It’s like a natural law.’
That made Quintus take notice, smacking, as it did, of philosophy, something he considered to be exceedingly dangerous, since it was inclined to make men question the established order. He glared at Marcellus as though he had denounced Jove himself, while Lucius opened his eyes and looked at his son, a ghost of a smile on his face; he was clearly pleased with what he saw, but he did not respond to the question.
‘There is a great difference in our ages Marcellus and I have long suspected that I may not be alive to see you take your rightful position as a senior magistrate.’
The boy replied quickly, thinking that this was a new departure; his father never spoke of his own mortality. ‘I wish you a long life and good health, Father.’
Lucius acknowledged the sentiment with a nod, and Marcellus, who loved his father, meant it; he might be stern and demanding, but to a boy his age that was a parent’s right and if Lucius had not often seen it as his duty to soften the rigour of his life, then at least he had shown his son a degree of respect rare in such a relationship. Whenever the father had asked for an opinion, he had had the good manners to listen to the reply, often patiently explaining a better solution when he thought he was wrong.
‘Had you been born earlier, Marcellus, I would naturally have passed my burdens on to you.’ Lucius half turned, casually waving his arm to indicate the rolls of papyrus that filled every shelf in his study. ‘That cannot be.’ He then leant forward, calling Marcellus’s attention to the silent Quintus. ‘You must get to know Quintus Cornelius better. I have taken the liberty of discussing your future with him.’
The visitor smiled at him and there was a silky tone to his voice as he spoke; the words were designed to please the parent rather than the child. ‘I am bound to say that I like what I hear, Marcellus. Both Timeon and Macrobius have commended your progress. Would that my own sons had the same degree of skill.’
‘I have taken Quintus Cornelius fully into my confidence, Marcellus, and I intend to bend all my efforts to ensuring his rise to the consulship.’ The man was beaming now; with Lucius Falerius Nerva behind him he was certain to succeed. ‘He and I see things the same way, which is gratifying.’
‘I would be a fool not to follow your advice in all things, Lucius Falerius.’
Both men bowed their heads slightly, as if to emphasise the truth of what Quintus had said. ‘I think we have concluded our business, Quintus. Could I beg you for a little time alone with my son?’
It was polite, but it was, nevertheless, a command from a man who knew that it would be obeyed, yet Quintus hesitated slightly before standing, forcing Lucius to get to his feet first, making the point that he was more than a mere supplicant client. Marcellus watched, fascinated, as the two men said their farewells, noting every nuance of the way they dealt with each other; watched as Quintus edged Lucius into a position where he had to show his guest the door himself. All proper respect was shown, as befitted the difference in their ages and standing, but Quintus made it clear they were now the only things that separated them. Lucius was not offended by this; he was smiling, and seemingly reinvigorated, when he returned.
‘That young man has his father’s brain, Marcellus, and he puts it to better use. Even as a child, I noticed that he was destined to be more than a mere soldier.’
His son was wondering what Titus would have made of such a remark; the second son of Aulus Cornelius Macedonicus was content to be just that. In Marcellus’s eyes he was, for that reason, the better of the two. When his father mentioned that very name, his son jumped as though he had been caught with an impious thought.
‘Titus is always harping on about Spain, complaining that we don’t prosecute the war with enough vigour, especially about the hill-forts. He seems fixated by this Brennos, just as his father was before him. We have, as you know, discussed it.’
Marcellus would not look at him, caught as he was between his admiration for a brave soldier and his fear of being seen to have doubts regarding his father’s policy. ‘I taxed Quintus on that score, wondering whether his brother’s pessimism would colour his judgement, but, on that at least, he was as clear as he was clever. Let the tribes do their worst. He sees, as we do, Marcellus, that Rome has more pressing concerns than such banditti.’
‘What did he actually say, father?’ asked Marcellus, curious in spite of himself, half-suspecting that Quintus’s opinion carried with it a good deal of malice.
‘That Titus has placed himself too close to the problem and cannot see that we have time. Let Brennos and his allies raid the frontier. Nothing, Marcellus, will force Rome to attack him, until Rome sees it as necessary.’
Lucius sat down, still clearly pleased, and Marcellus wondered if his seeming exhaustion of a few moments ago had been an act. His face showed no sign of fatigue now; it was as lively as it had ever been.