Our Eternal Curse I (17 page)

At the same time as winning
control of the commercial markets Julia turned her hand to the job of
corrupting politicians.  Behind the scenes as always she used her growing sums
of money to bribe the ever-greedy Senators and, although Calpurnius had been
extremely thorough during his briefings, bribery was still a completely new
concept for Julia.  So, in accordance with her lack of confidence her first act
of corruption was one that actually benefited Rome as much as it did her.

Harnessing the vast experience
of the moneylenders Julia paid corrupt Senators to lobby aggressively for the
destruction of the pirates in the East.  A purse full of silver was given to
any Senator who repeated what he was told to say without asking any questions. 
The ones who took up the offer passed the word to others in the Curia and
eventually Julia’s words began to ring out almost every day.

‘
These lowlife criminals have held Rome to ransom
for far too long!’ shouted one of her stooges passionately across the chamber
when the Senate sat for its new season of debate.

“
The pirates have organized themselves into a fleet;
they have been systematically taking control of Roman shipping lanes!” parroted
another with what appeared to be great authority.

Because of Clitumna’s secret
system of extortion most Senators were surprised by this information even the
corrupt ones who delivered the words were taken aback because no one had any
idea that pirates were still a problem.  There had been reports of galleys
being taken on a regular basis just a few years ago but for the last couple of
years at least the pirates seemed to have miraculously gone away.

“
The reason you are all so blissfully unaware of
pirates, as indeed was I,” shouted a Senator by the name of Lucius Nonius, is
they no longer kill to extract money from us Romans but let me assure you they
are bleeding us dry with their extortionist techniques nonetheless!”

Nonius was a very good actor who
projected just the right amount of outrage in his voice and as he quoted the
facts and statistics fed to him by his personal moneylender the Senators all
stamped their feet and shouted as a way of emulating his outrage.

“
I have one of the many captains who suffered at the
hands of these greedy felons standing outside and he is prepared to speak to
you all today!”  shouted Nonius over the din while raising his toga-covered arm
to point dramatically at the entrance of the Senate.

 “
Bring him in!  Bring him in!” they cried.

The trembling man who walked in
had been pulled from his cargo vessel by Gavius that very morning.  Under
threat of death he stood before them on the floor of the Senate in a
weather-beaten tunic and nervously delivered the words he was told to say. 
Luckily for him his speech was largely based on the truth which gave a strong
measure of credibility and at the completion of his sad tale of injustice the
Senate was on its feet calling for the battle fleet to be dispatched
immediately.  Within one week the war galleys were on their way to end the days
of Clitumna’s control of the East.

Julia was delighted with her
success yet again this was a better result than she could have hoped for.  Even
the person who she had chosen to deliver Clitumna’s death sentence in the
Senate was a source of satisfaction.  Julia had chosen Lucius Nonius to deliver
the clinching blow because he was none other than the nephew of Sulla himself. 
It had been Calpurnius who first mentioned that he was a great orator, but also
a little corrupt, and she reveled in the fact that she was manipulating a blood
relative of her nemesis.

Amazed at her achievement as
always Julia marveled at the results of her first dabble with corruption.  She
also marveled at how many galleys she now owned and how little she had paid for
them.  At the time of purchase the ships had no discernible worth but on the
day the Roman battle fleet slipped their lines her galleys instantly quadrupled
in value.

Now with Rome under control and
her cargo fleet in place the next phase of her schemes could come to fruition
and Julia sat down with a beaker of un-watered wine to contemplate her
circumstances with satisfaction.  This was the moment she had been working
towards. Julia had imagined herself in this situation for as long as she had
been making plans but the anticipated security did not arrive.  Julia had
believed that once the shift of power was complete she would feel safe and secure
but it startled her to find that the opposite was true.  Instead of finding a
release from the constantly nagging fear a new more disquieting feeling took
over; it was the insecure fear that everything may one day be taken away from
her.

Just as Julia predicted, Young
Gaius had been deeply troubled by her seemingly throwaway line about pirates at
the end of her last letter.  When he read a full account of the powerful speech
made by Nonius contained in the Senatorial dispatches which Julia had so
thoughtful sent two weeks later he was compelled to act.

As Julia found out by reading
his letter months afterwards Gaius had gone to his Commanding Officer with the
report and her letter in hand to express his concerns.

The General who was an old
friend of Gaius Marius and admired this young man’s fighting ability invited
him to sit down and share his burden.

Julia imagined that Young Gaius
would have said something along the lines of:
I have news that the shipping
agents who move my family’s cargo are in some way linked to the pirates.  My
shame is compounded by the fact that I recommended these same people to the
army. If it is proven that pirates are benefiting by moving military provisions
on my recommendation,  I will of course resign my commission.
  Julia knew
that Young Gaius was as incorruptible as his father and the shame he felt at
that moment would be total.

As it happened, Julia had
predicted Young Gaius’s words almost exactly, but what happened next she had
not foreseen.  It took almost a month for the full story to reach her in Rome
and the turmoil unleashed by her connivances was going to place Julia’s life in
great danger.

Young Gaius’s Commanding Officer
had seen the innocent mistake for what it was.  He told Young Gaius to take one
legion and find out if his suspicions were correct.

This was the first time Young
Gaius had commanded a full legion and five thousand men marched behind him all
the way to Saguntum.  Upon his arrival he saw a dock completely laden with his
produce and was overcome with the burning desire to make amends for this
blatant use of lawbreakers.

Immediately deploying his troops
Young Gaius surrounded the port and all of its population.  He then rode up to
the quay with one thousand of his men in support.  The Greek Captain who he had
personally introduced to the logistics corps of the army was sitting at an
outside table on the dock lunching with a large woman and ten of his fellow
captains.

As he dismounted and approached,
Young Gaius estimated that a further three hundred of the Captains
undisciplined men were hanging around the docks.  They had also been eating and
drinking as he dismounted but all stopped what they were doing.  They all
looked very guilty to Young Gaius.

“
Good afternoon,” said Gaius hiding his anger.

“
How can we help you?” replied the Captain as he
stood.

“
Forgive me if I am mistaken but I have reason to
believe that you are in some way connected with the pirates of the East?”

Young Gaius could not believe
his eyes as the Greek Captain leapt across the table towards him drawing his
sword as he came.  Fighting broke out across the whole of the dock and the
inevitable defeat took only minutes.  All of the ships’ crews watched the
pirates being massacred from the decks of their galleys and cheered as the much
hated Captain was killed with one mighty blow of a sword.

A great plume of blood gushed
into the air as the arteries carrying it from the heart were opened.  The ten
soldiers standing closest to the Captain were drenched in his warm crimson,
life force but none of them even hesitated, they had all seen this spectacle
many times before.  Being immersed in blood had become commonplace for these
experienced fighting men and the drenching merely spurred them on to kill as
many pirates as they could before the battle ended.

Sitting all alone, the big woman
did not move from the overturned lunch table.  Surrounded by upended chairs,
broken pots and spilt food, Clitumna remained perfectly still and watched the
disciplined Roman fighting machine hack her aquatic rabble to pieces.

“
Thank the Gods,” was all she could say to Young
Gaius quietly between her sobs. “You have rescued me from my fate of many
years.”

“
May I ask who you are Madam?”  Gaius was completely
red with her lover’s blood.

Young Gaius’s letter spared
Julia all of these bloody details and continued with Clitumna’s next words: 
“My name is Clitumna Drusus I was taken from my vessel many years ago and
forced to serve the pirates.  I am the daughter of a Senator of Rome and my
husband was the Proconsul of Mesopotamia at the time of my abduction.”

“
Then it is lucky for you that Julia took it upon
herself to write to me.”

Julia flew into an instant rage
as she read his words. “How could you mention my name?  Why did you not kill
her?”

Peering in through the hanging
tapestry Gavius asked, “Are you shouting at me?”

Looking up from the letter Julia
snapped, “No I am talking to my idiot of a fiancé,” and as Gavius moved his
eyes around the empty chamber Julia added in a frustrated tone, “Not in here,”
then waving the parchment added, “In here!”

“
Oh,” said Gavius as he moved backwards with an
expression of concern on his face.

“
Bring me some more wine,” snapped Julia who was
unable to control her anger.

Gavius had done nothing to
deserve such an attack but she had become so unstable since the election of
Sulla to the position of Consul two weeks before.  The fat man was deeply hurt
by her abuse but Julia was too busy to notice as she got back to her reading.

Clitumna told Young Gaius about
her terrible time in captivity.  She spoke of rape and maltreatment.  It had
been a tale that genuinely shocked him and when he told her his name she
immediately launched into tales of dining at his house with her father the
Senator and great friend of Gaius Marius.

“
We must return you to Rome as soon as possible,
your husband will be glad to see you again,” Marius had replied.

“
You are such a gullible fool!” shouted Julia in
another fit frustration and anger.

This time Gavius ignored her as
he placed the full jug on her table saying, “I am going to supervise the
unloading of cargo at Ostia. I will not be back today.”

Ignoring the fat man’s pouting
Julia shook her head in disbelief as she read Clitumna’s next words.

“
Yes my husband will be quite surprised to see me.”

Julia’s spirits lifted as she
read about a delegation of captains who came hurrying forward after the battle
and told Gaius that the Roman woman had actually been the leader of the
pirates.  They told him that it was she who planned everything and if any of
their number ever disobeyed her they had been put to death at her orders and
they demanded the same fate for her now.

Young Gaius ordered his men to
form a cordon around Clitumna as some of the captains unsheathed their swords
and advanced on her.  The sailors’ anger was palpable and many had to be
physically restrained while shouting hate-filled curses.

Young Gaius could not believe
what he was witnessing and the peculiar circumstances completely unnerved him. 
The woman had clearly done something to upset these men so badly but he could
not be responsible for the death of the daughter of a Senator.  Unlike his
father, Young Gaius was not known as a man who could make wise decisions
rapidly, he was accustomed to fighting battles against clearly defined
opposition on clearly understood battlefields, determining the guilt or
innocence of a civilian was far too intangible, so, in his confusion he
hesitated.

Julia understood that without
strong leadership a situation such as this one could get completely out of hand
and after reading his description of a much heated argument she was not
surprised when Young Gaius lost his composure and shouted, “Just take her back
to Rome!”

Clearly fed up with the whole
business he told the captains, “Two of my centurions will escort her back to
Ostia when they arrive they will take her to my father Gaius Marius and tell
him what you have told me, he will know what to do.”

He was obviously out of his
depth and wanted nothing more to do with the big woman so having made his decision
Young Gaius walked over to his brave lads who cheered him for commanding his
first victory.

Julia was totally frustrated by
his incompetence.  He would rather receive the love of his soldiers than make a
difficult decision.  Clitumna should be dead. His immaturity was going to place
Julia in real danger and she was beside herself with anger when she realized
with a start that the letter was written on the day of Clitumna’s arrest.  If
she had traveled on the same galley as the letter she must already be in Rome.

Calming herself Julia took
comfort in the knowledge that Gaius Marius would know what to do. He would not
hesitate like his son, no, he would put this dangerous woman to death and
remove her from Julia’s life completely.