Our Eternal Curse I (18 page)

Gavius happened to see Clitumna
while walking along the quay marking off cargo with one of his foremen and,
because Julia had decided not to tell him about Clitumna’s predicament, the fat
man received a terrible shock.  For he observed Clitumna being escorted down a
gangplank by two armed soldiers.

In shock, Gavius tore the corner
off of an inventory and wrote a short note.  Handing the folded paper to one of
his employees Gavius snapped, “Send this messenger to the address written here
as a matter of the utmost urgency!”

Leaving his foreman Gavius
walked directly over to the galley from which Clitumna had so recently
disembarked.  He stood impatiently waiting while the crew ran what they called
a spring line from the bow to the bollard set in the quay at the stern of the
ship.  In order to perform this task the crew had temporarily removed the
gangplank and Gavius could not get on board.  He did not want to draw attention
by shouting so he waited impatiently rolling from one foot to the next until
the plank was returned.  It was a frustrating delay but Gavius had to know why
Clitumna was in Rome and how it affected him.

“
I must apologize for your delay in coming aboard my
vessel,” said the man in command bowing his head as a sign of respect.  He like
all mariners who came to Ostia knew that Gavius was now a very powerful man.

“
Who is that woman?” demanded Gavius with no regard
for any of the usual formalities.

“
Her name is Clitumna.  She is the leader of the
pirates.”

The seamen went on to tell
Gavius the story of what happened on the dockside at Saguntum and finished by
saying, “She is being taken by my captain and two centurions to Gaius Marius to
receive justice.”

In his haste Gavius almost
bumped into the boy who stood at the top of the gangplank holding a bucket of
scrolls. “More mail from Hispania Master,” he said politely.

“
What do you mean more?”

“
I sent two buckets when we first arrived but this
one was overlooked. I am very sorry.”

“
Place them in my carriage,” replied Gavius too
occupied with his own problems to scold the boy’s tardiness.

Instructing the driver of his
wonderfully ornate carriage to make all haste for Rome, Gavius lumbered aboard.

Until recently the gold-leaf
embroidered vehicle had been the prized possession of one of the most
successful, wholesale market traders in Rome.  The poor man could not fully
understand how his business became so suddenly insolvent after so many
lucrative years with the carriage confiscated when he could no longer pay his
debts.   The out-of-pocket moneylender had no use for something as ostentatious
so he sold it to the man who was now fumbling through the bucket of scrolls as
he was being carried to the city.

Upon arrival at his shop Gavius
left his coach which Julia hated.  She said it draw attention to him, and
therefore, her.  Thinking of how it annoyed her made Gavius smile as he walked
inside.  Yes it was childish retaliation for all she had put him through, but
it was retaliation none the less.

Sitting on a stall in her back
room Julia sipped a beaker of wine while holding Gavius’s torn note, seemingly
deep in thought.  Looking up Julia asked, “What is so urgent that you keep me
sitting here?”

“
The pirate queen is in Rome!  She has been arrested
I have just seen her larger than life on the dock at Ostia!  She is on her way
to be interviewed by Gaius Marius!”

“
You ruin my morning for this?” was all Julia said
in response.

“
I don’t think you understand what I am telling
you.  The pirates have been smashed!  Our only source of cargo galleys has been
taken away from us!  And, what’s even more important is that woman knows who I
am.”

“
Calm down!”  chided Julia. “I have to go?”

“
How can I calm down?  My livelihood is no more!”

Julia moved menacingly close to
Gavius.  He could smell the wine on her breath as she snarled, “The pirates and
Clitumna were in my way!  I now own over two hundred galleys?  Even as we speak
they are plying the Hispania route exclusively for me, so your livelihood, as
you call it, is secure.  Now, get out of my way, I am late.”

Gavius studied Julia’s angelic
beauty and wondered if he would ever get in her way. “Do you have something to
do with Clitumna’s downfall?  Is this more of your work?”

“
Clitumna will be put to death by Roman justice. 
Have no doubt that Marius will see to that, then all will be forgotten.”

Not quite fully reassured Gavius
remembered the mail bucket and stopped her leaving by handed Julia the letter
addressed to her.

Julia untied the ribbon and
broke the red seal on the parchment roll.  It was from Young Gaius written at
the docks on the day after the pirates met their end and Julia found it
contained news which she did not want to read:

Great news my darling because of
my success at Saguntum my General has granted me leave and I am returning to
Rome.  I cross the great ocean in one month from today.

Noticing the date of the letter
Julia realized that much to her annoyance it was too late to delay him, he
would already have left.  Sitting down, Julia wondered why this news made her
so uneasy.  Young Gaius posed no threat.  She could easily second someone to do
his work in Hispania.  She liked him and his presence would not get in the way
of her business activities, so why did it trouble her so?

In order to keep the true answer
hidden Julia’s denying mind instructed her to refill the beaker with wine, put
it to her lips, take a deep sip, and repress.  She would soon have to spend
time with a man that she was simply too afraid to love and the fear of losing
someone close was too overwhelming for her damaged mind to even think about.

Julia considered her options and
thinking out loud she said, “I can’t send you. I need you in Rome because of
your links to the money lenders.”

“
Pardon?”  Gavius only had half the facts but that
was enough to worry him.

“
Young Gaius is coming home.”

Realizing that he was only one
maniacal contemplation away from another tour of Hispania, Gavius said nothing
for fear of provoking her.

With only a second’s further
thought Julia gave him an order, “Send Antonius to Hispania immediately—we need
eyes and ears on the ground.”

“
But he has a baby due in just a few weeks,” pleaded
Gavius on behalf of the man who had become a friend.

“
Do it now!”  was her angry reply to his pathetic
display of compassion.

Still protesting Gavius walked
out of his shop.  Julia poured herself another large goblet of red wine.  She
had no idea that Antonius had a wife and when she thought of the commitment and
responsibility required to have a baby it sent a spontaneous shiver of fear
through her entire body.

Returning within an hour Gavius
noticed that Julia had nearly finished a whole jug of his finest wine.  Amazed
at her capacity and annoyed by her presumptuousness he spoke defiantly,
“Antonius has categorically refused to go!”

“
That can’t be!”  Julia was clearly shaken by the
news.  No one had ever questioned any of her manipulations before and she did
not like the unsettling feelings that his rejection provoked.  Unlike Gavius,
Antonius had no sword of Damocles hanging over his head.  She knew of no
wrongdoings to use as leverage and it both frustrated and frightened her. 
Julia had learned everything she knew about man management by watching the
techniques of Bromidus and her ever-growing empire relied entirely on bullying
and fear.  She could not be seen to show any signs of weakness so lifting
herself unsteadily from her stool Julia gave Gavius an order, “Return to the
docks where cargo will be arriving on the same galleys as before. The only
effect this change will have on us is you no longer need to pay the galley
crews any money for the pirates.”  With that Julia lifted her hood and walked
directly to the markets.

As he trundled back to Ostia,
Gavius longed for a return to his simple life in the old oil shop.  Even his
wonderful carriage no longer gave him pleasure; he was totally cured of his
greed.  All the money in the world was not going to please Julia since he was
quite convinced that she had become obsessed with power. 
What course of
action could he take to save himself and his dear friends Antonius, oh, and
Young Gaius for that matter?

Finding Antonius at the market
no words of greeting passed Julia’s lips just a curt sentence, “I need someone
on the ground in Hispania — you leave tomorrow!”

“
You can’t make me go to Hispania,” he replied
defiantly.

Very threatened by the fact that
Antonius was not allowing himself to be manipulated like other men Julia
snapped, “I have made you who you are and I can break you just as easily! You
will be on the galley tomorrow or return to poverty!”

Antonius had only met Julia
twice before and this medusa standing before him was not the person her
remembered.  Fearing for his newfound wealth he moderated his anger and tried
to reason with her, “Please don’t send me I must be in Rome for the birth of my
first child.”

Ignoring his pleads Julia
snarled, “It is your choice but do not expect to be able to feed your growing
family if you are not on that galley!”

Having said all she had come to
say Julia turned and left before her knees gave way.  Pretending to be an adult
in authority took far too much out of her and more wine in great quantity was
needed to deaden the horrible feelings which such confrontation provoked.  The
problem was Julia had no time for wine.  She had to get to the home of Gaius
Marius.  The fact that Clitumna was still alive gave Julia an opportunity to
meet the woman who had controlled the great ocean for so many years and she was
keen to get there before the effects of Gavius’s best wine wore of.

Clitumna should have been killed
resisting arrest in Hispania but there was no cause for concern Marius’s
justice would be swift and nothing linked Julia to any of the recent events, or
so she thought.

The daily income from the sale
of Julia’s foodstuffs was without precedent and bags of coin were filling her
little room at the back of the oil shop.  Other than bolstering her
insecurities and the destruction of Sulla, Julia had no use for money so Gavius
was instructed to distribute all of it among the moneylenders of Rome.

Julia also made arrangements for
her future income to be sent directly to moneylenders who loaned the money to
others and paid her interest at what they referred to as a compound rate.

Much of the money was being
distributed by Calpurnius who had been instructed to offer generous fiduciary
reward to any moneylender who could bribe a Senator to speak against Sulla
becoming the next Consul of Rome.

Men of finance were as greedy as
they were intelligent and in no time they had found enough corrupt officials to
guarantee that the Senate echoed with a constant verbal attack upon Sulla.  Her
corruption cost Julia millions of sesterces but money for this cause was always
in great supply.

When he was elected to his
coveted role as Consul, Julia flew into a rage then slumped immediately into a
deep depression.  Neither her money nor the constant protests of Marius could
prevent Sulla’s elevation to the most powerful position in the Republic.

The vote had been a close run
thing but Sulla had charmed, bullied and paid enough Senators to overcome
Julia’s unsophisticated inducements.  Unfortunately for Julia, Sulla was simply
a more accomplished politician and knew how to win favor in the Senate.

Completely incensed by her
failure Julia spontaneously withdrew her vast funds from Calpurnius.  The fact
that it was not his fault and the fact that he carried out her instructions to
the letter meant nothing; anyway she reasoned, he had let her “lions” go and it
was time for retribution.

Calpurnius begged Julia not to
withdraw all of her money because he had lent a great deal on the back of her
seemingly endless river of cash.  “Losing your support will expose me to cash
flow shortages and the possibility of total failure,” he pleaded.

Unmoved Julia had looked him in
the eye and spoke with controlled anger, “If I do not receive my funds in full
within seven days your Senatorial bribes will be made public.”

“
But they were
your
bribes!”

“
You are going to look very stupid accusing a
penniless house girl!”

Within a week he had paid
Julia’s money back by borrowing from other moneylenders and by doing this he
placed himself in a very precarious position.

When the agents of Gaius Marius
went to him and demanded that all of the great man’s investments be returned in
full, Julia had deliberately broken a man for no stronger reason than a
tantrum.

Of course, Calpurnius had no
idea that Julia had influenced Marius.  He had been managing the great man’s
funds for many years and he assumed that his withdrawal was simply a cruel
coincidence, so he faced his oblivion without mentioning her name to anyone.

Like the warehousemen, food
wholesalers, black-marketeers and pirates Julia had calmly destroyed yet
another person without so much as a thought for the pain she was causing.  It
was true that some of her victims deserved suffering whilst others were
innocent but none of them meant anything because her increasingly unbalanced
and paranoid condition dictated that she was the only vulnerable person —
everyone else would exploit her if she let them.

Unaware of Julia’s influence,
Sulla spent his first weeks in office resolving the problems which now
threatened the Republic.  The most pressing was an Asian king who had become
more and more hostile to Rome.  News had recently reached the Senate that every
Roman in the Asia province had been massacred by the army of Mithridates. 
Eighty thousand Romans of all ages had been hunted down in a single month of
bloodshed and the logistics of such a feat were mind boggling.  The planning of
this cull must have taken years of careful work and it simply could not be
allowed to stand.

Sulla spoke passionately in the
Senate proclaiming his intention to raise an army to fight Mithridates and much
to his surprise and amazement Marius stood and announced that it was he who
should be going to fight the murderous dictator in the East.

“
Why you and not I?” shouted Sulla angered by this
ridiculous outburst.

“
Because Rome is bankrupt and I can afford to pay
for the twenty legions that are required to perform the task properly!”

“
Twenty legions!”  Almost every Senator gasped the
words at once.  They were all shocked by such an ostentatious display of
wealth.  Marius was proposing to fund one of the biggest expeditionary forces
Rome had ever dispatched with money from his own estate.  Many of them could
afford to fund an army of one or two legions, as Marius had during the Marsic
war, but none of them could pay for twenty.

In reality, there were only two
people in Rome who could afford to keep twenty legions in the field for two
years.  The Senators now knew that one of them was Marius but, although the
wealth of the second was derived from the same source, Julia’s identity
remained a well-kept secret.

Sulla feared that his head was
about to explode.  A lifetime of dealing with Marius had taught him to prepare
for every contingency but this was too wild an idea to have imagined.

“
If you pay for the army will it not then be yours
and no longer that of Rome!”  Sulla shouted across the floor of the Senate.

“
Are you questioning my intentions as a Roman
Senator?”  Shouted back Marius in his distorted voice then, tottering slightly
he added, “How dare you accuse me of disloyalty to Rome!”

“
What will happen if you have another stroke during
the campaign?  Who will lead the army if your body fails as it did before?”

This time everyone present could
see that Marius would be physically unable to lead an army.  Sulla’s angry
words made complete sense to everyone and most in the Senators called out
“Here!  Here!”  in complete agreement.

“
Rome is bankrupt because of the civil war and I am
offering to do my duty as a citizen,” spluttered Marius.  His
dignitas
had been brought into question and that could not be allowed to go unanswered.

There was an audible sigh of
shock in the house because the Senators could not believe that he referred to
the war with the primitive tribes as a “civil war”.  The fact that they were
not of the same nation had been the very point of the conflict.

Most of the Senators respected
what Marius had done for Rome but he was manifesting more and more eccentric
even liberal habits and they feared giving so much power to such an unstable
man.  With an army of twenty legions Marius could march on Rome if he so wished
and they would be unable to retaliate.

The vote when counted was for
Sulla to depart with an army of five legions as soon as possible.  The cost was
to be met by borrowing from the moneylenders of Rome which by coincidence meant
that much of the cost was to be borne by Julia’s wealth.

Leaning on a straining Caesar,
Marius stood shaking in the Senate after the vote and hurled abuse at Sulla. 
“You are a dishonest man who has misled Rome on many occasions — how dare you
accuse me of disloyalty!’

Much to the amazement of even
his closest friends Marius went on to accuse him of illegally causing the
Marsic war.

A few of the Senators had their
suspicions — they had even discussed it privately with Marius but accusing
Sulla in the Senate without proof was going too far.

Two of his dearest friends came
to Marius and escorted him politely but firmly from the floor of the Senate. 
As he went Marius shouted over his shoulder bearing an unfortunate resemblance
to a pathetic drunk being removed from a party.

Sulla reveled in the moment.  He
had won a battle with Marius at last and he stood on the floor of the Senate
with a look of sympathy on his face but a gloating feeling of ecstatic pleasure
in his heart.