The Last Legion (34 page)

She came within sight of Rimini late in the afternoon and turned south, leaving the city on her left. She could see the city walls and the top of the crumbling amphitheatre in the distance. Stephanus’s villa appeared after she crossed via Flaminia, its basalt slabs gleaming metallic under the rain. The villa looked like a fortress; two towers flanked the entrance, and a sentry walk topped the perimeter wall. Armed men guarded the entrance and patrolled the walkway and Livia hesitated; she didn’t want to be noticed. She encircled the building until she saw a servant leaving through a service door near the stables, and approached him.

‘Is your master Stephanus in?’

‘What do you want him for?’ snapped back the man ungracefully. ‘Go to the entrance and have yourself announced.’

‘If he is home, tell him that the friend he met in Fanum a couple of days ago is out here and needs to talk with him.’ She took one of the few coins she had left and slipped it into his hand.

The man looked at the coin, and then at Livia, dripping wet in the rain. ‘Wait here,’ he said, and went back into the building. He soon returned in great haste and said, simply: ‘Hurry up now, come in.’ He secured her horse to an iron ring hanging on the wall under a canopy, and led the way. They walked down a hall to a closed door, where the servant left her alone.

She knocked lightly and the latch immediately flew up. Stephanus greeted her: ‘Finally! I’d lost all hope. I’ve been so worried all this time, not knowing anything about your fate. Come in, please, and dry off. You are soaking!’

Livia entered the vast room at the centre of which a lively fire was burning; she drifted towards it, attracted by its warmth. Stephanus called two maidservants. ‘Take care of my guest,’ he ordered. ‘Prepare a bath and dry clothes for her to change into.’

Livia tried to stop him. ‘I can’t stay, I have to leave again immediately.’

‘How can you say that! Look at the condition you’re in. There’s nothing more urgent than you taking a warm bath and then joining me at a finely laid table. We must talk, the two of us. You have to tell me everything that’s happened and how I can help you.’

Livia felt the warmth of the fire on her face and hands, and the troubles and hardships of the previous days seemed to weigh upon her intolerably. A bath and a hot meal seemed like the most desirable things in the world, and she nodded. ‘I’ll have a bath and something to eat,’ she said, ‘but then I must leave.’

Stephanus smiled. ‘That’s better! Follow these ladies and they’ll make a new woman of you!’

She was taken to a little room decorated with ancient mosaics and scented with rare essences, saturated by the steam rising from the huge marble bathtub at the centre of the room, filled to the brim with hot water. Livia undressed and slipped into the water, laying her weapons – a pair of razor-sharp daggers – at the edge of the tub, under the astonished eyes of the maids. She stretched out her stiff limbs and delightedly breathed in the perfume that permeated the atmosphere. She’d never had such an experience in her whole life, she had never enjoyed such pampering. One of the women sponged her shoulders and back, massaging them with great expertise, as the other washed her hair with scented water. Livia let herself sink back into the tub, closing her eyes as she seemed to dissolve in that delicious warmth. When she stepped out they dressed her in an elegant, finely-embroidered Phrygian wool tunic and a pair of soft slippers, while her muddy leather trousers and corselet were handed over to a laundress.

Stephanus awaited her in the dining room and he came towards her with a smile: ‘Incredible!’ he exclaimed. ‘What an astonishing metamorphosis! You are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.’

Embarrassed by such a new and uncomfortable situation, Livia replied brusquely. ‘I didn’t come to receive compliments. I came for what you promised me. It’s not my fault that things changed: I brought my mission to completion and I must pay my men.’

Stephanus assumed a more detached tone. ‘Point well taken,’ he replied. ‘Unfortunately, the money you were promised was to come from Constantinople, but since the situation has changed so radically, you undoubtedly realize . . . but please, sit down, have something to eat.’ He gestured to the steward, who served her roast fish and poured some wine.

‘I need the money,’ Livia insisted. ‘Even if it’s not the sum we agreed upon, give me whatever you can. Those men risked their lives and I gave them my word. I can’t just say, “Thank you, nice work, you can go now.”’

‘You don’t have to tell them anything. You can stay here as long as you like. It would be a great pleasure for me and no one will come looking for you.’

Livia took a large piece of fish and swallowed down a glass of wine, and then said: ‘You don’t think so? You forget that those men climbed the cliff of Capri, killed fifteen guards, liberated the emperor and crossed half of Italy without any of Wulfila’s ruffians catching up with them. They could be waiting outside this very instant.’

Stephanus backed down. ‘That’s not what I meant . . . it’s just that . . . no one could have foreseen what happened. What do you intend to do with the boy?’ he asked.

‘Take him to safety.’

‘In your city?’

‘I can’t say. Someone might be listening.’

‘Absolutely right,’ Stephanus nodded. ‘It’s best to be prudent. These days, the walls have ears.’

‘Well then, what’s your answer? I have to leave tomorrow morning at the latest.’

‘How much do you need?’

‘Two hundred solids will suffice. It’s a small part of what we agreed upon.’

‘It’s a large sum none the less. I don’t have that much money here. I can send for it.’ He whispered into the ear of a servant, who hurried away. ‘If all goes well, you should have your money tomorrow, so at least I’ll have the pleasure of having you as my guest tonight. Are you sure you can’t remain any longer?’

‘I told you. Tomorrow morning at the latest.’

Stephanus seemed resigned, and resumed his dinner without insisting. A little later he poured himself some wine and leaned in close, assuming a confidential tone: ‘You know, there’s still a way for you to earn that sum we agreed upon. Even much, much more.’

‘What are you talking about?’ asked Livia.

‘I’ve heard that one of your men had a sword: a very particular sword. The hilt is shaped like an eagle’s head, with two open wings as the guard. You know what I’m speaking of, don’t you?’

It was evident that Stephanus had very precise information and that it would be useless to refute him. Livia nodded.

‘There’s someone who would pay an enormous amount of money to have that sword. That would make things much easier on you, wouldn’t it? Everything would be so much simpler.’

‘I’m afraid it was lost during a sword fight,’ she lied.

Stephanus lowered his head with obvious disappointment and did not insist further.

‘What has happened to Antemius?’ asked Livia to change the subject.

‘It was he who sent me to warn you of the danger you were in; his plan had been discovered, and he wanted me to save you. Unfortunately I arrived too late, but at least you managed to escape. I haven’t seen Antemius since then and I’m afraid not much can be done for him. If he’s still alive, that is.’

‘I understand,’ replied Livia.

Stephanus stood and approached her, laying his hand on her shoulder. ‘Are you really so sure you want to go back to the woods, to be hunted down like an animal? Listen to me. You’ve already done everything in your power. You’re under no obligation to continue to risk your life for that child. Stay with me, I beg of you. I’ve always admired you, I . . .

Livia stared at him with a firm gaze. ‘Stephanus, that’s impossible. I could never live in a place like this, in the lap of such luxury, not after all the poverty and suffering I’ve seen.’

‘Where are you directed?’ Stephanus persisted. ‘Perhaps I can help you, at least.’

‘We haven’t decided. And now, if you will excuse me, I would like to retire. I haven’t really slept for many nights.’

‘As you wish,’ replied Stephanus, and called the maidservants who would accompany her to the bed chamber.

*

Livia undressed as the women removed the earthenware jar containing ashes and embers that had warmed the bed. She lay down, relishing that marvellous lavender-scented warmth, but couldn’t fall asleep. The storm raged outside: rain pounded down on the roof and terraces and lightning penetrated through the cracks in the shutters, casting a livid glow on the ceiling as thunder exploded with such deafening claps that she started under the covers. She thought of her companions, huddled together somewhere in the middle of the forest, sitting in the dark around a smoky campfire, and she felt like crying. She would leave as soon as she had the money.

Absorbed in his own thoughts, Stephanus lingered by the fire on the ground floor, petting a large molossian hound stretched out next to him on a mat. Livia’s beauty had disturbed him. The admiration and desire that he’d always felt for her since the first time he’d seen her on the lagoon had become an obsession. The thought that she was in his house, lying there in the bedroom, covered in only a light gown, drove him wild. How could he ever hope to tame such a creature? The luxury and comforts he’d heaped on her seemed to make no impression whatsoever, nor did the promise of a great sum of money. He was certain that she was lying when she’d said that the sword had been lost. That sword . . . he’d give anything to be able to see it, to touch it with his hand. It was the symbol of the power he desired with all his soul, and of the kind of strength that he had always coveted and never had.

One of the women came in, holding something in her hand. ‘I found this in your guest’s clothes,’ she said, giving him a small piece of parchment. ‘I didn’t want it to be ruined by washing it.’

‘You did well to bring it to me,’ replied Stephanus, and he opened it under the light of a lantern burning nearby. Seeing the itinerary, he realized just where they were headed. The fantastic sword was practically in his grasp, and perhaps Livia would be his as well. He turned towards the woman who was walking away. ‘Wait,’ he said, handing the map back to her. ‘Put it back where you found it when the clothes are dry.’ The woman nodded and left the room.

Stephanus leant back on his chair to get a little rest. The only sound to be heard in the huge room was the pelting rain and the howl of the wind as the sea heaved up huge breakers which rolled on to the deserted coast.

L
IVIA AWOKE AT DAWN
and found her clothes lying on a carpet, washed and dry. They still felt warm when she put them on: they must have been left in front of the fire all night. She slipped her daggers into the belt under her corselet, pulled on her boots and went down to the ground floor. Stephanus was still sprawled in front of the fire, lying in an armchair that Livia recognized as an antique from the age of the Antoninian emperors; it must have been part of the home’s original furnishings. He was roused by Livia’s light step descending the stairs and turned towards her: he obviously hadn’t been to bed all night.

‘You can’t have slept very well,’ observed the girl.

‘I dozed a little in front of the hearth. The noise of the storm would have stopped me from sleeping anyway. Can you hear that? It’s still pouring.’

‘I can indeed,’ replied Livia in a worried tone. A maid came up to her with a cup of warm milk and honey.

‘You can’t leave with this weather,’ said Stephanus. ‘Take a look yourself. The floodgates of heaven have opened. If you had only brought your comrades here as I wanted you to, you would all be safe and sound now.’

‘You know that’s not true,’ retorted Livia. ‘You could never have hidden us away here. I’m certain this place is full of spies. Odoacer will soon learn that I’ve been here, as will Wulfila.’

‘They’d surely be in no more danger here than where they are now, wherever that is. Not even the most eager spy would feel like leaving my house under this downpour to report on my visitors. Livia, if you’ll change your mind, there is still much I can do for you. I can have the independence of your little city on the lagoon recognized by all, East and West. Hasn’t that always been your dream?’

‘A dream that we’ve defended with weapons, and our faith in the future,’ replied Livia.

Stephanus sighed. ‘Is there nothing I can say or do to convince you to give up this mad adventure? As much as I hate to admit it, there’s only one possible explanation: you’ve fallen in love with that soldier.’

‘I’d rather talk about the money you’ve promised. Where is it?’

‘What do you think? With all this rain, there will be vast areas of flooding between here and Ravenna. My messenger may not arrive before evening, or tomorrow at this rate.’

‘I can’t wait that long,’ replied Livia curtly.

‘Think about it: it makes no sense for you to leave under these conditions. Your men will wait for you.’

Livia shook her head. ‘No they won’t. Not any longer than what we decided. They can’t afford to take risks, and I’m sure you can understand why.’

Stephanus nodded, but made one last plea: ‘Then stay, please, they’ll manage without you. You’ve already done so much for them; you’ve risked your life! That soldier can’t give you anything, but I’m ready to share everything I have with you: dreams, power, wealth. Think it over, while you’re still in time.’