Page 56 of Enslaved
“Just once I’d like the last word with that man!”
“Nola, take a lesson from me. You catch more flies with sugar than vinegar.”
“I have no doubt you have Marcus eating from your hand. Don’t hurt him, Diana. He is a good man. There is no evil in him.”
“I have discovered that for myself, Nola.”
Marcus and the procurator arrived together in a litter. Kell had set a slave with a torch as a door guard, and when they entered the atrium, they saw that it was filled with urns of late-blooming flowers from the garden. Both men gave a burnt offering to Vesta, Goddess of the Hearth, then Marcus took his guest out through the peristyle garden to his private bath suite.
Since the night was chill, they decided to bathe inside. The long wooden bathhouse, covered by wisteria vines, was anything but rustic on the inside. It contained a caldarium that was hot, a tepidarium that was warm, and a frigidarium. They disrobed, entered the hot room, and lay upon marble slabs to sweat. As the temperature and the steam began to rise, Julius began to talk.
“At last Londinium is being rebuilt. The Forum, with its council chamber and administration offices, is complete, and the Temple of Jupiter is also finished. It has massive altars and fine mosaic floors, much like yours, and it is surrounded by ornamental gardens. This time, the entire city will have a ten-foot defensive wall with crenellated parapets and four towers with gates.”
“It was madness to destroy such a fine city, Julius. It was our greatest trading port and will be again. Once it’s rebuilt I’m sure it will be bigger and better than ever.”
“Marcus, I received a communique from Emperor Nero. He’s reassessing Britannia’s importance to the empire. He is considering withdrawing all Romans and handing it back to the Celtae, whom he fears will never be conquered.”
“That would be a colossal mistake, Julius,” Marcus said, his heart plummeting into his feet.
“So say I!” the procurator said decisively. “For monetary reasons alone, it would be foolish to abandon this corner of the empire. The profits from silver and slaves alone will pay for building dozens of new cities.”
“You are an honest man, Julius. The last procurator held the rank of speculator, which meant that when he executed prisoners, he kept their possessions. Perhaps the profits from silver and slaves found their way into his own coffers as well.”
“I’m afraid they did, Marcus. Now I must convince Nero that this country has everything: lead mines, iron, bronze, timber, even gold to make our own coinage. The fields are so fertile, we grow enough grain to feed the population, the legions, and still have some left over for export. Agriculture is organized on a massive scale and it’s backed by a substantial fishing industry.”
“This country is thriving,” Marcus agreed. “Have you told Nero in your reports?”
“Ad nauseam,”Julius lamented.
“He must be getting negative reports from some other source,” Marcus decided.
“You’ve put your finger on it, I believe.”
Bath slaves began to oil and scrape their skins with strigils, but the Procurator was not distracted from the subject at hand. “I feel I can be blunt with you, Marcus, because we think alike on some matters. I think it’s Paullinus. We have the wrong man at the head of the army. Oh, I know he is determined to stamp out all insurrection of the Celtae tribes, but he has exterminated the Silures entirely and the Iceni are being massacred instead of transported to Rome as slaves. Now he is systematically wiping out the Druids.”
“I have known for a long time that when we desecrate sacred Druid places and massacre their priesthood, it incites the native tribes to more and more insurrection,” Marcus said flatly.
“When Claudius was head of the army, we had peace. Britons were eager to become Roman citizens. They adopted our toga, learned to speak Latin, built arcades of shops, and as a result, prosperity for all. Rose steadily because of the demand for consumer and luxury goods.”
“Aquae Sulis has been unaffected, but I know the rest of the country has suffered under Paullinus.”
They moved from the hot room to the warm bath. “You’ve fought under him. What is he like, Marcus?”
“He is infected with the Roman disease of bloodlust. He slaughters women and children and even the pack animals when the madness is upon him. He practicesdecimatioto punish his legionaries, killing one in ten regularly for disobedience. These are counted asacceptable losses”
“No wonder none dare speak out against him,” Julius concluded.
They took the cold plunge, were wrapped in huge towels, and moved on to the dressing room.
“Well, one step at a time. First, I must persuade Emperor Nero to keep Britannia in the empire. My last report was accompanied by a large shipment of money and silver ingots, which will go a long way in convincing him, but I’d like you to submit a report on Aquae Sulis, not only regarding the fort and the training of the legionaries, but about the thriving town itself and how the natives have become Romanized over two generations and are now productive builders; weavers, potters, goldsmiths, engineers, physicians, etc.”
“I’ll do it tomorrow, Julius,” Marcus promised.
“Good man. I knew I could count on you. Now, let us dine. My belly thinks my throat has been cut!”
Diana decided to wear the elegant white silk stola with the golden girdle. Nola had brought her an emerald and gold torque from the general’s collection, and Sylla had fashioned her pale hair in a heavy bun at the nape of her neck. Kell escorted her to arrive at the triclinium entrance the same time as Marcus and his guest.
“Julius, may I present Diana, who is often a guest at my table.”
