‘You have no right to make reference to our betrothal, Cassius Aprilis,’ she snapped in anger, ‘You gave up that right when you left Rome eleven years ago.’
Was it really eleven years since I’d last seen her? She was a young girl when I left her, the beautiful daughter from the neighbouring estate, a childhood companion and the main focus of my adolescent fantasies. Now she had grown into a striking mature woman, her light brown hair, flawless features, and bright eyes had lost none of their intensity; she was still a beauty, and now that her cape was blown backwards from her face, I could see that she still had a smattering of freckles under lightly sun-browned skin. Seeing her was worth travelling the thousand miles from Rome, although I was as sure as anything that I wasn’t going to let her realise that. ‘You can’t still be angry over that? I was called away to serve. We are all servants of the Republic, after all.’ My swift departure from Rome eleven years ago, to avoid further embroilment in the scandal that engulfed Augustus’ daughter, ruined any plans of our marriage. Numeria’s father never found out my full involvement in the scandal, but the dark shadow of suspicion that hung over me was enough to rule out marriage to the daughter he doted on.
She laughed out loud. ‘Oh, don’t flatter yourself, Gaius! Do you really think I still pine for the immature young fool who played court to me all those years ago? I met a real man, who I then took to be my husband. I soon forgot you!’
Ouch! That stung. Antonia had told me via letter, a couple of years after I left Rome, whilst I was serving in Syria, that Numeria was to marry: ‘A man of respectable family, but one far below her rank.’
Her choice of husband was hardly surprising. Numeria was always one to challenge conventions and her father was always too open-handed with her. ‘I’m sure he is a wonderful man. Will I get to meet him in the camp?’ Some high-ranking officers did take their wives and families on campaign with them. It wasn’t a practice I approved of;an army camp was no place for women and children as far as I was concerned, but I knew it happened from time to time.
Her tone changed, more serious. ‘Otho is here – you’ll find him to the north-east of the ramparts, on the knoll that commands the northern approach to the camp – but I’m sure you’ll hear of him as soon as you reach the camp.’
So he was one of the popular officers was he? She sounded touchy about him, probably because he was below her social rank, and mine for that matter. I smiled politely but really wanted to gnash my teeth. ‘I’ll introduce myself to him as soon as I can.’
She shook her head as if to clear it. ‘Enough talk, it is time you reported yourself to Varus. The gods know that he needs some sound counsel. I hear you once fancied yourself a good soldier, or was that only to impress the ladies? We certainly don’t need another officer from Rome full of bravado but no action.’ She turned her horse and started walking it briskly towards the Roman camp.
That was too close to the mark. I blasted in anger as I followed her, ‘How dare you question my military record? I was awarded the oak leaf crown in Germany five years ago. No doubt you were safely at home in Rome, being pampered and spoilt.’
She turned her head around, and said scornfully, ‘Pampered and spoilt? That sounds a good description of you. Your sister still writes to me, did you know that? I have heard all about your decadent life in Rome.’
Antonia still writes to her! She never told me that! Why didn’t Antonia warn me that I could walk into Numeria here? Conniving women – they were all the same;even my own blood betrayed me. ‘Antonia has no right to discuss my life, and neither do you,’ I snapped.
She laughed out loud. ‘You can’t hide behind Roman pomposity with me, Gaius. It’s time you remembered how to be a soldier again.’ She spurred her horse into a quick trot and left me seething in anger.
I turned to Marcus, who sat his horse next to me, an amused smile on his face. ‘Infernal woman,’ I remarked.
Marcus watched Numeria skilfully manoeuvre her horse down the steep hillside. When she was out of earshot, Marcus whispered to me, ‘You were once betrothed to her?’
‘A very long time ago and it wasn’t through choice. Our fathers proposed the match,’ I said defensively.
‘You should have never let her go,’ he said thoughtfully.
I looked over at him, shocked, to see if he was serious. ‘What? You see what a nightmare she is? She has the temperament of a feral cat.’ I said, exasperated.
He looked over at me, laughed, and said, ‘No, Cassius, not a feral cat: a lioness.’
‘Pah! I bet her husband doesn’t agree. The poor man, whoever he is, probably sleeps with a dagger under his bed for protection. A woman should be pliable and soft, not a bag of nettles and thorns.’
Marcus laughed. He seemed to be enjoying my irritation. ‘You’re forever telling me that I know nothing of women, but even I can tell that a soft and pliable woman would never satisfy you for long.’
‘Shut up, Marcus.’ Grumbling to myself, I followed her down the hillside. Marcus just chuckled and led his horse after mine.
It took a while for Marcus and I to catch her up, and we were nearing the Roman camp by the time we did. Straight away I noticed that this was no ordinary Roman military summer campaign camp. All Roman camps attracted a civilian settlement outside their gates;it stood to reason that such a source of power and wealth attracted followers. But normally these camps were ramshackle and poorly constructed. Here, the civilian town bore all the signs of a permanent settlement being built. The wooden long houses were well constructed and stone Roman-built municipal buildings were interspersed throughout the town: a stone bathhouse, a forum, a large temple, and even an aqueduct was being constructed by Roman engineers to provide the town with fresh water.
Curiosity dampened my annoyance with Numeria, and I asked her, ‘Why is Varus wasting time with building work in this town? He will have to abandon it as soon as winter approaches.’ The Roman army couldn’t possibly winter here;there was no road connecting it with Aliso and the other military camps. Once the winter snows set in, the twenty thousand men needed supplies, so by autumn the full Roman occupational force would retire to its winter quarters in Aliso.
A small smile twisted on Numeria’s face. ‘Governor Varus claims that the Germanic people need to see the benefits of Roman rule. What better way of demonstrating that than by Roman building works? This new town of Aurorae Novus is to mark the new dawn in Germany.’
‘Aurorae Novus? He’s even named it! But won’t the local population just ransack it once the camp is abandoned in autumn?’ I even saw that a statue of Augustus had been erected in the centre of the town.
She laughed. ‘You’d think so wouldn’t you? But Varus has been assured by your friend, Julius, that he will safeguard the town in Varus’ absence.’
‘Julius? You’ve seen him?’ I felt a leap of excitement. Numeria knew Julius almost as well as I did. Julius often visited my father’s estate with me when I was given leave to go from Augustus’ school, and the three of us had been close as children.
‘Oh yes. Julius Arminius is well known in the Roman camp. As well as being the tribal leader of the Cherusci, he commands a contingent of Roman equipped auxiliaries – made up from the finest Cherusci cavalry.’
Ha! That is just like Julius. Instead of sitting back and letting Rome assure his position at the head of the Cherusci tribe, he would insist on taking an active military position supporting his allies. ‘Same old Julius,’ I said, ‘always finding another way to make a name for himself.’
‘Will I finally meet this Julius?’ asked Marcus enthusiastically.
Numeria let out a small sigh, ‘I really couldn’t tell you. He comes and goes from the camp a lot. He might well be out on one of his long patrols. You will have to ask in the Roman camp for him. I am hardly briefed on military matters.’ There was surprising bitterness in her last sentence.
‘You sound critical?’ I was curious as to why there was a brittle edge to her words whenever she discussed Varus, ‘Don’t you like the governor?’
Her eyes narrowed. ‘Like or dislike has nothing to do with it. I simply disagree with some of the governor’s actions.’
And I bet he likes you pointing them out about as much as an ice bath in winter. I was getting the feeling there was more to this story than she was prepared to let on, but I wasn’t interested in pursuing it now. We were entering the outskirts of the town, and the familiar sounds and smells of a thriving settlement greeted us. ‘When we get to the camp I could do with a nice hot meal.’
Numeria made a very un lady like snort. ‘I am sure Governor Varus will be able to help you – he is known for his hospitality and lavish dinners.’
Definitely no love lost between those two. ‘Let us hope so.’
We rode through the small town streets and I saw both German and Roman working side by side in the busy little community. Carpenters shaped wood, stone masons chiselled works, and smithies banged hammers as they shaped iron tools. All around, work was taking place, improving the town and its houses.
Marcus was pleased at the progress being made. ‘This is the future of Germany. Look at all this industry. What a great sight!’
Numeria smiled at his enthusiasm but I wasn’t so sure. Would Julius be able to protect all this without the support of the Roman legions come autumn? He was a braver man than me. I wouldn’t want to be the one left guarding it.
Numeria noticed another Roman lady, dressed with a brightly coloured shawl covering her head, and called over to her, ‘Julia, Julia, wait.’
The woman looked to try and walk off without acknowledging Numeria, until Numeria changed her tone. ‘Julia. Stop. Don’t you dare ignore me!’
The lady stopped, turned around and removed her shawl, which revealed a very pretty young girl of perhaps eighteen or nineteen, dark hair, olive skin, two large doe eyes with long eyelashes. ‘Hello Numeria, how nice to see you,’ she said, blushing red from being caught trying to avoid her.
Numeria dismounted from her horse and went over to the young lady. ‘What do you think you’re doing, walking around the town on your own? You know that isn’t fitting behaviour,’ she asked firmly – clearly her own solitary ride in the surrounding countryside had no bearing on this.
The young girl, Julia, hung her head, looking like a scolded child. ‘I just needed some fresh air, staying indoors can be so tiresome.’
‘Fresh air? Since when has the back of a tanner’s yard constituted fresh air?’ Numeria questioned angrily. The tanner’s we were standing behind gave off its usual putrid stench of half-cured animal hides.
Julia motioned to reply, but Numeria held up her hand cutting her short. ‘Not now, Julia. First meet our two guests,’ she turned to us, ‘these are two officers, who have come all the way from Rome. Excuse me, I don’t know your full name?’ she asked Marcus.
He stood straight in his saddle. ‘Marcus… Marcus Scaeva. Here on attachment, to provide assistance to Governor Varus and the field army in any capacity I can,’ he blurted.
‘It’s alright, Marcus. You’re not reporting for duty,’ I chided, amused, and the young girl giggled, turning Marcus bright red.
Numeria came to his rescue and waved her hand vaguely in my direction, ‘And this is Gaius Cassius Aprilis, a soldier of mild renown.’
Mild renown? I gritted my teeth, curbing my temper. ‘A pleasure to make your acquaintance.’ I nodded formally.
The young girl lowered her eyes, as a proper Roman lady should, and replied, ‘We are grateful that you have come to aid us in Germany. Your very presence assures our safety.’
Numeria nodded in approval at her polite greeting, but as she turned her attention back to us, I noticed the young girl shoot Marcus and I a saucy smile. What do we have here, I thought? There is more to this girl than it seems. Trouble – if I was any judge.
Numeria didn’t notice. ‘I need to speak to Julia alone. Please go onto the camp without me – you don’t need me to escort you further do you?’
I bristled at the affront; of course we didn’t need her to escort us! I still had a thousand questions for her, but I supposed there was plenty of time to seek Numeria out later. It wasn’t that big a town, and I was sure I could find her again without too much trouble. ‘Lady Julia, a pleasure meeting you, and Numeria, it has been good to see you again. I will see you both again soon hopefully?’
‘No doubt you will, Gaius.’ She bowed her head slightly in deference to me – a rare sight in Numeria – and gave Marcus a parting polite smile. I turned to Marcus and noticed his eyes were staring straight at the young girl, Julia. I laughed and clapped him on the shoulder. ‘Come on young Tribune, plenty of time to go sightseeing later.’
We left the two Roman women and walked our horses up to the military camp.
‘You didn’t have to make me look such a fool in front of those two ladies!’ Marcus sternly rebuked me.
‘Oh, you didn’t need my help in that, Marcus,’ I chuckled, as we rode towards the gates of the main military camp, ‘you can do that all on your own.’
Marcus looked crestfallen. ‘I know, I’m such an idiot. I just didn’t know what to say to that young girl.’ He then looked up hopefully at me. ‘She was so pretty. Do you think we’ll see her again?’
‘It’s a small town. We’re not in Rome now. You’ll get to see her again.’ I kept my reservations about her to myself; at least he was finally showing an interest in girls.
‘Good,’ he declared, ‘I’ll come across better next time.’
‘Let’s hope so. Now, get your mind back on where we’re going. I don’t want you making fools of us in front of Varus.’ We were nearly at the gate, where two sentries stood stiffly to attention.
As we approached them, a centurion, with greying hair and stern disposition, came out to greet us. ‘Hello young sirs, where do you come from?’ he asked us.
‘Tribunes Aprilis and Scaeva, we have travelled from Rome and wish to see Governor Varus,’ I declared.
‘Then pass, friend. You will find him in the headquarters.’ He motioned his arm down the main Via Principalis, the main road that existed in all Roman camps, this one leading from east to west.
We rode past him and the sentries and made our way to the large headquarters. Either side of us stood stone and timber barracks, soundly built, row upon row of them, housing thousands of men.
‘This isn’t what I was expecting to see in the summer campaign camp,’ said Marcus.
Neither was I. In campaign camps, the men were normally quartered in tents so they could move swiftly onto the next marching camp. Campaigns were mobile, and the army needed to keep one step ahead of the enemy. Having the soldiers quartered in permanent buildings was not how the Roman army fought wars. ‘Maybe Varus has pacified all the German tribes? Possibly the wars are over in this part of the world?’ I was hopeful, but Marcus looked concerned. I knew what he was thinking. Had he travelled all the way to Germany for battle experience only to find that the fighting was now all over?
Men sat outside the barracks and played dice or joked around a midday meal. The camp was full to bursting. By the looks of it, all three legions were in attendance. Some of the men eyed us as we passed, but most ignored us completely. ‘Ah, camp life!’ I said, ‘Isn’t it good to be back in the army.’ I meant it. The feeling of security in an armed Roman camp was completely reassuring.
‘My father keeps his camp in stricter order than this,’ criticised Marcus, and he wrinkled his nose at the acrid smell coming from the nearest cooking pot.
‘Come now, Marcus. You’re not with the Praetorians now. These are real soldiers who fight in the field. They may look like scruffy villains, but they are all as unyielding as iron –real men.’
A woman’s laugh peeled out from one of the barracks, ruining my ringing endorsement, and I spun my head around trying to locate where the sound issued from. A slovenly camp was one thing, men smuggling women into the camp, something else entirely – was discipline so slack here? Such a thing would have been unheard of in one of Tiberius’ military camps. ‘Did you hear that?’ I asked Marcus.
‘It sounded like a woman.’ Marcus’ disapproval matched my own and he looked intent on pursuing the culprit. ‘Shall we search the nearest barracks?’
None of the other soldiers looked the slightest bit perturbed by the noise;how common an occurrence was this? ‘We’re not here to run the camp for them,’ I told Marcus. If these were my men, I wouldn’t appreciate officers unattached to my legion interfering with internal discipline. ‘We’ll report this incident to the camp praefect later and take it from there.’
Marcus looked disappointed but said, ‘Very well, Cassius. You probably know best.’
We rode to the camp headquarters, a large timbered building surrounding a sizeable courtyard;it was another semi-permanent structure, I noted. We handed our horses to a groom and took our saddlebags with us as we walked over to a tribune, a young man with fair brown hair and a long chin, who sat reclining on a chair, legs stretched out in front of him balanced on a wooden balustrade, dozing, enjoying the late afternoon sunshine.
‘We’re here to see Governor Varus,’ I announced in a firm parade ground voice, expecting the tribune to jump to attention, embarrassed at being caught napping.
The tribune half-opened one eye. ‘Do you have an appointment?’
Marcus was as shocked as me. ‘An appointment! We have come all the way from Rome. Of course we don’t have an appointment!’
The tribune closed his eye again. ‘Then you can’t see the Governor. He is busy with his legates.’
Marcus looked furious, but I held up my hand to quieten him whilst I dealt with this rude officer. ‘We’ve come a long way. Surely you can arrange for us to be billeted in the camp whilst we wait to see the governor?’
He let out an impatient sigh, opened his eyes, and looked at me for the first time. ‘Most of the officers stay in the town now. I suggest you find accommodation there. The large inn near the new temple is passably good.’ He settled back into his former position, closing his eyes and folding his hands over his belly, clearly thinking the matter was at a close.
That’s it, enough was enough. I reached over, grabbed one of the chair legs he was balancing on, and pulled it from under him. The tribune went sprawling, landing in an unceremonial heap. I shouted at him, ‘My name is Cassius Aprilis. I expect those I outrank to stand to attention when they address me!’ Both Marcus and I held the broad stripe on our tunics marking us from the senatorial class, whilst this rude officer held the thinner stripe and was therefore only from the equestrian class.
The tribune blustered as he quickly tried to regain his feet. ‘What…? Who…? By Hades, I’ll report you!’
I walked up to him, looked him straight in the eye, and said in a measured tone, ‘Go ahead. My orders come from Augustus himself. Do you think you can go to a higher authority?’
He looked at me and swallowed hard, finally realising that he had misjudged the situation. ‘I’m sorry, sir. I apologise. I will see if Governor Varus can see you at once.’
‘You do that.’
He scurried off, and Marcus clapped me on the back, chuckling. ‘You know how to make an impression.’
I smiled wryly. ‘If he was under my command, I’d have him digging latrines morning till night, speaking to us like that.’
We waited outside in the courtyard patiently whilst the staff officer told of our arrival. Eventually he returned, still flustered, sweat marking his brow. ‘Commander Varus will see you at once. Please follow me.’
‘That’s better. You see, politeness isn’t so hard is it?’ I told him, pleased that he was now treating us with respect.
We followed him into the building and up to a set of large double doors being guarded by two sentries. Raised voices were coming from behind them.
A loud deep voice said, ‘…the men are becoming idle, we need to get them further out in the field.’
A weary, resigned tone responded, ‘Not until I have heard the response back from the Angrivarii. Peace negotiations are at a delicate stage, I am not willing to jeopardise them so you can play at war.’
‘They have been stalling for months. Shall we lose the entire campaigning season sitting here?’ shouted the first man – his voice was vaguely familiar. Was this someone I knew?
On hearing the raised voices, our long-chinned tribune didn’t know what to do, but I instructed him to knock on the door immediately. Better to be announced at a difficult time than be accused of eavesdropping.
Silence greeted the knock on the door, followed by the weary voice saying, ‘Come.’
The tribune popped his head round the door and said, ‘The two tribunes from Rome, sir. Can you see them now?’
‘Yes, yes. Show them in.’
I felt a moment of apprehension before Marcus and I entered the room. I was about to meet the man who held complete authority in Germany. In this province, his word was law – and Varus was a man with a reputation for being ruthless when necessary: thousands had died by his word after one uprising in Syria. What would this man make of me –a broken soldier –sent here on the whim of an old harpy, who had just assaulted one of his staff officers – maybe that hadn’t been such a good idea after all – and with a young boy in tow, who blushes on his first encounter with a pretty girl? Would Varus be impressed? I doubted it.