‘But he’s a bodyguard,’ Burrus broke in. ‘He could have killed the Emperor whenever he so wished.’
‘Could he? With other soldiers standing about? What if Constantine is murdered but his family still survive, above all the Augusta? More importantly, Gaius Tullius wanted to live. He wanted to witness the return of a new pagan Emperor who would set his face, and raise his hand, against the Christian Church. Oh, I’m sure if a new persecution broke out, Gaius Tullius would prove to be the most zealous hunter of Christians.’ Claudia spoke evenly.
‘Do continue,’ Gaius snapped. ‘I’ll listen to you, little woman, then I’ll decide.’
‘You have no choice,’ Claudia replied. ‘This may not be a court of law, but can you imagine if it was? After all, you are a soldier; you will be tried in front of a military tribunal where the rule of law is not so scrupulously observed.’
Claudia stared across at the tavern. A shutter opened and closed, and she briefly glimpsed Murranus standing there. She turned back to Gaius Tallius, spreading her hands out.
‘Astrologers claim that sometimes the stars and planets move into a favourable conjunction. This is what happened with events at the Villa Pulchra. You knew the Emperor would be going there, not the precise day, but you could make an accurate guess about when he would arrive; after all, you are one of his staff officers. You gave that information to Licinius’s agents and the war galley was dispatched. All the enemy had to do was wait for the agreed signal. You would give that from the villa, and Licinius’s agents, hiding in the woods, would pass it on. You overlooked one thing: the wanderer in the woods, that inquisitive old man who knew the lie of the land like the back of his hand. He must have realised something was wrong and came to the villa to pester Timothaeus. You decided he was too dangerous, so you killed him!’
‘That’s not true!’ Gaius Tullius broke in.
‘Yes it is.’ Timothaeus spoke up again. ‘On the day that old man was found, you left the villa early; you said you were going for a ride.’
‘You were busy plotting,’ Claudia continued, shifting on the grass, staring back at the tavern window. ‘You were planning not only to betray your Emperor, but to seize a splendid opportunity for revenge. The Christians were coming to the Villa Pulchra, the orators from Capua, at least two of whom you suspected of being turncoats. Those orators are lonely men, much given to brooding; they like to be by themselves. You didn’t really care who died as long as you inflicted revenge and depicted these Christians to their Emperor as being as murderous, quarrelsome and vindictive as the rest of his subjects.’
‘You walk softly,’ Burrus interrupted. ‘That is how you killed Dionysius. .’
Gaius Tullius dismissed him with a contemptuous flick of his hand.
‘You killed them,’ Claudia accused him. ‘You caught them on their own, like rabbits in a snare. Dionysius you stunned, then cut to death. Next came Septimus, and finally Justin. You must have been pleased to use Dionysius’s corpse, and that of the wanderer, as part of your beacon light.’
‘I was with you when the House of Mourning caught fire. .’
‘Of course you were.’ Claudia smiled. ‘But you also knew Narcissus was fast asleep. It is easy to take a length of old rope, grease it with oil, strike a tinder and watch the flame burn fiercely but slowly away, giving you sufficient time to be with a witness when the conflagration broke out. The House of Mourning was neglected, Narcissus had drunk deep; it posed little problem.’
‘Why did you burn it?’ Narcissus asked crossly.
‘As I’ve said, it was the beacon light,’ Claudia accused. ‘The agreed signal for the assault on the villa to be launched. You also wanted to conceal your own handiwork, just in case you’d made a mistake: the way you tied those ropes around Dionysius, perhaps, or that I might examine the corpse of that old man and wonder if he were a murder victim too. You really didn’t care. If the attack had been successful, Licinius’s men would have taken you away, ostensibly as a captive, though one who would later change sides.’
Gaius Tullius made to rise, but Burrus’s hand went to his war belt and the soldier slumped back down. Some colour had returned to his face, but his darting glances and the way he kept wetting his lips betrayed his agitation.
‘You enjoyed killing them,’ Claudia continued. ‘You did your best to confuse me by pretending that Justin had been murdered by someone not used to drawing a bow, just as you tried to frighten me with that painting on the wall, or by coming into the cellar, your face hidden behind a mask, an old cloak about you. When I wouldn’t be cowed, you threw that lamp into my chamber. Gaius Tullius had every right to be in the imperial quarters; it was easy enough to conceal a lamp under your cloak and, when the passageway was empty, open a door and throw it in. The rest of the villa was sleeping; you thought I’d be doing the same.’ Claudia leaned over and touched Narcissus’s hand. ‘But, the gods be thanked, I was talking to my new-found friend!’
‘When the Holy Sword disappeared,’ Timothaeus pointed his finger, ‘you enjoyed the confusion.’
‘That helped his plan,’ Claudia agreed. ‘The Emperor was tired, the Augusta worried about the coming debate, the orators from Capua were at each other’s throats, the Holy Sword had disappeared; such confusion helps to distract people. When I found out about the beacon lights, you decided to deepen the confusion further by supposedly discovering that bow, and the fire arrows.’ Claudia leaned closer. ‘You did find them, don’t you remember, near the wall?’
The accused stared sullenly back.
‘You hoped the burning of the House of Mourning would be seen as an accident or as caused by someone loosing fire arrows into the air. However, on that night,’ Claudia nodded at Narcissus, ‘our sharp-eyed former slave here was sitting on top of a hill brooding about his future. He saw no fire arrows. More importantly, once the court left the Villa Pulchra, I returned and organised a search of the woods.’
‘Yes, yes, I heard about that,’ Timothaeus broke in.
‘I told the servants to search for any weapon of war.’ Claudia smiled. ‘Now, Gaius, if you loose an arrow up into the sky, the flame eventually dies, but part of the feathered shaft remains. Yet nobody found anything. The quiver you supposedly discovered was fairly empty; it would take at least four or five arrows to attract the attention of Licinius’s agents.’ She pointed her finger at him. ‘That’s when I began to suspect you.’
‘You have no real proof.’ Gaius Tullius wiped sweaty hands on his tunic.
‘Don’t I?’ Claudia retorted. ‘There is a logic to what I’ve said. We can search the army records. We can establish a strong link between you and Capua. We can prove that, as an officer, you could go anywhere in that villa, and you did: you kindly brought me that scroll you found in Dionysius’s chamber, anything to deepen the confusion and sharpen the rivalry between your enemies. Above all, we can keep you prisoner here while your own chamber and possessions are ransacked. .’
Gaius Tullius closed his eyes and turned away, a sign that he was conceding defeat.
‘We’ll find something,’ Claudia insisted, ‘which connects you with Licinius, which will prove you to be the traitor.’
‘I am no traitor.’ Gaius stared up to the sky. ‘At least not to Rome, but to the fools who wear the purple.’ He took a deep breath. ‘It is as you say, a coming together of events.’ He made himself comfortable on the grass, talking softly as if to himself. ‘I couldn’t believe my good fortune. The attack on the villa was planned. Constantine and his bitch of a mother did not deserve my loyalty, or to wear the purple which men like me had won in the heat of battle. I later learnt about the orators coming. Oh yes, I had been through Chrysis’s records. They were all weaklings who couldn’t even support their own faith; men like Septimus had betrayed the only two people I really loved. I felt like a fox in a barnyard. It was just a matter of seeking every opportunity, creating chaos, and if the attack had been successful, don’t worry, little mouse, I would have ensured they all died.’ He gestured back at the tavern. ‘Is Murranus watching me? Shall I tell you something? When he brought Meleager down, I advised the Emperor to spare him. Do you know why?’