The Last Roman: Honour Part 15

Her abiding cause was that people from the lower cla.s.ses should be advanced in official circles for the very good reason that they were less greedy than the senators who thought they owned these highly rewarded sinecures by right.

'Only until they learn how to steal, Flavius, and then they will be as greedy as their predecessors.'

The woman who whispered this to him Theodora was off on her hobby horse and did not notice was Antonina, one of the Empress's oldest friends and not for the first time sat next to him. Flavius had first met her years before at a gathering in the Sabbatius villa, taken over by Justinian not long after his accession as a place where he could escape the dull protocol of palace life, his father having been given the province of Illyric.u.m to run, a sop to the sister of Justin who hankered to rule the part of the world from which she had sprung.

Being away in the east Flavius had been afforded only that one occasion in such company but it was enough to demonstrate to him the protocols: imperial grandeur was set to one side, everyone being encouraged to act as if the rank of the host did not exist, impossible to ignore of course, but it was a situation in which there could be a pretence that the life lived before Justinian's elevation could be recalled and that nowhere applied more than in s.e.xual licence.

Neither Justinian nor Theodora saw much virtue in fidelity; both had come to the present estate through a world of much moral laxity and had acquired habits and desires difficult to put aside. By the time Flavius returned from Dara the villa had been abandoned and such gatherings had moved to the palace, the original venue being unsafe for a highly unpopular emperor. Indeed the whole arrangement had been in abeyance due to the troubles Justinian was labouring under.

Now that the Nika riots, as they had come to be called, had killed off the bacillus of impeding revolt both Theodora and Justinian felt safe to revive these events at which the pious and G.o.d-fearing face the imperial couple presented to the world was cast aside in the confines of the imperial palace. It was ever in the nature of rulers to expect virtue from their subjects while paying no attention to such constraints themselves.

Emperors lived in an enclosed world and much effort was extended to ensure that what went on inside was not common knowledge without. There was a strata of courtiers who were aware, how could there not be, and there were servants. The former were as debauched as their rulers and thought of their purse if they were not. The latter were chosen for their discretion and there was always the threat of strangulation if it was suspected they were telling tales to the outside world.

Added to that, much was done to present a devout aspect. Justinian had recently set in train the rebuilding of the Church of St Sophia, to a design that would make it the greatest basilica in the world, rivalling and outdoing anything in Rome. Everyone looking at the plans was staggered by the dimensions: a good way to get on the right side of Justinian was to mention this building and praise him as the genius behind it. The architects did the work, the Emperor took the plaudits.

One of the things Flavius liked about his present dining companion was her amusing indiscretion. Though careful to whom she spoke she was wonderfully scabrous about the band of hangers-on that made up the immediate social circle of the imperial couple and not afraid either to describe herself as the greediest of them. In short, she made him laugh.

'Why do I always seem to be seated next to you? This is the fourth time.'

Antonina raised a pair of already arched eyebrows. 'Do you object?'

'No, I am just curious. I observe that others move from neighbour to neighbour, we do not.'

'The consequence being that it is to my bed that you retire. But if you would prefer another ...?'

Flavius felt himself blush; Antonina was older than him and was much worldlier in so many ways she had been married before and was now a widow with a young son while she had shown in the bedchamber a wonderful ability to invoke in him a deep pleasure he had never before achieved. He had often been tempted to ask where she had learnt her dexterity but he feared the answer might distress him. Theodora had not been beyond multiple bed partners prior to marrying Justinian he had been a party to it and Antonina may well have behaved in the same manner.

He did not want that to be the case, not out of piousness but out of regard, in short he liked her. In any event, to take a moral position with a woman you had bedded more than once was the height of hypocrisy. Given she was a widow that was likely to be the source of her experience but there was another possibility: she came from a background not dissimilar to Theodora.

Antonina was the daughter of a successful charioteer, a member of the Blues whose luck had run out in the Hippodrome when a removed wheel, taken off by a compet.i.tor, saw him chucked from his chariot and thrown under the wheels of those following behind. Such men might make great fortunes but they came from lowly backgrounds, not the higher reaches of society, and so did she.

To even consider such things made Flavius feel like a scrub; who was he to judge anyone by their background? That was one area in which he fully supported Theodora. Let a man, or a woman for that matter, rise to the level their abilities would take them. No one had the right to prominence by mere birth.

'Do you like me, Flavius?'

Caught in a welter of thoughts the reply was hurried. 'Of course.'

A hand caressed his cheek. 'I believe you, for you are not one to lie. In fact, I think you incapable of being deceitful.'

'No man is that.'

'Look down the table and what do you see?'

'People taking their food and enjoying themselves. Servants pouring wine and Justinian pondering, of course.'

'Is he enjoying himself? He looks worried.'

'Do not be fooled if you see a pensive expression, Justinian loves being emperor.'

'I should not like it, would you?'

'Not a question that requires an answer, since the opportunity would never arise.'

If it was implied that imperial protocol was set aside on these occasions it was never entirely true; when Justinian stood everyone followed suit, for to sit in the presence of a standing emperor was never to be allowed to anyone other than the seriously lame.

As a group they retired to another well-furnished chamber, with any number of couches on which the guests could disport themselves. There was wine and sweetmeats but no servants, for the double doors were shut behind them to ensure complete privacy. Theodora liked to play robust games, which over time became more and more risque, often compet.i.tions which saw items of clothing being paid as forfeits.

In time, those couches would be used for various couplings and that was a situation Flavius Belisarius did not enjoy. Public copulation he found embarra.s.sing and the same applied to the pleasure Justinian took in watching others perform. One of the other factors he liked about Antonina is that she had seen his discomfort and had taken care to rescue him, choosing a discreet moment when, un.o.bserved, she could lead him from the chamber by a secret door to the suite of rooms Theodora had provided for her within the palace.

He woke the next morning feeling sated, and in the dawn light he sat up and took to examining the sleeping Antonina. Her greater years did not show; the skin of her face was still good, the flesh of her body firm and the cast of her mind seemed to him to be more youthful than mature. There is an innocence to a person asleep and even if they had made robust love during the night Antonina looked very much that in her slumbers.

Looking closer Flavius saw the full lips twitch slightly as a dream registered on her features. Strong nose, tightly fleshed chin and a swanlike neck leading to a fine bosom. His hand reached out to caress her breast which made her stir slightly and murmur. Next he pressed soft lips to her nipple, then a gently flicking tongue, which made her writhe and brought forth a moan of pleasure.

Sliding down Flavius pressed close to her to be rewarded by a willing companion who turned her body towards him, eyes still closed, a hand reaching out to take one of his b.u.t.tocks and pull him close. Their coupling was not furious, it was slow and languid as befitted the time of day and, if it was possible that it could be so, it was even more pleasurable.

Later, in a shared bath, the way they spoke to each other seemed to him to take on a different dimension, not a pair who had come together to provide mutual gratification but a sort of intimacy he had never before felt. Then there was her son Photius, an engaging boy of twelve who seemed to accept him as a proxy for his dead father, a man he had been too much an infant to know, though the lad was wary of his strict mother.

Flavius was the opposite, positively indulgent: playing games with the boy was a pleasure, seeking to hone his skill with sword and spear took Flavius back to his own childhood and his father Decimus doing the same with him at a time that preceded the stuff of his nightmares and seemed so blissfully innocent. There was no reserve, no seeking to avoid interrogation as Photius sought the answer to every question that entered his young mind, or feeling hara.s.sed by his attention.

As a trio they seemed like a unit and over the following weeks that feeling deepened, so when Theodora hinted that Antonina might make for him a suitable wife it was not a suggestion he dismissed out of hand. In fact, the notion entered his thoughts often as he took a full part in Justinian's plans for the future, which harked back to a conversation they had engaged in years before, nothing less than the reunification of the Eastern and Western Empires, and in order that he should be of aid Flavius set himself to study both the history of recent events as well as the present problems.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN.

Flavius was explaining to his paramour Justinian's ambitions, emphasising it would not be a simple task. 'With the east paid for and quiet he feels the time might be right.'

'And it involves you?'

'He wants me to command the armies. What military man, Antonina, would not want to undertake such a possible conquest?'

That she was interested at all surprised Flavius but also pleased him; he would have suggested it was hardly a subject to engage women if it had not been for Theodora, who seemed equally keen. They were sitting on a gra.s.sy bank overlooking the Propontis, their horses grazing at the pasture, reins trailing the ground. The sun was warm, the sea was blue and all seemed right with the world. It was good to get away from the palace and the constant need to be ready to jump to the needs of the imperial couple. It was just good to be alone in each other's company.

'So I plan how to fight and hopefully to win but that would, I am sure, bore you.'

'No, Flavius, I wish to hear what you are doing.'

He touched the back of her hand. 'I do too.'

She let out a peal of laughter. 'You mean you do now know what you're doing?'

'I didn't mean that, I meant you.'

'I know, my dear, just teasing. Now, enlighten a person who is ignorant.'

'The politics are the province of the Emperor and he is sure they are favourable.'

'The military problems fall to me.'

When examined, certain matters appeared obvious. Italy was the bigger fish needing to be caught but there was a discontented and oppressed population in North Africa, which might prove an easier place to begin, not a statement allowed to pa.s.s without explanation.

'In the past, the Vandal rulers made no attempt to make peace with those they had conquered. They forbade intermarriage and imposed their Arian religion on a population who looked to the Bishop of Rome for spiritual guidance. They were also inclined to kill people who sought no more than to wors.h.i.+p in a different rite.'

'So there's many a martyr to avenge.'

'Hilderic changed that policy and treated, I'm told, with Justinian for an alliance.' Antic.i.p.ating a question her face told him he answered before she could ask. 'He was overthrown three years ago by his brother, Gelimer, who has seized the throne and is persecuting the Catholics and Trinitarians again.'

'What names,' Antonina opined, not with approval.

'They sound as they are, barbarians. Justinian insists the time is propitious for an attempt at reconquest. This Gelimer faces not only a hostile population but those who revere the memory of his brother. Added to that, he has Moors to the west of his possessions who might ally with us, and insurrections in Sardinia and Byzacium.'

That had to be explained; Antonina had never heard of that particular province; neither had Flavius until he had begun to study the problem but he kept that to himself, an air of knowledge suited him.

'The difficulty would be to get an army transported to Africa that is large enough to retake the land and free the majority of the people.'

'Is it worth it?'

'They are our coreligionists, and besides, it's an old and valuable province that once helped to feed Rome.'

'You sound hesitant, Flavius?'

'It's Justinian. He thinks we should seek to take Italy and he's a hard man to dissuade. Attack there and Gelimer will make an alliance with the Ostrogoths, because he knows if we succeed in Italy he will be next. We cannot fight them combined and it is going to be far from easy to fight them piecemeal.'

It was difficult sometimes to contain Justinian; his desires ran ahead of the ability to meet his expectations. The east was kept quiet with gold; the west was now less peaceable thanks to the death, after a very long reign, of Theodoric, the man who had ruled Italy for thirty-three trouble-free years. But with him gone, as far as Justinian was concerned, Italy was an equally possible target for reconquest.

But it could only be invaded by sea; to seek a land route could not be kept secret from the enemy and the room to manoeuvre in the land between the Alps and the Adriatic was constrained. Not that the gathering of forces for a seaborne attack would go unnoticed, but the landing place on an extended sh.o.r.e calculated at having over six hundred beaches made the point of invasion too hard to fix.

'Having said that, Sicily would be a primary target. All history tells me it would be easier to invade the mainland from there.'

'All history? Would it trouble you if I said I have no idea what you are talking about?'

'No. Would it trouble you if I explained?'

Antonina rolled on to her side and looked directly at him. 'I insist you do. Being in ignorance does not cheer me.'

'Surely you must know something of this?'

'Why would I?'

'It's a long story.'

A hand caressed his bearded jaw to tickle the hairs. 'And we are in no rush.'

'Theodora will wonder where you are.'

'No, Flavius, she will know I am with you.'

He was about to mention her suggestion that they marry but he hesitated too long, so to cover a degree of confusion he began to talk of the events of the last fifty years and indeed beyond, all the way back to the division of the empire in the year 364, with an enthusiasm that had to be constantly checked against her reaction. He was only too aware that what was of interest to him was not always seen in the same light by others. What he saw in Antonina's eyes was firm interest.

If Flavius had not been at the centre of things in Constantinople he had been raised by a parent who took a keen interest in both the history and present state of the Roman Empire. Decimus Belisarius had seen himself as the heir to a thousand years of glorious expansion, the successor to legions of fighting men who had spread civilisation around the Middle Sea, defeating everyone who stood against the civilising influence.

All this had been pa.s.sed on to his sons; they were Romans and the history of the empire was there to be studied and learnt from, and not for the first time Flavius was in conversation with a person who did not know the past of the polity in which they lived.

The empire had been split by Valentinian because it was too vast to administer; he gave half to his brother Valens and as long as they lived there was harmony. But, supposed to provide better security, it had not worked as it had been hoped, not least because of rivalries between those who succeeded them.

The Eastern Empire, with a huge land border, had struggled many times to repel serious barbarian invasions. They had as often inducted their enemies into the imperial fold as defeated them, for Constantinople had as its core great revenues with which to bribe the invading tribes to either depart or settle, hence the composition of the army.

'The empire in the west has fared less well since the time of Julius Nepos.'

'Him I have heard of, but only the name.'

'He was raised to the purple by the Leo in 474 in place of a man the Emperor thought a usurper. Sadly, in less than two years Nepos was deposed by Orestes, his own magister militum.'

'Now that is a nice name, Orestes.'

Flavius smiled indulgently and continued. 'Nepos retired to Dalmatia, where he had previously acted as dux. Legally he still held the imperial t.i.tle, but it was one only in name. Orestes was in all respects like the King of Italy. Then Orestes tried to raise his own son to the purple, treating after Leo's death with the Emperor Zeno, but that failed. He in turn was killed by the leader of his foederati, a German mercenary called Odoacer and now he became the ruler of Italy.'

'Not Nepos?'

'He was murdered by the officers of his own comitatus.'

'There are Greek plays that tell stories such as this.'

'There's been no Western Emperor since, but stability came with the rise of Theodoric.'

'The famous Theodoric. I have heard they are calling him "the Great".'

'He may deserve it. He governed Italy with our consent and governed well.'

Theodoric had originally been a thorn in the flesh of Zeno he had ravaged imperial territory and even threatened Constantinople before being diverted to Italy to fight Odoacer.

'That war lasted three years, but finally he defeated Odoacer and captured Ravenna. Then Theodoric strangled him, killed him with his own hands at a banquet designed to cement a peace.'

That got Flavius a finger in the chest. 'There are some people it is better not to dine with.'

'Theodoric settled his followers in Italy, showing great care in the way he dealt with Zeno, then Anastasius and finally Justin. He never sought the t.i.tle of emperor, content to be magister militum and to be raised to the rank of patrician.'

'That makes him sound modest. I may not know as much as you do but Theodoric didn't strike me as that.'

'What's in a t.i.tle? He acted as he wished and we in the east valued harmony more than anything else. Theodoric gave us that and neither did he seek expansion. In all his dealing with Constantinople he was careful to always show respect. Better still, he made no attempt to convert the Italian citizenry to Arianism, allowing them to wors.h.i.+p in their own faith. He's been a bulwark against other threats, marrying three of his daughters, one to the King of Franks, another to the ruler of Burgundy and the third to a previous Vandal king of North Africa.'

'No sons?'