David Wishart - Nero

Acte shifted on the bench. 'Yeah. He persuaded Lucius to let things lie till he'd heard her side of the story. She was round first thing this morning.'

'And proceeded, as you say, to walk all over the poor boy.' Silia was pointedly not looking at Acte. 'Oh how very unfortunate for you both.'

'Look, just lay off me, will you?' Acte snapped. 'It wasn't my fault. And Agrippina may be the worst kind of bitch but at least this time she was within her rights.'

'You mean she hasn't been trying to regain her influence these last few months?' Silia said sweetly. 'My dear, I agree the specific charges were fictitious, but the empress is no innocent where conspiracy is concerned. Rome would be better off without her, and I'm sorry we seem to have missed our chance.'

'Don't you have any concern for justice at all, lady?'

Silia held her gaze.

'Not in this instance, no,' she said in a level voice. 'Justice in this case is a luxury we can't afford.'

Acte had her mouth open to reply, but I got in first.

'Let's leave the philosophical questions aside,' I said. 'Acte, just tell us what happened, please.'

Acte took a deep breath. 'Oh, she denied everything, told Lucius the accusation was false and she'd been slandered. Played the doting mother. Sure, I know, it was pure garbage, but she knew what she was doing. She had the poor kid bawling inside five minutes. By the end he was begging her for the chance to make it up to her.'

I thought of my conversation with Arruntius. He'd been right, of course: Agrippina might be out of favour, but she was still a very dangerous woman. And evidently, despite the efforts of Seneca, Burrus and Acte, her hold on Lucius was as strong as ever. It didn't bode well for Rome. It did not bode well at all.

'So she's off the hook,' I said.

'Yeah.' Acte nodded. 'Silana's being exiled. Her front-men who brought the charge as well.'

'And Paris?'

'Not Paris. He's too good a dancer.' I laughed, and she glared at me. 'I'm serious, Petronius. That's important to Lucius. He'd hate to lose someone with Paris's talents just because of a little mistake.'

'A wise decision,' Silia said drily.

This time Acte didn't rise to the bait. 'I told you before,' she said. 'Lucius isn't a vengeful person. And he's got his own priorities.'

'So it would appear. Still, it's nice to see he's not totally under his mother's thumb.'

Acte scowled. She had my sympathy: I was becoming a little annoyed with Silia myself.'Silia, dear,' I said. 'You do realise that this whole sorry mess is completely your fault?'

She looked at me blankly. 'I beg your pardon?'

'If you and Silana hadn't cooked up your ridiculous scheme in the first place, darling, then Agrippina wouldn't be back in favour.' I looked at Acte. 'She is back in favour, isn't she?'

Acte nodded. 'Not as much as before, but yeah, she's come out well. That's why I need advice.'

'But, Titus, I told you!' Silia had the grace to look guilty. 'The accusation was all Silana's idea!'

'Nonsense, darling. Silana's as thick as two short planks. And you can count yourself lucky that…'

Which was as far as I got, because just then the door opened and Lucius walked in.

The emperor wore a saffron Greek tunic, longer and far more lavishly embroidered than the usual Roman version. The way he moved and the way he held himself suggested drunkenness; not falling or aggressive drunkenness, but pleasant intoxication. He stood in the doorway beaming at us.

'Lucius, love.' Acte got up quickly from the bench where she was sitting — we were on our feet, too — and tucked his arm under hers. 'You remember my friends, the Lady Silia and Titus Petronius?'

'Yes, of course.' The emperor gave an even wider smile. 'Of course! How lovely to see you again, darlings. Did you enjoy my little dinner party?'

The question sounded so natural that it chilled me. I looked at Acte. Her face was pale under her make-up.

'Very much, sir,' I said.

The smile didn't waver. 'How nice. I'm so glad. You must come again. Acte will arrange it.' He hugged her and planted a kiss above her cheekbone.

I laid my hand on Silia's elbow and began to edge past him towards the door. Lucius stopped me.

'Oh, no, no, no!' His free hand, laden with gold rings, waved us back towards our stools. 'Don't rush off, my dears, I won't hear of it. We so rarely have visitors, real visitors. Sit down, please.'

We sat. Lucius threw himself onto the last vacant stool and crossed his legs. The tunic rode up exposing the pasty-white skin of his naked thigh, dotted with thick red hairs. The silence was painful. Finally Acte broke it.

'Petronius was just saying I should count myself lucky living here in the palace, love,' she said brightly.

'What, this place?' His brows came down. 'Oh, it's adequate, I suppose, but I wouldn't call it grand. One day I'll build you a proper house, dear. Somewhere fit for a human being to live in.'

Acte's tired face relaxed in a smile. 'That's nonsense,' she said. 'This is big enough for anyone, and much too grand for me.'

He reached over and hugged her. 'Isn't she lovely, Titus?'

'Quite adorable,' I said, blandly ignoring the use of my first name.

'I'm serious.' Acte kissed the tip of his nose. 'It's like living in a mausoleum with all this marble around.'

'But it won't be just marble, darling. We'll have gardens, real ones, not the table-napkin vegetable plot we've got just now. Perhaps a lake or two with a few islands. You'd like that, wouldn't you?' He turned his still-smiling face on me. 'You see my lovely girl, Titus? Not like the others. They're all on the make, all my other so-called friends. Seneca's had millions out of me already, the greedy old pig, and as for Mother, she is really grasping, I mean really! ' He frowned. 'Not that I mind, of course. And you don't mind my calling you Titus, do you?'

'Not at all, Caesar,’ I said. ‘I'm flattered.'

'Only if Acte likes you then you must be nice.' He kissed the tip of her broad nose and let her go. 'Very nice. Good. Then that's settled. I feel that we're going to be great friends. Great friends.' Oh, Serapis! This I didn't need! 'You have natural good taste, Titus. I can tell.'

'Thank you, sir.'

'You too, Silia.' His smile embraced us both. 'I consider both of you to be very special friends indeed. Don't think I don't know who I have to thank for bringing Acte here.'

So much for subterfuge. I glanced at Silia, who had coloured to the roots of her impeccably styled wig. For the first time I began to have a sneaking respect for young Lucius. The lad wasn't as daft as he looked.

He turned back to me. 'And you enjoy the theatre, of course. Anyone with real taste must.'

'Oh, I do. Very much. Such as it is in Rome.'

'Right. Right.' He nodded. 'Here it's a nonsense. All pirates and padded phalluses and stale old jokes. Roman theatre's dead. There're no greats and never have been. Except for darling Seneca, naturally.'

'Naturally.' I kept my face straight; Seneca had yet to notch up an actual performance for one of his interminably boring melodramas, but those I had read showed he was no Euripides.

'Of course the poor old dear's no Euripides.' My surprise must have been evident in my expression, because Lucius smiled at me in a most disconcerting way. I wondered if he had somehow caught my thoughts; he could, I was already beginning to realise, be very perceptive as well as very charming. 'But at least he tries. It's a pity he's such a' — he giggled — 'oh, such a terrible Roman. '

I nodded. 'I quite agree,’ I said. ‘All that blood and guts. Not to mention the — ' I stopped myself just in time: I'd been about to say 'incest', but that would've been tactless in the extreme. 'Not to mention the other unsavoury features.'