David Wishart - Foreign Bodies

‘But not in your husband’s case.’

‘No, and I agree with them. Some things you can’t forgive and forget, ever: time makes no difference. I found out from Licnus that Tiberius wasn’t the man I thought I’d married, not the kind of man I’d ever have contemplated marrying for one moment if I’d known what he was; he’d lied to me from the start, and the fact that we’d been together for over twenty years since then only made matters worse. I killed him, and I’ve no regrets. I’d do it again, gladly.’ She took a deep breath. ‘So. What happens to me now?’

‘I don’t know,’ I said.

She frowned. ‘What do you mean, you don’t know? Valerius Corvinus, I killed my husband, I’ve admitted it, and you have the authority, as the emperor’s representative, to do whatever you like with me. How can you not know?’

I’d been thinking about this ever since we’d left Augusta, and it seemed the best way to go about things. ‘Just that,’ I said. ‘The decision’s not mine to make. Like you say, I’m only the emperor’s rep, not any sort of judge in my own right. My job, which I’ve done, is to find out the truth and report back to him. The rest’s not my concern.’

She was staring at me. ‘You’re letting me go?’

‘No, not at all. What happens to you, one way or another, is up to Claudius. After all, we already have a self-confessed killer, so as far as that side of things goes the case is technically closed. And you can’t get a higher authority than the emperor himself. Me, all I can do is go back to Rome, give him the facts – all the facts, with no fudging – and let him decide where to take it from there. Which is what I’m going to do.’

She sat very still for a long time. ‘Does Titus know?’ she said, finally. ‘That I killed his father?’

‘Yes.’

‘Did he say anything when you told him?’

‘Only that he understood your reasons.’

‘Not that he sympathized?’

‘No. He said nothing else at all. You’d have to ask him that yourself.’

She nodded. ‘Very well. Publius knows too, I think, although he hasn’t said anything, or even hinted.’

Yeah. If I was right about the whole looking-through-the-window bit – and I was – then he’d have to know; would’ve known all along, from the very beginning. He was far from stupid, young Publius. And he was used to keeping secrets. ‘You’ll tell him?’ I said. ‘Straight out?’

‘Yes, I will. I’ll do it now; you have my word.’ She stood up; I did, too. ‘Thank you, Valerius Corvinus. You’ve been very … understanding. For a Roman.’

Well, I’d take that as a compliment, back-handed though it was. And I was glad, now, that I could go home with a clear conscience.

I still had a fair slice of sightseeing to look forward to, mind, particularly where Massilia was concerned: having been balked of what she viewed as her basic holiday ration of temples, public monuments, and antiquities on the way out, Perilla would no doubt insist on a double helping during the return journey. Even so, we’d be doing it without Smarmer in attendance this time around, and I was sure I could trade it off against a protracted tour of the wineshops. After all, when Claudius and I did get round the table he’d expect a preliminary chat about the merits of the different local vintages. I was looking forward to trying more of the seafood, too.

We didn’t go abroad much, the lady and I, and certainly not as pampered guests of the empire. We might as well enjoy ourselves.