Nobilissima (3 page)

“With regard to you, madam, there is a matter that we need to address.”

Serena stiffened at his tone of voice. “Yes?”

“Wait,” I interrupted. “
Illustre
, if this is regarding the matter we discussed earlier, I would prefer to talk with my cousin in private.”

Gardius glanced at Marcus before nodding his agreement.

“In that case, Serena,” I said. “Please wait for me in your rooms. I’ll come when I’ve finished here.”

At a gesture from Marcus, two guards moved forward and motioned to Serena to follow them. Her cheeks flushed pink but she said nothing, merely following the men with her head held high.

As soon as she had left the room, Gardius spoke. “I’ll be brief. We’re all aware of the unrest in the city. There are new reports today of fatalities among the citizens as they fight over what little food and water is left. We must do what is needed to calm the people so that we can concentrate on defending them.”

“How do you plan to calm them?” I asked.

“By responding to their demands to bring Serena to justice for treason against the Empire,” answered Gardius.

“You told me only that you planned to arrest her. You said nothing of trying her on charges on treason!”

“I was coming to it, Nobilissima,” said Gardius. “The document prepared by Flavius Sixtus outlines the charges against her.” He turned to the senator next to him. “Please explain.”

Sixtus bowed to me. “The problem we are facing is that our own citizens represent a real danger. They are convinced that Serena is responsible for their fate and they are threatening to storm the palace. Feelings are running very high and if we do nothing, there may be no city left for Alaric to attack.”

He handed me the parchment. “We intend to place Serena under arrest today. She will be escorted to the mausoleum jail.” He referred to the old Mausoleum of the Emperor Hadrian, recently turned into a prison and fortress.

“She must sign a statement admitting her guilt in conspiring with Alaric. For which, we’ll charge her with treason.”

“And if she denies her guilt?” I asked.

“Then we’ll still charge her with treason,” said Sixtus.

I looked at Marcus. “You knew about this?”

He nodded. “It has to be done,” he said. “Whether she’s guilty or not.”

“Do you think she is?” I demanded.

“It doesn’t matter. Serena’s behavior over the last few months has brought her to this. She’s been openly critical of the Emperor, and has boasted of her special relationship with Alaric. Both are dangerous in these times. She’d have done better to keep her mouth closed.”

It was true that Serena knew Alaric well. The Goth king had been a welcome and honored guest at the home of Stilicho and Serena many times. Even so, I was sure that Serena would not conspire with the man who had become Rome’s enemy. But her arrogance and conceit in thinking that her actions and words were above judgment had led her into grave danger.

“She was bereaved not so long ago,” said Aurelia. “It’s possible that grief has affected her senses. Is there nothing we can do to help her?”

Gardius looked at Marcus as though for permission to speak and then turned to me. “Nobilissima, if you can convince her to make a public declaration renouncing Alaric as a traitor to Rome, and swearing an oath of her own innocence, we’ll put her under house arrest and we won’t charge her with treason. She must consent to this and issue the statement within the hour.”

I gave a slight nod in acknowledgement and grasped the parchment tightly in my hand. The heat was building in the room and I was aware of a trickle of perspiration on the back of my neck as I turned to leave. With Aurelia at my side, I began the long walk to Serena’s rooms.

Chapter 3

We hurried along the marble-floored corridors towards Serena’s apartments. The air outside the Ruby chamber was cooler but a damp smell emanated from the plaster on the walls and made my nose itch. The imperial court had left Rome many years ago, first moving to Mediolanum and then to Ravenna. The cost of maintaining the grand houses on the Palatine hill was exorbitant. Aristocratic families inhabited some of the residences but many of the apartments were locked up and used only for visiting dignitaries.  

“Do you think Serena will listen to you?” asked Aurelia, a little out of breath.

“This is her death warrant,” I said, waving the parchment. “That would convince most people to take notice.”

“And you’ll try to persuade her to do as the Senate asks?” asked Aurelia.

“Of course.” I had no idea what I was going to say, but I knew that Aurelia would expect me to do all I could to prevent harm coming to Serena. My cousin would benefit from Aurelia’s protective instincts.

The route to her apartments took us past the palace chapel, a small room that had been hastily refurbished prior to my arrival in Rome. I’d been there to pray several times in the last few weeks, after the Basilica Aurea had been barricaded in defense not only against the impending Goth attack but also to prevent looting by the angry citizens. While I missed the imposing grandeur of the great Basilica I’d found comfort in the privacy of praying alone in the tiny chapel. I paused, thinking of lighting a candle before facing Serena, but the parchment was heavy in my hand and I decided to keep going.

“Nobilissima!” A voice stopped me and I turned to see a man coming out of the chapel. He wore a heavy gold cross around his neck and the long white robe and red cincture of the priesthood. I didn’t recognize him; he was young, with dark, rather overly well-tended hair, and large brown eyes.

I didn’t speak when the priest approached but that didn’t prevent him from talking. “Nobilissima. I’m so very happy to have the opportunity of meeting you at last,” he said. His voice had a high pitch, and he spoke very slowly, enunciating each word as though talking to someone who was hard of hearing. Or dim-witted.

He turned to Aurelia. “My lady.”

I remained silent, wondering at the priest’s presumption in talking to me without first being spoken to. He seemed oblivious, however, and undeterred, he continued. “I am Alanus. The Bishop of Rome suggested that I come here to offer my services should they be required by any member of the household.”

I doubted that the Bishop of Rome would
suggest
anything. He would command or instruct. His power was more than equal that of the senators and he wielded huge influence in the city. Anxious to press on, however, I decided to say enough to end the conversation.

“Thank you, Alanus. We’re glad to meet you. However, we have urgent business and must be on our way immediately. I’ll be sure to let the members of the household know that you’re at their disposal.”

“Thank you, Nobilissima,” Alanus replied. “But can I not encourage you to say a quick prayer? There can be nothing so urgent as to impede your communion with God?”

“Indeed there is,” I responded. “We must take our leave.”

“But surely God’s guidance would be of some help to you in whatever mission you are on?” insisted Alanus.

“It is not I who needs God’s guidance,” I replied, taking Aurelia by the arm and striding away along the corridor.

“What a strange man!” Aurelia exclaimed. “I can’t believe he spoke to you in such a way. You hadn’t met him before?”

“No, I’d not had that pleasure. Bishop Innocent hasn’t mentioned him to me, and I sincerely hope to avoid him in the future.”

“But still, he was right about one thing,” said Aurelia. “Perhaps we should’ve prayed for help in counseling Serena to make the right decision.”

“Too late for that,” I said, pointing to the doors of Serena’s rooms just ahead. I took a breath and calmed myself for the encounter to come. I had no desire to beg or plead with my cousin and I wanted to be rid of the document in my hand. I had little time to plan my words, as Serena herself greeted us inside the doors and led us to a gold-embroidered couch.

“Wine?” she offered. “It is your brother’s favorite from Sicilia. My husband favored it as well.”

“No, thank you,” I said. “I’m here to talk to you about the intentions of the Senate to arrest you on charges of treason.”

If my words were as shocking to her as they sounded to my own ears, I saw no sign on Serena’s face. In fact, she laughed.

“My dear Placidia. The Senate will do no such thing. They know as well as I do that these charges are a fraud, conceived only because of a few silly rumors. I’m surprised that the Senate expected you to do their dirty work. They could have told me this themselves and saved you the trouble of coming here.”

“On the contrary,” I said. “I wanted to come, thinking that you’d rather discuss this in the privacy of your own rooms than in the public meeting chamber. These charges are real and will be acted on today if you don’t send the right answer back to the senators.”

Serena turned her head away as though I’d slapped her cheek. Then she straightened her shoulders. “Give me the document,” she demanded.

I handed it to her and waited quietly while she read it.

“This is intolerable,” she said as she pushed the parchment back into my hands. “Provost Olympius started these rumors. He’s always hated me, without any reason other than jealousy of my position. He had my husband killed, as you know, and now he tells everyone that I conspire with Alaric for revenge.”

“And do you?” I asked. “Are you talking with Alaric?”

Serena stood and glared at me. “Who are you to ask me such things? I’m your cousin and your guardian. You have no right to interrogate me.”

“You’re no longer Placidia’s guardian,” interrupted Aurelia, “and she’s trying to help you.”

“I don’t need your help,” said Serena. She poured some wine into a golden goblet and swallowed it down. “You must go to the senators and tell them to withdraw these charges. I’m to be left alone, do you understand?”

“Please sit down,” I said. “It’s important that you listen to what I have to say. If you’re willing to make a public denunciation of Alaric, you’ll be arrested and held. If you insist on saying nothing, you’ll be executed for treason. Those are your choices.”

“I refuse.”

“Please, Serena,” said Aurelia. “It’s a small thing to do that will save your life.”

“I refuse to make a statement just because the peasants of Rome demand it. Why should I bow to their demands? My reputation will be ruined forever if I’m arrested. No, the only way out of this is for you to go back to the senators and tell them you’re convinced of my innocence. Then we can forget the whole thing and life will return to normal.”

“Normal?” echoed Aurelia. “I hardly think that the siege by the Goths gives us any chance of normal life.”

“We’ve got the Emperor to blame for that,” snapped Serena. “His treachery led to the death of my beloved husband and will lead to the ruination of our beloved Empire.”

Serena’s words were all that the senators needed to convict her of treason. Whatever her opinions of Honorius, they were best kept to herself. No one could speak as she did and not suffer imprisonment or death.

I took a deep breath, stood up and walked slowly to a table that Serena used as a desk. On it lay a beautiful, polychromatic cameo of Stilicho. I picked it up and looked at his likeness, carved from agate and captured now forever in the hard stone. I missed him so much, almost as much as I did my father. When Stilicho had died, Serena had given free rein to her feelings for me, never losing an opportunity to show her contempt and loathing. Why did I feel compelled to help her when she’d made me so miserable? I was struggling to stay in the room with her and it would have been easy to walk out and leave her to the mercies of the Senate. Yet I had to try. If I didn’t, I would be betraying Stilicho, who would surely have expected me to do all I could for his wife. I laid the cameo back down on the table and looked at Serena.

“Please, cousin, listen to me. Your choices are house arrest or death. Save your life. You’ll be able to keep your staff and then, when this siege is over, you can return to public life. I beg you to do as I ask.”

Serena toyed with the necklace of Vesta, stroking the stones. “Only Honorius can sign a death warrant for someone of my standing,” she said.  “And he isn’t here.”

I looked out of the window. Beyond the brown lawns, soldiers patrolled the walls. I felt cold suddenly in spite of the oppressive heat. Turning back to look at Serena, I said, “I am authorized to sign the warrant.”

Her face contorted in fury. The sunlight struck her pale skin, exposing the blue veins that ran beneath. Her eyes seemed blacker than ever, and her voice was like the blade of a knife.

“You would do that to me? I was your guardian, appointed by your father. I protected you and raised you and made sure you had a good education. What else did you expect of me?”

I chose not to answer. She had done her duty, as I was about to do mine.

She walked away, her figure casting a long dark shadow across the white floor. Reaching the door that led to her private chambers, she put her hand on the doorknob and turned to look at me.

“You can leave now,” she said. “And you’ll go to hell for this.”

Back in my rooms, I spread out the document on the desk, and signed my name, moving the pen slowly over the parchment, delaying the moment when it would be done. I blotted the ink, and pushed the parchment across the desk to Aurelia.