The Blood of Gods A Novel of Rome - By Conn Iggulden Page 0,107

take much joy from the prospect of a twelve-year-old wife, Quintina.’

He had met Mark Antony’s daughter only once since returning to Rome and the marriage to come was little more than a bargaining piece in their negotiations. He felt sorry for Claudia, if anything, but marriages were a currency of Rome and a statement of their mutual support. It would not interfere with his current popularity among the noble mistresses of the city. Octavian was slim and young and in power, a powerful cocktail that led to a different partner every night, if he chose. He suspected Quintina knew that very well and was teasing him, so he tried to take it with good grace.

‘I have other things on my mind at the moment, Quintina; I apologise.’

‘Of course. Young men are always in love,’ she replied.

‘Perhaps, I cannot say. I dream of new legions, trained and hardened over a winter.’

He looked to Pedius, who seemed embarrassed by the exchange and somewhat flustered by the attentions of the priestess.

‘Report, Pedius. I have not come here to talk of love, not today.’

The older man cleared his throat.

‘With regret, Lady Fabia, I must leave our conversation to another time.’

‘Oh very well, though I know a few Roman widows who would be thrilled to meet a mature man as well, Pedius. They are deeper pools than these young girls Caesar favours. Their rivers have not run dry in the years without a man. In fact, the opposite is true. Think on that while you talk away a fine morning.’

She strolled back into the temple then, leaving the two of them staring after her. Pedius shook his head, caught between the suspicion he was being mocked and genuine interest.

‘We’ve raised six new legions and placed their names on the Senate rolls. At the moment, they are little more than farmers and shop boys. They are training around Arretium, but they have to share swords and shields on a rota.’

‘So buy more,’ Octavian said.

Pedius blew air out, exasperated.

‘I would if I had the gold to do it! Have you any idea what it costs to make equipment for five thousand men, never mind thirty? The swords must come overland from Spain while Sextus blockades the western coast. A thousand miles, Caesar! Instead of a month at sea, it takes four times as long, but until then, they must train with sticks and mismatched weapons more than a century old. Yet wherever I look for funds, I am told Caesar has been there before me and the chests are all empty.’

Octavian hardly needed another reminder that Sextus Pompey was harassing the coasts. With Cassius and Brutus growing stronger all the time in Greece and Macedonia, he was only too aware of the strangling grip cutting the life’s blood from the country.

‘I have gold coming by land as well, from mines in Spain – and I am working on a solution to the fleet with Sextus Pompey. It is draining the treasury, but I have to be able to protect legions as they cross.’

‘I would prefer it if you’d share more of your planning with me,’ Pedius said. ‘Though the proscriptions have silenced some of your enemies, the main problems persist. We cannot begin a campaign without more legions to keep Rome safe and of course ships to carry them. Until we have those, we are trapped on our own mainland.’

‘All right, Consul. There is no point in labouring over our difficulties. I have been in worse positions, believe me.’

To his surprise, Pedius smiled, chewing at the insides of his lips as he looked up.

‘Yes you have, haven’t you? And you have come through them. The city still looks to you to make everything right, Caesar, as if you can bring cheap grain once more with just a wave of your hand.’ He leaned a little closer, so the ever present lictors could not overhear. ‘But everything you have won can be taken away, if men like Brutus, Cassius and Sextus Pompey can find another ally in Rome.’

Octavian looked sharply at the older man, watching his moving jaw.

‘Are you seeking to warn me? Mark Antony has cast his lot with me, Pedius. He would not be such a fool as to risk an alliance with men like those.’

‘Perhaps,’ Pedius replied. ‘I hope you are right. Perhaps I am just a suspicious old man, but it is sometimes a good idea to be suspicious. You are very young, Caesar. The future is longer for you than it is for