Our Eternal Curse I (8 page)

Ever curious Julia wanted to
understand why Rome had such terrible food shortages at the moment; she also
wanted to find out how she could turn her newfound link with Hispania to her advantage. 
With these objectives in mind Julia decided that the best person to talk to was
Gavius her fat and jolly oil merchant.  His information would be a good
foundation because as he himself said many times, “Olive oil was one of the
most important commodities in Rome.”

He had told her that it was not
only used for cooking and as a food but more importantly as a source of light
throughout the Roman world.  Millions of terracotta olive oil lamps burned in
every home and workplace, it was this brightly flaming olive oil which allowed
Rome to function after the sun went down and as Gavius said, “Beating darkness
was one of the things which defined their civilization.”

Julia wondered why Gavius always
seemed to have oil of the best quality when others had none.  She felt sure he
would be happy to tell her how he did it because he always tried to impress her
with favorable prices, little gifts, even entry to the victory-holiday chariot
race, so with this in mind Julia walked into his little shop to begin her
education.

Sure enough, Gavius was keen to
chat and she gradually built a strong rapport with the fat oil merchant.

Always making sure not to stay
too long and buying oil on the Sulla account each time she slowly built his
trust.  He clearly liked her and as Gavius showed off his knowledge of Roman
commerce she would build logically on her previous questions until the day
Julia felt that the timing was right for an important one.

‘
What is causing the shortages in Rome at the
moment?’ Her question was asked seemingly in passing.

“
War and pirates,” he innocently replied.

“
Why has the war caused shortages?”

“
Italy provided much of the food that Rome consumes
and during the war that supply was cut off.”

“
But the war is over now.”

“
Yes that’s true but farming in Italy has been
dramatically reduced because they were all too busy losing a war to worry about
planting crops.”

“
The war has been over for three months.”  Julia was
conscious of the fact that she was beginning to sound a bit too much like a
pushy child.

“
The little food that was left after the destructive
war has had to be shared between the armies overseas, Rome and, last of all,
the Italians themselves.”

Julia grasped his explanation
without hesitation and went on to investigate his other comment by asking: 
“Why are pirates causing shortages?”

“
There are pirates everywhere now.  Since the war
their numbers have grown and very few ships are prepared to sail for Rome.  We
have always had pirates of one kind or another in the great ocean of course but
our war galleys have always been able to keep them under control.  During the
war however the Roman fleet was spread throughout all of the Italian ports and
when the war came the tribes impounded every ship.  Without Romans to cull
their number the pirates increased like rabbits.  Cargo ships now ply the
coastal shipping lanes but only a handful of the sea captains are brave enough
to make it past the pirates on the great ocean.  Until the battle fleet regains
control Rome is virtually cut off from its countries of supply.”

Nodding her understanding Julia
delivered the question that she had been working towards and it was asked in
such a way that Gavius did not immediately realize that he had been drawn into
a soft trap:  “Why when Rome has so many shortages do you always have a
plentiful supply of fine oil?”

Looking up from the small
terracotta jar that he had been preparing for Julia, Gavius stared deeply into
her eyes; he seemed to be searching her expression for the reason behind the
question.  Apparently satisfied that Julia was just a simple house girl and her
question an innocent one he gave his answer, ‘I belong to a cooperative of
traders, we stockpiled before the war as a precaution.’

Julia’s naive expression as she
left his shop was intended to place Gavius at his ease but she was in no way
satisfied with his explanation.  Anyone who lived with oil as she had could
tell the age of a pressing almost to the day.  Julia was born in the middle of
an olive grove, oil virtually flowed in her veins and the oil she had been
purchasing from Gavius throughout the war had not been off the tree for more
than three or four months at the most.  It also had a different texture to any
Italian oil she had ever tasted which led her to conclude that it must be
imported oil and that made a lie of his pirate story.

During her next visit Julia
while looking directly into his eyes for maximum effect asked abruptly, “Why
did you lie to me?”

It was clear that Gavius sensed
a change in her, something that had not been there before, an edge that he
could not place his finger on as he asked in obviously feigned surprise, “Lie
to you?”

“
Yes, lie to me!  You told me that you had
stockpiled your oil before the war, did you not?”

“
Yes I belong to a cooperative I told you——”

Holding up her hand Julia
interrupted sharply, “The oil that you have been supplying the house of Sulla
is much fresher than that!”

Deliberately including Sulla’s
name was intended to grab his attention and she was delighted by his reaction
Gavius was clearly very scared.  Keeping him on the back foot Julia snapped,
“You are an organizer of the black-market!’ Are you aware that the penalty for
dealing in smuggled goods is death?”

She couldn’t believe her luck
the beads of perspiration arrived on his forehead as though her words had
activated a hundred tiny pumps.  He was clearly well aware that the penalty was
death and he could hardly speak through the fear which played across his face.

“
I … I … I don’t understand,” was the best he could
stammer.

“
Let me help you understand,” Julia replied
immediately driving home her advantage.  “The oil that you have been selling to
Sulla is not from a store, it is fresh!  What’s more it comes from another
country!  I have several jars at Sulla’s home and they are all of the same
quality.  The only way for it to have arrived in Rome is by sea and according
to the city import listings no oil has arrived in over a year!”

This was a bluff albeit a well
calculated one, Julia had no access to the city import lists, but Sulla did,
and Gavius couldn’t possibly know that Julia had not seen him in months.

Gavius believed Julia when she
told him about her access to the records.  Why would he question her?  He knew
it to be absolutely true.  He had been purchasing his oil on the black-market
because oil was virtually unavailable any other way.  “What do you intend to
do?” he asked.

With great conviction Julia
stared at Gavius as she said. “I want the name of your contact in the
black-market,” and judging by the look on his face Gavius could not believe his
ears.

Glad to see more sweat appear on
the fat man’s brow Julia went on, “When I tell Sulla what you have been doing
you will be tortured and executed to show the people what happens to
racketeers!”

Gavius had the look of a man who
was stuck between a rock and a hard place.  Julia had turned into a monster
before his eyes and her stare was positively chilling as he replied, “If I did
know people in the black-market I am sure they would slit my throat if I told
anyone who they were.”

“
Then you have a very simple choice to make, die at
the hands of the black-marketeers or Sulla.”

“
That’s not much of a choice,” answered Gavius. “Do
you intend to have them arrested?”

“
No I have a proposition to put to them.”

“
A proposition?” Gavius was quite obviously seeing a
speck of light at the end of a tunnel which had not existed a mere second
before. “If I knew such people what sort of proposition would you have for
them?”

“
Stop denying your involvement or I will have you
arrested!” snapped Julia; then added in a calmer voice, “My proposition is for
their ears only but the opportunity I have for them will make you a hero in
their eyes I can assure you of that.”

“
This truly is a day of surprises,” said Gavius
shaking his large head then finding courage that did not come easily added,
“You may look like a little girl but you are as manipulative as a Senator and
even though you represent certain death I must insist that I know the nature of
your proposal.”

“
Oil, olive oil in great quantity and at the right
price.”

Julia would not be drawn to say
anything more she could see that he was on the hook there was the smell of a
profit in her words and of course the chance of staying alive.

Walking from his shop Julia
crossed the busy street just inches ahead of a bullock cart laden with amphora
and hurried into a small alley.  On the verge of collapsing she leaned against
the wall and dropped her head down between her knees.  Gasping for breath Julia
stayed motionless trying desperately to regain her composure while feelings of
guilt, panic and repulsion pulsed through her body.  Tears provoked by fear
cascaded down her cheeks, that angry woman in the oil shop was not how Julia
wanted to see herself; somewhere during the transition from country girl to
Roman woman she had become a monster.

After almost half an hour of
walking along the Vicus Patricii, one of the most dangerous streets in Rome,
Julia and Gavius turned into a dark lane filled with hungry refugees, mutilated
beggars, abscess-ridden whores, dead bodies and murderers willing to kill them
both for a loaf of bread.  Stepping over and around the pathetic human
obstacles Julia was consumed with a trance-like fear which was broken only when
Gavius cursed under his breath.

“
What did you say?”  Julia was glad to have
something more than terror to occupy her thoughts.

“
I said what in the name of the Gods am I doing in
this place?  Stranger still why am I on my way to introduce a house girl to a
bunch of cutthroats?  I must be truly mad!”

Offering no reply Julia was also
questioning the sanity of the scheme which had seemed so logical when viewed
from the safety of his little oil shop.  The assumption that every part of Rome
was as civilized as her affluent suburb had obviously been a mistake.  The
Subra was the most inhospitable quarter and here she was walking through an
area which epitomized her old Greek teacher’s description of the underworld
with a man whose size made even walking a laborious task.

Gavius had protested
passionately against making this journey and it was becoming very clear to
Julia that his warnings of danger were not exaggerated.  She had selfishly used
his insatiable lust for money and fear of arrest as a fulcrum to overcome his
complete spinelessness and it was that ignorant cajoling which had led them to
the potential disaster they found themselves embroiled in now.

After walking down seemingly
endless rain soaked and rubbish packed alleyways Gavius stopped outside a heavy
wooden door covered with rusting metal studs.  The noise coming from the other
side was constant and made up of strange sounding music, tankard bashing on
tables and coarse men talking and laughing.  Julia had never been to a place
where men drank before and as Gavius reached for the door she had no idea what
to expect.  The danger of the place she had just walked through and the place
she was about to enter taunted her insecurities.  She was out of her depth and
her fragile self-confidence was very aware of the fact.

“
Make sure your hood covers your face.  Women are
not safe in the taverns of the Subra.”  Gavius said it over his shoulder while
pushing on the door.  Staying very close Julia followed him in and shut their
only means of escape behind her.

All noise stopped so abruptly it
played a trick on Julia’s senses.  For a split second it appeared as though
closing the door had sealed the noise outside and this momentary confusion
pushed her even further off balance.

Julia clutched at her hood as
she realized that all in the place sat silently looking at them and her fear
was compounded by the realization that many of them were resting their hands on
the hilts of daggers.  She had no means of understanding how a tavern like this
one harbored violent men who belonged to a clique.  Julia had no idea that all
outsiders were viewed as members of rival clans representing potential danger;
all she could see were angry men looking at her with evil in their hearts and
she took it very personally.

Gavius removed his hood and
quickly scanned the foul smelling room until he found what he was looking for. 
Sitting at the back of the tavern was the man they had come to see and even
Julia could tell that he held the power in the room.  He was a huge man with a
completely bald head, his skin was like old brown leather and a long scar
traveled from just above his left ear along his cheek below the eye then took a
sharp turn down to the corner of his jaw.  His chest was the size of a barrel
but his forearms were the attribute which held Julia’s attention; they were
truly massive so big in fact he appeared to be deformed and the power within
them was palpable.  This man clearly controlled his environment through sheer
violent brawn and as all eyes moved from Gavius to him he gave an almost
nonexistent nod and the men of the tavern returned to their pursuits no longer
interested in the strangers at the doorway.

“
What have you come here for?”  Was all the ox of a
man bothered to say making no effort to hide his obvious disdain for Gavius.
“And who is he?” he nodded at Julia who had sat down with her hood still hiding
her face.

“
This is Julia,” replied Gavius.

“
Julius?” questioned the big man.

“
No Julia,” replied Gavius.

“
Julia what kind of ridiculous name is that for a
man?”

Opening the hood just a little
Julia almost choked on her fear as she looked into his black eyes and forced
herself to smile.  All she could think about was the injury which had caused
his disfigurement; it must have been horrendous when inflicted and the thought
of such a force flustered her totally.  Julia was completely overwhelmed by the
sheer physical presence of the giant before her and was on the verge of tears
when much to her relief his taunting laughter stopped abruptly and his face
turned to that of a love-struck boy.  This reaction was better than she could
have hoped for she was becoming quite accomplished at using the beauty which
Cecilia believed existed.  Julia never ceased to marvel at the response it
evoked in others even a brute like this one was becoming as malleable as a
child merely at the sight of her.

In a far less aggressive tone
the big man said, “I am Bromidus,” then while still looking at Julia he told
her to leave the hood up.  “For as long as your back is to the room you will
not be seen,” he said clearly protective of Julia.

He was thinking of her safety
and that pleased Julia very much.  It was plain to see that he would usually
care for no one other than himself.

He indicated with a flick of his
powerful hand for the men at the other end of his table to leave and without
hesitation they got up from their comfortable seats and began looking for
somewhere else to drink.

With a crooked smile he added,
“Women are not safe here but all in this tavern know not to approach me while I
am conducting business so for as long as you face me you will be unharmed.”

His mood changed completely as
he snapped at Gavius, “What are you bringing innocent girls to this place for,
you fat fool?”

“
She has a proposition for you,” the words sounded
like a whimper.

“
What kind of proposition could she possibly have
that would interest me?”

“
She would not tell me.”

“
This is absurd!  You bring a little girl through
the Subra to meet me with no idea what she has to say.  You are such a fucking
idiot!”

“
Please listen to her, my life depends on it!”

“
What have you told her?”

“
Nothing … You must listen or she will report me to
Sulla.”

Once again the men in the room
became silent because Bromidus was standing over the fat man with a dagger at
his throat.  The scar on his face glowed bright red and lurid profanities
cascaded from his mouth at the top of his voice.  The fat man would certainly
die but no one made a move to help.

“
What did you tell her?”  Bromidus growled the
words.

Julia had never seen or heard
anything like this before and she had absolutely no means of dealing with the
situation.  His movement had been so swift and the danger so palpable that
blind panic had consumed her.  Julia instinctively understood that controlling
her collapsing emotions was the only way to save Gavius and herself, but
fighting back the terror that pulsed through her took every ounce of courage
she could muster.  Raising her hand to catch the attention of Bromidus, she
smiled for a second time.  It was such a disarming smile and so out of context
that the giant hesitated.

“
Please stop,” said Julia in the tone a mother uses
with a slightly mischievous child.  “I am not an agent of Sulla.  I have come
to offer you great riches.  Sulla has nothing to do with anything I am about to
tell you.  Please listen to what I have to say, you will not be disappointed.”

All in the tavern wondered what
the mysterious man in the hood could have said to change things so completely. 
Bromidus removed his blade from the fat man throat and slowly sat down staring
at the person as though hypnotized.  They were amazed to see only red welts
left by his loosening grip on the neck of the fat man who lay sniveling on the
wine-soaked table. They had expected to see a deep and bloody cut; none had
ever seen their chief back down before.

There can be no doubt that Julia
saved the life of Gavius with just a second to spare but since she had been the
one who endangered it in the first place she knew he felt no gratitude.  She
added quickly, “You smuggle olive oil into Rome from other countries.”

Bromidus looked immediately back
at Gavius with a stare that could kill but before he had time to speak or lunge
with his dagger Julia went on.  “Gavius didn’t tell me, I surmised it for
myself.  I made him bring me here under threat of reporting him for smuggling.”

Her bravado was being tested to
the limit; Julia was in completely over her head.  Fooling Marius was as
nothing in comparison with the predicament she found herself in now.  Raising
that smile took the last of her courage and insecurities were now washing over
her in waves.  Julia’s life was in great danger, Bromidus could kill them both
with no consequence and the thought of it jangled at her nerves.  She must
maintain her calm if either of them were to survive this night but she simply
had no skills for coping with the nightmarish world in which she had found
herself.

All three hushed as a
hefty-looking waitress placed fresh beakers of un-watered wine before them and
Julia took her first-ever sip of alcohol simply to create time in which to
think.  The initial feelings of light headedness caused even more panic until
these were replaced by the sudden exhilaration of a warm self-confidence.

Gulping more down Julia felt
both resigned to her fate and more capable of achieving anything because the
wine was strong and it bolstered her confidence while reducing her fear.  Quite
miraculously her ever-present insecurities began to evaporate as Bromidus
brought her attention back from the discovery of fake confidence.

“
What is your proposition?” he asked.

Julia took another deep gulp of
wine. “My guess is you know how to get ships past the pirates on the great
ocean.”  Julia was both surprised and delighted to hear the strength inspired
by wine could be clearly heard in her voice.  “My second guess is that the
pirate blockade is well organized to keep prices inflated in Rome.”

“
You can guess all you want but what’s your
proposition?” Bromidus was clearly annoyed about losing the upper hand to a
mere girl.

Julia felt strong.  “My
proposition is simple.  I will provide you with all of the oil and wine that
you can sell if you can bring it to Rome past the pirates.”

“
Go on.”

“
That is as much as I can tell you now, can it be
done?”

“
Anything can be done.”  Bromidus was skeptical. 
“Where will the oil and wine come from?”  he used an aggressive tone in an attempt
to regain control.

Now completely composed Julia
replied, “Hispania.”

“
Hispania?  Nothing has come out of Hispania for
years the country is in a total mess.”

“
That is about to change, are you interested?”

“
How do we get the oil?” Bromidus was plainly very
interested.

“
I will have a plan for you in due course until then
all I want you to think about are galleys and getting them past the pirates.  I
also want all other traders prevented from delivering anything from Hispania.”

“
What volume of oil are we talking about?”  Bromidus
was by now openly fascinated by the new resolve of the girl.

“
The question of volume has not yet been answered
however it will be significant and we will need at least ten galleys plying the
route regularly.”  Julia drank more wine between sentences to recharge her
confidence and sure enough self-esteem arrived with every swig.

“
Ten galleys that’s a lot of oil?”  Bromidus spoke
respectfully and he was hating himself for it.

“
There will be wine wheat, flower, spices and I
believe citrus fruits as well.”

“
Rome needs oranges.”  Now Bromidus spoke with a
hint of levity.  By the Gods, now he was behaving like a puppy for her.

Noticing his change Julia was
inwardly relieved but without acknowledging his cordiality she continued in a
tone which meant business.  “Gavius will provide you with the details; I will
never return to the Subra and therefore will never see you again.  From now
onwards Gavius will be the link between us.  You will need the galleys within
six months so start preparing now.”  With that Julia rose from her seat clasped
her hood to her face and turned to leave.