Marius' Mules II: The Belgae by S.J.A. Turney Read Free Book Online Page A

fashion of
greeting without letting his gaze settle on the men. Fronto eyed
his commander as Labienus stood aside and vacated the chair and the
general approached the desk. Caesar looked older somehow. His hair
had receded a little further and thinned noticeably and his face
looked slightly pale and drawn, as though sleep, never easy for the
great man, was now coming rarely and sporadically. Politics was
clearly causing the general a great deal more grief that Fronto had
realised.
    Without a word
of greeting to any of them, Caesar dropped his helmet
unceremoniously on the desk and appeared to pay attention to the
miscellaneous papers on the table, leaning over them with his palms
flat down.
    “ Is Crassus gone?”
    Labienus
straightened.
    “ The instructions have been delivered, Caesar, but only just.
Pedius only arrived today with the new legions. I expect Crassus is
making preparations to get underway. With respect, general, we
weren’t expecting you yet?”
    Caesar
grunted.
    “ So we have seven legions at our disposal here and Crassus will
be leaving today. That’s acceptable. What of Paetus?”
    There was a
pause.
    “ Come on!” barked the general.
    Balbus cleared
his throat.
    “ The prefect was detained and questioned, Caesar.”
    “ And?”
    Balventius
took a deep breath.
    “ And it is clear to me that he knows nothing of any conspiracy,
Caesar. He is…”
    The general’s
arm shot out accusingly in the direction of the primus pilus of the
eighth.
    “ Tell me you have him under arrest.”
    “ With respect general, I allowed him to retain his position
while we…”
    He was
interrupted as Caesar swept his arm across the table, wiping his
helmet onto the floor where it landed with a dull thud and rolled
slowly back and forth.
    “ His head, or your head, centurion. It’s your
choice!”
    Fronto cleared
his throat and deliberately stepped forward between Balventius and
the general’s accusing finger.
    “ Caesar, he’s right. I agreed with him; we all did.”
    The general
fell quiet for a moment and his head dropped forward so that he
faced the surface of the table. Fronto held his breath; this could
go either way. He swallowed nervously as the general looked up. The
remaining colour had drained from his face and his eyes burned with
cold fury.
    “ Get out!”
    Crispus
reached the door first and almost threw himself out of it, closely
followed by Balbus and then Labienus. Pedius and Balventius
followed quickly, avoiding looking back at the furious commander.
Fronto, however, remained perfectly still, his arms folded. From
the doorway Balbus beckoned to him. Fronto shook his head and
motioned for his peer to close the door. As Balbus, bearing a
worried frown, pulled the portal to with a click, Fronto cleared
his throat. Caesar had not taken his eyes off the legate before
him; moreover, he’d not even blinked.
    “ Caesar, you need to hear me out.”
    The general
glared at him.
    “ You push me too far, Fronto. I am the commander of this army;
the governor. We’re a long way from Rome and a long way from the
senate. Out here, I am imperator. I gave out orders and they’ve
been disobeyed by the entire cadre of my senior staff.”
    Fronto
shrugged and held the general’s stare, calmly.
    “ That’s not what’s bothering you, Caesar. You know we always
act in your best interest. What’s happened?”
    Caesar’s glare
remained but, as Fronto watched, the heat slowly went out of
it.
    “ The senate. A group of bickering old women, the lot of them.
None of them will give me any room to manoeuvre. Clodius spins in
the centre like an enraged bear; ripping at anyone he can get his
paws near, seemingly at random. He’s trying to undo almost anything
I try, but it’s not just me; he rakes at all the others. Then
there’s Cato, who seems to want nothing more than to plunge a knife
into my back. Even Cicero! A few years ago I invited the man to
partner with Pompey, Crassus and myself, even though