Roma - Saylor Steven (книги полностью .TXT) 📗

The two men, Verginia’s father and her betrothed, at once set out for the Forum, where they told their story to any who would listen. Overnight, word of the incident had spread throughout the city, making Verginia’s plight the talk of Roma. When people learned that Lucius and Verginius were speaking publicly, they flocked to hear them.

The two men presented a pitiful sight. After an anxious, sleepless night of riding, Verginius was haggard and hoarse. Lucius had received a severe beating from the lictors; his head was wrapped with a bloody bandage and his face was badly bruised, with one eye swollen shut. His right shoulder had been dislocated and his arm was in a sling.

“Citizens!” cried Verginius. “Many of you know me. Many more have heard my name. I’ve fought in many battles for Roma. I fought the Aequi under Cincinnatus! If any man has earned your respect as a soldier, it’s me. But what is it that we fight for when we risk our lives in battle? We fight to keep our wives and our children safe! Yet look what’s happened. Even while I was in the field, preparing for battle, the very thing I fear most took place, right here in the Forum—my daughter, a virgin as pure as any Vestal, was taken from her mother and kept overnight against her will. Was it done by some savage invader? No! She was taken by a patrician, a man many of you admire and respect, although you wouldn’t be far wrong if you called him a Sabine invader. Attus Clausus was his grandfather’s name, and I curse the day that Sabine pig was admitted to the Senate!”

Some cheered at this, but others booed. One man shouted, “The girl isn’t even your daughter! She’s another man’s slave!”

“That’s a lie! There is no question whatsoever about my daughter’s identity. She was abducted, in broad daylight, and for one purpose only—to satisfy the lusts of the Decemvir Appius Claudius. Citizens, can you imagine how painful it is for me to even speak of this, the shame I feel, that I should have to beg for your help in such a matter? Are there no fathers among you who can imagine what I fear?”

“This is ludicrous!” shouted another man. “I was there. I saw what happened. For you to suggest that the Decemvir plotted the whole thing—it’s too far-fetched. A man like Appius Claudius has too much to lose to ever behave in such a reckless fashion. Now, it’s possible this shady character Marcus Claudius was perpetrating a scheme—”

“Or maybe Marcus’s story is true,” said the man who had first interrupted Verginius. “Stranger things have happened! Romulus and Remus were princes, but they were raised by a swineherd. What’s to stop a stolen slave girl being raised as a citizen’s daughter?”

“Verginia is my daughter, my own flesh and blood!”

“Maybe so,” said the man. “And maybe Marcus Claudius made an honest mistake. In that case, the Decemvir was absolutely right to take charge of the situation. Instead of tearing your hair and making terrible accusations against Appius Claudius, you should be thanking the man!”

“This is insane!” cried Lucius. “Don’t you see what’s happened? A patrician has taken a plebeian girl against her will, and against the will of her father and her betrothed. Who knows what he’s done to her overnight? It drives me mad to think about it!”

A group of plebeians in the crowd, roused by Lucius’s tears, became so infuriated that they began to strike the men who had argued against Verginius, accusing them of being agents in the pay of Appius Claudius. But, whether paid or not, there were more adherents of the Decemvir in the crowd than the hotheads realized. Once violence erupted, the two sides appeared to be evenly matched. Eventually, lictors emerged from the Decemvirs’ hall and dispersed the crowd.

All day, Verginius and Lucius remained in the Forum, speaking to all who would listen. Again and again crowds gathered and erupted in violence. The unruly mobs were repeatedly dispersed, but came back in greater numbers each time.

At last, late in the afternoon, Appius Claudius emerged from the Decemvirs’ hall, protected by lictors. He looked utterly serene; indeed, he looked quite pleased with himself.

“I am ready to render judgment in the matter of the identity of the female known as Verginia,” he announced. “Erect a tribunal!”

A platform was set up and a chair of state placed upon it. Appius Claudius mounted the tribunal and sat, resplendent in his purple toga. Lucius pushed his way to the front of the crowd. The Decemvir’s smug expression sickened him. Lictors surrounded the tribunal. One of the men who had beaten him the previous day smirked at him. Lucius trembled with rage.

Appius Claudius cleared his throat. “I’ve already heard the arguments put forth by Marcus Claudius, privately, in my chamber. His case is persuasive. He mentioned a certain physical characteristic of the slave girl who was stolen from him. I was able to ascertain with my own eyes the presence of this distinguishing mark, by examining the girl myself.”

“What mark?” cried Lucius.

“There is no need to reveal that information.”

“What mark?” demanded Lucius.

The Decemvir smiled coyly. “I would prefer to be less explicit, but since you insist on knowing, there is a small birthmark on the inside of the girl’s left thigh. The location of the mark is such that no man could possibly have seen it, except a husband, or, as in the case of Marcus Claudius, a citizen who had occasion to intimately examine his slaves.”

Lucius covered his face and wept.

“Nonetheless,” said Appius Claudius, “it remains for me to hear what this fellow Verginius has to say for himself. The charge of abducting another man’s slave and trying to marry her off as a freeborn girl is quite serious.”

“This is a mockery of justice!” cried Lucius. “You stripped her naked! You saw what there was to see, and whatever you saw Marcus Claudius could claim to be the ‘distinguishing mark’ by which he could identify her!”

“Be quiet, young man, unless you desire another beating. I don’t think you would survive it. In fact, I’m certain you would not.”

The smirking lictor suddenly struck Lucius’s bandaged head with his cudgel. Lucius screamed and dropped to his knees.

“Step forward, Verginius!”

Looking like the ghost of himself, Verginius made his way to the tribunal. Beside him stood an elderly woman wearing a simple tunica.

“Who is this woman?” said Appius Claudius.

Verginius’s voice was very hoarse. “Decemvir, this is one of my slaves, the nurse who cared for Verginia when she was a baby. She still resides in my household. As you can see, she is very old, but her memory is sharp. I called her here because…” He hesitated, like a man telling a story who has lost his place. “I brought her because it occurs to me that…that there is a possibility…that perhaps, when my daughter was still very young, she was taken from me and a slave was left in her place. My newborn daughter, too, had a distinguishing mark. If the woman who nursed her could now examine Verginia…as you yourself were able to examine her…” He gritted his teeth. “If you will allow this, Decemvir, then perhaps, after all, I might be persuaded that the girl, whom I thought to be my daughter, is not.”

Appius Claudius shook his head. “I can’t give you custody of the girl for such a purpose. You might abscond with her.”

“I don’t ask for custody, Decemvir. If the nurse and I could simply be allowed to see Verginia, briefly, in a private place…”

The Decemvir stroked his beard and said nothing.

The crowd grew restive. A citizen cried out, “Let him see the girl!”

Others joined him: “Yes, let Verginius see her!”

At last, Appius Claudius nodded. “Very well. You and the nurse may enter my chambers and examine the female. Two of my lictors will escort you.”

Verginius and the woman made their way to the entrance of the building. Lucius rushed to join them, but Verginius shook his head.