“I believe he has ... in one way or another. And I think he has given you a means of freeing yourself.” He paused. “You’re sure no one can hear us?”
She nodded. But he went to the door anyway, listened with his ear to the panel, and tried the bolt.
“This is dangerous, Claudia,” he said, as he sat down again. “You mustn’t breathe a word of it to anybody, not even Tullia. It could get us both killed.” He lowered his voice. “That message I had yesterday. It brought startling news. I purposely showed it to Pilate, but of course he had no idea what it was saying. But I did. That ‘matter of utmost concern’ was the Prefect’s way of notifying me that now he’s finally ready to proceed with his scheme and wants me in Rome when he makes his move.”
“But this new scheme? What...?”
“It’s not a new one, Claudia. He gave me a broad hint concerning his plans the last time I was home; he said that when I got a message so worded it would mean he was ready to proceed with the final step.” He leaned close to her. “Claudia, Sejanus is plotting to have the Emperor assassinated; he is bidding for the throne.”
“But surely”—her face had paled—“he doesn’t mean for you to ...”
“Oh, no, not that. Some palace servant out at Capri will probably attend to that. But he wants me in Rome when it’s done so that I can help rally his supporters at the crucial moment and make him Emperor.”
“But even if Sejanus should become Emperor, how would that help us?”
“I would be much closer to him than I am now, one of his advisors,” the centurion replied. “I’m sure I could poison him against Pilate, and justly. This case of the Galilean will be just one more example of his unfitness to administer Roman government. His failure to conciliate, his forever keeping Judaea in a stir....”
“But, Longinus”—her face revealed sudden apprehension, fear—“what if the Emperor’s supporters should discover the Prefect’s plotting and kill him before he could have the Emperor killed?”