Rubicon

by Linda Coleman

  Vitruvius was just as happy with the arrangement. Despite Antony’s warnings to the contrary, he found Melissa to be completely trustworthy. With Rebecca safely tucked away in the house where no harm could come to her, this meant he was free to do as he pleased whenever the mood took him. He had never imagined working for a living could be so easy and so rewarding at the same time.

  Caesar summoned Melissa frequently over the few weeks he remained in the city. Antony would often be at the house by the time she and Vitruvius returned from their shopping trips, but he never once grumbled about being kept waiting. He and Melissa would leave for Caesar’s villa across the Tiber and return after a few hours, leaving Vitruvius and Rebecca alone. Vitruvius would spend every moment of this time with Rebecca, sitting in the courtyard, teaching her Latin. Unlike Melissa, he found her to be a quick learner and it was not long before they could have limited conversations. However, as soon as Melissa returned home, Rebecca would feign ignorance again, pretending not to understand. She said it was to be their secret and Vitruvius was too besotted to betray Rebecca’s trust.

  Vitruvius had noticed that Rebecca was a different person when Melissa was away. She was always cheerful and willing to help him to do things like preparing meals for them, for which he was grateful, since he was also a terrible cook. Melissa’s presence brought out the worst in Rebecca, and the younger woman would deliberately go out of her way to antagonise her fellow captive. It was as if Rebecca was rebelling against everything Melissa stood for, reminding Vitruvius of his relationship with his father, which served to deepen the feelings he had for her. He admired Melissa in so many ways for her ability to remain strong and to cope with her unfortunate situation, but he fell more hopelessly in love with Rebecca each day.

  Caesar left for Spain alone. Melissa convinced him that he would be far too busy to drag two women, supposedly the property of Mark Antony, across the countryside, and he agreed that the women should remain in Rome. Antony was left in charge of maintaining order in the country in his absence, but would still keep a watchful eye over them. If they needed anything on the occasions when Antony was away, Melissa was to ask to see Marcus Lepidus. Lepidus was in charge of order in the city. He was a good man and a loyal and competent soldier. Calm and thoughtful, Lepidus provided Caesar’s administration with a steadying alternative to Antony’s act first, ask questions later approach.

  Antony, meanwhile, went about his business, speaking with the troops stationed in the countryside, listening to their concerns and generally keeping up their morale. Antony’s own morale was kept up by the constant attentions of his mistress, an actress called Cytheris who accompanied him everywhere he went. As Caesar’s representative, Antony carried out the duties he had been assigned efficiently, if in a most unorthodox fashion.

  He had been given one other task to perform beyond maintaining order, which was to persuade Cicero to stay in Italy. Marcus Tullius Cicero was a great orator and former consul of Rome. He was not a member of the Roman elite and had fought tooth and nail for everything he had achieved. So far, Cicero had remained neutral in the conflict between Caesar and Pompey, having retreated to his villa outside Rome before the fighting began. Many of the senators who had not yet decided which side to take were waiting to see what Cicero intended to do.

  Antony had no love for the man he believed had murdered his step-father, but he did his utmost to persuade Cicero to come over to Caesar’s side. He wrote countless letters that he discussed with Melissa, utilising both flattery and veiled threats to achieve his objective. Melissa felt privileged to be taken into his confidence in such a way, and never found a reason to criticise any of the beautifully constructed prose. The letters only helped to cement the view in Melissa’s mind that Antony had been misjudged by so many people because of the wicked lies spread about him by his successors. He was a thoughtful and eloquent man, who was proving to be so much more than she had ever hoped he could be. Against her better judgement, Melissa was beginning to have feelings for the man she was indebted to.

  In showing the letters to Melissa, Antony had found an excuse to spend time with her. Her intelligence and interest in the complex Roman political system still fascinated him. Having a woman to talk to as a complete equal was a new experience. He already had a wife to give him legitimate children, as well as a great deal of aggravation, and a beautiful mistress to entertain him sexually. But to find a woman who could stimulate his mind as well as his loins was a rarity that he had only ever found once before: unfortunately, she had married his friend Curio and was now beyond his reach.

  Despite his intentions to get to know Melissa purely to be able to undermine her, Antony found he enjoyed her company and even longed for it. If only he could develop a closer relationship with this foreigner, he felt his life would be complete and he would have no need for either of the other women who currently shared it. He knew this was no more than an idle fantasy, as convincing Melissa to give up the life and benefits she had as Caesar’s seer in return for a life as his consort would be impossible.

  It was such a pity when Cicero finally decided to join Pompey. Even though he was a friend to Caesar, Cicero owed a great deal to Pompey, who had also risen from the lower classes and had given his support to Cicero’s bid for the consulship many years before. Eventually, the pressures of loyalty made Cicero’s decision for him. Antony took it badly and blamed himself for his failure, but it had nothing to do with his inability to express himself or argue his case. It was simply never meant to be. Melissa tried to console him with her words, but words were not what Antony wanted and his visits became less frequent. For him, the temptation of showing Melissa his true feelings for her was becoming too great and he needed to distance himself before making a mistake he would later regret.

  Chapter 13

  Life continued reasonably happily in the little household until the heat of the Roman summer became unbearable. Antony had not visited since Cicero’s departure for Greece. Melissa and Vitruvius continued to go out early in the mornings, but came back as soon as they had shopped for necessities to avoid being out in the blistering sun.

  The heat seemed to affect Rebecca more than the others. She took to staying in bed for most of the morning and was unable to keep anything down if she tried to eat. All she could drink was warmed water with a little ginger root that Vitruvius gave her, a recipe his mother used to give him as a child when he felt nauseous. In the evenings when it became cooler she would eat like a horse, desperate to make up for her earlier self-imposed starvation. It was a pattern that worried Vitruvius and it was not long before he began to leave the house alone, so that Melissa could stay with Rebecca in case her health deteriorated further.

  One morning, after Vitruvius had gone out, Rebecca surprised Melissa by getting up early. She seemed to be in better sorts, wandering into the dining room in the same casual way as she had before her illness. She sat on the couch opposite Melissa, who was reading one of the scrolls she had purchased for Vitruvius.

  “Is Vitruvius out?” Rebecca asked quickly before Melissa had a chance to speak.

  “Yes, he’s gone to get more ginger for you and will collect water from the public fountain on the way back. You seem to be feeling better this morning.” Melissa was suspicious. Rebecca seemed nervous, edgy even. She had failed to make eye contact and Melissa knew she was being evasive.

  “Good,” Rebecca said and looked at Melissa for the first time. “I have to tell you something and I don’t want him to hear it just yet, although he’ll find out soon enough. I’m pregnant. I’m expecting Antony’s child.”

  “What?” Melissa said. She sat up, allowing Vitruvius’ treasured scroll to fall to the floor. “How far gone are you? Did he rape you?”

  “Nearly three months, and no he didn’t rape me. I seduced him,” Rebecca said smugly.

  “When did you get the chance to do that? You can’t leave here without Vitruvius and I know he wouldn’t be party to this, not that you ever go out anyway. Wh
en exactly have you had sex with Antony?” Melissa was totally astounded by what she was hearing.

  “That town where you made me sit by the dying guy. That was the first time and I admit he was a bit out of it. I’d gone to check on his wound, the way you’d been doing. He’d thrown all the covers off and I was going to put them back, but he was just lying there on his bed, naked, and I couldn’t resist. I think he thought it was you to start with, but he soon realised his mistake. We did it whenever we could after that.” Rebecca spoke as if it was an everyday occurrence.

  “What? How the hell did you do that without my knowing? I was sleeping right next to you.” Melissa knew she was not the lightest sleeper, but even so, she should have heard something.

  “I wasn’t putting so much water in your wine so that you would sleep heavier than usual. Anyway, we weren’t always in our tent.”

  “Then where were you?” Melissa was dreading the next answer. She feared she already knew what Rebecca would say.

  “In Curio’s. You were right about them being close. Antony would loosen the pegs by his bed. I could slip under the canvas while he went out the front so Vitruvius didn’t suspect. I didn’t want to do it to begin with and I cried the first time that Curio touched me, but Antony sat and held my hands all the time he was with me.”

  “Held you down more like,” Melissa interjected in disgust.

  Rebecca poked her tongue out childishly before ploughing on, ignoring Melissa. “The sex with Antony afterwards was amazing. It seemed to turn him on to watch his friend screw me first, so I did it to please him.”

  “Oh this just gets better and better. I told you this would happen and you did it anyway. You stupid, stupid girl!” Melissa was appalled at the lack of judgement Rebecca had shown. This news also left Melissa with a new question to be answered. “If you’ve been with both of them, how can you be so sure it’s Antony’s?”

  “I had a period when we got here. I haven’t seen Curio since then because he went back to his wife, so it has to be Antony’s.”

  “And when exactly have you seen Antony?” This had to be a joke. Rebecca never left the house. When Antony came by, they were all present. There had been no opportunity for them to be together. Melissa began to wonder if Rebecca was making it all up.

  “He comes when he knows you and Vitruvius are out. That’s the real reason we couldn’t have a slave to cook and clean for us. It was the best way he could think of to get you out of the house so we could be alone. Have you never wondered why he’s always here when you come back from the town, but never cares that you’ve kept him waiting?” Rebecca laughed callously. “And you think I’m dim! Well, who’s the dim one now?”

  Melissa sat back on the couch in shock. Now Rebecca’s behaviour made perfect sense. It was not that she was frightened to leave the house − she was frightened of missing Antony. Every day that Vitruvius took Melissa to the markets, Rebecca was waiting at home just in case her lover dropped by. And yet still something failed to add up. Rebecca had too much detail for the few words of Latin Melissa had taught her. “Hang on. How do you know all this? Your Latin isn’t that good.”

  “I know more than you think I do. Vitruvius has been teaching me when you’re not here in the afternoons and you’d be surprised at how good Antony is at explaining things so I understand. He’s very clever, you know. I’ve even thought about teaching him some English, especially now he’s going to be a daddy.” Rebecca lay back on the other couch as she spoke, dreaming of a perfect future with Antony.

  “Absolutely not! You teach him one word and I will throw you out of here myself. The more Antony knows about us, the more dangerous he becomes, and you have no concept of when to speak and when to shut up. Don’t you realise what you’ve done has already altered history? Who knows what we will go back to, that is, if we can ever go back. Don’t make it any worse, please, I’m begging you.” Melissa was distraught. She had risen from the couch and was pacing up and down. She put her hand up to her forehead as she tried to think. She felt suddenly tired and wanted to run away and hide. All her efforts to protect the future they knew had been for nothing because of Rebecca’s stupidity.

  Rebecca was speaking again. “I haven’t had the chance to tell him yet because he’s gone off to see some woman who is ill. I think he said she has syphilis. He sees her a lot because he cares about her.”

  Melissa looked confused. Syphilis was a term unknown to the Romans as far as she knew, so Rebecca must have misunderstood. Once she had wracked her brain for the answer, Melissa’s initial confusion quickly subsided as the truth dawned. She burst into laughter. “It’s Cytheris, not syphilis, you fool. Her name is Cytheris and she’s not sick. She’s another of Antony’s many lovers. You didn’t think you were the only one did you? You do know he has a wife as well? Her name is Antonia and they have a daughter.” She sat down on the couch again and took control of her laughter.

  Rebecca looked appalled, but Melissa had no idea whether it was because of her reaction to Rebecca’s news, or whether the truth was finally beginning to dawn on the girl. Melissa went on calmly, hoping to get the point across. “Morals here may seem loose to you, Rebecca, but not in the way you hope. It is perfectly acceptable for a Roman male to have many mistresses, but his recognised children will all be from his Roman wife. When you tell him you’re in the club, he’ll drop you like a stone. Antony will never acknowledge that your child has anything to do with him and I can’t ask Caesar for help because he won’t give a damn about the situation, beyond the inconvenience it will cause him. Even if Caesar was prepared to intercede, the fact that you slept with Curio even once just makes it easier for Antony to deny responsibility and paint you as the camp bike!”

  Rebecca stood up suddenly. “He will not do any of that. He loves me! I know it! You are only saying this because you’re jealous that he chose me this time, not you.” She was screaming and stamping her foot like a petulant child. It only helped to reaffirm for Melissa just how immature she was. Of all the people she could have been stuck in the past with, Rebecca was the worst.

  Melissa stared at Rebecca as the depth of the girl’s hatred finally hit her. Rebecca wanted Mark Antony to love her, because Anthony Marcus did not. It was her way to get back at Melissa, by fostering a relationship with a man so similar to the one they both loved. Rebecca wanted to hurt Melissa by stealing this Antony away. The poor girl did not understand what a fool she had been.

  At that moment Vitruvius stormed in, looking breathless. “What are you shouting about? I could hear you in the street,” he gasped before calming himself and catching his breath. “Whatever the problem is, you will have to deal with it later. Antony has returned from his travels and is on his way here now. I had to run to beat him to the door.”

  Rebecca looked triumphant. “See. He has come to see me, not you. You’d normally be out at this time and we’d be alone. He won’t be pleased to find you in, but that doesn’t matter. Now I can tell him our news, and you’ll have to eat your words.”

  Vitruvius looked like he was about to say something else, when a knock at the door interrupted him. He shook his head and mumbled to himself as he left to open it.

  Rebecca was glaring at Melissa. “At least give us some privacy,” she said with utter contempt, but Melissa had no intention of leaving and was about to say so when Vitruvius re-entered and announced their guest.

  When Antony entered, the expression on his face indicated his surprise at the presence of both Vitruvius and Melissa, but he made no comment about it. He was caught off-guard and began with a simple greeting to give him time to think of a reason to be there so early in the day.

  “I have returned from my travels, Lissa, and have much to discuss with you. I trust I find you well?”

  Melissa rose from the couch politely. “I hope your journey was fruitful. You do indeed find us all very well this morning and most pleased that you have returned to us safely, Rebecca especially. She has happy news that she wishes to share.” Me
lissa was full of smiles as she spoke. She turned to Rebecca who was shaking her head, not wanting to tell Antony in this way. “Go on,” Melissa insisted in English. “Let’s see who’s right − you or me.”

  Rebecca took a deep breath as she moved closer to Antony and began to explain in her broken Latin. “We have baby.”

  Antony and Vitruvius both looked confused and looked to Melissa for an explanation, but she gave them nothing except another empty smile.

  Rebecca tried again, reciting the words in the same way a child learns its verbs. “I have baby, you have baby, we have baby.” She reached out and took Antony’s hand placing it on her belly, smiling at him as she did so.

  Vitruvius gasped and sat down on the nearest chair. The shock on his face said it all. He understood what Rebecca meant, but he could not process the emotions her revelation was generating within him. He knew she had been attracted to Antony at one point, but had thought it nothing more than a passing fancy. Antony had never shown any particular interest in Rebecca and Vitruvius had always thought his commander’s attentions were firmly focused on Melissa. His thoughts turned to what Caesar would do when he learnt that he had proved incompetent, unable to prevent the defilement of one of the women in his charge. He had never failed in his duty before, but with Rebecca having Antony’s child, Vitruvius’ entire world was unravelling.