Antony returned in the autumn. Melissa had been preparing for his return for months, having taken to writing the events of history as she knew it down on scrolls and hiding them in her room. She did this because caring for Antonius was taking up so much of her time that she found she was forgetting things from a mixture of sleep deprivation and simple exhaustion. She could hardly afford to slip up now and give Antony a reason to doubt her.
However, Antony did not visit. He had been intercepted at Brundisium by Cytheris and an entourage of followers intent on welcoming the glorious hero home. The actress had been keeping him occupied ever since. They had moved into Pompey’s former home and Antony was spending little time with his own wife, who had begun an affair with Cicero’s son-in-law, Dolabella. The gossip in the Forum reached new levels, and each day Vitruvius would bring home some new tale of Antony’s appalling behaviour. The day he returned with a tale of Antony pausing a debate in the Senate to vomit and then continuing the discussion as if nothing had happened, was the day Melissa begged him to tell her no more. The old Antony was back, and the secretive, genuine man she had glimpsed was once again hidden well beneath the surface.
Melissa was still fighting with her conscience over whether to tell Antony of the disasters that were about to befall him, but her requests for an audience were continually denied. She was not the only person he refused to see. Cicero had returned to Italy looking to be pardoned for his abandonment of Caesar, but Antony would not allow him to enter the city. Melissa knew this was as much out of spite as anything else. He and Cicero may not have liked each other, but having the elder statesman onside would prove the more prudent approach, if only she could get to tell Antony so.
If his outlandish behaviour was not enough to anger Caesar, then his mishandling of the public soon would be. After Pharsalus, the Ninth and Tenth legions had come back to Italy, but had nothing to keep them occupied. They waited for their discharge orders, but none came. Eventually, the men had had enough and they rebelled. Word was sent to Antony and he decided to quell the rebellion by leaving the city to speak to the men directly. Melissa knew that, for the first time in his life, he would fail in his attempt to resolve a dispute in the ranks, which would be a new and uncomfortable experience for him.
More important than this, was her desire to warn him of what would be waiting for him upon his return to Rome. Most of the population were in debt and prices of the most basic items were becoming higher every day. Whilst Antony was away, his wife’s lover, Dolabella, intended to pass a law abolishing all debt. The Senate were not prepared to allow Dolabella to stir up more trouble and so they sent an urgent request to Antony to return and resolve the matter, giving him complete authority to take whatever action was necessary to do so. Melissa knew Antony would return with the troops that had not mutinied and attempt to prevent any rioting before it started, but she also knew it would go horribly wrong and many innocent people would die needlessly. The Senate would then deny any involvement, leaving Antony to take full responsibility for the deaths upon Caesar’s return.
If Antony was not cautious, history would repeat itself and he would experience a spectacular fall from grace. She sent Vitruvius to deliver a scroll to Antony, but the scroll and its courier both returned that night. Melissa sent him to try again the next day, which he did grudgingly, with the same result. Melissa pleaded with Vitruvius to try one more time on the morning Antony was due to leave to resolve the problems with the legions, but he flatly refused. “Let him rot in his own stupidity,” was all he would say.
Melissa persisted in her attempts to send the scroll in the hope of intercepting Antony before he entered the city on his return. She paid the young boy who worked in the bakery to deliver it, but this proved to be just as pointless. The scroll was returned within the hour by one of Antony’s men, along with a note of his own. The letter told her in no uncertain terms where she could stick her advice, including making some less than pleasant suggestions of how she should go about it.
Melissa finally agreed that Vitruvius was right. She had been willing to risk changing history to warn Antony of the mistakes he was about to make, but he would not listen. She could no longer be bothered wasting time on him: Antony was on his own.
Antonius meanwhile was approaching nine months old and crawling, as his father returned from Pharsalus. He was a happy child, who hardly seemed to sleep, but he hated being left alone and would cry if he was not receiving attention from at least one member of the household.
Melissa was amused by Vitruvius’ reactions to the baby. When he first took responsibility for Antony’s son he was unsure of himself. He was a soldier and not used to being as gentle as he needed to be with such a tiny baby. Watching him try to put a nappy on the wriggling infant was one of the funniest things that Melissa had ever witnessed. First he tried to explain what he was going to do and instructed Antonius to lie still, which seemed briefly to work as the baby responded to the sound of his voice. As soon as he touched the child, Antonius began to squirm and Vitruvius became increasingly impatient. He eventually held him down with one arm and removed the soiled material with the other. Unfortunately, Vitruvius was applying a little too much pressure to the baby’s stomach and Antonius responded by releasing his bladder, which he did before the new nappy was safely in place, leaving Vitruvius in need of a bath, and a change of clothing. The veteran of the Thirteenth legion had been defeated by a few pounds of chubby infant. He said he would rather have faced a hundred angry Gauls than ever have to deal with the contents of a soiled nappy again. Despite these initial difficulties, Vitruvius quickly rose to the challenge of caring for his newest charge and soon made any excuse to be the one to deal with the baby, no matter what time of day or night it was.
Antonius took his first steps just before his birthday. Keeping up with him was becoming harder every day. Melissa knew that he would be as unstoppable as a tiny whirlwind blowing through their home, and she was right. He was into everything he could be, seemingly gaining more energy with every pound in weight he put on.
Life now revolved around the little boy who grew more like his father day by day. Anyone seeing him and Antony together would instantly see the resemblance. Antonius had the same colouring and attitude. Every attempt that either Melissa or Vitruvius made to temper his enthusiasm failed dismally. He was becoming as precocious as his father was arrogant.
Melissa spoke to him in English when Vitruvius was out, so it was no surprise to her when his first word was an emphatic “No!” It did not go down too well with the proud soldier, who had no idea what the boy was learning. He demanded that Melissa stop filling the child’s head with nonsense. She refused and the pair did not speak for days. Eventually a compromise was reached. Vitruvius agreed to let Melissa teach Antonius her language provided she also taught him what she was saying to the child. Of course, Melissa knew that this would only work when the soldier was in the room, but she was not going to point out the rather obvious flaw in Vitruvius’ plan when it was to her advantage. Whilst she understood teaching Antonius a language that would never be used in his lifetime was pointless, it did give her something special that only they would share.
Chapter 17
Caesar returned from Egypt in the autumn of 47 B.C., fully informed of the goings-on in Rome. He met Cicero at Brundisium and Caesar welcomed him with open arms, explaining the senator’s prolonged exile from Rome as a mere misunderstanding. On his return to the city in October, Caesar took Dolabella’s side over the dispute with Antony and made Lepidus co-consul for the following year. Antony was left with no office, no position in the army and no prospects of obtaining either.
Melissa warned Vitruvius to expect a visit from a displeased Antony at some point, as she suspected he would choose to blame her for his misfortune. Vitruvius simply laughed, suggesting he refuse Antony entry, but Melissa said no. She wanted to see Antony and if he was spoiling for a fight, she was more than willing to oblige. This amused Vitruvius further. He liked the
idea of Melissa getting the better of Antony yet again. It gave him a warm feeling deep inside.
Antony arrived the morning after his disgrace was made public. He had assumed Caesar would have given orders to keep him away from Melissa and so forced his way inside unnecessarily. He stormed into the dining room, with Vitruvius following hard on his heels, and straight over to Melissa who was sitting on the couch telling Antonius a story. Antony glowered over her as she pulled the little boy towards her, burying his head against her side to protect him as best she could from the onslaught she knew was coming.
“Caesar has disowned me. He has stripped me of all responsibility and has cast me adrift. He says I need a lesson in humility, but I hear your words in his. I suppose this was your doing?” Antony demanded with more than a hint of menace in his voice.
Melissa raised her hand to Vitruvius, signalling for him to leave. He backed off, but stayed at the door. He had no intention of leaving them alone with Antony in such a black mood.
She spoke calmly. “No, Antony, this is all your own doing. I asked to see you to give you counsel, but you refused me. I wrote to you countless times, but the scrolls were all returned with your less than courteous notes. You were quite clear that you neither sought nor required my help.”
Antony was still annoyed with Melissa, but now he was also annoyed with himself. He knew she was right. He had been angry with Melissa when he first left to join Caesar in Greece because she had tried to embarrass him over the baby. As a result, he had ignored the scroll she had given him, but as the weeks of failure to break the blockade of Brundisium rolled by he found the temptation too great. He eventually opened it and used its information to his advantage in the weeks that followed. Every event unrolled as Melissa described, but as time marched swiftly by, Antony became less grateful and more disgruntled at her predictions. They made him feel like a puppet whose strings were being pulled by an unseen hand according to Melissa’s direction and he did not like it. It meant she could take credit for his actions and this made the victories seem shallow and meaningless. He had been doing well enough before she had turned up, or so he thought, and so chose to ignore her upon his return. He knew it was his own fault that things had gone so horribly wrong. If he had not allowed his pride and pig-headedness to get in the way, he could have made a success of Caesar’s absence with Melissa’s assistance, instead of a dismal failure without it.
He backed over to the other couch and sat down in defeat. For a few minutes, he stared at the little boy clinging to Melissa. Antonius had not cried when he had shouted at her, and now the boy stared at his father inquisitively. Antony could not fail to notice his own features reflected in the face of his child and his heart lifted. For a brief moment, his desire to walk back over and hold the boy was strong, but his pride would not allow it.
“How do I repair the damage I have done?” he asked Melissa sullenly, shaking all thoughts of claiming his son from his mind.
As Melissa looked at him, a wry smile crept across her face. Now he actually wanted her help, she was tempted not to give it. As she smiled, his face became a picture of remorse. She wondered how long it would take him to say please. She sat back and waited. They were back on familiar territory, sparring with each other, with neither one wanting to admit defeat. The question once again was who would blink first.
Antony shifted awkwardly on the couch and slouched backwards. “Well, do you intend to give counsel or simply to make a fool of me?” he said.
Melissa bit her lip. She did not mean to gloat over him, but she could not resist the temptation. “I will give you counsel when you give me the respect I deserve. If you will not, Vitruvius has permission to eject you.”
Antony sat upright. “You would not dare. I will have you both flogged to within an inch of your lives if you try it.”
Vitruvius stepped forwards. He was more than willing to put Antony out on the street whether it led to a flogging or not, but Melissa raised her hand once more and he reluctantly backed off.
“Caesar has given me permission to treat you in the same way as you treat me, and he will not intercede unless in my defence. You no longer have any authority here, unless I allow you to have it.” Melissa was lying. Caesar had not discussed Antony with her in any way, but Antony had no way of knowing it. For the first time, she had the upper hand and she was intent on enjoying every minute that it lasted.
“What do you want me to do?” Antony was so desperate to regain Caesar’s favour he capitulated immediately.
“An apology is all I ask. I want to hear you say you are sorry for ever having doubted me. I want to hear you admit to being wrong in ignoring my advice and, more than anything, I want you to beg my forgiveness for trying to kill me. For this I will give you the only advice I can. Become a respectable member of society. Ditch that actress slut you have installed in Pompey’s home and clear your debts. Divorce your wife. Find a woman who will not cheat on you for the first rake who pays her more attention than you do, and marry her instead. Then do your penance in a quiet, humble manner and Caesar will forgive you in time, provided you have the patience and wit to wait.”
Antony sat for a moment not moving. He was completely embarrassed. He hated having to concede any point to Melissa and had no intention of apologising for anything. He stood up suddenly and stormed out of the room without another word.
Melissa looked at Vitruvius who was grinning wildly. He had finally watched Antony being put in firmly his place, and by a woman. He loved the feeling of sheer joy it gave him.
“He will be back, I dare say,” he said emphatically, knowing Antony could not let this rebuff go.
“One day, but we may have to wait a while,” Melissa replied laughing.
The next day a small chest arrived. Inside was a beautiful necklace. Thirteen oblong drops of lapis lazuli, each separated by a single pearl, hung from a string of elongated lapis beads. It was Egyptian in style, with the drops becoming smaller as they radiated from the centre. A pair of earrings set with the same two stones, and five silver bangles were also in the chest. Underneath it all was a scrap of papyrus. It said:
This is an Akila necklace. It represents intelligence or clarity of mind. The lapis is for luck and the pearls for purity. All of these qualities you have in abundance. I should learn from your wisdom and will endeavour to treat you with the same respect you show me − until your luck runs out. M.A.
Melissa was stunned. All she had asked for was one solitary word uttered in earnest, and instead she had been sent this beautiful gift that must have cost a considerable amount. The apology would have meant more had it been spoken, but Melissa knew Antony’s pride would never allow him to give her the satisfaction of hearing it. This was the best apology she could ever expect to receive, even if it was tinged with the slightest hint of a threat.
Chapter 18
Melissa was summoned to see Caesar a few days later and the planning for his African campaign began in earnest. The remainder of the Pompeian forces now looked to Scipio and Cato for leadership. They had joined forces with King Juba of Numidia − the same man who had been responsible for the massacre of Curio and his army. Caesar needed to act decisively to crush the remaining opposition, but did not intend to fall into the same trap as Curio. Juba was likely to use the same battle tactics, so Melissa and Caesar spent hours discussing his options.
Caesar had changed since his return from Egypt. Whereas he had previously been willing to take advice from Melissa without question, he now queried every suggestion she made. She had once enjoyed her conversations with Caesar, but now every session was fraught with difficulties. She had never yet steered him in a wrong direction, but he seemed suspicious of her. She could only guess at the reason and suspected that on some level Caesar laid the blame for Antony’s failures at her feet. She thought that, if he only knew how hard she had tried to intercede, it would improve their relationship, but Caesar would not even allow her to mention Antony’s name.
The only duty it
appeared Antony still had was to administer Melissa’s living allowance, which had reduced by half since Rebecca’s death. It appeared Caesar’s generosity only extended to Melissa, and he would not pay for one of Antony’s mistakes. Every quarter Vitruvius would go to collect the money, but Antony never asked after Melissa, or his son, nor did he make any further attempts to visit.
Life continued peacefully for Melissa and her adopted family. Winter rolled slowly into the spring of 46 and then spring began its relentless march into summer.
Renna stayed on to work in the kitchen after Antonius was weaned. She liked the generosity of her new mistress and enjoyed being given more freedom and responsibility than she had experienced in Antony’s household.
Antonius continued to grow and became more of a handful every day. He was always getting into some mischief or other, either driving Renna mad in the kitchen, or begging Vitruvius to play with him.
Vitruvius himself became more relaxed. Caesar was out of the country and, with a visit from Antony being unlikely, he allowed Melissa to come and go as she pleased, so long as he could do the same.
Only Melissa felt uneasy at the respite they had been granted. She did not need to see the future to know that this easy life could not continue indefinitely. She knew a storm was coming and it would break over their household like a great wave crashing against the shore. The only question was how long it would take to hit.
September brought excitement for all of Rome. Caesar had been granted four triumphs to celebrate his victories in Gaul, Asia, Egypt and Africa. Each celebration would run one after the other. There would be processions, feasts and entertainments to eclipse any that had gone before. Each morning, Melissa and her ‘family’ would leave the house early to get a good vantage point to watch the parades, and in the evening they would return home completely exhausted. Antonius would recount his favourite moments over and over until he fell asleep, only to begin again the next morning, until there was something new to fill his head. His favourite day of all was when Vitruvius took him to see the naval battle in the big lake that had been specially dug beside the Tiber. He came home asking for a boat that would be big enough to carry an elephant, which had been his favourite animal from the day before. Vitruvius built a model boat in the courtyard for Antonius to play with, while Renna made him an elephant out of some of his old clothes that no longer fitted and stuffed it with dried grain. Melissa grumbled that he was being spoilt by both of them!
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