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by Linda Coleman

  The sun had risen quite high before Vitruvius finally dragged himself out of bed. Once he had prided himself on his drive to get up and make the most of each new day, but lately there did not seem any point. He had lost his faith in Melissa now that she had become Antony’s latest plaything. She would no doubt have the consul punish him for his insolent behaviour one day, by removing Antonius from his care. It was only a question of when it would happen and until then, every day with the child he regarded as his son was precious. He would have left and taken Antonius with him, but he believed there was nowhere he could go where Antony could not hunt him down like a dog in order to retrieve the child.

  The house seemed so quiet to him today, but he hardly gave it a second thought as he dressed. He staggered out into the hall to find Melissa dozing on the floor beside the door. He wrongly assumed Antony must have kicked her out for refusing one of his more absurd requests. He would have to wake her to get past, but he would fetch Antonius first. She would cause less of a scene in front of him.

  He went into the boy’s room and stopped short. Antonius was gone. He knew instantly that he was not in the house, as it was far too quiet. Desperation filled him. Antony must have left and taken the boy with him. He had not even had the chance to say goodbye. The feeling of desperation slowly changed to sheer rage and he stormed into the hall. He grabbed Melissa roughly, pulling her to her feet as he began shaking her. “Where is Antonius? Where has that bastard taken him?” He screamed the words at her as his anger began to turn to panic again.

  “H-he-e is fi-ine” Melissa struggled to get the words out between the shakes. Realising he could not understand a word she was saying, Vitruvius stopped his shaking to let her speak clearly. She continued, “Antony left early this morning, alone. Antonius has gone to the market with Renna. They will all return by tonight, but we must talk before they do.”

  Vitruvius let go of Melissa and backed away from her. He went back to his room, collected his sword and cloak and returned to the hall. He headed straight for the door, but Melissa still blocked his path.

  “I have no desire to hear any more of your lies, woman,” he said tersely. “I am going to Antonius. Get out of my way.” He tried to pull her away from the door, but she stubbornly held tight to the handle with both hands.

  “You have to listen. There is not much time for me to explain everything that is going on.” Melissa remained calm, despite fighting to keep hold of the door.

  “I do not need to hear any more details. I hear quite enough through the walls of your room as it is, and what I do hear sickens me.” He wrenched one of Melissa’s hands away from the handle, keeping it away by holding her wrist with his hand.

  “Do you think I wanted any of this? I had no choice other than to let him use me. Everything depends on my keeping him occupied and off-guard, but I cannot do this without you.”

  “Oh he is well occupied from what I hear. Every night you manage that! What could you possibly want me for?” He succeeded in wrenching her other hand away and pushed her back from the door.

  As he grabbed the handle, Melissa cried out in desperation, “I need you to hide Antonius from him when Caesar is dead.”

  Vitruvius paused. His hand still gripped the already turned handle, but he did not pull the door open. “What did you say?” he asked. He had heard her clearly but he could not believe what she had said.

  Melissa took a deep breath. “Caesar will die before the month is out. He will be murdered on the Ides, not deposed. Antony does not know and must not find out, else we are all dead. Please, come back into the house. I will tell you everything that has happened and the plans I have made with Brutus for your escape from this life you hate so much. I always intended to tell you all of it, Vitruvius, but Antony’s continued presence here made it impossible. Your innocence has kept you safe from any possible recriminations on his part, and it may continue, as long as he believes you and I are at odds with one another. Your outburst of the other night has placed you beyond his suspicion.”

  Vitruvius was in two minds about his best course of action, but decided it might be better to hear her out. He put his sword down and followed her into the courtyard, taking a seat on the bench opposite her.

  Melissa told Vitruvius every detail from her meeting with Brutus to the events of a week earlier, when Antony had paraded naked in front of Cleopatra. She omitted nothing, and gave him every detail of the forthcoming assassination including the names of all the conspirators she knew. Finally, she told him about the smallholding Brutus had acquired on her behalf and her plans for him and Antonius to go there.

  Vitruvius could not believe what he was hearing. He knew Melissa had been keeping things from him, but the sheer amount shocked him. Deep down he knew she had been right to do so. Vitruvius was loyal and stubborn and would not have succumbed to torture easily, but he did have one weakness and Antony knew only too well what that was. If anyone were to threaten to injure Antonius and not him, he would give up everything he knew to save the boy he looked on as his own. He sat in silence, considering what she had said.

  “Vitruvius,” Melissa was still speaking, “you have a choice. You can leave now if you want to and I will make some excuse to Antony for your absence, or you can stay and help me. Two weeks is all I am asking. After that you and Antonius are free to leave and never look back. Antony will not be able to force your whereabouts out of me as I have not seen the documents in the chest Brutus sent.”

  “And what of Brutus? He can reveal our whereabouts.” Vitruvius did not trust Brutus any more than Antony. Both had been Caesar’s friends and both intended to betray him, though the betrayal Brutus was planning was far worse than Antony’s.

  “Brutus will not get the opportunity. Antony will make a deal with him and it will appear in the best interests of all, but he will betray him on the day of Caesar’s funeral and he will be forced to leave Rome forever.”

  “And you? What happens to you?” Vitruvius was not sure if he cared, but he needed to know.

  Melissa looked at her feet. She was not meant to be in the past, so what would it matter what became of her? She knew only too well that to stay was suicide, but it was the best chance Vitruvius and Antonius had of survival. Once Antony knew she had lied to him, her death would be assured, though she imagined it would be far from quick or painless. Still she could not bring herself to say the words out loud. She simply shook her head in response.

  Vitruvius said nothing for some time as he considered Melissa’s fate. Finally he asked the question that had been eating away at him for weeks. Her answer would help him decide his course of action. “Tell me honestly, Lissa – do you love Antony?”

  Melissa did not look up, but she did answer. “To begin with I hated him. That first night, I was prepared to let him have me to save your life. He would have killed you and Antonius, and forced himself on me if I had not relented. I have let him do everything he wanted, purely because of the threat of what he could do to you if I ever said no. I will admit my feelings towards him have softened lately, especially since the day Caesar came.” She laughed a little at the thought of that day, “Antony risked his life to save us all and he has earned my respect. It no longer disgusts me to let him touch me in the way it once did, which certainly makes living with him easier. These past few days I have done everything I could to make him believe I care for him deeply and, from your reactions, I believe I have played my part well. It was all necessary to keep his attentions on me and away from the business of this city, just as I promised Brutus I would do. But do I love him? No, I do not. I am in love with a man I will never see again; a man who would never hurt me or force himself on me. Rebecca was infatuated with him too, and hated me because he felt nothing for her. Unfortunately he is very like Antony in many ways, especially in his looks and stature. Rebecca could not separate the man from our past with the one here. That is why she gave herself to Antony so easily. She thought it would hurt me to know she was his, but she did not realis
e until it was too late what he was really like. I have found that if I pretend he is the man from my past, having Mark Antony near me is quite bearable. It is how I get through each night with him and why I now seem to enjoy his touch. I have found it is far more pleasurable to do so than suffer the painful alternative that the back of his hand can so readily inflict.”

  Vitruvius was suddenly filled with pity for the woman in front of him. She was not the same person he had first met so many years before. Back then, she had been proud and strong-willed and he had admired her for standing up to the brute he knew Antony to be. Now, partly because of his stupidity, she had endured continual sexual abuse and it had taken its toll on her. He felt guilty for ever having doubted her motives. As he moved to sit on the bench next to her, he put his hand over hers and spoke quietly. “You could come with us. If you stay here he can hurt you in ways I cannot even begin to imagine. I can protect you as well as Antonius, if you will let me.”

  Melissa looked at Vitruvius, her eyes full of despair. She looked utterly defeated. He had never seen her looking so lost. Even when Rebecca died and he had been overcome by grief and anger, she had remained strong and in control, but no longer.

  She shook her head frantically and began to sob as she revealed her final secret. “I cannot ask you to do that. Vitruvius, I was not sent here to assist Caesar, I came here by accident from another time, one so different to this that I cannot ever begin to explain it to you. You have done so much for me and made my time here quite tolerable, but I was never meant to be here and so my death will not matter. If I stay behind, only I will suffer and I may be able to buy you more time to get away. Antony will have his revenge on me and be done. Please believe me when I say it is for the best. I never expected you to take responsibility for one of his bastard children, but you did and Antonius loves you like a father. I could never ask you to take on another.” Her hand moved across her stomach and she turned her head away.

  Vitruvius was not surprised that Melissa was pregnant. He had always known it would only be a matter of time before this happened. Antony had hardly left her alone since he had arrived. There had been no time for her usual monthly cycle. This outcome had been inevitable.

  Vitruvius felt a need to comfort her, but did not want to overstep his boundaries by being too intimate. He put his hand on Melissa’s shoulder, gripping it lightly. “What is one more mouth to feed? Antonius needs a family and he needs you.”

  Vitruvius paused. Less than a week before, Antony had joked with him about being in love with Melissa. He knew he was, but it was the love a man felt for a sister, not a lover. All the hate he had felt building towards her in the past few weeks was not real, just frustration that he could do nothing to prevent the man he truly did hate from abusing someone he cared for. He had been too scared to tell Rebecca how he had felt about her and he had regretted it every day since her death. He was unsure how his next words to Melissa would be taken, but this would be his only chance to say them and he would not make that mistake again.

  “I need you too, Lissa. I have feelings for you, but as I would for my own sisters and I have long hoped you would look on me as a brother. I will never expect anything from you beyond that, but you must understand that I do care what becomes of you. I will not stand by and watch you sacrifice yourself, when I can offer you some sort of life. We can put all this behind us in time, if not for each other, then for the sake of the children − both of them.”

  Melissa leant against Vitruvius’ side. He dared to put his arm around her and to his surprise she did not pull away. “You know he will kill us all if he ever finds us?” she said in a half-whisper.

  Vitruvius knew she was right. Antony had an army loyal to him. They would be hunted for the rest of their lives. Many years before he had sworn to protect Melissa and the thought of death at Antony’s hand did not change his feelings, or his continued need to fulfil that oath.

  “Then it would be best that he does not,” was the only response he was prepared to give.

  Antony returned late that evening in a foul mood. Caesar had sent word to Fulvia, requesting her early return to Rome, forcing Antony to go back to his marital home that night. Vitruvius made himself scarce as Antony stormed around throwing his possessions back into the two chests he had arrived with. He was almost emotional when the time came to say goodbye to Melissa, vowing to be back at her side as soon as he could. He hugged Antonius, giving him yet another little boat, and was even polite to Vitruvius, telling him to care for the family in his absence. His final gift was the most shocking of all. When the slaves came for his luggage, they brought with them yet more chests. As per Caesar’s instructions, Antony handed over the ten thousand denarii for Antonius’ upbringing in cash, as well as the balance of Caesar’s payments he had received for Melissa’s keep. In total, they had a sum just short of fourteen thousand denarii. Added to the money Vitruvius had acquired after Caesar’s triumphs, it was a substantial sum. Quite how they were going to get that amount of coinage safely out of the city was a new problem to consider.

  The next morning, Melissa sent word of the previous night’s events to Brutus. She knew he would already know what had taken place, but she had more she needed to tell him. She needed to explain how Trebonius and Decimus should be prepared to prevent Antony from entering the Senate with Caesar on the Ides. This was the way it had happened in history as she remembered it, and this was how it would happen again. She did not dare risk any correspondence being intercepted, and so sent Vitruvius to deliver the message personally.

  It was late in the afternoon before Vitruvius returned. He had to wait most of the day for Brutus to receive him, but it had been worth it. Brutus now knew all that had occurred and he was as prepared as he could be. Brutus also sent a message by return. If Melissa felt they were in danger, Vitruvius was to take her and Antonius to Servilia, who would hide them until she could arrange for safe passage out of the city. All they could do now was to wait.

  There was no word from Antony from that day forward. Melissa and Vitruvius made plans for their escape. Melissa insisted that they had to wait until the Ides before leaving, just in case Antony did return. She had to keep up the pretence of being his caring lover until the last moment.

  They could not risk telling Renna what they were planning, and sent her on daily shopping trips to keep her out of the house. They decided they would tell her at the last minute and offer her a choice of risking death in coming with them and being free, or of remaining behind in slavery in Antony’s household.

  Vitruvius had a friend in the horse trade and he made arrangements for a wagon and horses to come to the house before daybreak on the Ides. He and Melissa would pose as husband and wife until they were far away from Rome. Vitruvius purchased more storage chests and they packed as many of their belongings as they dared, storing everything in Vitruvius’ room for fear of Antony’s return. They split the money between each case, putting it at the very bottom beneath false bottoms that Vitruvius constructed whilst Renna was out.

  If Antony did visit before the Ides, they would be in terrible danger. He would see items had been removed and would become suspicious if he was left to his own devices for more than a few minutes. Melissa and Vitruvius agreed that she was to stop at nothing to keep Antony off his game, even though the thought of it sickened Vitruvius. Melissa would have to make love to Antony in such a way that he had never before experienced with her, ensuring he never wanted to set foot out of the bedroom. Whatever he wanted she was going to have to do, no matter what he asked. There was no other way, although Vitruvius hoped more than anything that it would not come to this.

  By the evening of the fourteenth they were ready. Melissa explained everything to Renna in the evening, especially the danger they could be facing if Antony decided to hunt them down. Renna chose to join them. She had no loyalty to Antony, who had been responsible for the loss of her lover. Melissa had always been kind to her, giving her freedoms far beyond what a slave could have e
xpected, and she was more than willing to take the risk. She dragged Vitruvius off to the kitchen to help her pack as many provisions as she thought they could safely carry.

  It was nearly midnight when there was a knock on the front door. Melissa felt a familiar sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. She knew it was Antony and knew he would notice that the contents of the house had been packed away. Her best chance was still to distract him. She sent Vitruvius to put out every lamp and then told him to go to bed with Antonius, and his sword. She went to the door herself, opening it a crack and once she was certain it was Antony, she let him inside.

  There was no real need to worry about distracting Antony. As soon as the door was bolted he pushed her against it, pressing himself into her body as he kissed her passionately. His mouth moved down her neck and he began to lift her dress. She pulled his head up to face her. “I did not think you would come tonight,” she cooed lovingly, kissing him again.

  “Oh I always intended to come tonight.” Antony grinned at her. The double entendre was not lost on her. One hand moved around her waist. “The only question is whether you intend to make me work hard or not?” Antony’s eyes twinkled wickedly in the dim light from the single lamp at the door. Without waiting for her to answer him, he slid his other arm behind her knees, lifting Melissa off her feet and carried her to their room.

  The remaining lamps in the house had all been successfully extinguished, leaving only moonlight shining through the chinks in the shutters of the window. Antony paused at the door, taking a moment to adjust his eyes to the darkness and then moved towards the bed. He lowered Melissa gently onto the covers before standing back to rip off his toga, casting it carelessly on the floor as if it were a useless rag. Then he began raising Melissa’s dress up her legs, kissing every piece of flesh as it became exposed.