Every morning when he left, Antony would leave a gift of jewellery, perfume or a new stola and often another little boat for Antonius. Vitruvius regarded the gifts given to Melissa as payment for services rendered, but he could not understand the reason for the toys. Antonius loved them though, so Vitruvius made no comment about Antony giving them.
This pattern continued until Saturnalia. Antony spent the week-long festival with his wife, Fulvia and their new-born son, leaving Melissa to enjoy the time with her own surrogate family. She helped Antonius to make gifts for Vitruvius and Renna, and insisted on carrying out the tradition of preparing a meal for her slave. After two disastrous attempts at the dishes for the feast, Renna could no longer endure the disruption in her kitchen and insisted that Melissa left the cooking to her. She prepared all the food, but did allow Melissa to serve it. Antony even sent them a gift. On the first day of the festival, two amphorae of the finest Falernian wine arrived with a simple note – Enjoy.
At the beginning of January, Antony and Caesar took up their posts as consuls. A few days after the inauguration, Antony’s wife left for their country estates. Two days later, Melissa was woken early by the sound of pounding on the front door. She dragged herself out of bed and hurriedly threw on a dress so she could go and find out who was visiting at such an early hour. When she got to the hall she found Vitruvius arguing with a pair of rather burly slaves. As she approached, Vitruvius turned towards her, giving the slaves the opportunity to run off. Although Vitruvius gave chase, they proved to be decidedly fleet of foot for such large men and he could not catch them as they twisted and dived through the narrow streets and alleys that they obviously knew far better than he did. He lost them at a busy intersection and returned to the house to find Melissa examining the two large chests that they had deposited in the hall.
“From Antony,” he said, gasping for breath as he came in the door. He closed it behind him and collapsed against it.
“What is in them?” Melissa enquired.
“No idea,” was his response as he shrugged his shoulders. “They are locked so I imagine this means we will be seeing him tonight!” Vitruvius’ voice was laced with hatred. Relationships with Antony were still as strained as ever.
Melissa put her hand on Vitruvius’ arm. “I know this has been difficult for you. I am not exactly best pleased how things have turned out, but I have to think of your safety. Surely you do not think I enjoy him coming here?”
“You could have fooled me with the noises you make of late when he is in there!” Vitruvius gestured towards Melissa’s room and shot her a look full of distrust as he wrenched his arm from her grip. She was so shocked, she stepped backwards. She could tell he thought she was starting to care for Antony and that hurt her. If he only knew how many lives were at stake, he would understand, she thought.
Her thoughts were interrupted by another knock on the door. Vitruvius answered it to find another slave there, this one a young boy clutching a letter and a small casket. He allowed the slave to enter and the boy went straight up to Melissa.
“Mistress Lissa,” he began, “I bring greetings to you from my master, Marcus Iunius Brutus. He wishes me to convey this message to you and to wait for a response.” He thrust a pair of wax tablets at Melissa, along with a small wooden writing implement. She took the tablets from him, undid the cord from around their wooden backing and flipped them open. The message on the first tablet was what she was expecting:
I trust you are in good health and are not too troubled by the developments in your situation. The box this boy carries contains the papers you requested, thus formalising our agreement. My apologies for the delay, but it took a little time to find a fitting setting to meet your requirements.
Good, she thought. The box contained the ownership documents for the land and home she had asked Brutus to provide. “Give him the box,” she said to the slave boy, pointing at Vitruvius without looking at either of them. She continued to the second tablet, raising an eyebrow in surprise as she read it:
My sources tell me that A mutual acquaintance has been seen leaving their home with two large gifts. Whether you were aware of this development or not I must advise caution. A tiger is always more dangerous if the lamb shares the same cage.
From the emphasis on the ‘A’, Melissa knew Brutus was referring to Antony and from the rest of the message, she guessed what was contained in the trunks. She took the wooden stylus from the boy and used its flat length to wipe both tablets clean. Then she used the point to write her reply to each message on the side that had contained the original:
Greetings to you, sir. You find me well and coping with the strain of running such an interesting household. I deeply appreciate your concern for the matter at hand. Please know that you have greatly eased my mind.
As for the other news, I can tell you the gifts have been received, though not necessarily welcomed, or encouraged. I thank you again for your A ssistance and wish you well.
Melissa followed Brutus’ writing style so that he would know that she understood his message. She handed the tablets back to the boy and ushered him out of the door.
Once he had left she turned to speak to Vitruvius, who looked utterly confused. “I know I have given you reason to distrust me, but I swear to you I have no love for Antony. I only do what he asks to keep you alive. That is the agreement I made with him on the first night he ...” She tailed off, shuddering at the memory of Vitruvius kneeling on the floor waiting for death to come to him. She recovered herself and continued. “Please take that casket and hide it in your room. Antony must never find it. Should anything ever happen to me, you and you alone must open it and follow the instructions within. I neither want nor need to see what it contains.”
Vitruvius went to speak, but Melissa silenced him with a gesture of her hand. “Please do not ask me what this is all about. I promise you I will tell you what is going on when the time is right, but for now your safety, and that of Antonius, depend on your remaining completely ignorant of my dealings with Marcus Brutus.”
Vitruvius realised Melissa looked genuinely scared. She grabbed hold of his hands and continued talking. “Vitruvius, I hate saying this, but relations between us will become far worse in the coming weeks and I can do nothing to prevent that from happening. I know I have already lost your trust and I will most probably lose your friendship. That pains me deeply, but what you think of me will soon be irrelevant. You only have to believe that everything I am doing is to secure your future and that of Antonius. Search your heart, deep down you know as well as I do that Antony will kill you both if I do not please him. The two of you are all that matter to me and I will do anything he wants to prevent him from hurting either of you, regardless of how degrading it may be. Do you understand me? Anything!”
Vitruvius did not fully understand, but he knew Melissa well enough to know she would not explain. Something in the message from Brutus had scared her. He needed to know what that was at least. “What did Brutus have to say?” he asked as casually as he could.
Melissa sat on the trunk nearest her. “Brutus has sent us word on the purpose of these,” she replied resolutely. “It appears Antony intends to move in!”
In an instant Vitruvius understood what had scared Melissa. With Antony in the house, he would be able do what he wanted to her and there was nothing Vitruvius could do to stop him without risking all their lives. They would all be at his mercy every moment of every day. He nodded to show he understood what she had been saying. He did not like it, but he understood.
Antony did indeed move in later that day. He did not arrive quietly as Melissa hoped, but instead he came directly from the Senate, accompanied by his lictors, men who acted as guards to a serving consul. He dismissed them at the door, telling them to return for him the next day. His behaviour would be the talk of the Forum in the morning, but he had no concerns. Antony’s nocturnal habits had been the subject of scandalous rumour for years – one more was nothing for him to worry about
.
Melissa had insisted Renna prepare a meal far in excess of their usual standards in the hope of impressing their new houseguest. She had even raided the money Caesar had given her after his triumphs to have Vitruvius fetch some of the same expensive Falernian wine Antony had sent them for Saturnalia. This pleased Antony, who was in celebratory mood. He even offered to refund the cost of the wine after Vitruvius complained about the added expense, and subsequently agreed to double the amounts he handed over to support them for the duration of his stay. The standard of living was going to be considerably higher now that Antony was under the same roof.
Melissa knew all this generosity would come at a personal cost to her. Whatever Antony gave them in cash, he would expect her to pay back in the bedroom. It was still only mid-January and a full two months until Caesar was due to die. She was going to have to put up with a lot to keep his eye off the ball for that long.
She had been watching Antony all evening, waiting for a hint that he wanted to go to bed, but he seemed content to lie on the couch telling Antonius tales of his past exploits in the army, until Melissa insisted the little boy went to sleep. Still Antony did not move. He lay drinking his wine and was even laughing with Vitruvius about one particular incident at which both had been present.
Vitruvius seemed to have relaxed for the first time in Antony’s presence, probably due to the copious amounts of wine with which Antony was plying him. When Antony did finally take Melissa to bed, he passed out immediately, pleasing her no end. All in all, the evening was quite enjoyable. If this was a taste of things to come, life with Antony might well be bearable after all.
As the days dragged on, it became obvious that Antony had no intention of leaving any time soon. To begin with, he made a conscious effort to get on with Vitruvius and relations between the two men improved. It was too much to ask for it to continue indefinitely and as time wore on, they began to get on each other’s nerves once again. After a couple of weeks, Vitruvius could not take the uncertainty any longer and asked Antony outright whether he was staying for good. Antony explained that, as charming an idea as that was, he could only stay until Fulvia returned from the country. Melissa realised Antony had engineered this whole situation so that his wife and child were safely out of the way when Caesar’s downfall came. If Brutus’ coup failed and Antony was somehow linked to the plot, Fulvia was more than likely under instruction to head for the coast and to board a ship for Massilia as soon as possible. That was the favoured destination of Roman exiles and she would find safety there with Antony’s uncle.
Admittedly, being the lover of a consul had its advantages. Melissa had new freedoms, being officially allowed to go out alone for the first time. She found that using Antony’s name in the markets got her better prices, which made the housekeeping go much farther. This, combined with the extra funds Antony provided, meant she was able to put a little money aside every week. It was her intention to give the funds to Vitruvius when the time came for him to leave with Antonius. She knew Vitruvius had his own savings from the money Caesar had gifted him following the triumphs, but she was determined to make some contribution to Antonius’ upbringing, however small it might be.
The best part of her new relationship with Antony was the baths. Antony did not use the public baths in the town, as his villa had their own suite, installed by Pompey when he had owned the place. With his wife away, Antony would take Melissa to his home to use them. She loved every minute of these private bathing sessions as she had always hated the openness of the public facilities. It became a ritual. She would be collected in a litter carried by four of Antony’s slaves and would be taken to meet him at the house. They would enter the changing room together and cover each other with oils. Antony would not let any of his slaves touch his lover and he seemed to enjoy carrying out the somewhat menial task of massaging oil into her body. In the warm room, Antony would teach Melissa Roman dice games, gambling for kisses as opposed to coins. In the hot room they would sit and talk about his day before removing the oils and grime from each other with their metal scrapers, called strigils. A quick dip in each of the hot and cold pools would end their bathing and return them to the changing room, where Antony would insist on drying Melissa very deliberately. There were always far more towels in the room than were needed and he would pile the dry ones on the floor before tenderly making love to her on top of them. Over time cushions began to appear, which made the floor even more comfortable.
Antony became so relaxed and amiable in the baths that Melissa found it easy to forget which man it was she was with. She too could relax here, pretending she was with Anthony Marcus and allowing herself to enjoy Mark Antony’s touch without fear of what Vitruvius would say the next morning. Melissa had long ago given up hope of going home and she had the same needs as any other person: if this was going to be her life, she was damned well going to get some pleasure out of it. Antony was a skilled and generous lover, so why not enjoy him on the odd occasion? Antony too had noticed the difference in Melissa’s behaviour when they were away from her home and it pleased him to have her enjoy their encounters. He began to suggest more visits to the baths, until they were going three times a week.
For Melissa, the worst part of their relationship was the fact she was losing the only real friend she had. The closer she allowed Antony to believe he was getting, the further it pushed Vitruvius away. He was always civil, but it was obvious he no longer sought her company, even when Antony was out of the house. To begin with, it had appeared that Vitruvius understood that Melissa was giving Antony what he wanted to make all their lives easier, but his patience with her now ran as thin as it did with Antony. He was by no means stupid. He could see she was beginning to enjoy her new relationship, despite her attempts to hide it. He knew Melissa looked forward to the visits to Antony’s bath house and could guess what went on there. He could not understand why they did not simply stay at Antony’s house and leave him and Antonius alone, though he supposed Antony had too many feelings for his wife to move another woman into her home so blatantly the minute her back was turned.
Melissa missed talking to Vitruvius so much that she took to spending more time in the kitchen every day with Renna. This was not an easy relationship to foster as Renna had also become suspicious of Melissa for her increasing closeness to Antony. Renna had good reason to hate her former master. When she had worked in his household under his second wife, Antonia, she had been in love with a young male slave. They had a relationship even though it was not permitted for them to do so, and Renna had become pregnant. She had hidden it for as long as possible, but eventually they were discovered. Antony forced her to watch whilst he whipped her lover into unconsciousness, before selling him to the owner of a quarry miles away from Rome. Renna had never seen him again and, when her baby was stillborn, she had been sent to Melissa to be a wet nurse to Antony’s bastard child. As much as she had tried not to, Renna had grown to love Antonius, and, as much as she liked her new mistress, she no longer trusted Melissa now that Antony was her lover.
Melissa became increasingly isolated until she had only Antonius for company. No matter how tired she was after her long sleepless nights, she always made time for him. She had already begun to teach him English so she would have someone else to talk to in the future, but this now annoyed Vitruvius even more that it had in the past. Antonius still loved her, but, as he witnessed Vitruvius’ behaviour towards Melissa, he too became wary of her and would sometimes run away from her when she called him.
It was a vicious circle. The more her surrogate family isolated her, the more Melissa turned to Antony for comfort; the more she turned to Antony, the more isolated Melissa became from the rest of the household. Antony seemed to be the only one who was enjoying himself. He was getting what he wanted from Melissa and the more time he spent with her the more she seemed to enjoy his company. Initially, he had only intended to use Melissa for his sexual gratification, but he found it increasingly difficult to bury the feelings
he had developed for her over so many years. He began to confide in her his concerns regarding some of Caesar’s more outlandish proposals. He was particularly worried by a request Caesar had made for him to make the offer of kingship during the Lupercalia, a fertility festival that took place in mid-February. The young men of the city would run through the streets of Rome, dressed only in loincloths, flicking women with goatskin whips in the hope of increasing their fertility. Caesar had arranged for Antony to lead the runners and demanded he make an offer of a crown as the runners passed through the Forum. Caesar felt the mood of the people was with him and intended to accept. Antony was incensed at Caesar’s arrogance. He wanted to refuse, but Melissa knew he had to go through with it for history to be maintained. For the first time, Melissa began to believe Antony might be persuaded to go along with the assassination, but she did not trust him enough even to dare to hint at it. When he suggested paying some men to infiltrate the crowd and stir up sentiment against Caesar’s plans, she agreed with him wholeheartedly and encouraged him to take the necessary action. She also sent a secret note to Brutus, suggesting he might wish to take similar steps to ensure Antony’s plan succeeded.
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