Pello Island: Cassia (13 page)

“But what do I do about Cassia?”

“Bollocks, Darius.  She’s a woman, no better than the whores we’ve been seeing since we were thirteen.”

“But Cassia’s not like that,” Darius said.

“Of course she is, Darius.  Women are commerce – chattel to their fathers and breeders to their husbands.  That’s all they are or ever will be.  And you have to cut this one off now.  You have to give up this fantasy of a life with her.  Darius, you would never survive in sackcloth.  Love’s not worth it, brother.  Love your whores and concubines if you must, but dear gods stay away from the middle class.”

Darius weighed the wisdom in his brother’s words.  He knew Anthony was right, or at least in agreement with what most aristocrats believed.  But Cassia had touched something inside Darius, and the pain he felt when they were apart controlled him, just like his need for the dice.  The cure for the pain was her presence, and the cure for the dice was money.

“Gods help me, I need her, Anthony,” Darius said softly.

Anthony sighed.

“I won’t give you this money unless you agree to cut her off.  Come on Darius, you have to grow up.  I’m five years younger than you and even I can see this will never work.”

Anthony grabbed Darius’ shoulders and shook him.

“Darius, you see the poor men in the streets covered in their own feces.  You see men beaten down, standing behind those sad little carts in the Forum.  You have no skills, you can’t work - you’ll never survive without money, Darius.  I believe Father when he says he will banish you.  He has the power to do it.  Can you imagine living in the provinces?  Darius, wake up!”

No, he couldn’t see himself with a rake or hoe in his hands.  “Come with me, Anthony, to pay Leonides.  Please, I really don’t trust myself.”

“And you agree to cut the girl off?” Darius nodded.  “Well, brother, I’m off to the brothel.  Come with me, Darius, I’ll pay.  One more night of celebration before I’m off to tame the barbarian hordes.”

“What if the barbarian hordes refuse to be tamed, brother?”  Darius said with a smile.  Anthony made a fist and landed a light punch on Darius’ chin.

“Well, will you join me?” Anthony asked again.

Darius thought for a minute and agreed.  He wanted to spend as much time with Anthony as he could before he left for Germania.  The two brothers headed for the city, laughing and joking the way they had when they were boys.  Tonight they would celebrate, and Darius would try to kill his love for Cassia with wine and the soft, welcoming bodies at the bagnio.

A Broken Betrothal

“You still want to do this, Anthony?”  Darius looked at his younger brother’s eyes.

“What am I going to do with all that money in Germania? Besides, I’ll inherit from father one day.  You I can’t replace.”

They had arrived home just before dawn and were having a meal before heading out to find Leonides.  Darius looked at Anthony. He was a handsome boy, and Darius hoped he would grow into a handsome man someday.

“Germania is a hard place, Anthony.  Many men have died there.”

“But our uncle has survived it, Darius!  Don’t worry about me, brother.  I’ll have the glorious Roman army with me, the greatest army in the world.  I’ll return triumphant one day, and the streets of Rome will be filled with my adoring throngs!”

Darius laughed despite himself.  Anthony always had a twinkle in his eye, and now he was grinning from ear to ear.  Anthony had elected to wear his full military uniform, and he looked quite intimidating.

“We better get going, Anthony.  Leonides always visits the same café.  He’s there early, so if we want to catch him…”

The two men stood up and left the house.  The streets were just beginning to come to life as they walked toward the center of the city.  Anthony would wink at every female he passed, no matter what her age.  He loved to see their reactions.  Darius kept walking ahead of him.  He wanted to be done with Leonides once and for all.

When they arrived at the little café, they could see Leonides sitting at a table with a plate of food in front of him.  They walked up to his table and waited for Leonides to notice them.  Leonides was a tall man who dressed well and bathed every day.  He kept his hair cut short and by the red marks on his face, had recently been shaved.  He was neat; not so much as a crumb could be found on him.  His association with Cletus boggled the mind.  He felt the young men’s presence before he saw them and he looked up.

“Darius, how good to see you.”  He smiled, showing perfectly white teeth.  “Won’t you and your friend join me?”

Leonides was always polite.  He left the vulgarities of life to Cletus.  Anthony removed his helmet as he and Darius sat down.  

“Would you care for something to eat?” Leonides asked.

“No, we’ve already eaten.”  Darius felt his stomach tighten.  He hated having to take Anthony’s money, but his younger brother was right.  This would solve his problems, for now.  “We’ve come to settle with you, Leonides.  My brother will pay you what I owe.”

“Ah, you are Darius’ brother Anthony.  I hear you’re off to Germania.”

Anthony was taken aback.  He was surprised the moneylender knew where he was going.  Some of his friends still didn’t know.

“Why don’t we just take care of our business, Leonides?”  Anthony was never one to beat around the bush.

“Money talk before breakfast is so rude, don’t you think, Darius?”  Leonides smiled slyly.  He had a long face, and Darius thought he looked a little like a donkey.

“What do I owe you, Leonides?”

“Oh, very well - 2,000 denarii.”

Leonides wiped his mouth.  He pushed himself away from the table and observed the brothers.  They were so unalike one would never assume they were related.  Leonides wondered at Anthony’s generosity and what had persuaded him to pay off his brother’s debt.

Anthony opened his pouch and counted out the sum.  He pushed it over to Leonides and stood up, knocking his helmet to the ground.  He grabbed Leonides’ tunic and pulled him to his feet.

“If you ever lend to my brother again, I will have you crucified.  Do we understand each other?”

Leonides wasn’t used to being manhandled, at least not this way.  He nodded his head.

“I’ll have spies in Rome watching you, you slimy snake.  One word and it will be done.  Don’t doubt it for one minute.”

Anthony shoved Leonides back in his chair, mussing his perfect coif.  Leonides took his hands and smoothed his hair back in place; he then looked at Darius.

“You heard your brother, Darius.  There will be no more milk from this cow.  I’ll inform Cletus accordingly.”

Suddenly, Darius felt anxious.  He hadn’t thought about what would happen after Anthony paid off Leonides.  His only source of income was his allowance, and if he found himself at the tavern, it wouldn’t last more than a day.  What would he do for money?

He understood that Anthony was trying to force him to stop the dice.  He wanted to appreciate the love his brother had for him, but his anxiety was growing and he wanted to beg him to take back what he’d said.  He held his arms to his side to keep from shaking and his mind raced, trying to find some way around Anthony’s edict.

“Come on, Darius.  We have one more stop.”

As Anthony walked away from the table, Darius looked at Leonides, who just smiled.  He loved seeing Darius’ discomfort.  Darius then followed Anthony, who was headed in the direction of the Vicus Raciliani Maioris.

“Where are we going, Anthony?”

“We have to see your good friend, Quintus, to tell him the wedding is off.”

“Anthony, I think I should do that myself,” Darius said.

Anthony smiled his big smile.  “Don’t worry, big brother, I have no designs on your girl.  Besides, everyone knows about the curse.”  Anthony waited for Darius’ reaction before breaking out in a big laugh.  Darius smiled and punched Anthony’s arm.

“Curse, what rubbish.  She’s an angel.”

“Then maybe I should go alone to tell Quintus the news.  You may lose your nerve.”

“No, I’m going to tell him.  It has to be done.”

It took a while to reach Quintus’ shop and when they arrived, the sun was high in the sky.  Flavius was filling the shelves with new goods and nodded when he saw Darius.  Darius knew Flavius didn’t approve of him.

“Is Quintus here today, Flavius?” he asked.

“Yes, he’s here.  He’s inside.”

Darius walked toward the back of the shop with Anthony following close behind.  Flavius watched as the two brothers walked by.  Anthony was big and in his uniform, he was impressive.  Flavius wondered what was afoot.

They could see Quintus at the dining table as they entered the atrium.  Anthony was struck by the richness of the furniture.  This was no ordinary merchant.  Quintus rose from his couch and kissed Darius on both cheeks.  He smiled broadly and inclined his head toward Anthony.

“This is my brother, Anthony.”  Darius said.

Quintus was overjoyed.  Darius had brought a family member to meet him, a very good sign indeed.  He sat down and the brothers followed suit.  There was plenty of food on the table, and he told Darius and Anthony to eat.

“So, you’ve come to see me and brought your brother.”  Quintus couldn’t stop smiling.

“Yes, he’s going to Germania and we’re spending some time together.”  Darius was stalling.  He didn’t know how to begin, and he was afraid Cassia would appear.  If he saw her, he knew he wouldn’t go through with it.

“Germania!  Why, you are a brave man indeed.”  Quintus said to Anthony.

“It’s my duty to serve.  I’m going to beat back the barbarian hordes.”

Darius smiled at his brother’s boast.  It was the second time he had heard him mention the barbarian hordes in the last 24 hours.

“Well then, have some wine.  It will strengthen you against the Hun.”  Quintus clapped and a servant brought wine and filled Anthony’s glass.  Anthony drank it down in one gulp, and then he looked at Darius with raised eyebrows.

“Quintus, I have to speak with you,” Darius began.  “My brother has paid off my debt to Leonides.  I no longer have a need for money.”  Darius was skirting the subject.

“Well, that’s admirable, helping your brother that way.”  As the truth dawned on Quintus, his smile began to fade.  “What are you saying, Darius?”

“I’m saying I no longer need to…to marry Cassia.”  Darius kept his eyes on the table.  He didn’t want to look at Quintus.  Anthony was watching Quintus, whose face revealed nothing.

“I’m grateful you came to see me personally and didn’t send a servant.  Well, I guess that’s it then,” Quintus said as he stood up.  “I’ll let Cassia know there will be no marriage.”

Darius was amazed at Quintus’ reaction.  He thought there would be shouting and fighting.  Anthony kept looking at Quintus.  He saw the subtle twitching of Quintus’ cheeks and sensed the older man was quite angry.  He also knew that Darius didn’t see it.  He finished his bread and stood up.

“Well then, our business here is done.  We’ll leave you in peace.  I love your house, by the way.”  Anthony smiled and saluted Quintus.  He took Darius’ arm, pulled him out of the chair, and dragged him onto the street before the girl could be seen.

Darius was silent as they walked home.  He felt an ache inside that he couldn’t endure.  He’d only felt it once before, when Amara left him.  But he was eighteen then, just a boy.  Surely it wasn’t the same thing?

When they got back to the townhouse, their mother was sitting in the atrium.  She nodded to Darius, who was headed for a bath.  Anthony took off his helmet and armor, and joined his mother.  He lay down on a couch and stretched.  He was still tired from the night’s festivities, and he almost dozed off.

“I assume you’ve handled things, Anthony,” Valeria said.

“As you wished, Mother, he is none the wiser,” Anthony replied. “And I really loved that merchant’s house.”

Quintus and Flavius

Quintus was furious.  Flavius stood in the atrium watching him hurl plants across the pool in the center of the atrium.  Flavius had heard Quintus screaming from the shop and thought he’d been hurt.  When he saw the brothers practically running away, his first thoughts were of Cassia, but then he heard Quintus’ inhuman ranting.

“Bastard sons-of-bitches, that’s what they are!  NOBILITY!  HA!  They suckled at the teats of a jackal, both of them!”

Quintus continued to hurl foliage across the tiled floors.  Flavius approached him and gently tapped Quintus’ arm.  Quintus turned, and seeing Flavius, began to cry.

“Flavius, it’s not Cassia who is cursed, but I.  The gods have spit on me and now, now there is no hope.  Why have they done this to me?”

“Lie down and let me get you some wine.”

Flavius led Quintus to the couch by the far wall.  Once Quintus was seated, Flavius summoned a servant to bring some wine.  The servant dutifully appeared with a cup and bottle.  Flavius handed the wine to Quintus and waited for him to drink.  Quintus’ eyes strayed to the spot on the floor where Agatha had died.

“She died there, Flavius.  Agatha died right over there.  I should’ve left this house long ago.”

Quintus began to cry harder.  “I didn’t mean to kill her, Flavius.  I was just so…angry.  That awful scene at Cicero Gaius’, and Cassia, oh my gods, I almost sold her to that, that evil lump of human shit.  What kind of man am I, Flavius?” Quintus drained his cup and held it out to Flavius for more.

“I have chased a dream I could never catch and my daughter, the sweetest child in the world, would have paid the price.  I almost did it again!   How do I tell her about this, Flavius?  She loves this one; I can see it in her eyes.”  Again, Quintus drained his cup.  “I want to kill him, Flavius, for what he’s done to her.”

“You can’t kill nobility, Quintus, and besides, he hasn’t really done anything to her.”

Flavius kept filling Quintus’ cup.  Quintus was getting quite drunk.

“Please have them prepare my bath, Flavius.”  Quintus said as he rose from the couch.  He looked into Flavius’ eyes.  “Would you tell her, Flavius?”

Quintus stood there, looking pathetic.  How many times had Quintus asked him to clean up his messes?  Flavius just nodded.  He knew there was no use declining the request.  Quintus smiled and patted Flavius’ shoulder, and then walked to his room to disrobe.