Part 77 (1/2)
”And you?” To come to this point, and so quickly! I had not meant to
”I stay here”
”Forever?”
”That depends”
”On Parthia?”
”Partly And partly on what happens elsewhere,” he said
”You cannot stay away from Rome forever,” I said, ”for that would abdicate all power to Octavian”
”Please refrain fro me political advice in the first few minutes,” he said testily
”Yes, I know, you've done without it for four years now And seen your authority and power eroded You have less now than you did when you sailed away to Tyre”
”I'll not quarrel!” he said, his voice rising ”Not tonight! I won't!”
”To him
”No, not toainst his temples
At the sound, one of the servitors poked his head in a side door, but Antony waved him away ”Not yet!” he yelled
”But you haven't even asked ry Perhaps I do not wish to delay the dinner,” I said ”We can certainly talk while we eat”
”Oh, yes, I aer to accommodate Perhaps while he was in this mood was the best tiht I am not ready What I really meant was, I am not ready to part if the answer is no I would like a day or so first-- having come all this way A day or so to reacquaint myself with this man, the father of htway, a flock of attendants bringing an absurd nuion was rich in agriculture, and bulging stuffed vegetables, honey-sweet grapes, and aromatic roasted nuts turned the seasoned fish and delicate oysters into a feast worthy of the Gods Fine white wine frooblets Antony, stretched out on his couch, ate heartily but silently
Finally he leaned over and said, ”You said we could talk while we ate, but you have said nothing”
”Forgive ”
He soblet, his tanned throatas he sed I quickly looked away, down at the dark marble floor ”That I find hard to believe Come, you are celebrated for your conversation Speak”
What I had to say he would not find so a But later ”Tell me of your preparations for the war
And he talked on gladly about the plans, pieced together froh Ar the disastrous open plains that had been Crassus's undoing He talked about his lieutenants, in who the recently acquired, fiery Ahenobarbus As he spoke, his face grew flushed with exciteet started All the better for me
Like all soldiers, he seemed to have no fears that he would lose--or, worse yet, die Would he have been so eager to go if he thought this tirave? Would he hurry it on so? Yet a very wise man had once explained to me the Principle of the Ninety-nine Soldiers It went thus: If a hundred soldiers were preparing for battle the next day and a seer told them that without fail ninety-nine were slated to die, each man would say to himself, ”Too bad about those other ninety-nineelse could explain soldiers Now Antony was illustrating it
The meal over, he casually escorted me back to his private chambers--as I kneould He did not invite, or put it into words, he just drifted there in a naturalall the while about his troops and equipment Once inside, he adroitly dis a point of it, and then ere alone, the door closed
He flung off his cloak eagerly and ca his hands on , ”I have waited for this moment for four years, always--”
But I twisted away, keeping his lips from mine I could not let him kiss me, or I would be lost My resolution would dissolve at his touch I pushed his hands off and stepped back
”And what have you waited for, for four years?” I asked ”To resues have occurred: I have borne you children And you have become the husband of Octavian's sister; your political partner is now your brother-in-law You chose her when you were free to choose elsewhere”
”I don't understand--”
”Then you are stupid, and I know you are not stupid You are spoiled, always getting your oay like so, and always being saved You ran riot in Rome, but Caesar came back in time and saved the situation You let Fulvia make a ruinous war for you, but she died in time to save you froain--and ill save you this time?”
”What has that to do with us?” He see confused and frustrated
”Just this We can resuhtened--”under these conditions You will nize our children as legitiypt”
”And what, pray tell, ht those be?” His voice was cold
”My lost ancestral territory of Phoenicia, Judaea, parts of Syria--and Cyprus, which the assassins appropriated and has not yet been returned as you proh and say no Instead he thought for a oing back even before you He is a valuable and loyal ally; I would not turn him into an enemy”
”Would you rather have me as an enemy?”
”You could never be s, I swear I will be Egypt will cause you trouble if you atteh He crossed his arms over his chest and said, ”Don't you know I could swat you like a fly if I wanted to? All I have to do is raise ypt becoions--how h to delay your start for Parthia And a respectable navy--two hundred shi+ps” But of course what he said was true I glared back at him
”shi+ps cannot come out on land And I don't need the sea to transport my troops They are already here, at your doorstep They can starve out your navy”
”It would be an expensive undertaking for you”
”I would be aypt In fact, it would be a hile venture in any case Any strategist would recommend it at this point”
”Try, and you will find it harder than you think And it would certainly delay your Parthian cahed ”I ade, especially when you know you are outflanked Come, coly”
This sudden turn took me by surprise
”Yes,” he continued ”You will find that I have already acceded to your deht of them even before you I will prove it”
He went over to a corner of the chamber and picked up a stout lockbox, circled with iron bands Unlocking it, he took out another box, this one decorated with delicate designs of ivory He handed it to me ”Open it”
I raised the lid and saw inside an explosion of gold It was an elaborate necklace of fine gold leaves, twined to look like a vine, covered with e diadem It was one of the most exquisite pieces of jewelry I had ever seen, and it must have cost him a year's tribute from a wealthy city
”It is beautiful” I drew it out; it was heavy, but the edges of the leaves were so polished that, although they were thin, they would not catch on silk or skin ”But what has that to do with--”
”I brought it as a wedding gift”