Part 102 (1/2)
”And titius with him, no doubt,” I said I had not yet had the opportunity to tell Antony about the conversation I was privy to in the garden, and I was saddened to hear it confir mood with them
”You knew about this?” He looked surprised ”How?”
”I caught part of a conversation between the aloud; you kno people rehearse many ideas, but act on few”
”What was their reason?” Antony kept rereading the note ”This says little, only that after much deliberation, he has decided to return to Ro about their history of switching sides”
Antony let out a long sigh No one had ever left hi sense of loyalty was one of his reat importance to it ”And titius, you say?”
”Yes Shall we pay a call on him? I venture to say ill not find hined a villa beside that of his uncle, beautifully situated on rising ground with a superlative view of the acropolis Again, a private palace that any king would have been proud to claihted from the litter and our servant knocked loudly on the door Eventually a house servant answered, and e identified ourselves and demanded to see the commander Marcus titius, he blinked at us and shook his head
”The honorable commander is not here,” he said
”And ill the honorable commander return?” I asked sweetly ”Shall ait?”
He looked alar We have no suitable place--”
I brushed past hi wished to tour this villa--I understand that it has several fineroom I shall amuse myself for a while”
”Your Majesty, I must ask you to refrain from--”
”And I--I'd like to inspect the co pro the copy of Ajax's He has bragged about it for years!” said Antony heartily He headed in the opposite direction, to the servant's dismay He did not knohich of us to follow Finally he settled on Antony
As soon as they had gone Down a hallway, I turned around and followed them The house was clearly empty There were a number of telltale trunks stacked in the atriu packing lay on the floors: dust balls, scraps of paper, pins, and pieces of string
”O Athena!” Antony's voice rose in one!” He stuck his head out of the door and called to me ”Come and see! Someone has stolen titius's prize collection! Why, you--” He turned to the servant ”He'll have your head for this when he returns!”
I entered the roo ”Alas, poor titius!” I had not thought it in ame--he, who played when others would weep--but found rieved he'll be! Were you asleep when you should have been guarding?”
I could see the pegs in the here the shi+elds had hung titius always kept theht hiht, er,” said Antony in consoling tones ”You needn't protect hione, and we knohere We just want to knohen--and why”
”He left last night As for why, I swear I don't know”
”He didn't leave letters to be delivered?”
”No, sir In the na the truth”
It's the younger generation No No ht ”Has he taken everything?” I asked I al?” I asked
”Everything that could be packed,” the servant said
We left the roo as I am here, I should should see the fa room On the way I passed a bust of Octavian perched on a pedestal ”Why, look! He's forgotten his Octavian!” see the fa room On the way I passed a bust of Octavian perched on a pedestal ”Why, look! He's forgotten his Octavian!”
Seeing the face and features ofAfter all, I had last seen hihteen, before he beca an official portrait This was hoished to be regarded now I caed, but I would still recognize hier and more disheveled (Why did he want to be portrayed so untidily?) His head was cocked arrogantly, restlessly, his brows furrowed a bit This was a hungry, seekinghis eyes fastened on, critically I had to admire the honesty and nerve of someone who allowed such an accurate characterization of hiy see? Didn't he want this?” I pressed the boy
”He was afraid the marble would crack Look, there's a fault below the ear” The servant pointed to it
I could see the hairline fracture just beneath the little, low-set ears ”What a shame just to leave him here, ail alone! I think we should adopt him!” I turned to Antony ”Don't you think we need an Octavian bust? Let's take hionize=”” about=”” hi=”” apollo=”” will=”” surely=”” protect=”” hilue=”” hi=”” the=”” statue=”” gave=”” me=”” a=”” nasty=”” sense=”” of=”” triuonize=”” about=”” hi=”” apollo=”” will=”” surely=”” protect=”” hilue=”” hi=”” the=”” statue=”” gave=”” me=”” a=”” nasty=”” sense=”” of=”” triumph=”” over=”” titius=”” and=””></we>
”Whatever you wish,” said Antony ”But werooht It is best to keep your adversary before your eyes there
That night, when the household noises had ceased and all the servants-- even Eros--had finished their tasks and withdrae talked seriously about the defections Antony had a drawn look on his face that made hi himself to review reports of his junior coood replace, but it was crucial
”There's young Dentatus,” he said ”He shows prohed and put down the papers ”Plancus and titius will be sorely missed Not that any commander is irreplaceable, except Caesar hirippa's loss to Octavian would be crippling,” I said ”He is no Caesar, but he is the nearest thing to a successor, militarily Except for you, of course,” I hastened to add
”No point in drearippa isn't likely to appear at our headquarters tomorrow”
I had to ask it ”Antony, why do you you think they defected? And what does it mean to our cause?” think they defected? And what does it hts le he had to make sense of it But he would answer honestly, for that was his nature He,-like Caesar, did not flinch before the truth
”Inas, Plancus has always favored peace and compromise,” he finally said ”He served Caesar loyally, if unremarkably, in Gaul and afterward Later he voted for amnesty for Caesar's assassins, and tried to support the Senate Then, when it came down to it, he lost heart for Cicero's policy, and joinedI suppose he couldn't sustain enough enthusias conflict”
”Does he think that Octavian will require less?”
”Perhaps he feels he will be given less responsibility there And also, lately I caught his He was a bit of a thief, as it turned out I was going to have to take away his privilege of using ”
So! He had taken his revenge this way But would Octavian take him? Octavian (to his credit, I must admit) was reputed to like treachery, but despise traitors So their information
”But the bust of Octavian--does that mean he always favored hi around Octavian has flooded the world with his statues, since they are to be set up alongside Caesar's in all the temples dedicated to Rome, and that's a lot of tehed ”I adh a bit of an opportunist, and a flatterer--”
I rely atthat city after hie it back again! And Plancus, painting hi around naked at the banquet
A bit of a flattererbit of a flatterer
”Antony, how many support us only from policy, and how many because of personal loyalty? It seems that we cannot rely on the ones who have joined us for political reasons Are they with us out of conviction, or only because they are vaguely against Octavian?”
”They make it their business to hide that froerous to read others' minds We will just have to trust their better natures” He sainst him I rested my chin on the top of his head ”Distrust rots a ht, but it was too noble for me
Almost two months after Octavia had received her papers of divorce, and left Antony's house, weeping, so it was said, Antyllus, Antony's eldest son, arrived in Athens Although the wily Octavian had long urged his sister to consider herself divorced and abandon Antony's ho it in how badly she was treated, when the actual divorce came, he made much of it He made sure that she transferred froht, with the train of her children trailing after her She was the wronged woman, the perfect mother, now cast out With her into Octavian's house went Marcellus, aged ten, the two Marcellas--aged eight and sixteen--then Antony's son Iullus, aged ten, and the two Antonias, aged seven and four Only Antyllus, at thirteen the eldest of Antony's, wanted to go to his father rather than re that he was too old to be used easily, Octavian let hio