COLLEEN McCULLOUGH

CAESAR'S WOMEN PART I from JUNE of 68 B.C. until MARCH of 66 B.C.

"Brutus, I don't like the look of your skin. Come here to the light, please." The fifteen year old made no sign that he had heard, simply remained hunched over a single sheet of Fannian paper with his reed pen, its ink long since dried, poised in midair. "Come here, Brutus. At once," said his mother placidly. He knew her, so down went the pen; though he wasn't mortally afraid of her, he wasn't about to court her displeasure. One summons might be safely ignored, but a second summons meant she expected to be obeyed, even by him. Rising, he walked across to where Servilia stood by the window, its shutters wide because Rome was sweltering in an unseasonably early heatwave. Though she was short and Brutus had recently begun to grow into what she hoped was going to be tallness, his head was not very far above hers; she put up one hand to clutch his chin, and peered closely at several angry red lumps welling under the skin around his mouth. Her hand released him, moved to push the loose dark curls away from his brow: more eruptions! "How I wish you'd keep your hair cut!" she said, tugging at a lock which threatened to obscure his sight and tugging hard enough to make his eyes water. "Mama, short hair is unintellectual," he protested. "Short hair is practical. It stays off your face and doesn't irritate your skin. Oh, Brutus, what a trial you're becoming!" "If you wanted a crop skulled warrior son, Mama, you should have had more boys with Silanus instead of a couple of girls." "One son is affordable. Two sons stretch the money further than it wants to go. Besides, if I'd given Silanus a son, you wouldn't be his heir as well as your father's." She strode across to the desk where he had been working and stirred the various scrolls upon it with impatient fingers.