Caesar's Women [antikvár]

ill '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 recendy 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 imder the skin around his mouth. Her hand released him, moved to push the loose dark ciu-ls away from his brow: more eruptions! 'How I wish you'd keep your hair cut!' she said, tugging at a lock which tlu-eatened 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. 'Look at this mess! No wonder your shoulders are round and you're swaybacked. Get out onto the Campus Martius with Cassius and the other boys from school, don't waste your time trying to condense the whole of Thucydides onto one sheet of paper.'