Colleen McCullough - 1. First Man in Rome

After careful consideration, I decided that I would permit my niece and ward, Aurelia, to choose her own husband. My wife, her mother, agreed. This is to announce that Aurelia has made her choice. Her husband is to be Gaius Julius Caesar Junior, younger son of the Conscript Father Gaius Julius Caesar. I trust you will join with me in offering the couple all felicitations for their coming marriage.

His secretary looked at Cotta with wide eyes. "All right, don't just sit there, get onto it!" said Cotta rather gruffly for such an even-tempered man. "I want thirty-seven copies of that within the hour, each one headed to a man on this list." He shoved the list across the table. "I'll sign them myself, then they are to be delivered by hand immediately." The secretary got to work; so did the gossip grapevine, which easily beat the letters to their recipients. Many were the sore hearts and new grudges when the news got round, for clearly Aurelia's choice was an emotional one, not an expedient one. Somehow that made it less forgivable; none of the starters on Aurelia's list of suitors liked being pipped on the post by the younger son of a mere backbencher, no matter how august his lineage. Besides which, the lucky man was far too good-looking, and that was generally felt to be an unfair advantage. After she recovered from the initial shock, Rutilia was inclined to approve of her daughter's choice. "Oh, think of the children she'll have!" she purred to Cotta as he stood being draped in his purple-bordered toga so he could venture forth to visit the Julius Caesar household, situated in a less fashionable part of the Palatine. "If you leave money out of it, it's a splendid match for an Aurelius, let alone a Rutilius. The Julians are the very top of the tree." "You can't dine off an ancient bloodline," growled Cotta. "Oh, come now, Marcus Aurelius, it isn't that bad! The Marius connection has advanced the Julian fortune mightily, and no doubt it will continue to do so. I can't see any reason why young Gaius Julius won't be consul. I've heard he's very bright, as well as very capable." "Handsome is as handsome does," said Cotta, unconvinced. However, he set out in togate magnificence, a handsome man himself, though with the florid complexion all the Aurelius Cottas possessed; it was a family whose members did not live to be very old, for they were subject to apoplexy. The younger Gaius Julius Caesar was not at home, he was informed, so he asked for the old man, and was surprised when the steward looked grave. "If you will excuse me, Marcus Aurelius, I will make inquiries," the steward said. "Gaius Julius is not well." This was the first Cotta had heard of an illness, but upon reflection he realized that indeed the old man had not been in the Senate House in some time. "I'll wait," he said. The steward came back quickly. "Gaius Julius will see you," he said, conducting Cotta to the study. "I should warn you that his appearance will shock you." Glad he had been warned, Cotta concealed his shock as the bony fingers managed the enormous task of poking forward to offer a handshake. "Marcus Aurelius, it is a pleasure," Caesar said. "Sit down, do! I'm sorry I cannot rise, but my steward will have told you I am not well." A faint smile played around the fine lips. "A euphemism. I'm dying." "Oh, surely not," said Cotta uneasily, seating himself on the edge of a chair with twitching nostrils; there was a peculiar smell in the room, of something unpleasant. "Surely so. I have a growth in my throat. It was confirmed this morning by Athenodorus Siculus." "It grieves me to hear you say it, Gaius Julius. Your presence in the House will be sorely missed, especially by my brother-in-law Publius Rutilius." "He's a good friend." Caesar's red-rimmed eyes blinked tiredly. "I can guess why you're here, Marcus Aurelius, but please tell me." "When the list of my niece and ward Aurelia's suitors got so long and so filled with powerful names that I had to fear the choosing of her husband would leave my sons with more enemies than friends, I permitted her to choose her own spouse," said Cotta. "Two days ago she met your younger son at the house of her uncle, Publius Rutilius, and today she tells me she has chosen him." "And you dislike it as much as I do," said Caesar. "I do." Cotta sighed, shrugged. "However, I passed my word on the matter, so I shall adhere to it." "I made the same concession to my younger son many years ago," said Caesar, and smiled. "We will agree to make the best of it then, Marcus Aurelius, and hope that our children have more sense than we do." "Indeed, Gaius Julius." "You will want to know my son's circumstances." "He told me when he applied for her hand." "He may not have been forthcoming enough. There is more than sufficient land to ensure his seat in the Senate, but at the moment, nothing more," said Caesar. "Unfortunately, I am not in a position to purchase a second house in Rome, and that is a difficulty. This house goes to my older son, Sextus, who married recently and lives here with his wife, now in the early stages of her first pregnancy. My death is imminent, Marcus Aurelius. After my death, it is Sextus who becomes the paterfamilias, and upon his marriage my younger son will have to find another place to live." "I'm sure you know Aurelia is heavily dowered," said Cotta. "Perhaps the most sensible thing to do is to invest her dowry in a house." He cleared his throat. "She inherited a large sum from her father, my brother, which has been invested for some years now. In spite of the market ups and downs, it stands at the moment at about one hundred talents. Forty talents will buy a more than respectable house on the Palatine or the Carinae. Naturally the house would be put in your son's name, but if at any time a divorce should occur, your son would have to replace the sum the house cost. But divorce aside, Aurelia would still have a sufficient sum left in her own right to ensure she doesn't want." Caesar frowned. "I dislike the thought that my son will live in a private dwelling funded by his wife," he croaked. "It would be a presumption on his part. No, Marcus Aurelius, I think something is called for that will safeguard Aurelia's money better than the purchasing of a house she will not own. A hundred talents will buy an insula in excellent condition anywhere on the Esquiline. It should be bought for her, in her name. The young couple can live rent-free in one of the ground-floor apartments, and your niece can enjoy an income from renting the rest of the apartments, an income larger than she can get from other kinds of investments. My son will have to strive of his own volition to earn the money to buy a private house, and that will keep his courage and ambitions high." "I couldn't allow Aurelia to live in an insula!" said Cotta, aghast. "No, I'll slice off forty talents to buy a house, and leave the other sixty talents safely invested." "An insula in her own name," said Caesar stubbornly. He gasped, choked, leaned forward fighting for breath. Cotta poured a cup of wine and placed it in the clutching hand, assisting the hand to Caesar's lips. "Better," said Caesar in a little while. "Perhaps I ought to come back," said Cotta. "No, let's thrash this out now, Marcus Aurelius. We do agree, you and I, that this match is not the one we would have chosen for either participant. Very well then, let us not make it too easy for them. Let us teach them the price of love. If they belong together, a little hardship can only strengthen their bond. If they do not, a little hardship will accelerate the break. We will ensure that Aurelia keeps all of her dowry, and we will not injure my son's pride any more than we can help. An insula, Marcus Aurelius! It must be of the best construction, so make sure you employ honest men to inspect it. And," the whispering voice went on, "don't be too fussy about its location. Rome is growing rapidly, but the market for inexpensive housing is far steadier than for housing of those moving upward. When times are hard, those moving upward slide down, so there are always tenants looking for cheaper rent." "Ye gods, my niece would be a common landlady!" cried Cotta, revolted by the idea. "And why not?" asked Caesar, smiling tiredly. "I hear she's a colossal beauty. Won't the two roles marry? If they won't, perhaps she should think twice about marrying my son." "It is true that she's a colossal beauty," said Cotta, smiling broadly at a secret joke. "I shall bring her to meet you, Gaius Julius, and let you make of her what you will." He got to his feet, leaned over to pat the thin shoulder. "My last word is this: it shall be left to Aurelia to decide what happens to her dowry. You put your proposition of the insula to her yourself, and I shall put my suggestion of a house forward. Is it a deal?" "It's a deal," said Caesar. "But send her quickly, Marcus Aurelius! Tomorrow, at noon." "Will you tell your son?" "Indeed I will. He can fetch her to me tomorrow."