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tears, she tried to explain what had happened.
    "It was awful," Marcella gulped between sobs. "Caligula's grandmother came in! She--she caught us. There she was standing over the couch, the empress , with those two huge guards that follow her everywhere. Now the whole palace will know. Mother says I'll be ruined. The empress called me a slut. She hates me--I think she hates our whole family. She says it was my fault--but it really was not. Caligula has been after me for months--"
    "Caligula!" I stared at her, astonished. "Why did you go with that slimy boy? But what's the fuss about? We used to take naps with our cousins all the time. Surely sleeping with Caligula won't harm you."
    "We weren't sleeping."
    It took a moment before I understood; perhaps I didn't want to understand. "You actually did that ? You let Caligula--oh, Marcella, how disgusting!"
    "It is not disgusting." Marcella giggled through her tears. "It's even..."
    I shuddered. "No one's ever going to do that to me. I'd like to see anyone try!"
    Marcella sighed. Her face wore that superior look I hated. "Oh, what do you know! You are a child."
    "We're only two years apart," I reminded her.
    She sighed. "Those are the two that matter." Marcella poured water from a pitcher near the couch and bathed her eyes. "Oh, little sister, what will they do to me?"
    It didn't take long to find out. Within minutes Livia entered with her guards. There was barely enough space left in the tiny room for Mother, who followed, her face white and drawn. Agrippina stood behind them, for once in the background. She looked guilty. I didn't need the sight to tell me that Marcella's punishment would be awful.
    In fact, Livia's plan was unthinkable. "I will send her to the Virgins," she announced gleefully.
    "The Virgins!" Marcella's lips parted in a gasp. Her eyes went wide, her skin deathly pale. I moved closer, fearing my sister might faint, but Marcella stood firm, her eyes unwavering as she faced the empress.
    A cruel smile lit Livia's face. "They have ways of dealing with unruly little bitches." Mother's arms encircled Marcella, holding her wordlessly. "Come, Agrippina." The empress crooked her finger. An emerald sparkled in a shaft of sunlight. She turned abruptly and swept from the room followed by her two guards, huge men, black as ebony. Agrippina trailed behind, her eyes down, not looking at any of us. What was the matter with her? Agrippina was our aunt, our friend. Why wasn't she standing up to Livia? Mother and Marcella clung together, sobbing quietly, scarcely aware of me as I hurried into my clothes and slipped out the door.

     

    I' D ALWAYS BELIEVED THAT MY FATHER COULD DO ANYTHING . N OW, AS I approached the garden bench where he sat, I began to have doubts. His shoulders were hunched, his face buried in his hands.
    " Tata, isn't there something--"
    Looking up, he took my hand and drew me down beside him. "Livia is the empress. Her word is law. To go against her is to go against Rome itself."
    "But Tiberius is the emperor."
    "And Livia's son. Do you think he'd cross her for anything so trivial?" Father touched his finger gently to my lips, forestalling an outburst. "Trivial in his eyes."
    I sat mutely for a time casting, about for ideas, discarding them one by one. The garden, ablaze with summer blooms, mocked me, forcing my gaze to the far end of the planting where an immense marble statue of the Divine Augustus stared down. The whole world was displayed across the emperor's chest, a constellation of conquests--Parthia, Spain, Gaul, Dalmatia. Father, who loved to tell war stories, had made certain that I was well acquainted with each victory. A cupid at Augustus's feet also reminded viewers of his descent from Venus. Mother had taken care to explain that myth. As family members, we claimed the same divine ancestor.
    "If Augustus were alive this wouldn't happen," I ventured. "He'd stop Livia."
    Tata shook his head sadly. "Who knows? When the last Vestal died and everyone