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Back The House with the Golden Door Save as PDF
Chapters (60)
  1. Cover
  2. PRAISE FOR
  3. PRAISE FOR
  4. Dedication
  5. 75 CE
  6. 1
  7. 2
  8. 3
  9. 4
  10. 5
  11. 6
  12. 7
  13. 8
  14. 9
  15. 10
  16. FLORALIA
  17. 11
  18. 12
  19. 13
  20. 14
  21. 15
  22. 16
  23. 17
  24. 18
  25. 19
  26. LEMURIA
  27. 20
  28. 21
  29. 22
  30. 23
  31. 24
  32. 25
  33. 26
  34. 27
  35. 28
  36. 29
  37. NEMORALIA
  38. 30
  39. 31
  40. 32
  41. 33
  42. 34
  43. 35
  44. 36
  45. 37
  46. 38
  47. 39
  48. 40
  49. 76 CE
  50. 41
  51. 42
  52. 43
  53. 44
  54. 45
  55. 46
  56. 47
  57. 48
  58. EPILOGUE
  59. AFTERWORD
  60. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

“Is that something to boast of now? Making girls cry with your lovemaking?” They both laugh so hard they shake uncontrollably from the effort of keeping quiet, and every time Amara thinks she has recovered herself, Philos catches her eye, making her laugh again.

Slowly, their amusement ebbs, and Philos props himself up on one elbow, so he is looking down on her. Amara notices he instinctively moves his other arm to cover the scar. “So can I come back and make you cry again tomorrow night?”

“Yes,” Amara says. “Though I’m not sure how I can be without you between now and tomorrow.”

Her answer brings a darkness into the room. In the lamplight, with Philos so close, bathed in its glow, she feels completely safe, and yet, she is aware that neither of them has ever been more at risk. “If we are going to meet like this,” he says. “We have to protect one another. That means, in the daytime, we don’t acknowledge each other at all. No secret gestures, no stolen glances. You just ignore me. If Rufus ever punishes me, you let him. And if he hurts you, I cannot intervene.” Philos pauses, obviously uncomfortable. “Does he ever . . . I mean, has he ever hurt you?”

“No,” Amara says, but Philos is looking at her, waiting to see if she is going to tell him more, and suddenly, she doesn’t want to lie. “Well, he did once, so I know it’s possible. But he hasn’t done it again since.” The anger in his face is so unfamiliar, it alarms her. She reaches out to touch his arm. “I should not have told you.”

“No, you should. We need to share it all, so we know how to act. One evening, I will tell you everything I know about him, but I don’t think I can bear to, not now.”

“Not after making me cry,” Amara jokes, trying to bring back the laughter from before.

Philos smiles, though she can still sense his sadness. “I love you,” he says.

Amara stares at him, realizing that, for the first time since Dido’s death, she does not feel alone. She takes hold of his hand, the one shielding his chest, drawing him back down to her. “I love you too.”

LEMURIA

20

“For this reason too, if proverbs interest you, folk say bad women marry in May.”

—Ovid, Fasti: On the Rites of the Lemuria