A week of soaking in her private bathhouse must have been the answer, because the pain disappeared within a few days and the rashes faded just over a week later. From then on, Julia made it a routine to make the short trip every morning at dawn for both the sake of her hygiene and her sanity. And though it was no Swedish massage, Flavia and Alba were excellent at working out the kinks in her shoulders between the two of them. It was nice being able to talk to them and enjoy herself, even if their constant concerns about finding husbands and becoming mothers were a little trite.
Julia couldn't blame them. This was a society that forced women into a corner and gave them no options except to depend on men to survive, and only the wealthiest and most influential of women - in other words, wi
