ROMA, ITALIA 24 DECEMBER 67 AD
Caenis hosted a small Saturnalian gathering for unmarried women and widows. It was a respectable affair, with none of the more vigourous role-reversals popular this time of year. In just seven months her reputation had become so great that her house provided a haven for those who wished to escape the unwelcome eruption of egality and equality.
The surprise guest was Claudia Acte, Nero"s first great love. With dark skin and darker brows, fine black hair and a mouth like a blooming flower, it was easy to see what had attracted the seventeen year-old ruler of the world. They had been lovers for three years, and he had even threatened to end his unhappy marriage for her, a slave. Even ten years after the end of their affair, Nero treated her with a deference he
