“Jason willed it.” Innocently, she tacked on, “And if you are going to learn the Law, Titus Asinius, perhaps you should consider it as well.”
The suggestion was enough to send Titus quickly out the door, shouting over his shoulder that he would return soon.
From behind him he heard Samuel’s voice. “Mother, may I go with him? Please? Please?”
“Very well.”
Titus held up, bracing himself for the impact. As expected, Samuel barreled outside and launched himself at Titus’s legs, shouting, “I am coming! Take me with you! I want to see the boat!”
Titus laughed and picked him up and swung him onto his shoulders. “We will not see the boat today, Samuel. It is at Joppa. I am going to tell one of my father’s servants to book passage for you and your mother, though, and then, the day after tomorrow, we will go to see it.”
“Is it big?” the boy asked, bending over to see Titus’s face.
Titus grinned at the curls that fell down when Samuel put his head upside down. “It is big. With sails larger than your house and poles as tall as the fortress. And Rome is many times larger than Jerusalem, too.”
Samuel gasped in amazement. “Bigger that Jerusalem? Benjamin will be frightened.” His voice hinted at some trepidation of his own. “I will have to protect him.”
Titus chuckled and tickled one of the feet dangling over his shoulder. “You will indeed.”
“What is your house like, Titus?”
“Large,” Titus said, considering. “Luxurious. But not very warm.”
“I shall bring a blanket.” That proclamation made Titus laugh again. “Will there be any boys to play with?”
“A few, perhaps.”
“And the place Mother is claiming for Benjamin? Is it big?”
“Very big,” Titus said. “Very nice. And very much more welcoming than my house. You shall like it there, Samuel, and I think your mother will, too. But do not tell her that just yet. She may decide not to, just for the sake of it.”
Such a thing seemed to baffle the boy, but he nevertheless vowed secrecy and kept up his barrage of questions.
*
Andrew felt pounds lighter as he traveled back to the inn. He had just come from the general’s house, and most of his worries were eased. Except for that detail about her traveling with Titus Asinius.
Drusus greeted him at the door. “Well?”
“She is well,” Andrew replied with a smile. “She had a son. She has gone with one of Jason’s friends to Rome, to claim the Visibullis estate–apparently the steward has been in touch, and needed verification of an heir.”
Drusus nodded, not looking surprised. “One of my servants came shortly after you left with a similar message for me. I am glad she went; it spares me from needing to do so too quickly. But still, I too should make the trip soon, to remove any doubts they may have of her.” He sighed, glancing inside as if seeing through the walls to where Ester lay. “Go tell your mistress her grandson has been born. Perhaps it will bring life back to her soul.”
Andrew moved to her room and knelt beside the bed. She had grown so thin, so pale. “Mistress?” He picked up her hand, the fingers lax. “Mistress, I just got the news. Abigail had her babe, a little boy. You have a grandson, Lady. Your husband and son live on.”
Ester opened her eyes and smiled.
*
For the first few days of the voyage, Abigail was so sick she could barely stand. But she soon got her sea legs, much to the relief of her companions, and was able to move about with relative ease. They were traveling on one of the ships that Caius Asinius owned, and it was a trading vessel. They occupied the only two cabins available for passengers, and both were rather cramped. Abigail had insisted on taking the smaller of the two, and Titus had insisted back that if she did that, Samuel would stay with him.
So she and Benjamin had their own little room, which had seemed quite cozy at the start, of which she was completely oblivious for the next hours, and which then began to suffocate her. For her own sanity’s sake, on the fourth day of the voyage she fled to the decks, baby bundled up against the brisk sea air and nestled against her.
“Abigail.”
At the sound of Titus’s voice, she turned from her place at the rail, smiling when she saw her friend and Samuel drawing near. Titus did not return the smile.
“You should not be up here.” He sent a scathing look at one of the sailors until he skulked away.
“I was about to lose my mind in that cabin. I needed fresh air.”
Surely Titus could understand such reasoning–he spent most of his free time out of the close space. He sighed. “Well in the future, please only come on deck when I am with you. You are a bit of a novelty on board.” He glared at another man who had lingered a bit too long with his gazes. “I am afraid these men will eventually decide staring at you is not enough.”