Abigail blushed and cleared her throat, holding Benjamin a little closer to her. “One would think this little bundle would deter them.”
Titus’s look was dry. “Only if one thinks as a woman instead of a man. Be wise and cautious, my friend. Your beauty has not dimmed, and Jason is not the only man who could appreciate it.”
Abigail searched his gaze carefully but saw only concern there, none of the things that had once made her blood chill whenever he looked at her. She nodded, docile again, and took a step closer to his side. “I will be careful. And I will only come out here with you.” With a smile she added, “As long as you bring me at least twice a day, anyway.”
Titus grinned his agreement and held out an arm to urge her into movement. He fell into step beside her, even put one hand protectively on the small of her back as they walked. Samuel attached himself to Titus’s other hand, swinging it happily as he skipped along beside them. The boy’s eyes were focused on the water.
Abigail looked up at her companion. “This evening I will resume our lessons, if you wish.”
“I was hoping you would offer,” he admitted with a smile. “I have spent the last days trying to sort through all you have already told me, but I have many questions. These Laws are all-encompassing; I fear I will never learn them all, and that at each moment of my life I will have to stop and wonder what it is I should be doing.”
Abigail laughed. “That is not a bad thing, my friend. If you pause to wonder, then you will have paused to hear your conscience, the voice of God. But you remember the basics, do you not?”
Titus nodded, his face at peace. “Love the Lord first of all, and then my heart will bend in the right direction. Love my neighbors, and do unto them as I would have them do unto me.” His gaze went hard, focused straight ahead. “It will not be easy. My life up until now has been dominated by those things God forbids. Women, drunkenness, violence. In moments like these, I feel as though I am capable of leaving it all behind. But when I am alone, facing Rome?” He shook his head in dismay. “I know not how I will resist falling into those habits once more.”
“You will not be alone,” Abigail swore. “Our God is everywhere, Titus. He is in us. And you heard what Tabitha said, that Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit in his place, to comfort us and teach us.”
Titus sighed. “I have not seen this Spirit. How will I know it?”
Abigail looked up into his face and smiled. “How did you know the messiah?”
Titus returned the smile. “He touched me.”
She nodded, looking forward again. “His touch was fire, as was his blood on me. His Spirit will be fire, too. We will know, Titus. We will know.”
Chapter Thirty
The vessel rocked violently in the storm, the boards creaking under the strain and groaning with the effort of staying afloat. According to the captain, they were in no great danger; the storm was a mild one, he claimed, and they would weather it with no troubles. Titus believed him because he knew the man, and he knew that he spoke the truth.
Abigail did not look convinced.
Samuel was asleep as though it were nothing but a lullaby, and Benjamin had finally settled, too. He knew Abigail needed some rest, but she groaned every time she closed her eyes. Hence why she was sitting on the floor in his cabin, Samuel’s head in her lap, the baby’s basket beside her. Titus sat on his pallet and watched the lantern sway back and forth on its hook in the ceiling.
“I have been sick enough this past year to last me a lifetime.” Her voice sounded tight, strained. “Must I sail back to Israel when this is done? Can I not simply will myself to be there, or strap myself to the back of a giant bird?”
Titus chuckled. “Before the storm began, you were claiming to have gained a love for sea life.”
“I spoke prematurely.” She put a hand on her stomach.
Titus patted the space beside him. “Come here.”
She eased from under Samuel and crawled the few feet to his side. He slid a hand under her braid and gently massaged at the pressure in her neck. She sighed.
“It is your nerves that are making you ill,” he said. “You must relax.”
“That is what I am always told right before something unpleasant befalls me.”
Titus bit down a chuckle. “Jason once said that you never complained. That you were perfect humility, modesty, and grace.”
“He then proceeded to spoil me.”
He smiled, though she could not see it. “You have no idea how tired I got of hearing your name. It seemed that every time I saw him, you were the only thing on his mind. I had to follow him around as he searched for presents, listen as he vented his frustrations with the walls you kept around you.” He shook his head, breathing a laugh. “And once the others had seen you, it only grew worse. We could not meet without mention of Jason’s Venus.”