“We will add it to our prayers.” She reached for his other hand too, putting them in the same position they had been in before the interruption. “You were praising the Father for giving us peace, and for sending us his Spirit to comfort us.”
Smiling, Titus nodded and bowed his head again, letting the words seep through his consciousness before coming out his lips. By the time he spoke, a soft voice into the quiet room, he had aligned himself once more with the Spirit that hovered still in the back of his being.
*
Samuel tugged on Abigail’s hand, his eyes wide with excitement. “Mother! Mother, look!” He pointed at a huge beast that was standing a good distance off.
Abigail looked, and her eyes widened too. She turned to Antonia. “What is it?”
Antonia followed their gazes and smiled. “An elephant. No doubt brought over after one of the African campaigns. There are a few who think the novelty will make them money, but I assure you, they are more pleasant from here than they are close up. Their stench is as big as they are.”
Abigail chuckled, and Samuel bounced up and down a bit in excitement. He did not ask for a closer look, but he strained to see over the people who kept passing in their way. Abigail picked him up, since Antonia held the baby, to give him an extra few inches.
“Look at his ears!” He giggled in delight as the beast twitched the giant flaps of flesh. “See, Mother, I told you the markets were more exciting than at home.”
“I think for everyday, I prefer the relative quiet of Jerusalem.” She slid Samuel back to the ground but held his hand once more as they began to move. “Although this is certainly a pleasant diversion. Are we shopping for anything in particular, Antonia?”
“Only your pleasure, Mistress. The young master instructed me to get you out of that library for a day and to see some of the sights. Bithia suggested maybe you would want to see some of the games that will be on next week, but I said I doubted it. Bloodbaths, that is all they are, and not fitting for a lady’s sight.”
Abigail had certainly heard enough about the gladiator fights in the Coliseum to know that the nurse was right. Violence could hardly be a game to one whose life had been turned upside down by it. “I will likely only be here for another week, anyway.” Her eyes moved from stall to stall and vendor to vendor. “Arminius informs us that all is going smoothly, and the false testimonies have been dismissed. Titus is beginning to keep an ear open for news of ships sailing to Israel.”
“And slaves to take you there,” Antonia added with a knowing nod. “You will need at least one strong eunuch to see to your protection.”
Abigail would have loved to deny that particular necessity, but having been in the streets of Rome for half an hour, she could not. It was unnerving, how many men stared openly at her. Her only reassurance was the huge African that followed them a few steps behind, his head above everyone else’s and his arms, bigger than most men’s legs, crossed forbiddingly over his chest. Any troublemakers would surely steer clear of the man they called Panther.
“Oh, look at these.” Antonia urged Abigail to a table that had necklaces strewn over its top, the colors and stones so many that she couldn’t begin to name them all, yet most were apparently not too precious, if all laid out so carelessly.
“Pretty.” She touched a purple rock with a finger.
“Amethyst,” the vendor replied with a grin missing a few teeth. “One of the rarest gems, and a favorite of ladies. It is said to protect against intoxication from wine and keep a man faithful.”
Antonia snorted. “With Titus, you may need that, Mistress. Especially if you expect him to pine for you when you leave, although certainly I have never seen him look at a woman with so much caring.”
Abigail’s smile felt tight and forced, and she drew her hand away from the table altogether. “I do not need an amulet, thank you.”
Antonia arched a white brow. “Come child, I have heard stories, and even Hebrews have jewels of significance.”
“Hebrews.” The vendor recoiled as if the word warned of leprosy rather than a nation. “I was cheated by Hebrew merchants more often than I can count.”
“If it happened more than once, it is your own fault, and I feel no pity.” She looked back to Antonia. “And I did not mean to say I judged the jewel itself, only that I do not think any object capable of achieving what a man does not wish to be so. Our traditions do not give jewels powers, only worth.”
The man narrowed a single eye to give him a rather strange appearance. “You are Hebrew? You speak Greek like a Roman.”
She gave him a smile. “Because I was raised in a Roman house that happened to people itself from Israel.”
The vendor’s features returned to normal, the toothless grin back in place. “A prettier Hebrewess I have never seen. I will cut the price of the amethyst in half for such a face as yours.”