“Well, I suppose.” She sounded begrudging at best.
“Thank you.” He kissed her softly, then drew away. “I should go join them before Father plans out the next ten years of my life without me. I will be sure and greet Samuel and Benjamin before Antonia takes them for their dinner.”
*
Abigail sighed in frustration. “What has gotten into him? He has never been so eager to join his father and his guests before.”
“The consul is an important man,” Phillip provided from the shadows. “If Titus has any intention of beginning a career in Rome, he needs to make friends like Cornelius.”
Samuel and Miriam chose that moment to race up to them, Antonia following at a safer, slower pace, obviously glad to have younger legs to keep up with the child. Samuel threw himself at Abigail, and she swung him up into her arms with a laugh.
“Did I hear Titus?” He gave her neck a giant squeeze.
“Yes, but he is in with a guest now. We will go in now and get washed up for the meal; he has promised to come say good night before we go. But Antonia will have to put you to bed tonight, my son. Titus needs me at dinner with him.”
Samuel’s face fell. “Must you?”
“So it seems.” Though internally she asked the same question. Determined to talk with Titus about it when he came to the boys, she pasted a smile on her face and put Samuel on his feet. “Come, you are filthy.”
Samuel rallied enough to chatter all the way inside and made no fuss when Antonia subjected him to a good scrubbing at the wash basin. It gave Abigail a chance to turn to Miriam.
“It has been suggested that you assist with serving me tonight.” She said it softly, making it clear Miriam could refuse. “You would not be alone, just working beside the girl who is usually there. Her name is Valenia.”
Miriam bowed her head. “I will be honored to serve you tonight, Mistress.”
Abigail’s frowned at the easy acceptance. “Are you certain you will not be too nervous with the crowd? I know I was terrified at my first meal with my mistress, and then again at the first Roman gathering I was asked to serve at.”
Miriam smiled warmly. “I have been serving all of my life, Mistress, I will be fine.”
Abigail sighed and nodded, then changed the subject. “I have no idea what I should wear.” She smiled when she realized she sounded much like Ester always had when about to meet new people. “Come, we will go through what Roman garments I have.”
She opted for full Roman styles, a simple dress but with extravagnt hair and generous jewelry. The result, as she looked in the glass, would have been well worth the time had she actually cared about impressing the guests who would no doubt be staring at her in curiosity, trying to figure out why Jason had forfeited his career for her. By the time she heard Titus’s voice, she was convinced that going downstairs would be an enormous mistake.
He stepped into the room, eyes widening upoing spotting her. “Abigail. How is it that every time I think you have reached the pinnacle of beauty, you manage to surpass it?”
She did not so much as smile at the compliment. “I need to speak with you.”
Titus’s eyes glittered with what looked suspiciously like mirth. When Samuel attached himself to his leg, he mussed the boy’s curls and gave him his attention. “Be a good boy for Antonia tonight and do whatever she tells you. And help her with your brother.”
“I will,” Samuel said solemnly. “But must Mother go?”
“She will be in once you are in bed to kiss you. And she will only be in the tablinum, not far.”
That seemed to satisfy the boy. He nodded, gave Titus a fierce hug, and turned to help Antonia calm the baby before he could fuss. Titus turned back to Abigail.
She folded her arms over her chest and pitched her voice law. “I cannot do this, it is absurd to expect it of me. The only Roman parties I have ever been a part of, I have been serving at. To expect me to suddenly be a guest–”
“Is understandable, given how perfectly I have seen you conduct yourself in many different situations.” He put his hands on her shoulders. “Fair one, Cornelius was a friend of Cleopas’s, and he wishes to speak with you, to share his memories and hear about his later years.”
She relaxed a bit. “But will he be the only one there? I am afraid of being a spectacle, Titus, that everyone only wants to see me to marvel that Jason would have dared marry such a wretch.”
He moved his hands to either side of her face. “You are not a wretch. You are a beautiful, loving, amazing, intelligent woman, and I love you.”
Abigail deflated. “And I love you.”