Barabbas. Abigail straightened, suddenly determined. “I am going.”
Her announcement was met with a moment of silence followed by an explosion. Andrew’s arguments were the loudest. “You cannot go out into the crowds in your condition, Abigail, it is absurd! And besides, I have to meet Drusus, and Simon is needed here.”
She leveled a gaze at him filled with all the defiance that filled her. “I do not need an escort. And I do not need your approval. I have not left this house in a fortnight, and I am about to go mad. You have heard Ester in her delirium–she is troubled by Cleopas’s opinions about this rabbi. I will go and find out what becomes of him; perhaps some new information will settle her mind. Have you thought of that?”
They apparently had not, as it silenced them momentarily. Then Dinah insisted, “You still cannot go alone, dear one. It is not safe. Simon said a mob is growing–”
“Then no one will take notice of one small woman with child, will they?” Abigail grabbed her head covering from where it sat nearby and draped it over her hair. Not waiting for a response, she headed for the door. “Dinah, you will watch Samuel for me, will you not?”
Andrew was only a step behind her. “Abigail, this is foolish. Go back inside.”
“No.” She inclined her head a bit so she could look over at him but kept walking. “You can walk with me until our paths separate, if it will make you feel better.”
“Why are you so determined?” He put a restraining hand on her arm that she simply shrugged away from.
She knew that to give him her real reasons would result in being physically forced back to the house. He would not approve of her lust for revenge. “I already told you.”
“Abigail, be reasonable.”
She turned on him, spinning around and letting him see the rage she had been so careful to hide. “I have been reasonable all of my life, Andrew. I was reasonable when I was sold. I was reasonable when my master insisted I learn. I was reasonable when their son took me to his bed. I was reasonable when I was given to him, I was reasonable when I married him. I have had to be reasonable in the face of his death. What has reason ever done for me? I am educated enough to know how miserable I am, but too weak to do anything about it. Well today I will act like the mistress Jason made me. I will go where I please.” She spun around again and stalked off.
She got only a few steps away before Andrew was back at her side. “I am sorry for pushing you,” he said quietly. “But I am only concerned for you, my friend. Be careful, keep yourself safe, and leave if things get volatile. Promise me.”
“Of course I will.” She placed a hand on her unborn child. “I have the babe to think of. I am merely stifled and curious.”
“I understand.” He smiled and lightly touched her shoulder. “I must part from you here. Be cautious, and do not be long. Ester will miss you, and Drusus may wish to speak with you about her, as you have attended her the most.”
“I will not be long.” She gave him what she hoped was a reassuring smile. When he headed for the gate where the cousin would be, she turned toward the Fortress of Antonia. Her thoughts were not long on Andrew or the traveler he would meet.
The closer she got to her destination, the thicker the crowds became. As she made her way to the court of the building, she heard a roar go up from the mob gathered outside, and she increased her pace. She ended up on the edges of the assembly, near one of the entries into the fortress. She asked a man near her what was happening.
“Jesus of Nazareth was tried before the Sanhedrin this morning.” His face betrayed his agitation. She could not tell if he approved or disapproved. “He was convicted of blasphemy and brought here. Pilate sent him away once already, to Herod, who sent him back. He has only just arrived again. He is there.” He pointed to the balcony overlooking the crowd, where she recognized Pilate seated. Guards held a man nearby; the prisoner had been beaten badly and could barely stand. From the distance, she could not see the rabbi’s features.
Pilate appeared to be putting a question to Jesus, but the man just turned his head away, refusing to answer. Abigail’s brows came together. She had met Pilate several times and knew him to be a man eager to please. The question today would be which group he wanted to placate.
“Rumor has it,” someone said from the other side of her, obviously to whomever would listen, “that Pilate’s wife had a dream last night warning him not to get involved with this man’s sentence.”
“She would,” Abigail said under her breath. “She has dreams about everything.” Someone nearby chuckled.