"We'll be back," I called over my shoulder,while Titus waved at her.
Normally, by this age, he would haveinsisted on walking to the stables on his own, as a big boy should,but this time, he was content to ride in my arms, and I wasperfectly happy to carry him.
With Titus’ and Ocelus' reunion out of theway, only then did I leave him with his mother to go report toNorbanus at the Praetorium. There was still a bit ofdaylight left, so I had the hope that he was still in his office; Iwanted to get this over with and not put it off until the next day.Fortunately, in another good omen, he was present, sitting in hisoffice at his desk. Not surprisingly, I did not have to wait longoutside in the main office before the clerk came and beckoned at meto follow him. Entering the office, I was pleased to see thatNorbanus was not even pretending to be reading a scroll, but satlooking expectantly as I approached the desk. His return of mysalute was as close to perfunctory as it could be, and was followedquickly by his sending all the other occupants, clerks mostly, outof his office.
The door was barely closed when he demanded,"Well?"
Now, I knew that what he was really askinghad very little to do with the Tribunal, and I admit that I wastempted for a moment to exact a petty revenge by prolonging hisagony, but I was tired. Consequently, instead of answeringimmediately, I pulled a scroll from my belt, and offered it tohim.
"This," I told him, "is your letter.Although I appreciate it, it wasn't needed."
I suppose I should have been offended at theobvious look of relief that flooded his face, his shouldersslumping, but I was not. He had taken a huge risk when I had notasked him to, so I did not begrudge him looking relieved that hisgesture was not needed.
"So, you were exonerated?" he asked, hiseyes searching my face.
"Yes," I said, then added, "It wasn't aunanimous vote, but it was still enough to clear me."
"I imagine you're relieved." He uttered abarking sound that I had learned was his laugh.
"That," I replied dryly, "would be one wayof putting it, yes."
"Did you see Augustus?" His tone sharpened,and he suddenly sat straighter as he eyed me.
"No, I didn't. He was out of Rome most ofthe time." I decided that a small lie would not harm matters.
Besides, I reasoned to myself, it was mostlytrue. I saw no need for him to learn of Octavian's dramaticappearance from the countryside during Primus' trial from me.Norbanus gave a grunt at my answer, but I could not tell whether itwas good or bad that he did so.
"What about Agrippa?" he asked suddenly, andif he was trying to catch me off-balance, he did a fair job.
"What about him?" I asked cautiously, but hewas not going to be thrown off.
"You know what I'm asking. Did you seeAgrippa?"
Hesitating, my mind raced through thepossible reasons I might have had not to answer, but finally Ireplied, "Yes, I saw him. More than once, as it turns out."
"And? How does he seem?" Norbanus was nowlooking at me with an intensity that told me that there was anunderlying reason for his query.
Suddenly, I was so very, very weary of beingpoked, prodded, and harried for information about one noble fromanother noble that I lost patience.
"General, if you want to know the state ofMarcus Agrippa's health, I suggest you write him and ask," Isnapped.
Naturally, I cursed myself for letting mytongue slip.
However, to my surprise, although Norbanus'face turned red, his tone was even as he replied, "You're right,Pullus. I shouldn't be asking you all of these questions whenyou've just gotten back from what had to be an ordeal, even if itdid turn out well. Which," he added, "it should have."
Of course, I felt a pang of guilt atsnapping at a man who in fact had been one of the only noble Romansto offer me help.
Mollified, I said, "Thank you, and forgiveme, General. I apologize for speaking so rudely. You're right; I amtired. If I could have some time to rest and recover, then I wouldbe happy to answer your questions."
Apparently satisfied with this, Norbanusassured me that all was well. Then we briefly discussed matterspertaining to the army, some things that had happened during myabsence. I was happy to see that, in fact, nothing had happenedthat would indicate the Legions would be marching. Finally, wefinished our business and I was dismissed.
All that was left was when Gaius returned tohis quarters, whereupon Iras sent one of their slaves to myquarters to let me know.
"Master Porcinus wants to know if you willdine with him and his family," was the message, to which Inaturally replied that I would.
By this point in time, there was no questionthat when Gaius invited me to dinner, Diocles was included, and thetwo of us returned to my nephew's quarters. Walking in, I wasgreeted by a crying baby, and Titus was in the middle of a tantrumabout not being allowed to eat the candied plum he had decided hemust consume before dinner, and I have never been more content.Sitting down to the meal, I told the both of them all that hadhappened in Rome, with Diocles adding his own observations, orfilling in a point that I had missed. Not surprisingly, this meantdinner lasted well into the night; the baby had been put to bedlong before, but Titus, insisting that he was old enough to remainwith the grownups, had finally succumbed, and now lay sprawledbetween his own chair and Gaius' lap. I told them of Scribonius,and Aurelia, which seemed to please both of them a great deal,although Iras was positively beaming.
"He deserves to be happy," was how she putit, and that I could not argue.
The only thing I left out was the contentsof the scroll, and while I did touch very lightly on what the threeof us had surmised about Agrippa, and why he had chosen to providehelp, I did not stay long on that topic. I could tell that this didnot pass
