Berdic had made his way towards the front ofthe hall, except that this time, I learned the reason the tablewhere my officers had been seated was empty was because it wasmeant for Berdic and Bronwen alone, which I was certain was asignal of honor. He did not shove her, exactly, but he pointed tothe bench where she would be turned slightly away from me, while hestraddled the bench so that he was looking directly at me, and heoffered me a smile that made my right hand itch. Not yet, Gnaeus,not yet. This was what I told myself over, and over, and over, andI could feel both Cogidubnus and Ivomagus glancing over far moreoften than would be normal, while Alex did much the same, exceptthat when I looked over at him, I saw that he was still mystified.He clearly understood something was happening, that there was anundercurrent, but he could not untangle it. Well, I thought, you’llbe learning soon enough.
I had grown hot, so I took my helmet off,placing it on the table in front of my plate; if it blocked my viewof the back of Bronwen’s head, I just hoped it was not noticed bythe others. Honestly, the most difficult part was pretending togulp down one cup of mead after another, which I dumped on the dirtfloor surreptitiously whenever I had a chance, but this was onlyslightly more difficult than pretending to be getting uproariouslydrunk. Judging by the manner in which Ivomagus and Cogidubnus weregrinning at me, my ruse was successful. Alex was doing his best notto appear bored, but while he did not know it, he was going to beplaying an important role. However, Ivomagus had been speakingtruly when he told me I would be surprised, as we were in the midstof a conversation about the fight for Petuar when there was a shoutfrom the opposite end of the hall over and above the noise of therevelry. We turned to see Tincommius, walking very slowly, notbecause he was hurt, but because he was holding the arm of a trulyancient man who was shuffling along. As unusual as this was, themanner in which the entire hall suddenly got hushed was more so,but it was when men began to stand, with their head bowed in anobvious sign of respect as Tincommius led the old man in ourdirection that told me this was someone special. Like most very oldpeople, he was bent over, but he held his head erect, and hissnow-white beard hung down to his waist, while his hair, what therewas of it, was as long. He wore a black robe, and in his free hand,he used a walking stick, and once he was within a few paces, I sawthat, while his eyes were open, they were milk white. A quickglance over at Berdic told me that even he was solemn, whileBronwen had turned about on her bench, and I was thankful that onlythe right side of her face was visible.
I could tell she was deliberately avoidinglooking in my direction, but then Tincommius was standing in frontof the table, as Ivomagus explained, “Gnaeus, this is Tincommius’grandfather. His name is Mandubracius.”
Old Mandubracius began speaking then, andeven if I spoke the Parisii tongue, he would have been hard tounderstand, between a voice that sounded like a rusty hinge and thefact that he had no teeth, making almost everything he said havethe quality of a hissing serpent. A glance at Tincommius, who hadgiven me a smiling nod, told me that whatever it was the old manwas asking, it was at the very least unusual, but it was left toIvomagus to explain.
Sounding somewhat embarrassed, he told me,“Mandubracius is asking for a favor from you, Gnaeus.”
“Oh?” I could not imagine what itwould be.
“He asks if you will stand in front ofhim. Since he’s been blind for so long, he says that this is hisway of…seeing the man he’s talking to.”
This was unusual, but when I glanced over atAlex, he gave a shrug that said, “What could it hurt?”
Consequently, I got up and moved from behindthe table, acutely aware that I was closer to Bronwen, who suddenlyturned back in her original direction, her head down, while Berdicglared at me. Not yet, Gnaeus. Not yet. When I was in front ofMandubracius, I was prepared to indicate that I was there, butthere was no need, as both of his hands reached out to unerringlytouch me, first on the chest. His creviced face brightened a bit,and he said something.
“Mandubracius says that your armor isof very good quality,” Ivomagus offered, which surprised me,although I quickly realized that a man who has been robbed of hissight is bound to develop his other senses. I said nothing, andthen his hands moved, both of them to touch my biceps, and thistime, he revealed that he was not completely toothless, smiling toreveal one lone blackened tooth in the top of the center of hismouth as he spoke again.
This time, I was more puzzled when Ivomagussaid nonsensically, “He says that you’re the same size as him.”
I was about to ask who “him” was, but thenMandubracius did something even stranger, and I almost pulled away;honestly, I do not know why I did not, because he placed both handson my cheeks, then ran them gently around the contours of my face.There was not a sound now, other than a rustling murmur as thosewatching whispered only the gods know what about this strangesight. Then he tried to touch the top of my head, but he could notdo so, and before I could think about it, I bent down a bit as hepatted me on the head. Then he stepped away from me, turned hisblind eyes directly to Cogidubnus, and spoke for the next severalheartbeats. To my ears, his voice had grown stronger, and I wascertain I heard a hint of the man he had been, and while he wasspeaking, I took the opportunity to move back around the table totake my seat.
Finally, Ivomagus spoke, his voice suddenlyhoarse. “Mandubracius says that you are exactly as he
