“She is in love with you, Gnaeus.” Shesaid this in a matter-of-fact manner that made it sound as if itshould have been obvious. “And she walks into this room, completelyunprepared to see me, sitting here beside you.”
“You could have just been a friend,” Iprotested, or at least tried to, but this time when she looked upat me, I not only could translate the look, I could only offer asheepish grin as I admitted, “Yes, I suppose it’s a bit obvious,isn’t it?”
“Yes.” She smiled then laid her headagainst my shoulder. “And I am very happy that it is.”
So, I realized, was I.
As Birgit said, Septimus and young GaiusGallienus arrived shortly before dark, yet despite being warned byAlex beforehand, I found myself gaping at the youth. By the gods, Ithought; he must have grown four inches in a year! Following on theheels of that came my recollection of doing the same thing. Betweenthe age of fourteen and fifteen, I attained my current height, andwhile I also filled out in my chest, shoulders, and arms to adegree, it would take longer for my muscles to catch up to mybones. Fortunately, Miriam was already there, having arrivedshortly before, and as I had expected, she immediately took toBronwen, and within a matter of a few moments, they were chatteringaway as if they had known each other for a long time. And, also asI had expected, the sight of Septimus’ jaw dropping when he laideyes on Bronwen made me feel very pleased with myself; as I wouldbe informed later, I was apparently insufferably so. Once theintroductions were made, we sat at the table, and I took a breathbefore I began.
“First,” I started out, determined tomaintain my composure, a resolution that lasted perhaps twoheartbeats, “I want to thank you for the sacrifice you made tosecure my release. I…” To my utter horror, my eyes began to sting,as I stumbled, “I can’t really express how much it means to me.” Ihad to take a breath in an attempt to stifle the surge of emotionthat threatened to make me start weeping like a woman, and I feltBronwen’s hand on my arm, squeezing it gently as I gathered myselfto continue, “But it’s because I appreciate what you’ve done for meso much that I can’t in good conscience return to Ubiorum, at leastnot now. Not,” I paused, “until I go to Alexandria, findthat cunnus Aviola, and getas much of the money Gaius lost to him as I can.”
For a brief moment, I thought they mighthave accepted this and would not argue; as I quickly learned, itwas because they were all so shocked, and the room exploded withnoise.
“Gnaeus, you can’t do that! Yourcareer will be ruined!”
“And not just your career! You mightbe executed!”
“We’re fine! We don’t need this villato be happy!”
I honestly cannot recall who said what, butthis was the gist of the protests, and it was not just the adults;both Gisela and Gaius were equally adamant. It affected me evenmore deeply, but what they did not realize was that they actuallydeepened my determination. After all, I reasoned, and stillmaintain, if they were willing to sacrifice so much for me, howcould I ever look myself in the eye if I was not willing to do thesame?
I waited until they finally died down enoughso that I did not have to yell to say, “I appreciate everything youall are saying. But,” I shook my head, “I’m afraid that my mind ismade up. So,” I spoke a bit more sharply, “you can waste our timearguing, or you can help me come up with a plan to do what needs tobe done.”
Miriam opened her mouth, but Alex beat herto it.
“Even if you changed Gnaeus’ mind, youwon’t change mine, and I’m going to Alexandria,” he said calmly.“Now, my question for all of you is…do you want me going by myself?Or,” he pointed at me, “with him?” To my mind, this should havebeen the clinching argument, but it was plain to see that Miriamwas not ready to capitulate, and while Septimus’ expression was notas set as hers, he still looked doubtful. In retrospect, it is agood thing that Alex did not warn me what was coming, because Inever would have allowed it, and when I caught his glance in mydirection, his intentions were unclear. Suddenly, he said, “I wantto tell you about something that happened while Gnaeus was stillheld hostage.” When he paused, I thought he was about to talk aboutPetuar, but instead he began, “The night before we left, KingCogidubnus held a feast that was in Gnaeus’ honor. And…”
“Alex,” I actually started to stand,but once again, Bronwen reached out, except this time it was to tugon my tunic in a clear signal to sit down.
When I looked down at her in surprise,assuming that it was because she had no desire to hear about it,she said instead, “Gnaeus. Sit down. I believe your family needs tohear this. And,” she added with a tone that, while not demanding,was different enough to make me actually take notice and see theintensity in her gaze, “so do you.”
So I did what I was told, and without muchgrace, I waved at Alex to continue. While I did not like it, I alsounderstood why Bronwen wanted me to hear what he had to say,because on our first time together, she had tried to broach thesubject of all that I had done that night with Berdic, and I hadmade it clear I was unwilling to hear it.
In the kind of flat, matter-of-fact tonethat anyone who has been under the standard would recognize, Alexexplained the circumstances that led to my facing Berdic in themakeshift square in Cogidubnus’ hall. I did appreciate his attemptto emphasize that my hostility for Berdic originated with the rolehe played in taking me hostage, but even if I had never met myfamily before,
