Mary Reed - Eight for Eternity

“Many of us will not have lives to return to. I am happy, though, that whatever my fate, Julianna will not be anywhere near me to suffer because of it.”

“You can be sure Julianna will be safe with Antonina, living practically next door to the emperor.”

“If only I could be certain she was actually with Antonina and not…well…who knows where.” He paused, obviously turning something over in his mind. The water spilling into the fountain from the seashell Aphrodite held made a melancholy sound. The day John had moved into the house, he had found the sound to be cheerful.

Hypatius expelled a long breath and resumed speaking. “There’s something you should know. About Julianna. I didn’t think it necessary to say anything before. But now, since I will no longer be here, it may help you to protect her.”

“I will do everything I can to help. What do you have to tell me?”

Hypatius turned his face back toward Aphrodite before speaking, less to study the statue than to avoid looking at John. “When we were talking in the kitchen, you were wondering whether Julianna had been going to the Hippodrome. I denied it. I wasn’t being entirely truthful.”

“You believe she might be one of the girls I was told about, who follow the racing factions?”

“Yes. It is possible. But as to any assignation…you remember you accused her of being out in the city to meet someone…no, that is impossible. I am positive of it.”

“Why are you so certain?”

“Because the man she would have met is dead. His name was Hippolytus. One of the men murdered at Saint Laurentius. That’s why I said nothing, you see. I was afraid to get her involved in…well…who knows what. Hippolytus was a rascal. For all I know he might have been part of a plot against the emperor. Julianna is years younger. An innocent. The murderer did our family a favor, God forgive me for saying so.” Hypatius turned his face back to John. “Is that of any assistance to you?”

“A great deal of assistance. My thoughts ran in that direction, but our thoughts can lead us astray. How did you find out about the man’s death?”

“From Pompeius. Rusticus visited him right after attending the executions and relayed the whole dreadful story. The old man has treated my family forever. A fine physician but he always leaves you with a pain in the ear.”

Hypatius’ words confirmed what John had already deduced. He had spent days and risked his life out in the dangerous streets while so much of the story he sought could have been found within his own house. “Was Julianna told about Hippolytus?”

“She didn’t need to be. She’d gone to assist Pompeius when Rusticus showed up. She’s looked after her uncle more than once. She’s young. She hasn’t had time to become disgusted by his drinking.”

“She must be terribly upset. Have you spoken with her about Hippolytus?”

“I’ve tried to. She just flies into a rage.” He glanced toward the water bubbling in the basin beside him. “It’s better for her to rage against the world than throw herself off the sea wall.”

“She doesn’t strike me as the sort to kill herself. Too headstrong.”

“I worry that she may have been taking advice from Antonina rather than from her mother and me.”

“Do you think Antonina is offering more than advice?”

“You mean her potions? I’d rather Julianna took a sleeping draught once in a while than follow her uncle’s example and turn to Bacchus. Besides, I doubt they do more harm than some of Rusticus’ foul smelling concoctions.”

“Julianna mentioned that Antonina has an interest in the races, naturally enough since she comes from a family of charioteers. Did Julianna meet Hippolytus through her?”

“Not at all. She met him at the palace. Riding at the polo field. He was a scholare. Used to dressing up and parading around at official functions.”

“An aristocrat?”

“Of course. But a ruffian nonetheless. He was wealthy, from a good family. He might have passed his time studying the philosophers or writing poetry or hunting. He preferred to go out to the taverns with low-born charioteers. And they only humored him because he paid.”

“Putting on a show at ceremonies is hardly the same as racing a chariot.”

“Exactly. You and I and any charioteer knows it. But all Julianna saw was horsemanship. And he was a racing patron. Belonged to the Greens but he supported Porphyrius as well. Many of the Greens do. They think they can convince him to race for them again. I suspect Hippolytus helped her get into the Hippodrome from time to time.”

John remembered the brilliant green robes she had been wearing when he found her in the garden, supposedly clearing brush away from the sculpted horses. He supposed the outfit was her own version of the green tunics worn by the faction, yet the hue differed from any common green as purple differed from blue.

“Did she ever meet Porphyrius?”

“If so she would not tell me.”

Hypatius bent to pick up one of his hunting bows. He pivoted, raised his weapon, and aimed an imaginary arrow at a Greek vase in the corner of the room. He pulled the string back and released it, making a loud twang.

“I never liked that vase,” John remarked. “Ostentatious. I’ll wager it would be in pieces now if you had an arrow on your string. Do you want to take the vase back to your house as a trophy?”

Hypatius shook his head and lowered the bow. “I would not have long to enjoy it. In fact, I may have taken my last shot. Julianna hunted with me all the time. She enjoyed riding mostly. She always missed the shot, no matter how easy. Couldn’t hit a rabbit if her horse had a hoof on its tail. Yet, when we practiced at the estate she hit the target every time.”

“She got her love of horses from you.”

“I’m afraid so. It always pleased me that I had given her a love of something that gave her so much pleasure. But you see how it turned out….”

In response to further questions, Hypatius told John where Hippolytus’ family could be found. John feared he would not have time to speak to them. Of any friends Hippolytus might have had, beyond anonymous charioteers, Hypatius knew nothing.

“Is there anything else you can tell me?”

Hypatius shook his head. “I wish there were, if it would help keep Julianna safe. I thought her…her…infatuation with Hippolytus would be a revelation but you don’t seem surprised. Then again, you work with Justinian so there isn’t much that would surprise you.”

“You have been closer to emperors for much longer than I have, Hypatius. Are you sure you aren’t ambitious? Can’t you see yourself wearing the purple, as your uncle did?”

Hypatius stiffened visibly. For a moment the weakness in his aristocratic features was not apparent. He looked every inch a member of an imperial family. “I spent my whole life avoiding that fate. One might as well wear a noose as a crown. The emperor may look down on the rest of us but he never knows when the trapdoor is going to open up under those red boots of his.”

“Yet, you seem remarkably composed this evening.”

“Do I? Yes, I suppose I probably do. Cowardice can make a fine shield, you know. That and mediocrity. But the best defenses eventually fail. At least there’s an end to it now. It is very tiresome, being afraid all the time.”

Before John could reply, Felix’s voice rumbled out of the corridor. “Must be more difficult than staying inebriated every hour of the day.”

Two excubitors followed Felix into the atrium, dragging Pompeius between them. The excubitors were husky young men but John could see the strain in their faces as they struggled to support the bulky and seemingly boneless man who flopped listlessly in their grasp.