Michelle Styles - The Gladiator's Honor

So much for great ideas.

One by one she replaced his garments, taking care that each was put back exactly how she had found them, the smell of him clinging to her fingers and enveloping her. She felt a warmth engulf her as she remembered how his arms had held her tightly against his body. As her hand brushed the cloak, smoothing out the final wrinkles, a pin pricked her.

She put her index finger into her mouth, making sure no blood dropped on the dark blue cloak, then took a closer look at the brooch fastened on the collar, expecting to see the lion from Strabo's school, but it wasn't.

She stared at the two greyhounds on either side of a three-pointed rock. It reminded her of her ex-father-in-law's signet ring. Her hands started trembling. Senator Gracchus's son had died about five years ago, shortly before his wife. Could it be?

She sat back on her feet, dismissing the idea as being ludicrous. The more she thought, the more it refused to go away.

She tried to remember if she had ever seen a grave. Or was it simply a death mask? Was his death mask the one she remembered? The reason she thought she knew Valens?

He looked nothing like her ex-husband. Lucius had been the son of the senator's wife's sister, the nearest male relation who was willing to be adopted—it was important that the Gracchus name continue. Senator Gracchus had to have an heir. It was the Roman custom.

Julia put a hand to her throat, playing with her beads. What to do? Her body trembled with excitement. She had to know. She had to grab the chance, as slight as it might be.

She should have visited Gracchus a long time ago, listened more fully to his stories. She didn't even know what the son's name had been. Gaius? Gneus? Julia sighed and shook her head. The precise name escaped her. Every time she had visited with Lucius and the question of his son had been raised, Lucius had behaved strangely, changing the subject as soon as possible.

Julia smoothed the cloak one last time before replacing it in the trunk. Finding out about the son's death might be difficult, but it should be relatively straightforward to see the death mask that hung on the back of Gracchus's atrium. It would take but a glance and she could rest her mind. She had to be certain. And once she was, she'd solve all her problems. For the first time in a long time, Julia thought she saw the glimmer of light. But before she could do anything, she needed an excuse to visit.

'Come on, Bato, your old master should have a bone or two for you.'

The Gracchus compound was on the lower slopes of the Palatine. Unlike the winding narrow passageways of Subura, where houses of ill repute stood next to patrician villas, here nothing was allowed to spoil the tranquillity. Julia walked along the leafy lane, enjoying the sounds of birds instead of the shouts from the market.

She stood in front of the Graccus villa, rehearsing her speech, a pleasant fiction about Bato missing the senator.

Her hand trembled as she knocked on the solid oak door.

After a brief conversation with the porter, she went into the dappled shade of the large courtyard to await the arrival of Senator Gracchus. Julia walked slowly amongst the death masks and various statues, looking for Gracchus's son. Her heart sank slightly. The one she wanted was missing. She could see the white patch where it had hung, but the mask was gone.

Julia made a face. Why were things never simple?

A movement caused her to turn from the wall. She watched as Senator Gracchus made a grand entrance, frail but resplendent in his snow-white toga with its large purple border.

'Julia Antonia, how good it is of you to call on an old man,' Senator Gracchus said, holding out both his hands, gold rings glittering on every finger. His hair was thinner and his face much more lined than she remembered. He appeared to have lost a great deal of weight, but his bearing showed he had not lost much of the presence that had intimidated two generations of senators. 'It has been too long since your charm graced this garden, Julia.'

'Far too long since I have had the pleasure of enjoying your hospitality,' Julia agreed and her eyes scanned his face, searching for any resemblance to Valens. There a vague resemblance in the way he held his head and moved, but little in the way of matching physical features. 'Bato wanted to come to see you.'

She pointed to Bato who immediately lay on his back and wriggled. Gracchus laughed and reached down to tickle the dog's tummy.

'Dogs always remember those who have been kind to them,' he said. 'I remember this one as being a particular scamp. Perhaps the cook can rustle up a ham bone or two.

He clapped his hands. Two servants appeared and led Bato towards the kitchen.

'Was Bato your dog?' Julia tried to make her voice casual.

'No, my son's.' A shadow passed over Gracchus's face. 'Gaius left him here when he was posted off to Zama in North Africa—called him something, I can't think of the name, but Lucius changed it when I gave him Bato. I thought Bato would cement my ties with Lucius, but the dog did not take to him in the same way.'

It would do no good to tell Senator Gracchus that Bato disliked Lucius because he had hit her and the dog had tried to protect her. He had never wanted to hear the reasons before, believing Julia's lies about walking into doors.

Julia forced air out of her lungs. She had to concentrate and not allow her mind to be distracted. Gracchus's son had been posted off to Zama, in North Africa. Valens had not said where he had been stationed. North Africa was large. It could have been anywhere. She closed her eyes, willing her heart to be still, not to race ahead. She wanted to be calm.

'I forget. How did your son die? Captured by pirates?' Her hairstyle felt heavy against the back of her neck.

Gracchus gave a small sad smile. 'I only wish. I would have been only too happy to pay any ransom legitimately demanded. He perished in an assault on a rebellious town. A needless waste as the town was unimportant.'

Julia felt like a foolish girl who believed in dreams. With a few words, Gracchus had extinguished the small flicker of hope.

'I thought there was a tale about pirates,' she said, trying to recover and not to let her disappointment show.

'Child,' Gracchus said, putting his hand on her shoulder, 'a request for ransom arrived, but they sought to play on an old man's desire for his son. Your latest suitor, Mettalius, saw him fall. He brought back Gaius's brooch pinned to the bloody cloak that Gaius wore. My son would never have freely given mat up. It had been in my wife's family for generations. My wife faded away after that. Lucius was so attentive to her in the last few days. Always here, always finding something to cheer her up or some sweetmeat to tempt her appetite. Of course, when she died, I knew I was too old to take another woman, and I made Lucius my heir. He was the closest male relation who was willing to be adopted.'

Julia swallowed hard and closed her eyes. It had been too easy, too much like a fairy tale. At least she had had the wit not to come in and proclaim to Gracchus that his son was alive.

'I am so sorry.'

'The Fates decreed that I outlive my son and wife, but don't put ashes on your head or allow your eyes to fill with tears for someone you did not know. He had done his military service. He ignored my pleas to stay at home, and would go adventuring, lusting after glory.' Gracchus clapped his hands. 'And now, I think a bit of cool mint tea to revive our spirits. You do have time to stay.'

'Only if you desire it. I have no wish to tire you.' She watched the servants bring the table and jug of mint tea. With great ceremony, the servant poured a beaker for her. She took a sip and felt the cool sweetness slip down her throat, easing it.