“Look at me, Diana,” he commanded gently, and she raised her eyes slowly to his. His brown eyes were aglow with his love, and Diana caught her breath. “I don’t care what religion you choose, or what god you choose to worship. I want to marry you anyway.”
Diana felt her heart beat rapidly in response to his words, and tears came to her eyes. He still loved her, even though she admitted her Christianity. If she married him, could she win him to her Lord? Could she, by example, show him the true way? And if he never believed, what then? Would it make a difference? Couldn’t two people who truly loved each other live together in harmony even though they had different beliefs? No, they couldn’t, her mind told her, and she realized that Satan was giving her a full taste of his power. How easy it would be to give in.
“I can’t marry you, Flavius. I can’t.” Diana pushed his hands away and fled the room, Sara close on her heels.
Flavius stared at Antonius uncomprehendingly. “I don’t understand.”
“I think I do,” Antonius told him grimly. “These Christians are as zealous in their beliefs as are the Jews. When they believe something, they hold to it fiercely.”
“But Diana. . .” Flavius shook his head in confusion.
“Listen to me, Flavius,” Antonius muttered. “Diana has been corrupted by these Christians. She needs to be removed from their influence.”
Flavius glared at him. “Isn’t Sara a Christian, also?”
Antonius drew up his shoulders, his face becoming a bland mask. “Leave Sara to me.”
“But what can I do? You heard her say she wouldn’t marry me!”
“She will if I decide it,” Antonius answered firmly.
Flavius watched the feelings chasing themselves across Antonius’s face. He shook his head. “I can’t force her, Antonius. She would only hate me in the end.”
“I don’t think so. You heard her say she loves you.”
“She loves me now, but what of later?”
“If you can get her to forget this Christianity business, there will be no problem.”
Flavius sighed. “And if I can’t?”
Antonius smiled wryly. “I have faith in you, my friend.”
Flavius lifted an apple from the supper tray, turning it slowly around in his fingers. Putting it back, he turned to Antonius. “Very well. What do we do?”
“Leave the arrangements to me.” Antonius clanged the bronze gong sitting on the table, and Beatrice entered the room. “Send Sara to me,” he told her.
Sara came moments later, the thin blue material of her tunic drifting around her. Her sandals clicked across the marble floor as she came to stand before him. Lowering her eyes respectfully, she inquired, “Yes, Tribune?”
“Sara, I am sending you to your parents for a while.”
Her eyes flew up in surprise, and Antonius felt himself drawn into their deep brown depths. “You will go tomorrow and return in a fortnight.”
She gave him a puzzled look but quickly lowered her eyes. She was filled with apprehension, wondering what Antonius was up to now. She knew it had something to do with Diana and Flavius, and she was reluctant to leave but had no choice. And it would be good to stay with her parents for a while.
“Yes, Tribune. I will make ready,” she told him softly.
It suddenly occurred to Antonius that Sara would be gone, and he would not see her for a while. He missed her when she was gone for a few hours. What would it be like when she was gone for two weeks? Maybe during that two weeks he could rid himself of his obsession with her. Whatever happened, things would be changed when she returned.
Chapter 12
Sara touched the mezuzah slanted on the doorpost that contained the sacred writings of the Shema and thought about the words it contained. “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”
She spread her fingers softly against the mezuzah and wondered if that was possible for her now, because no matter how hard she tried to deny it, she knew that Antonius held a large portion of her heart.
He was coming for her today, and her heart was already pounding just thinking about it. She remembered his soft kiss and how she had unashamedly responded to it. Color rose to her cheeks. She must forget. He was a heathen who worshiped stone idols. Why had God let this happen to her? Why couldn’t she have loved Decimus instead?
Entering the house, she found her mother singing in the kitchen. Sara smiled. For as long as she could remember, she had enjoyed the sound of her mother’s lilting voice going about her daily duties. She laid the water bag on the table.
“Did you hear any news at the well today?” her mother asked curiously.
Sara thought about the reaction of the villagers, many of them her friends. They were suspicious of her, and with good reason. They couldn’t understand how she could be happy serving a Roman. Frankly she couldn’t understand it herself. She should be miserable, and yet she longed to return.
“Hannah is getting married,” she told her mother, picking up a knife and helping her remove the seeds from the dates.
Her mother looked surprised. “To whom?”
“Daniel Barjamin.”
“Jamin’s son? Little Daniel?” Abigail shook her head. “It seems that our children marry younger and younger.”
Sara grinned. “Mother, you know that you were only fifteen when you married Father.”
“And how old is Hannah?”
“The same age as I am,” she returned with humor.
Abigail again shook her head. “Seventeen. How is it possible? The time has flown so quickly. You need to think of marrying soon yourself.”
The smile left Sara’s face. “I am a slave, Mother. Had you forgotten?”
Abigail looked stricken. “I’m sorry, Sara. It’s been so much like old times that I had forgotten.” Her face became solemn with her thoughts.
Regretting her sharp words, Sara hugged her mother. “Let’s not think of it right now.”
Her mother looked sad for a moment. “But you have to go back today.”
Sara decided to change the subject. “Father is finished with Ahaz’s sickle. I thought I might return it to him.”
“I’m sure your father would appreciate it.”
Laying down the knife, Sara went through the connecting door to her father’s shop. She found him bent over the forge, sweat pouring down his bare back. At fifty years of age, her father still had an athlete’s build. No doubt from working the forge, day in and day out.
She laid her hands on his shoulders and began to briskly massage his muscles.
“I have missed your touch,” he told her. “Your mother is far too gentle.”
Sara laughed. “Don’t let her hear you say that.”
Her father smiled wryly. “That’s for sure. She’d probably strip the skin from my hide the next time.”
“I thought I’d take Ahaz his sickle,” Sara told him.
“Good idea. He’s too old to come for it, and I’m too busy to bring it to him. Besides, I’m sure he’d like to visit with you.”
Sara grinned. “I’ll be back before long.”
Taking the sickle, Sara started walking down the street, heading for Ahaz’s house. She smiled as she thought of the old man. He had always been like an uncle to her, complaining that she was always under his feet. From the time she had been able to walk, she could remember being fascinated by Ahaz and his potions and mixtures.
She tapped at his door, touching the mezuzah before she went inside. “Shalom,” she told him.
“Shalom, Sara.” He grinned back. “What brings you to see an old man?”
“I brought you your sickle.”
“Ah. Then bring it in and have a seat.”
Sara joined him at his table, sitting on the mat provided. Although the structure was crumbling, it was clean inside.
“So, tell me of Ephesus,” he commanded softly.
Sara shook her head s
lightly. “So many idols. So many unhappy people. They look for hope in their marble statues and find only emptiness.”
“And what of you, Sara?” he asked. “What have you found?”
Color filled her face, and she dropped her eyes to the floor. “I have found many friends. Many of them belonging to the Way.”
Ahaz nodded his head wisely. Sara knew that he could probably tell more from what she didn’t say than from what she did. He got to his feet and ambled slowly to the door, peering up into the hills.
“What are you looking for?” Sara asked him.
“Nopet hasn’t yet returned.”
Sara hid a smile. The old man’s love for his ewe was well-known by all the villagers. Everyone kept an eye on her, knowing how lost the old man would be without her. Nopet. Honey from a honeycomb, he called her. His pride and joy.
“Would you like me to go look for her?” she asked.
He watched the sun starting to descend from its zenith and paused before answering. “There are still several hours before sunset.” He spoke absently, as though he had forgotten Sara was there.
Sara got up from the mat and laid a hand on his shoulder. “I will go look for her. She can’t be far.”
She went up the hillside behind Ahaz’s house, knowing that it was a favorite grazing place for the old ewe. She couldn’t find the sheep, but she found several fresh tracks. Deciding to follow them, Sara wandered down a well-trod path that ended at the bottom of a hill. She could see the tracks cross over and begin to ascend on the other side. As she followed the trail, she lost track of time, not noticing that the sun was quickly descending to the horizon. She forgot everything in her fear for the ewe.
Coming upon a small pool of water, she could see where the ewe had stopped to drink. As she bent down to examine the tracks to find which direction the sheep had gone from here, she noticed another set of tracks. They looked like dog tracks, but larger. A shiver chased down her spine. Wolves.
Getting up quickly, she hurried in the direction of the tracks. It never occurred to her that her life might be in danger. Her thoughts were centered on little Nopet.
She came out on the edge of the hillside, looking down over a small valley. Rocks jutted precariously in several directions, making several ledges. Sara carefully went from ledge to ledge, looking over their sides. Her breath caught in her throat at the deep gorge that ran about three hundred feet below her. A rushing stream of water snaked off to the west, and as Sara followed it with her eyes, she noticed how far the sun had set.
Knowing that Antonius would probably be at her house by now, she got quickly to her feet. She glanced helplessly around, trying to decide what to do. She would just have to go back. Someone else would have to come look for Nopet. Probably the little ewe was already home, being cuddled by her worried owner.
She started to climb back down the way she had come when she heard a sound coming from her left. She froze, her heart beginning to thunder in panic. The sound came to her again. A soft bleating. She hurried toward the sound, her feet slipping and sliding on the rocks.
When she reached the area where she thought the sound had come from, she could see nothing. She waited, hoping to hear it again. After what seemed an eternity, she again heard the soft bleating coming from below her. Lying down, she leaned far out over the ledge. Below her, Nopet lay on the rocks, her head lifting pitifully as she cried for help.
“Oh,” Sara murmured. “You poor little thing.”
Now what was she to do? Even though the lamb was small, she was still fat and would be too heavy for Sara to lift off the rocks. She would have to go for help. As Sara turned to go back from the ledge, she could hear a cracking sound coming from beneath her. Her eyes opened wide in alarm; but before she could scramble to safety, the ledge gave way, and Sara felt herself tumbling through space. A scream ripped from her throat, only to be silenced as her body hit the rocks below.
❧
“Antonius, if you love me, don’t make me do this.”
Antonius turned away from the tearful face of his sister. He was beginning to feel like a monster. “It’s because I love you that I’m making you marry Flavius.”
“I can’t believe Flavius agreed to this,” she murmured, almost to herself.
“Let’s just say that I talked him into it. I can be most persuasive when I need to be,” he told her, and she flinched at his arrogance.
“Oh, I know that,” she told him angrily. “Sometimes you are like Satan incarnate.”
“Satan?” He had never heard that term before.
“The evil one who controls the world,” she explained.
Antonius felt as though he had just been sliced in his heart by a dagger. Could she really believe that of him? He was only doing what he thought best. He loved her and wanted to see her happy.
“I thought your Christian God controlled the world,” he told her wryly, the hurt evident in his voice.
“In the end, He does. But Satan has control of everything evil. In the end, God will triumph over Satan, but in the meantime, we must suffer with Satan’s presence.”
“How have you come to know so much in so little a time?” he demanded.
Diana dropped her head, refusing to answer.
“No matter,” he told her firmly. “When you and Flavius are married, he will take you away from all of that. You will have children and learn to be a good Roman wife.”
“Nothing you can do can take me away from the love of God,” she answered him softly.
Frustrated, Antonius picked up his mantle. He struggled with something to say that would make her understand just how much Flavius and he loved her. “Tomorrow, Diana,” he told her. “You will marry Flavius tomorrow. The arrangements have all been made.”
He watched her for any sign that might show a softening in her attitude, but he found none. Sighing, he turned and left.
The sun was beginning to descend from the noon sky when he headed outside the city. Leaving Ephesus behind, he breathed deeply of the fresh air. Though Ephesus was beautiful, reputed to be second only to Rome, it was filled with the stench of rotting humanity. Having never considered himself a moral man before, he wondered at the change in his attitude.
He had never taken part in the city’s wild orgies. In fact, he had allowed himself to feel somewhat superior to those who chose to participate. Now he realized that by condoning their acts, he was just as bad. Why had he not seen it before?
He had recently read the book of Hosea in his Jewish collection of scrolls. It appalled him that Hosea’s God would command him to take an adulteress as a wife. But perhaps Hosea’s people thought as little of adultery as did the Romans. He, on the other hand, would probably kill his wife if she did such a thing.
But Hosea’s God had talked to him about the Israelites worshiping idols. He told them they would be destroyed because of it. He said an eagle was over the house of the Lord. Could He have meant Rome? Was Rome being used to punish the Israelites? And if so, would Rome then be destroyed by her own corruption?
He pulled his chariot to a halt in front of Jubal’s house. Descending from it, he headed for the side of the house where Jubal had his shop. He knew they would be expecting him. He had sent word.
He found Jubal bent over the forge, his muscles rippling as he pumped the bellows. Antonius was impressed with the strength of the old man, though at fifty years of age, he wasn’t too old. Antonius fervently hoped he looked as good at that age. Many a legionnaire would envy this man his body.
“Shalom, Jubal,” he told the man as he entered the shop.
Jubal turned his head at the Roman’s entrance. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t help but like the young officer.
“Shalom.”
“Is Sara ready to leave? My sister has missed her greatly.”
Jubal turned back to the forge. “Sara isn’t here right now. She went to visit Ahaz.”
“I see. Do you mind if I sit?”
Jubal nodded toward the
stool in the corner. Antonius made himself as comfortable as possible and struck up a conversation with the old Jew.
They talked about many things, finding much that they had in common. Antonius was surprised to see dusk beginning to settle on the land. He frowned. “Sara should have been back by now. It will be dark and too late to return to the city.”
Jubal looked up from the forge, a sudden frown creasing his brow, also. “You’re right. Perhaps she came back, and we didn’t hear her.”
He went to the connecting door and yelled for Abigail. She came quickly to his side, drying her hands on a towel.
“Has Sara returned?” Jubal asked, concern lacing his voice.
She looked past him in surprise at Antonius. “I thought perhaps they had already gone.”
“Without saying good-bye?” Antonius asked sarcastically, getting rapidly to his feet.
Abigail and Jubal exchanged worried glances. Taking off his leather apron, Jubal turned to Antonius. “I’ll go look for her.”
“I’ll go, too,” Antonius answered him, suddenly anxious.
Following Jubal to Ahaz’s house, Antonius kept a constant watch along the road. When they reached the mud hut, Jubal pounded on the door.
“All right, all right. Don’t break down my door.”
Ahaz opened the door, squinting in the late afternoon light. “I thought you were Sara.”
Jubal’s face drained of color, and Antonius felt a tight knot of fear clutch at his heart.
“Where is Sara?” Jubal demanded.
“She went to find Nopet,” the old man answered him worriedly. “But that was hours ago.”
“Which way did she go?” Antonius demanded and reined in his impatience when the old man squinted his eyes at him.
“Ah. The Roman,” Ahaz wheezed. “Come to claim your property? More like come to find your master.” The old man suddenly cackled with mirth, and Antonius frowned in annoyance. What was the old man talking about? It took a great deal of control to keep his hands from the old man’s body.
The Eagle And The Lamb (Truly Yours Digital Editions) Page 12
