'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.

'Good, you must tell me all that has been happening to you since you last graced this garden.' Gracchus waved his hands expansively and his rings threw beams of light across the garden.

A servant brought Bato back and he flopped down at Julia's feet, with a bone large enough to feed a family of five, let alone a greyhound. 'We have a gladiator staying with us. One of Caesar's troop. The one called Valens the Thracian. You may have seen the notices or his figurine on street corners.'

Gracchus frowned and swirled his beaker of tea. 'Caesar has altogether too many gladiators. He reaches too far, too fast, I believe.'

Julia took another sip of her tea and watched Gracchus. She had forgotten the politics. Gracchus was a senator of the old school, one who believed in the Republic and its ancient ideals. 'My father seems pleased with the gladiator. He is helping my father improve his sword technique.'

'Your father is much like my dead son in that. He too was fascinated by the gladiatorial life. There was nowhere he was happier than in the ring.'

'You did not approve?'

'No,' Gracchus spluttered. 'We, patricians, are born into a position and have a duty to hold that position up. Little good comes from associating with people like gladiators. I can remember as a young boy when such shows were strictly for funerals and not spectacles for mass entertainment. I despise everything to do with them. They show how far Rome has fallen. In my youth statuettes of gods were sold at street corners, not figurines of infamia.'

'I will keep that in mind.' Julia felt the prick of a headache start between her brows.

'I heard about your escapade with the gladiators, Julia,' Gracchus said, his face turning even graver. Julia shifted uncomfortably in her chair. 'It saddened me to think my ex-daughter-in-law was mixed up with such ruffians. I thought you were more modest man that. Many times, I have said how much you remind me of my dear departed wife, a true Roman matron. Such a pity you and Lucius never had any children.'

'It was never my intention to be involved, but Bato had other ideas,' Julia said stiffly. 'Thankfully, Valens rescued Bato or else he might not be here to beg treats from your hand.'

The senator harrumphed, but fed Bato another sweetmeat.

Julia set down her empty beaker and stood up. She needed to go now before she said something she regretted. Valens might be a gladiator, but he was a far better man than Lucius could ever be.

A door slammed and Lucius strode in. As his gaze fell on her, he frowned and his eyes became ice-cold. Julia's stomach twisted and swayed as she remembered the beating that had followed the last time she had seen him look like that. Bato raised his hackles and growled.

'What are you doing here, Julia Antonia?' Lucius squeaked out, not bothering with pleasantries. 'What sort of poisoned gossip are you spreading?'

He can't touch you, she repeated, hoping to stem the rising tide of bile in her throat.

'Julia Antonia is here to visit me at my invitation. Now calm yourself, Lucius, and behave like a Roman. Have some mint tea.' Gracchus rang a silver bell. 'Some fresh mint tea for my son.'

'I must go,' Julia said, ignoring Lucius. She leant over and gave Gracchus a kiss on the cheek. 'I have enjoyed our visit. Perhaps sometime you will show me the brooch that your son valued so much.'

'It is here.' Gracchus held out a brooch that bore more than a superficial resemblance to the brooch Julia had seen on Valens's cloak. 'I wear it all the time to remind me of my dead son.'

'I can see why he wore it until his death,' Julia said, trying to be casual, but feeling her heart start to pound. She rose gracefully. 'I enjoyed my tea.'

'Come again soon."

'I plan to.' Julia curled her fingers around Bato, and started towards the door. As she left, she heard Lucius complaining to Gracchus.


Chapter Eleven


Julia sat on the stone bench in her father's atrium. The twin scents of lavender and rose filled the air. The late afternoon sunshine cast elongated shadows over her and the scrolls of poetry she had by her side, as a cover. Instead of thumbing through the well-loved lines, Julia kept her eyes focussed on the outside door.

Valens would have to pass this way and she'd explain all that had happened with the augur, but she would keep her visit to Senator Gracchus a secret There was no need for Valens to know about her clumsy attempt at finding his family.

She'd save it for a surprise. After she had found them, told them of Valens's miraculous escape, then she'd tell him. She'd give him life again and bring happiness to his estranged family. It had to work. She hoped it would. She had promised Venus that she'd control her impulsiveness and then she had done this. And she had met Lucius again as well. Seeing him was never good. Somehow, he always contrived to make matters worse.

At first, her stomach knotted with each sound. Was it Valens's footstep? But so far, it had only been Clodius the porter or one of the other servants. She had even tried taking a bath, hoping he'd appear. Her hair curling softly about her shoulders bore testimony to the amount of time she had spent in her bath. Still he had not returned from practice as far as she could tell.

'I still cannot understand why your father chooses to believe that charlatan of an augur. Anyone with half an eye could see that the man was mad.' Sabina stopped in front of Julia and blocked her vision of the courtyard and the door.

'Caesar believes in him.' Julia kept her voice neutral. This morning seemed so long ago. She conspicuously rattled the papyrus of the scroll she was currently reading, hoping Sabina would take the hint. The augur had to be right. Her life had to be about to turn for the better.

'The more fool him. Returned from the dead, indeed. Do you know what trouble I've been to to find a suitable alliance? Only for that priest to undo weeks and weeks of unstinting effort. Perhaps your father might be persuaded to visit another more sensible augur.' Sabina gave a slight smirk. 'I understand you have decided to increase your chances of a good alliance and have renewed your acquaintance with Senator Gracchus.'

'News travels fast' Julia turned again to the scroll, pretending the news did not perturb her. How did Sabina know? She thought she had kept the visit a secret.

'You used the litter.' Sabina tapped a perfectly shod foot. 'Next time ask permission first. I was forced to walk to Flavia's. However, I find it impossible to be cross with you as you visited Gracchus. Your father will be pleased.'

'I fail to see how my visiting Gracchus will help Father.'

'You never know what lawsuits he might put Julius's way, now that he has fallen out with Lucius.' Her face bore all the hallmarks of a woman who found true satisfaction in the latest tidbit of gossip.

'I wasn't aware Gracchus had fallen out with Lucius,' Julia said carefully, watching Sabina. whose cheeks flushed. 'Rome is rife with rumours.'

'I heard Lucius is a disappointment to Gracchus. He is proving less adept in the Senate—four years the heir and yet to win an election. More spendthrift than Gracchus expected. He's already gone through his real father's fortune, you know. Now, Gracchus's invitation to you proves the rumour mill wasn't working overtime.'

"The invitation had more to do with Bato…'

Sabina's clawlike hand grasped Julia's arm. 'Just think of what this could mean. Clever you to have spotted the chance. Perhaps there is more to you…'

Julia shifted uneasily on the stone bench, pressing her hands into the seat. She hated to think that she might be seen to be like Sabina, playing games and barely hiding her ambition. 'He seemed pleased to see me and asked me to visit again. Lucius was less than pleased.'

'You're a dark horse, Julia. Perhaps that augur wasn't entirely mad after all. Perhaps he was right. The signs for a betrothal with Mettalius, who has had close links to Lucius in the Senate, are not good. We may have had a lucky escape. Restored from death could mean many things. Didn't Sulla sentence many senators to death? Or perhaps an elderly man whose doctor's had all but given up hope…'

'Who am I to question the whims of the gods?' Julia pursed her lips and silently vowed she'd find a way to bribe the augur before she consented to marriage to someone older than her father. Valens restored to the place she knew he belonged was what she wanted.

'Quite, and now we need to develop a plan…'

The great oak door swung open and Valens entered. Her eyes devoured him and traced the line of his shoulders. She noticed small things. The way a small drop of water clung to the base of his throat. The way his hair gleamed with the faint sheen of the freshly washed and his tunic swung, revealing a bit more of his muscular legs than it should. Julia's breath caught in her throat. She tightened her hold on the scrolls and attempted to appear nonchalant, but her mind raced. She had to discover more about his past. She had seen his face on a statue somewhere. She simply need to discover where.

When he reached the fountain, Valens stopped, listening. Then he turned towards them, a smile playing on his lips. Julia sat paralysed. How to begin with Sabina next to her?

'Excuse me, ladies, but you look so comfortable sitting in the sun, would you mind if I joined you?' Without waiting for an answer, he sat down beside Julia, leant back, with the sun on his face and closed his eyes. His eyelashes made dark smudges on his tanned cheeks.

Sabina made little shooing motions. 'Julia, there are things we need to do. Things we have been discussing.'

'As soon as I have finished this poem.' Julia fought to keep her voice steady. How could she bring the conversation around to his boyhood? Maybe if she did, she'd be able to convince him to go and make peace with his family.

'Which poem?' Sabina's voice was sharp with suspicion. 'You are reading something appropriate, aren't you, Julia? Something sensible rather than the rubbish you normally read.'

"The one I was reading when you interrupted me. Senator Gracchus recommended it to me,' she finished with sudden inspiration. She felt Valens's leg tense against hers as if the name disturbed him. But it happened so briefly, Julia dismissed the idea.

'If the senator recommended it…' Sabina said, and stood up. She straightened her stola, and stalked off. Julia could hear her voice screech several orders at the servants.

Julia waited until Sabina's voice had died away before she risked a proper look at Valens. He had not moved since he closed his eyes. Julia watched his chest as he took deep steady breaths, a lock of black hair falling down over his right eye. All her ideas deserted her. She opened her mouth and closed it again. Very quietly, she began to roll up the scrolls, fastening each one with a bit of cord. When she had finished, and he had still made no sound or move, she started to stand up.

His hand caught hers, lacing her fingers with his. 'Stay, please stay.'

'Sabina will be back shortly,' Julia explained, but his fingers remained closed around hers. Julia swallowed hard and her heart thumped in her ears. Her heart demanded she press her face close to his, touch his lips with her, regardless of who might see. She had to hang on to her sense of propriety. Things were too finely balanced to risk her father's wrath. She had had a reprieve this morning, but there was no telling for how long. 'We will have barely any time to talk.'

She withdrew her hands and placed them primly on her lap. The skirt of her gown brushed his bare calf. She reached down and smoothed it away, but her hand felt the heat of his leg.

'Shall we talk about poetry—unless you want to tell me about your day?' he asked, breaking the silence. 'Are you to be betrothed to Mettalius?'

'The augur did not approve. The omens had changed.'

'Did he say anything else?'

'You know how priests are.' Julia gave a little wave of her hand. She had to get the subject away from this morning and towards Valens's boyhood without him realising why. She did not dare take the risk that he might stop her. After all, he had not contacted his family before now. 'They enjoy speaking in riddles. Do you find them helpful?'