Fortune Favors

Chapter 5

Sabina looked down at the gushing letter from an aunt whom she had never met. Yes, Aunt Sabina the Elder and her father had been close as children, and her father had spent the last weeks of his life in the company of the Greek family she had married into, but Sabina knew her not.

She did know Aunt Sabina had borne four sons, and only the youngest was not yet married. This fact had been mentioned multiple times in Sabina's letter, as well as many details about this cousin who was a stranger to her. He had been named after her father and he was apparently so handsome that all the young women in Athens were hoping for his hand.

To punctuate this fact, Aunt Sabina had included a small gold mosaic image of Nicodemus. Dark-haired and dark-eyed, he was the very image of a perfect Greek Adonis. Of course, the mosaic artist likely wanted to please his patrons, so even if Nico were not quite so handsome, the artist would have motivation to make him appear so. Sabina sighed. She had her sights on a bigger prize. Unlike her unfortunate aunt, Sabina had no desire to exiled to a province that had seen its best days centuries ago.

Sabina read Greek perfectly, and she knew her philosophers and she knew her dramatists. She never missed a production of Sophocles, and she could quote Plato and Aristotle.

However, she wanted to marry a Roman. She didn't just want to marry just any Roman either, she wanted to marry the scion of the Hadius family. Eolus was handsome, rich and he had become tired of the Gaulish barbarian that he had married in a fit of lust. Sabina would, of course, have preferred Augustus, but he was devoted to Livia. Eolus was the next best thing even though the Hadius family openly engaged in trade. Once she married Eolus, she would put a stop that kind of vulgar profiteering. Her wealth would allow Eolus to focus on land ownership, as was proper.

There was a soft knock at the door, and Sabina sighed.

"Come in, Titus," she said.

The door flew open, and her little brother - not yet fifteen - peered in at her.

"You had a letter from Aunt Sabina, as I did," he said.

Sabina smiled and nodded. Her brother was nothing if not good at stating the obvious.

"She said she sent you a portrait," continued Titus. "He's on his way to Rome. Do you find him fair?"

Sabina rolled her eyes. "Rome is filled with fair men. It's men who are fair that are rare, here and in Greece I'll wager."

Titus blinked, and she could observe him straining to understand the double meaning in her remark. Titus liked things simple, and he saw the world in simple terms as well.

"I will greet our cousin," said Sabina, "but I do not wish to live in a backwater. I will not marry someone who will not live in Rome."

Titus came into the room, as carefully as if he walked on hot stones.

"You make assumptions, sister. Perhaps he's looking for a wife to anchor him here. Lavina tells me he has had a falling out with his brother for some reason or another. She didn't specify the reason."

Sabina, who had been told the same information by their aunt, sat down at the desk and pulled out a wax tablet and a stylus. If her cousin had fallen out with his brother, perhaps they had something in common. Perhaps, she thought, it might be a good idea to move all the way to Greece to be free of Titus and his banality.

She took a deep breath, and she smiled prettily at her brother. "I am looking forward to meeting our cousin," she said.

"Me, too," said Titus. "He was with father the last few weeks before Actium. He might be able to tell us what his mood was before the end."

These words struck at Sabina's heart. Suddenly, she no longer felt anger or resistance but rather sadness. Her father had always been so kind to her, never scolding her for talking back or not casting her eyes down. He encouraged her and flattered not only her looks but her keen mind, and he told her beautiful stories. It still hurt her that he was gone, even though he had died nobly in battle and brought honor to her house.

His absence sometimes made her wish he was a coward. He would have found her a worthy husband by now, and she wouldn't be trapped in a house with Titus.