Apprentice by Rhett Gervais

Author:Rhett Gervais
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781777245207
Publisher: Rhett Gervais

Fourteen

A Family Dinner

Lucilla wrung her hands under the table, her eyes darting in all directions. It had been days since the incident with her brother, and when he summoned her to this dinner, she feared the worst. Part of her was sure he was so drunk that he had forgotten the whole incident, but until she spoke with him, she couldn’t be sure, so she tried to distract herself, picking at the sumptuous appetizers the servants had laid out, dates, cheese, and olives, all the while conversing with the nervous senator to her right whose name she could never remember, a small man with a weak chin and grand sense of self-importance. To her left sat her husband, Claudius who, despite not having a drop of wine, was falling asleep. The rest of the dinner guests were a mix of her brother’s sycophants, along with a few of his favorite courtesans, both men and women, their provocative dress leaving little to the imagination.

“Are you all right, my lady?” said the senator, giving her a concerned look. “You seem taken by worry.”

“What? Yes, yes, of course,” said Lucilla. “I’m just tired.”

“Oh yes, with all the strange goings-on, I can hardly sleep myself.”

“What do you mean?” she asked, her worry about Commodus forgotten.

“You must have heard, Lady Lucilla. I mean with all the sightings and that strange storm the other day, terrifying.”

Lucilla’s brows drew together, and she leaned in closer. “Heard what? I remember the storm, but sightings?”

The senator took a deep swallow of his wine and then leaned in close, lowering his voice. “At first I thought it was just my slaves being stubborn, not wanting to work the harvest after dark, but then I heard that there were incidents all over the countryside,” he said, his eyes growing wider with each passing moment, “and then on my own estates, in the garden, I saw my mother sitting in the garden humming to herself, just like she did when I was a child.”

“I’m not sure that is so strange, Senator, I mean, it—”

“My mother last drew breath when Antonios Pius was Caesar. She has been gone for a long time,” he said in a loud whisper.

“I see,” said Lucilla, drawing in a deep breath as a chill went through her, gooseflesh running up and down her arms. With Felix gone she had lost access not only to him, but to the eyes and ears of his men, and now looking around the room she could see what the senator was talking about—the tired eyes, the nervous laughs. At first she thought it was the fear of her brother; the stories of his mad antics had spread among the nobles and plebeians alike, and an invitation to be in his presence, for whatever reason, made most nervous. But now she understood. The incidents were growing worse, and now everyone had been touched, from slave to senator. She was about to probe deeper when a hand fell on the senator's shoulder.

“Senator Magnus, would

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