Francine Rivers by A Voice in the Wind

Author:A Voice in the Wind
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 18

Hadassah felt foreboding as Julia’s wedding day approached. From the moment Decimus Valerian agreed to a coemptio marriage, Julia seemed more settled and happy. Even as Hadassah wondered why the master suggested bride-purchase rather than the binding confarreatio, Julia stood before the gathering of friends and made the traditional statement, “Ubi tu gaius, ego gaia.” “Where you are master, I am mistress.” Upon her pronouncement, Caius Polonius Urbanus kissed her and sealed the engagement with an iron ring.

Hadassah could understand why Julia was in love with him. Urbanus was a handsome man with a vital presence and charming manner. Decimus and Phoebe both approved of him. Still, though Hadassah had no facts or foundation for what she felt, she was convinced something dark and sinister was beneath the man’s smooth facade. Whenever Caius looked at her, she felt chilled by that dark, unblinking stare.

She had no one in whom she could confide her feelings. Marcus had gone away on business and wasn’t due home for another month. If he were here, she might gather the courage to talk to him about it. But by the time he returned, it would be too late. The priests had already been consulted and a lucky day set for the wedding. Julia would be married before her brother returned home.

“Surely you want your brother to be at your wedding,” Hadassah said.

“Of course I would like him to be at my wedding,” she said. “But the priests said the second Wednesday of April is our lucky day. Delaying the wedding would defy the gods and risk disaster. Besides, I can’t wait another week, let alone a month. Marcus could be delayed. Or he could change his plans.” She sank down into the warm water of her scented bath and smiled. “Besides, Marcus has seen me get married once already. He was bored at my last wedding. I don’t imagine he would find this one any more interesting.”

Everyone seemed so pleased with the arrangements that Hadassah began to wonder if she was misjudging Urbanus. He spent hours with Decimus, discussing foreign trade and politics. They seemed to agree about almost everything. As for Phoebe, she was charmed by her future son-in-law. Even the household slaves thought the gods had smiled on Julia by making Urbanus fall in love with her.

Yet, it was as though Hadassah’s soul caught a glimpse of something malevolent and dangerous hidden beneath the polished manners and good looks.

The morning of the wedding, Julia was tense with excitement and determined to look more beautiful than she had ever looked before. Hadassah spent several hours arranging her hair in an elaborate style of curls and braids interwoven with a strand of rare and expensive pearls. Julia’s wedding palus was of the finest white flannel, and encircling her small waist was a woolen girdle fastened with a Herculean knot for good luck. Hadassah slipped the orange shoes on her mistress’s small feet.

“You are very beautiful,” Phoebe said, and her eyes misted with tears of pride.

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