Second Chances

by Carol Ashby

  Hector raised his right hand. “May the Lord bless and keep us. May He make His face shine upon us and give us peace.”

  He nodded at Calamus, and the singing began again. The music wrapped around Cornelia like a warm blanket on a rainy night. Hector’s eyes closed, and his face tipped heavenward as he sang. The love she’d seen in his eyes before―it was for his god.

  There was something here. Something she’d never felt before. Something that pulled her toward it, frightening yet welcoming at the same time. She wanted the singing to end, but she wanted it to go on forever.

  When the last strum of the lyre sounded, the men rose and began embracing each other with hearty slaps and beaming smiles. It was good to be here. It was good to watch this. She could hardly wait for next Sunday, even though she couldn’t have told anyone why.

  Finally, Hector walked over to her at the rail, his eyes still glowing and a broad smile stretching his lips. “I’m very glad you joined us, Cornelia.”

  “I am, too, Captain. You explained something I’ve wondered about for the past eight years.”

  “What was that?”

  “Why Publius chose to die. It never made sense to me before. He loved Claudia so much, and he knew what his death would do to her.” She cupped her chin and stroked her cheek. “But if he truly loved Jesus, nothing else, not even Claudia, mattered as much as his commitment to his lord.”

  Hector nodded. “It doesn’t.”

  She looked deep into his eyes. “Would you make that same choice?”

  He nodded again. “I would.”

  She believed him.

  The silence that followed his words couldn’t have pleased Hector more. She was thinking deeply about what she’d heard. That was the first step toward hearing God’s call and coming. His heart warmed at the thought. Each day he cared about her more, and he knew the joy that awaited her if she decided to follow Jesus. Today was a good first step on the path that would change her forever.

  He waved toward the canopy. “I’ve had the food for my soul. Time now for food for the body. Calamus is putting out the breakfast. Please go ahead.”

  Cornelia’s eyes sparkled. “And I have food for thought. Thank you, Captain.”

  As she glided down the deck ahead of him, Hector smiled.

  Chapter 22: A Contest of Wills

  The Drusus town house, Rome

  Dinner had been delicious, but it was getting late. Lucius swung his legs off the dining couch and sat up. His best friend, Marcus Corvinus, did the same.

  “It’s frustrating, Marcus. Three weeks since Cornelia disappeared, and still no sign of her. At least I was able to stop the rumors about her kidnapping Drusilla after I got Didia Galla to spread my version of why she and Drusilla aren’t in Rome.”

  He swirled the wine in his goblet before draining it. “Your idea of having my searchers claim they had a letter for Cornelia worked well. I’ve sent them to more than a dozen women whom I thought might hide the two of them, and not one of them seemed to suspect I’m hunting for Drusilla. Or if they did, at least they didn’t gossip about it.”

  He set the empty goblet on the table. “But I expect to find Cornelia’s hiding place sometime. Then we can proceed with the betrothal. Drusilla will make a good wife for Gnaeus when she’s fifteen.”

  Marcus traced the rim of his goblet with his finger. “Getting the right wife is the least of my worries about him right now.”

  “Why is that?”

  “He crippled a favorite slave of my neighbor’s wife. I had to pay three times what she was worth before he agreed not to file a civil suit against me.”

  Marcus ran his fingers through his hair. “Gnaeus is so unpredictable…most of the time he’s fine, then something sets him off. I don’t know what to do.

  “When he turns fifteen, I should start him training with Brutus. That’s when Gaius and Tertius started, but will learning how to use a sword well only make him want to use it? Almost anything can trigger the violence.”

  He massaged the back of his neck. “And what will happen when he starts the cursus honorum in six years? When he’s a tribune and wearing a sword all the time, who knows what he might do or how a fellow officer might react to it. Even a centurion might try to stop him if Gnaeus is doing something outrageous enough. A legion commander would back his centurion against a tribune whose proven more trouble than he’s worth, no matter who his family is.”

  His lips tightened. “I’m sorry Cornelia took Drusilla and ran, but maybe she was right. The more I think about it, the less I want to risk your daughter’s life with my crazy son.”

  Lucius shrugged. “She’s only ten. I have plenty of time to betroth her, so we don’t have to commit them to each other right away. I still want Drusilla back, even if she isn’t going to be the means of officially uniting our families.”

  He slapped Marcus’s arm. “Don’t despair about this. Gnaeus will get better about controlling his temper as he gets older. Most boys do as they mature. We don’t have to make any final decisions on the betrothal for a few years.”

  Marcus’s frown relaxed into a slight smile as he nodded. “True. A lot can change in five years.” He slipped his feet into his sandals, and a slave came over to lace them around his calves. “It’s been a pleasure, as always, but it’s time to return home.”

  Lucius crossed his arms. “My pleasure as well. I’ll probably see you tomorrow at the baths. Vale, Marcus.”

  They entered the atrium together, and Marcus headed toward the exit while Lucius turned toward the peristyle garden.

  Through the opening in the roof, he looked up at the stars sprinkled across the night sky. Somewhere, Cornelia and Drusilla might be looking at the same constellations. As soon as he found them, Drusilla would be in his possession again and that was where she would remain. He might not marry her to Gnaeus, but she would always be his to control, not Cornelia’s.

  Cornelia was ahead at the moment in their contest of wills, but she would most certainly lose before he was through.

  Chapter 23: One Step Closer

  The week had passed much too quickly, but Cornelia was still glad it was Sunday again. This time she and Anthusa sat with Drusilla and Malleolus.

  Hector held the codex in his hands as he closed his eyes. He raised it as he began to speak. “We come again to worship You, Father, with our prayers and praise. Fill us with Your Spirit so our worship may be worthy for You to receive.”

  Calamus struck the lyre, and again the emotion of the music engulfed Cornelia. It spiraled up and up until it suddenly stopped.

  Hector’s gaze settled on Cornelia, and his warmest smile lit his face before he dropped his eyes to the codex and began to read.

  “ʻSo I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!’”

  Hector closed the codex and held it to his chest. “Here Jesus is teaching His followers how the Father wants to answer the prayers of those who have become His children by believing in Jesus as their Savior, the perfect sacrifice Who paid for their sins.”

  Hector’s gaze, which had been on Malleolus, locked onto Cornelia. His eyes…so intense when they first caught her own, then warming like Publius’s eyes once had when he spoke of his god.

  “He’s also teaching how He wants those who are not yet His followers to seek Him, and He promises they will find Him. To knock and He will open the way to Himself. To ask and they will receive salvation and the greatest possible gift, the Holy Spirit, God Himself dwelling inside them because of their faith in Jesus.”

  The slosh of the
waves breaking against the ship and the flutter of the sails faded to silence. It was as if she and Hector and someone she felt but couldn’t see were the only ones onboard.

  “So whether you already have the peace and joy of knowing Jesus as your Savior or you are wondering about what He has done out of His great love for you, even before you believe in Him, you can be sure He wants to give you only what is best for you. And the best gift of all is Himself.”

  Hector closed his eyes and raised his right hand. “May the Lord bless and keep us. May He make His face shine upon us and give us peace.”

  The men began to sing, but this time Cornelia wasn’t listening to the music. The echoes of Hector’s words drowned out all other sounds.

  Could it really be so simple? Just ask and God would live inside her? All she had to do was believe Jesus saved her and she’d be saved? What would that even be like? The thought was both tempting and scary.

  Publius had talked about everyone being sinners because even good people made choices that separated them from the one real god, the God of Israel, Who was actually the god of the whole world. He’d talked about the holiness of that god, how He couldn’t abide sin in His presence, so He’d told His people how to make sacrifices at the temple in Jerusalem to cover their sins, year by year. Publius had worried about how the sins could be covered after Emperor Titus destroyed the Jewish temple.

  But then Publius decided to believe Jesus was the final perfect sacrifice who made any more animal sacrifices unnecessary, and her wisest friend died before he could explain his choice to her. But how could one man’s death pay for all the sins of all people? And how could a god actually dwell inside everyone who believed in him?

  She couldn’t get her mind around it. But maybe that was what he meant by seeking. Maybe she just needed to learn more about it all, and then it would make sense. She didn’t even have the questions clear enough in her own mind to ask Hector yet. Ask, seek...she would work on both.

  She once more became aware of the rich male voices surrounding her. Then it was over, and the men were embracing and conversing happily.

  Hector came to her side. “I hope you enjoyed the worship.”

  “More than you know, Captain.”

  She almost asked him her questions, but she stopped herself. She needed to plan out what she would ask. This was so important to him that she wanted to get the questions right, and she had to sort some things in her mind before she was ready.

  “You’ve given me more food for thought. And I know food for our bodies awaits us under the canopy. I’m ready for that now.”

  Hector motioned for her to go ahead of him. “After you.”

  In the afternoon, Hector stood atop the cabin. His eyes scanned the clouds on the horizon, but he wasn’t really seeing them. More important things occupied his mind. Today’s worship had given him exceptional pleasure. Watching his passengers listen so intently to the gospel reading and then to his own words had made his heart sing. Nothing could make him happier than for Cornelia’s whole party to decide to follow Jesus.

  Especially her.

  It was funny how each day he liked her more. Who would have thought when they argued that first day in Portus that it would take less than four weeks for his regal passenger to become a genuine friend? A friend…and a sister if she would only decide to follow Jesus. Maybe even a woman he could marry after she shared his faith.

  His eyebrows shot up. Where had that thought come from? A laugh almost escaped his lips over that one. Cornelia Scipia would never consider marrying a ship’s captain who had risen from being a farm slave to owning a farm himself. No one could be more truly an aristocrat than she was, and there was no way she would consider anyone but an aristocrat for her next husband. Yes, she liked him as a friend. There was no doubt about that, but to rise above friendship to marriage…that was beyond what was possible. Captains and queens only wed in children’s stories, and this was real life.

  Chapter 24: Two Fine Men

  Ephesus

  Drusilla stood by Hector atop the cabin as the ship was pulled into the Ephesus pier by the rowboats. As the crew began casting the ropes to the dockworkers to secure the ship, Hector smiled down at his little first mate.

  “Go tell your mother I want to speak with her as soon as the gangplank is lowered.”

  “Yes, Captain.” She walked briskly to the ladder and climbed down to go find Cornelia.

  When Hector descended the ladder himself, he found Cornelia watching him from the rail. As he walked toward her, that playful upturn appeared at the corner of her lips, and the twinkling look in her eyes warned him something was coming. He was in for some teasing, but that was perfectly fine with him.

  She was struggling to keep a straight face as she squared her shoulders and stood erect at his approach. He half expected her to salute him. “You summoned me, Captain?”

  Her barely suppressed grin brought a smile to his face as well. “I did. I thought you might enjoy a trip to the bath and a good dinner tonight. Ephesus can safely provide both. It will be the last good opportunity before we reach Perinthus in about a week.”

  “What a lovely idea. Would you prefer I be plain or fancy for this excursion?”

  He wasn’t going to touch that one. Whatever he answered, she’d find some way to turn the words to tease him.

  “Suit yourself, Cornelia. However you want to dress is fine here. Surprise me.”

  He was sure he’d chosen his words carefully enough to avoid the tease. Why then did her eyes suddenly sparkle as she gave him that smile that usually showed her delight in flipping his words around?

  She turned without a word and headed into the cabin. He found himself looking forward to the surprise.

  Cornelia emerged from the cabin in her Roman finery. Even with her hair in her usual simple style, she looked as regal as she had standing on the pier in Portus. But now Hector knew there was a loving mother and playful woman under that queenly demeanor. A woman whose company made him feel both comfortable and off balance. First a trip to the private bath he always visited when he docked in Ephesus, then a good dinner at a restaurant nearby where he’d never seen Romans wearing purple stripes. It should be an enjoyable evening for them both.

  For greater privacy and quiet conversation, Hector had chosen a table near the back wall. Cornelia, Drusilla, and Anthusa had their backs angled toward the door, while he and Malleolus faced it.

  A Roman dressed in his toga and tunic with the wide purple stripes marking him as a senator entered the restaurant. He condescendingly scanned the people seated at the tables. When his eyes locked on Cornelia, Hector’s spine stiffened.

  The senator’s eyebrows shot up, and a broad smile appeared as he began his walk toward her.

  Malleolus spotted him and spoke in a near-whisper. “Cornelia. We have company. Someone who knows you.”

  Hector focused on Cornelia. Her eyes widened like a deer facing a dog pack, and he kicked himself mentally. He’d picked this restaurant because he’d never seen a senator here before. Why did there have to be one today?

  She took a deep breath and locked her gaze on her hands as they rested in her lap. Even before she completely released that breath, those eyes looked calm, collected. He’d never seen anyone so quickly mask great agitation. His eyes remained fixed on her face as she waited for the senator to approach her and speak.

  “Cornelia Scipia?”

  Her most gracious smile appeared as she turned in her chair to face the Roman.

  “Manlius Atticus. What a pleasant surprise. It’s been quite some time since we last met.”

  She held out her hand to him, and he wrapped his fingers around her own. The senator’s eyes looked genuinely delighted to see her and not just as an acquaintance. The corners of Hector’s mouth started to turn down. It took a conscious effort to keep that from happening.

  “It has, indeed, Cornelia. Much too long. What brings you to Ephesus?”

 
; “I grew tired of staying alone at the estate outside Rome. I felt like doing something different. I’ve heard for so many years about the wonders of Ephesus, so I thought a sea voyage to see them would be entertaining.”

  “And what do you think of the beauties of the city?”

  “We’ve only just arrived, so I have no opinion yet. Have you been here long?”

  “Not quite a week. I’m on my way home from Antioch. I’ll be catching a ship to Thessalonica tomorrow. From there I’m going home on the Via Egnatia. It’s too late in the season to go all the way by ship before the sea closes.”

  “Yes, I suppose that’s true. I guess that means it would be a good idea for me to spend the winter here. That sounds appealing, actually. It might be quite pleasant to stay someplace other than Rome for a few months and return in the spring.”

  “But what about Drusus? Surely he’ll miss you.” Atticus’s voice dripped sarcasm as one corner of his mouth pulled upward.

  Hector switched his gaze from her aristocratic friend to Cornelia herself. She sat like a queen on a throne, bestowing her gracious smile on Atticus, but the flicker of distress in her eyes before she masked it triggered the start of another frown. He once more focused on blocking it.

  She laughed, and it sounded genuine to him. How could she do that?

  “I’m certain he’ll miss me terribly if he ever bothers to go out to the estate to look for me, but I’m also certain his regular women will comfort him in my absence. He’s found them sufficient for years. He won’t lack for entertainment, so we don’t have to worry about Lucius suffering while I’m gone from Rome.”

  With the sarcasm in her voice, she even seemed to be sharing in the senator’s ironic humor. No trace there of the bitterness he would have expected after such treatment.