by Carol Ashby
“The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches, and pleasures, and they do not mature. But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.’”
He closed the codex. “There is nothing God wants more than for each of us to listen to His word, hear His call, and come to Him through our faith in Jesus as our savior. There is nothing the devil wants more than to keep each of us from doing that. It’s easy to hear the word and get excited about it right away. Many have done that. But then the hard part comes. There will be trials and testing that make it hard and even dangerous to stay firm in our faith, loyal to Jesus. There is the very real danger that we might die in an arena or be killed with a sword for refusing to deny Jesus as our Lord.”
He glanced at Cornelia and saw her nodding slowly. Again, his heart thrilled that he’d had the chance to plant the seed in her mind and heart. It would be fed and watered whether she lived with Titus or Philip. He’d be praying that God brought it to full blossom.
“But there are other dangers, more subtle than the hostility of the Emperor and his governors. The choice between Jesus and betrayal is clear and swift then. There can be the slow drifting away from holding Jesus as important above all else. We can be like the seed among thorns, where we don’t lose our faith or our life, but we let other things become too important so we never grow and bear the fruit God intends.
“We’re about to spend four months on land, where the temptations are much greater. As we spend time apart, let each of us continue to pray for the others, that we may remain strong in the faith until we sail together again in the spring.”
Hector 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’s voices blended in praise, lifting his own spirit higher. His eyes were drawn to Cornelia. She sat by Drusilla, her eyes closed, swaying to the music.
His heart swelled with love for her.
Thank you, Father, for bringing her to me. Thank you for using her and Drusilla to break the chain of the grief that had stolen my joy. Even though she’ll never become my wife, I thank you for blessing me with her friendship. I thank you even more that you let me see the start of her walk toward You.
Even if nothing else came from her voyage with him, she would decide to follow Jesus, just as Titus and Claudia had.
Lucius Fidelis might be an unwitting servant of the devil himself, but God had used his evil intentions to produce the salvation of Titus and Claudia. Hector would be praying that God would do the same for his three passengers who had become treasured friends.
It was their last morning at sea. Breakfast was the same bread, fruit, and cheese that Calamus usually served, but it was all Cornelia could do to eat any of it. She watched Hector talking with Malleolus. His forearms rested on his knees, and he was smiling and nodding as he focused on Malleolus’s words.
She’d hoped he would eat with her. She longed to have those honest eyes locked on her own, to make his mouth twitch as she teased him, to watch his eyes crinkle when she made him almost laugh.
She suppressed a sigh. Hector seemed to enjoy her company, but he’d given her no clear sign that he was planning to do anything to make their time together continue past when they docked in Perinthus.
And now, on the last morning she’d get to spend with him on his ship, he’d chosen to talk with Malleolus instead of her.
Then his eyes turned on her, and her pulse raced. Was that the same longing in his eyes that she knew must be in her own? Their eyes caught and held. Then he pulled his away as Malleolus asked a question.
How much she’d hoped five weeks would be sufficient for him to decide he wanted to marry her. Five weeks together every day…but it wasn’t quite enough. Somehow, she had to find a way to spend more time with him before he sailed in the spring.
Hector tried to stay focused on what Malleolus was telling him, but it was hard. Cornelia was close enough that he occasionally caught the scent of her rose perfume. After this voyage, he’d never be able to pass a rose bush without seeing her teasing blue eyes and laughing lips.
Why did she have to be Cornelia Scipia, noble daughter of Imperial Rome? Why couldn’t she have just been Cornelia, a woman that a captain could hope to marry?
As much as he’d wanted to spend one last breakfast talking with her, he’d chosen Malleolus instead. There was no point in making her departure more painful by adding one more playful conversation to his memories. She was wealthy beyond the wildest dreams of most men, and her ancestors had ruled Rome for centuries. If she ever decided she wanted to remarry, she’d choose an aristocrat like the senator Atticus who’d approached her in Ephesus.
He glanced at her and their eyes locked. No matter how much he wanted it, she’d never be only Cornelia. Then Malleolus asked a question, and he focused on their conversation once more. He was glad to have the distraction.
Captains and queens moved in two different worlds, and only a fool let himself forget that.
Chapter 26: Coming Home
Perinthus, Thracia
As the ship slipped up to the dock, Hector looked down at Drusilla standing beside him on the cabin top. She wasn’t watching his crew. Her jaw was clamped as she stared at her feet.
“As soon as we finish docking, I’ll go up to the shipping office and send word to your uncle’s house. You and your mother will be home before dinner.”
She slid her hand into his and held on tight. He gave it a gentle squeeze. She turned her face up to him. The tears weren’t flowing yet, but they were close.
“I don’t want to leave you, Captain.”
He didn’t want her to leave, but she wasn’t his little girl, no matter how much he wanted her to be.
“I live near Perinthus, too. After you get settled in, maybe I can come visit you.”
She brightened at the prospect. “Promise? I know Mother and Malleolus would like that, too.”
“I promise.”
“And you always keep your promises. Mother says you’re the most honest man she ever met.”
A lopsided smile twisted his mouth. He and Cornelia had come a long way since their argument about honesty and trust the day she boarded in Portus.
Conversations with Cornelia had become the high points of his day, even though they sometimes provoked him into saying things that came out wrong. Those laughing eyes captivated him when she twisted one of his simple, honest statements into something he didn’t mean and then teased him about her twisted version.
He shook his head almost imperceptibly to end that foolish reverie and focused back on Drusilla.
“You can watch everything from here where it’s safe. Stay on the cabin top unless Malleolus or your mother comes to get you. I’ll be back shortly.”
“Yes, Captain.” She didn’t look happy, but he’d stopped any tears when he promised to visit.
He climbed down and strode to the gangplank. Before stepping off the deck, he turned to look at her. Her eyes were locked on him, and her hand shot up and swung back and forth. His own hand swept the air twice before he headed down to the pier. When he reached the top of the ramp that led up to the road, he looked back. He saw her reaching as high as she could to wave again. He raised his hand before heading up the road to Philip’s shipping office.
Hector’s son, Marcario, looked up from his desk when the door opened. “Father! Welcome home!”
His father’s broad smile and outspread arms as he approached spoke volumes. “It’s good to be home.” He embraced Marcario and slapped him on the shoulder as he stepped back.
The change in his father since he left for Rome raised Marcario’s eyebrows. Father had departed ensnared by inconsolable grief. He’d returned with a smile in his eyes again.
“I need to send a message to Titus and Claudia. I have
their sister-in-law Cornelia and her daughter on my ship. She’s moving here and needs to stay with one of them for a while.”
“I can take care of everything, Father. I’ll send a messenger to get a raeda from Titus or Philip, and I have a wagon here. When the raeda comes, I’ll send them both down to the pier.”
“Good. She’ll need a couple of armed men to escort her as well.”
Marcario nodded. “Of course.” He already knew theirs was a very wealthy family.
He took a deep breath before asking the question that would tell him how his father was really doing. “Will you be at the farm tonight?”
Father rested his hand on Marcario’s shoulder. “Yes. I’ll be at the farm most of the time until we sail again in the spring. God has given me peace with the past. It’s time to look to the future instead.”
Marcario’s broad smile stretched his whole face. “I’m glad, Father. This past year was almost like I lost you as well when we lost Mother and Charissa. It’s good to have you back.”
The trunks that had travelled in the hold had all been loaded into the wagon. The trunks from their rooms sat on the ground, ready to load. Hector told the wagon driver to take everything to Philip’s house as soon as they finished loading. Then he headed down the ramp and back to his ship. All that remained were her perfume box, her chest of jewels, and the five chests containing her dowry gold. He would oversee the loading of her treasure himself.
Cornelia sat on her bunk and gazed out the window. That first day, she’d thought this room so small and Spartan. Now she wished she didn’t have to leave it.
She partly wanted that because Hector made Drusilla so happy. He’d treated her like his own daughter, and Drusilla loved him dearly. She definitely wanted to keep him in their lives for Drusilla’s sake. But that wasn’t the main reason.
She wanted him in their lives for herself. He was so kind and honest and fun to tease and…the list of what made him wonderful was almost endless. If he would just ask her, nothing could keep her from saying yes in an instant. If he were a noble Roman like Atticus, she’d ask him herself. Her cousin had proposed to her second husband, and he’d been glad to marry into the rich Scipio family. But that wouldn’t work with this Greek sea captain. He cared nothing for her wealth and noble birth. A man like him made up his own mind about things. He wouldn’t like being told what she wanted him to do before he decided to do it himself.
She closed her eyes and wished he would step into her room, take her hand, and tell her right then and there that he wanted her as his wife. She opened them when she heard his footsteps in the galley. When his frame filled her doorway, the distance in his eyes told her that wish would not come true…at least not yet.
Hector found Cornelia sitting on her bunk, her hand resting on the jewelry box on the bed beside her. Those jewels, the gold in the boxes under her bunk and his own…they anchored her in a noble world that could never include him. It had been too easy to forget that at sea, to think of her as simply Cornelia, not a woman richer than many kings. But it was time for her to return to her world and leave him behind in his.
“Cornelia, I know your future lies in these treasure boxes, so I thought I’d load them in the raeda myself.”
She tipped her head and graced him with a smile. “Thank you, Captain. Of course, I would trust any of your crewmen to help me with the chests, but I especially appreciate your offer.”
He pressed his lips together to keep the laugh from escaping as he remembered their discussion of what to do with her treasure chests when she boarded in Portus. He picked up her chest of jewels.
The flush of pink that swept across her cheeks betrayed her remembrance of that first conversation as well. He struggled to suppress the grin, but it broke free anyway.
It had often been his ears turning red over something he’d said that came out wrong. She blushed so seldom. That was too bad. She looked almost pretty when she did.
“The raeda is waiting.” He indicated the door with a nod of his head. “After you, Cornelia.”
“Thank you, Captain.” She tilted her head and smiled at him as she rose. His eyes followed her as she preceded him through the door. Every step seemed effortless and elegant, like a dance. He was going to miss watching her.
Anthusa followed her mistress with the box of perfumes, and Hector fell in behind. As he emerged from the cabin, Drusilla stepped up beside him.
“You promised to come visit soon. When will you come, Captain?”
“In a few days. You’ll want to get settled in first.”
Malleolus fell in beside him. “I want to thank you, Captain. I’m sure I speak for Cornelia as well when I say it’s been a pleasure sailing with you.”
Hector’s eyes remained fixed on Cornelia as she walked several paces ahead of him. “It’s been a pleasure for me, too. I’ve enjoyed our many talks.”
Malleolus saw where Hector’s eyes were focused. He hadn’t lived almost seventy years without knowing the look of a man who wanted a woman but didn’t know what to do about it. Perhaps there was one more service he could perform for Cornelia, even here in Thracia.
“I hope you’ll come visit so we can have many more. I know Cornelia agrees with me that we couldn’t have had a better man to bring us from Rome than you.”
They had reached the raeda, where Cornelia stood waiting for them. Malleolus had seen enough of the patrician women of Rome to know what the look on her face meant. Her natural poise concealed the depth of her feelings, and the captain probably didn’t even suspect the strength of her desire for him under that calm exterior. If Hector ever found the courage to ask for her hand, he’d find her just as eager.
Hector turned his eyes on Malleolus. “Nothing would please me more. It’s been good to have you all with me.” His eyes turned back on Cornelia. “I’m going to miss my little first mate.”
Malleolus’s lips twitched as he fought the grin that almost escaped. Miss his little first mate. Yes, that was probably true, but the captain’s eyes spoke more clearly than his words. The mate he really wanted was a helpmate to fill his life with the love of a woman again. The captain might need some help getting what he wanted, but Malleolus was the right man to help them both get the desire of their hearts.
Cornelia stepped aside so Malleolus could open the door, and Hector slid the jewel chest under the seat. Three of his crew were bringing the first installment of her gold chests up the ramp behind him. He slid those into place as his men returned for the final two.
She stepped closer to Hector. “I can’t thank you enough, Captain, for making our voyage such a pleasure. I especially want to thank you for your kindness to Drusilla. I believe it’s been the finest time she’s ever had.”
Drusilla stood beside her, her head bouncing in agreement.
Hector placed his hand on the side of Drusilla’s head as he smiled down at her. The love in his eyes as he gazed at her daughter was as great as any father’s could be.
“I enjoyed having your daughter on my ship as much as she did.”
Drusilla beamed at him.
Cornelia’s heart beat faster when he turned his eyes back on her.
“It was a pleasure having you all with me. I’m glad it worked out for you to come here on my ship.” Those honest brown eyes―who could ever doubt his words?
She kept her gaze locked on his eyes, willing him to do the same. How could she tell him she didn’t want to leave him so he’d ask her to stay?
She was still struggling with that question when his crewmen arrived with the last two chests. His eyes broke free as he turned away to receive them. As he loaded them into the raeda, she held back a sigh. Why couldn’t his men have taken longer?
When he withdrew from the carriage, he looked at Drusilla instead of her.
“In you go, child. You have cousins waiting for you.”
Drusilla clambered in and turned to smile at him. “Maybe two days? No more than five.”
/> “We’ll see.” He turned to offer his hand to Cornelia. “Allow me to assist.”
“Thank you, Captain.” She placed her hand in his. Even the simple sensation of his hand wrapped around hers made her heart feel like it was skipping beats.
There was that gracious smile Hector had seen so often. Regal as a queen, but what a loving mother. She was the mother Drusilla deserved. Growing to love that precious girl had healed his own heart. God had truly blessed him the day He brought them to his ship.
Too bad the voyage was over.
He helped Cornelia up into the carriage. Anthusa climbed in, and Malleolus was right behind her.
Hector stood with his hand on the open door, in no hurry for them to leave. His eyes were riveted on Cornelia until Malleolus spoke.
He leaned forward in his seat and turned toward Hector. “I hope you’ll visit soon, Captain.”
Cornelia took up the refrain. “Yes, Captain. As Drusilla said, please make it no more than five days. We all look forward to seeing you again.”
His eyes locked on hers again, and the satisfaction of her specific invitation triggered a broad smile. “As you and Drusilla wish, Cornelia. Not more than five days.”
He broke eye contact and stepped back from the carriage. Then he slapped the side to tell the driver to leave, and the mules put the raeda into motion.
The carriage started with a lurch. Cornelia’s stomach lurched as well. It hurt to leave the man who’d be the perfect father for Drusilla…and the perfect husband for her. But perhaps he wouldn’t wait the full five days.
Drusilla hung out the window, waving goodbye to the only father she’d ever known. When she pulled herself back inside, she tried to smile. “He promised he’d come visit. I hope he really does.”