Claudia, Wife of Pontius Pilate: A Novel (36 page)

From time to time she would look up and see Quintas watching her. Something in her heart wanted to soothe the sadness she saw in his face.

As she sat working on her embroidery, he came and sat down on the carpet beside her. “Why are you hiding from the empress? There are rumors of a great search in the city.”

The directness of his question startled her. “My son is in danger.”

“Your son?”

She looked into blue eyes the color of cobalt. “He is the great-grandson of Caesar Augustus.”

His eyes widened a moment and he nodded slowly. “That would be enough for Valeria.”

She felt directness was in order on her part. “I am sorry about your family. How many children did you have?”

The pain crossed his face and she saw him clench his fists. “Two girls and a boy. He had just been given his toga and been declared a citizen of Rome. I hoped he would follow me into government service.”

They spoke of their mutual heartaches and loss. When he learned her husband’s name, he frowned. “The man who killed the Christ.”

She felt renewed pain and anger at the assumption. What did this
man know of her husband and what he went through? “It was not possible to save him. The Jewish leaders would have found another way to get rid of him.”

“But he was the Messiah, the chosen one.”

“The people wanted a conquering king. One who would free them from our Roman oppression. What they did not recognize was that he came as a suffering Messiah. His death bought our freedom, not from the Roman Empire but from our own sin. My husband was a part of the plan of the Most High God, even though he did not know it.”

He studied her face and she became uncomfortable. Why did she feel so unsettled when he looked at her?

“I had never thought of it that way,” he said at last. He rubbed his beard with his hand.

“Did he not rise from the dead as he had raised others?” she countered, pressing her point.

“So he did. The grave could not hold him. I heard him speak to the crowds once. I came as a scoffer, ready to discredit him as a charlatan, but his words pierced my heart and would not let me go. I became a believer. My wife eventually believed also.”

“Then you will join her one day in the kingdom, Quintas.”

It was the first time she had used his name.

He rose and stood looking down at her. “This is no place for a boy to grow up. We need to get you out of Rome. I have an idea. Perhaps Medina can help us.”

Before she could ask him what it was, he was striding away, looking for Medina.

The next day Medina came to Claudia with a bundle under her arm. It turned out to be peasant clothing for Claudia and Doros to wear. When Doros opened his garments, he stepped back. “These are girl’s clothes, Medina. I cannot wear these.”

Medina tipped his chin with one finger. “My Doros, the soldiers are
looking for a boy and his mother. You would be stopped immediately before you got out of the city. To save your life and that of your mother, you must dress as a girl. Quintas came up with this idea. You will leave the city with a man who is dressed as a farmer. He has an old ox cart, pulled by a mule. The soldiers aren’t looking for a poor family.”

Doros nodded reluctantly. “If it is the only way—”

Claudia put on the frayed garments while Doros, still mumbling, put on his tunic and headscarf along with the bracelets.

Medina smiled mischievously. “I hope you like pigs.”

Doros stared at her. “Why?”

“Because you will ride with a small pig in the back of the cart.”

He looked at Medina, lifting his chin. “I like pigs,” he answered bravely.

Medina embraced Claudia, tears in her eyes.

Claudia held her tightly. “You have been like a mother to me. I will always miss you.”

When they were ready, Medina led them toward another exit where a cart and mule waited. The driver was Quintas.

 54 

Q
uintas didn’t speak. He drove the cart hunched like an old man, but she was sure he was alert for any sign of danger. Her heart pounded in fear as they passed groups of Roman soldiers, but no one looked their way. The marketplace was busy still in the late afternoon, and the cart moved along steadily but slowly, lest they call attention to themselves. Other travelers and farmers joined them heading out of the city. Claudia’s traveling bag was used as a pillow by Doros, who clutched his pig tightly. The bag held only food for their journey and some simple clean garments—nothing unusual if the soldiers looked through it.

Soldiers were stopping carriages looking for a woman of upper class. Claudia prayed silently and blessed Quintas for his ingenuity. They passed through the city without being stopped.

The countryside was in bloom and she breathed in the air scented by flowers along the side of the road. Birds sang in the trees and she heard the buzzing of bees over the wheat fields.

“Where are we going?”

“Ephesus. It is the farthest point on the Royal Road from Rome, but it is almost thirteen hundred kilometers. Are you up to such a journey?”

“I will do what I have to for my son’s sake.”

She turned to look down at Doros and smiled indulgently. Only a boy could sleep innocently at a time like this.

Quintas inclined his head toward the back of the cart. “How is your son?”

“He sleeps, the pig also.”

Quintas chuckled and then grew somber. “My son was almost his age.”

“How long has it been?”

“Almost two years. I considered revenge and friends had to forcibly remove me from my villa. We made it to the nearby forest just before the soldiers came looking for me. I got drunk for the first six months. I was a believer, but angry with God.” He shook his head. “Caligula was insane. I’m surprised he wasn’t assassinated sooner than he was. I’m glad he’s gone, but it cannot bring back my family.”

“What made the change? You said you were angry—”

“I met Medina one day in the marketplace. She told me to come with her. How she knew me, I don’t know. Why I followed her, I also don’t know. She brought me to the catacombs and introduced me to other fugitives from Caligula. When I heard their stories, I realized others had also suffered, and I had nowhere else to go. Caligula had seized my estate and holdings. I’d been a magistrate and now a fugitive. I grew a beard since Roman upper class are clean shaven, and started helping bring others who were in danger to safety—as I brought you.”

“I too am grateful for Medina.” She told him about Reggio and her mother and grandmother. She told about cooking with Medina in their small kitchen. As she shared about leaving her mother, she felt sad, but realized that the pain was gone.”

“How did you like living in the palace with Tiberius?”

“I seldom saw him. I was terrified of Sejanus.” She told him about his attack on Hotep and the vengeful orders for Lucius on their wedding day.

He raised his eyebrows. “So you didn’t see your husband again for two months from the day you were married?”

She glanced sideways at him, but he looked straight ahead, a smile twitching his lips.

“It made our reunion all the sweeter.”

The miles rolled on as they shared stories about their lives. Doros woke up. “Mater, I am hungry. Do we have anything to eat?”

Quintas pulled the cart to the side of the road and they got out, stretching their legs. Claudia found fresh bread, cheese, and fresh pears wrapped in linen that Medina had packed for them. Quintas produced a goatskin bag of water mixed with wine. When they were refreshed, they started on the road again.

“Where shall we sleep tonight?” The voice from the back of the cart held a plaintive note.

“I’m not sure, Doros.” She turned to Quintas, a question in her eyes.

“The highway is patrolled by Roman soldiers, but it is best we not sleep out in the open unless we can find a large party traveling together for protection. Perhaps a mansio if we can find one that charges little.”

“Do you have any money, Quintas?”

“Some coins, perhaps not enough to reach Ephesus. I will try to find work along the way.”

“I brought some of my jewelry, but I don’t know how to sell it in the marketplace without calling attention to myself. What should I do?”

He rubbed his chin. “There is a town coming up. Let me try.”

When they reached the town, he pulled the cart to one side and looked around the marketplace. Seeing a merchant who sold jewelry, he took a ring from her and bade them wait in the shadows with the cart.

He walked up to the merchant and held out the ring. The merchant’s eyes lit up greedily at the sight of the jewelry. Claudia had told Quintas what she paid for it in Caesarea, so he bargained with the merchant until in exasperation the merchant agreed to a price. It wasn’t what the ring was worth, but it was enough.

He got in the cart and gave the money to her. “This will fill our stomachs for a while.”

As they ate a simple meal, Quintas unrolled a map of the Royal
Road to show Doros. He pointed to the towns and cities they would encounter on the way. Doros, hungry for the attention of a man, took in every word.

Claudia also took in every word, for she loved the sound of his deep voice, and when he spoke, something resonated in her that had been dormant a long time. She felt her heart quicken when he looked at her but despaired of his finding her attractive. She had not bathed in days and had no fine clothes. Her hair was simply bound by a cloth.

The innkeeper, assuming they were a married couple, gave them a single room. As she stood looking at the one bed, Quintas smiled. “Doros, we shall make our beds on the floor so your mother will sleep well.”

Doros yawned. There was no other choice, and exhausted, all three slept soundly.

Quintas was able to sell more jewelry with two other merchants in separate towns without suspicion. He got enough to pay for food and lodging for several nights. They also sold the pig, to the dismay of Doros, who had gotten attached to the animal.

Once Quintas got a job with a farmer on their way and they stopped three days while he helped harvest grapes. They were given a room in the farmer’s house to stay briefly, and Quintas graciously slept on a mat on the floor, giving Claudia and Doros the bed. As he stretched out to sleep, Claudia glanced at his lean body and thought of Lucius. She missed his touch and lovemaking. It had been a long time and she felt the stirrings of dormant feelings. Was she falling in love with Quintas? Her thoughts kept her awake for an hour or so, listening to the man’s soft snores, and finally putting her heart and her future in the hands of her Lord, she fell asleep.

She was able to heat water in a large iron pot over a fire and brought a basin to their room. Doros had a bath and put on clean clothes. She
heated water for herself, dressed, and bound up her hair. She washed their dirty clothes and spread them out in the sun on bushes to dry.

The farmer was kind and gave them food for their journey—grapes, bread, and goat cheese. Quintas refilled the goatskin bag, and bidding the farmer farewell with their thanks, they once more headed toward Ephesus.

Over the next few days they passed detachments of Roman soldiers, but the soldiers paid little attention to a poor family plodding slowly along the side of the road in a cart.

It took them over two weeks to reach their destination, and Claudia and Doros were awed by the size of the city. They marveled at the beautiful buildings and temples. Their small cart was almost lost in the mass of people and animals traveling about the city. Quintas pulled out a smaller scroll he had put in his waistband and studied the directions to a settlement of believers who would give them shelter.

He drove through the
Agora
, the marketplace, where they bought food for themselves and the mule who had plodded along faithfully but was obviously weary.

Quintas eyed the mule. “When we find the believers, we will sell the cart and mule.”

They wound through several streets, and Quintas was forced to make a few inquiries, but they found the street they were looking for and a large villa set back from the road.

He jumped down from the cart and knocked on the door. When a man answered, he told them they were refugees from Rome and had been given this address as a place to go.

The man glanced at Claudia and Doros and then back at Quintas. “This is your wife?”

“No, I was her escort to help get her and her son out of the city. Their lives were at stake. We have traveled two weeks to get here. Can you take us in?”

“And is there something you can tell me that vouches for who you are?” It was not said unkindly.

Quintas smiled. “Ichthus, the fish.”

The man smiled. “Welcome. Please come in.”

Claudia gratefully stepped down from the cart and, with Doros at her side, entered the house with Quintas.

After being introduced to the host, Elijah, and his wife, Zeanna, they met two other families and two women who cooked and took care of the house. They were all family here, Elijah told them, and each did a share of work. No one had slaves.

Claudia had come a long way from being the pampered wife of the governor of a province of Rome. Yet, she felt a happiness she hadn’t imagined.