Eight for Eternity

Chapter Thirty-Three

“Hypatius told me he was going to the kitchen.” Felix sat on a stool at the entrance to the corridor leading to the quarters John had lent to his aristocratic guests.

“Is Julianna in her room?” John asked.

“You can be certain of it. That’s why I’m here. So there’s no doubt she’s safe.”

“Is she sleeping?”

“I couldn’t say.” He turned his head to look down the hallway. “Her door’s stayed shut. I’d notice if she tried to leave. Do you want to speak with her?”

“No. It’s her father I need to see.”

Felix shifted uncomfortably on the stool. His legs stretched across the corridor. “Being on watch for wayward girls doesn’t suit me. I can’t risk any further mistakes.”

“If anyone made a mistake.”

“I have no reason to mistrust any of my excubitors. But with the state the city’s in, for some it’s every man for himself.”

“Understandable if not commendable. Perhaps Belisarius will ask Justinian for your services and rescue you from my household,” John remarked with a smile.

He made his way to the kitchen at the back of his house, an area somewhat less familiar to him than Alexandria but currently as hot. Hypatius was bent over a steaming, copper pot set on one of the long braziers. “Eggs,” he explained. “I decided to cook myself some eggs.”

“I realize my servants have deserted but the storerooms are full of-”

Hypatius waved his hand. “No. No. Eggs are exactly what I want.” His face was red from the heat. Sweat beaded on his upper lip.

John peered into the bubbling water. There were at least a dozen eggs sitting on the bottom.

“That isn’t much a meal.”

Hypatius licked his lips. “Yes, well, but…I found the eggs…and…the shells weren’t cracked…so….”

“Ah. I understand. It’s difficult to poison an egg inside the shell. A good choice, Hypatius. Now if the shells were poisoned-”

“The poison would be boiled off and….oh…well…that is to say…” He wiped the sweat off his face. “You think I’m a coward. I can see that. Men in my position need to be cautious.”

John could see the eggs bobbing slightly beneath the bubbling surface of the boiling water. One of them had cracked and emitted a thin rope of white. “There is a thin line between cowardice and caution. We all have our fears.”

“I’m glad you understand.” Hypatius fished the broken egg out of the pot with a pair of tongs and tossed it aside. He studied his remaining charges carefully.

“Young people are often not as cautious as they should be,” John said.

“Very true.” Hypatius looked away from the pot and toward John. “You’re talking about Julianna, aren’t you?”

“Apparently you have reason to suspect her of being incautious to jump to that conclusion.”

“How many other young people are there in this house? You’re not a man who seeks others out in order to speak in generalities.” He lifted the pot off the brazier and sat it on the long wooden table behind him. “Julianna is the same as any other girl her age. A bit of a dreamer. Careless at times. We all had our heads in the clouds at that age.”

“I take it she loves horses.”

“Don’t all girls?” Hypatius transferred the cooked eggs to a plate and tapped one delicately with a long spoon to break the shell.

“All girls may indeed love horses, I’m not an authority on the matter. Some, however get into the Hippodrome to watch races, or so I hear.”

Hypatius looked startled. “Not Julianna. She’s a well bred young lady. Related to an emperor, remember. You’re not accusing her of any such thing, are you?”

“Yesterday I saved her from being raped in the Augustaion, Hypatius. Do you have any idea what your daughter was doing out there? An assignation perhaps? You don’t have to worry about her reputation. Anything you tell me will remain private.”

Hypatius’ face was no longer red. He looked as pale as his eggs. “I have no idea why she left this house. I will speak to her severely. She’s a dreamer. An innocent though. Just a child.”

“You don’t trust me, do you? Maybe I am treacherous. Your daughter’s life is at stake, Hypatius. Are you going to cook eggs for Julianna too, or risk having my staff preparing her meals?”

“I…I…No one’s trying to kill Julianna…are they? If she’s in danger it’s because of because of me and Pompeius. We’re the targets. Julianna would be safer back in our house with her mother. Then anyone trying to…to…kill me wouldn’t….”

“If you want to protect Julianna you must tell me what you know.”

Hypatius looked away from John. He pushed the eggs around on his plate, then brought his spoon down on each, too hard, sending pieces of shell flying. “There’s nothing I can tell you. Nothing. I wish there were.”