Guess What?

[Sharpie]

"I chose to follow the course of honours, hence my current position - although there is nothing that would have prevented me from becoming a lawyer too; Cicero managed both, after all. And yes, he is - Caesar's consilium includes Jullus and Octavius Flavius Alexander - his uncles. Myself, and my fellow Consul - of course our place will be taken by our successors next year. The Princeps Senatus, the Praetorian Prefect, the two Tribunes of the people, and two others chosen by Titus Augustus himself, of whom Tiberius is one. I understand that they are very close."

He shook his head at her, somewhat chidingly. "I would certainly not denigrate your womanhood, my dove. It was your keen mind I was referring to."

 

@Sara

[Sara]

Horatia merely leant to capture his hand, leaving a kiss on his knuckles. "And speaking of women with keen minds," She gave him a wry smile, "I note his consilium - naturally - is absent of any women." It wasn't their place to be in those sorts of environments, she knew that of course. 

"But I wonder if in those meetings the idea of an Augusta has been floated? I know the previous Augusta was good for Quintus," And was a genuinely decent woman - unlike nightmarish women of the past, "But I suspect if you're thinking of Calpurnia for Tiberius, perhaps our Caesar doesn't have marriage on the mind? Or no inclination to beget an heir?" He was - naturally - the most eligible bachelor in the Empire. She didn't think their daughter would be right for him, and she - much like her mother - would hate the limelight, but to her mind he needed somebody. And not just a pretty face that could be draped on his arm at social occasions. 

 

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[Sharpie]

"Don't tell me you're thinking of marrying our daughter to the new Augustus," Aulus said, rubbing his wife's knuckles with the pad of this thumb. "And I thought I was the ambitious one in this family. Calpurnia would hate it, though - I don't think she has the same keenness of thought and interest in politics as you, my dove." But if not Calpurnia, was there anyone they could come up with to suggest when Titus Flavius Alexander Caesar Augustus did start thinking about marriage?

"Titus Augustus is young yet, of course - only a few years older than our own Titus. Calpurnia would be much better suited to Tiberius, who is happy to support his cousin. She is altogether a shyer person even than you, my sweet."

From incursions along the Parthian border to coming up with potential wives for Titus Caesar to consider - the life of a Consul was varied indeed!

 

@Sara

[Sara]

Horatia rolled her eyes - something she rarely did - as Aulus launched into his little speech about the suitability of their daughter for Caesar. When he finally finished, she arched a brow which clearly implied 'are you done?' before she drew a breath and shook her head. 

"I was not implying Calpurnia, I know as well as you she'd struggle and resent it more than she'd enjoy the difference she could make." She bristled slightly at the words 'shyer person even than you' - thinking that she wasn't shy, merely calculating in what she chose to engage in, "It was a broader question than of our immediate family. A man needs a wife, and yes I know he's young but he came to the purple younger than his predecessor and such things as heirs and children are important to think about, wouldn't you agree? Sometimes a man needs a steadier hand at home than in his consilium." 

 

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[Sharpie]

"All right, all right," Aulus disengaged his hand from Horatia's only long enough to put them up in surrender. "Who were you thinking of, then, my beautiful clever darling wife?"

He had not even considered Calpurnia for Titus, knowing she would be ill-suited to the position. He wanted the best for her, and Tiberius would be a far better prospect for her as well as being close to the Augustus. Better a long-lived marriage to a relative of the Emperor than a short ill-matched one to the Emperor himself.

"And if you're thinking of potential names I could suggest for the Augustus to consider, what about potential wives for our own son?" Several senatorial sons already knew in their childhood the partners their parents had selected for them; Aulus and Horatia had never been parents in that traditional style, at least.

"If only everyone were as fortunate in their wives as I have been," he said taking her hand again and running his thumb over her wedding band.

 

@Sara

[Sara]

Amused and gratified by his pseudo-apology, she shrugged her shoulders. "No name springs to mind yet, but I've got the reading club next week and there's a few new young women who have joined, and other women with daughters the right sort of age. I'll put my mind to task on it." and she'd likely have a list by the next ides, fully organised and sorted according to rank and family and prospects and age etc. 

"Titus has shown no inclinations in that department as far as I'm aware," She shot her husband a 'I don't want to know if he has' look - that was what slavegirls and houses of ill-repute were for, "And I've not been suitably impressed by any of the younger women I've met." She smiled wryly. Titus was only fifteen, which would mean potential spouses would be younger and therefore it was difficult to judge the merits of a girl still playing with dolls. Given Aulus' success they, likewise, had no need to be desperate and jump at the first high-bred girl and her father that came their way. They could afford to wait and be picky. 

"Flatterer." she rolled her eyes again, "Has anybody approached you about Titus?" 

 

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[Sharpie]

"Inclinations have nothing to do with it," Aulus returned, though he would have to get someone trustworthy to take Titus down to the Venus for a night - he should be a man when he put on his toga virilis, after all. "And oddly, no, they haven't. Not yet, anyway - and you'll hear about anyone who does almost as soon as they do, I promise."

Still, as he'd told Tiberius Sabucius, and Horatia, there was time. They didn't have to find a spouse for either of their children just yet, and time would give them the luxury of being a little more picky with who they considered.

"Titus is younger than Tiberius, anyway, he's got even more time. And I know of... three senators who have girls that might be suitable wives in the future, though right now it's hard to judge. Two of them at least are three years or so younger than Calpurnia, after all. There's time, we're not in any hurry."

 

@Sara

[Sara]

"We have time." She repeated but offered a light, small laugh.

"But I remember saying that when we got married...I said to myself that we had time to conceive and then I felt pregnant a month after we wed," She shook her head amused, "And then I remember saying we had time before the civil war would erupt and well...before we knew it you and Felix were off in the night." She sighed, "Life moves too fast. In my head I'm still that eighteen year old you married...and I'm thirty-three and about to be a mother for the third time." 

Where had the years gone? 

 

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[Sharpie]

Was that a note of sadness, of regret, in Horatia's laugh? Maybe.

"All the more reason to treasure every moment, Horatia, my dove," he said. He couldn't promise her that he'd be with her no matter what, and knew he couldn't make such a promise. But he promised himself that he would move Elysium and Hades to be able to have his family accompany him wherever he ended up next. He wasn't about to miss out on the early days of his third child, and Horatia would doubtless want the support - even though he would provide her with all the necessaries and slaves money could buy to ensure this child had as good a start as possible.

It was going to be a fine balancing act with the older two, as well, no doubt.

"You are even more beautiful to me now than you were when you were eighteen, my own darling," he told her, blue eyes meeting blue eyes.

 

@Sara