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Updated: May 17, 2025
Out of her litter tumbled Brinnaria in Flexinna's rumpled finery, feeling unescapably recognizable, even inside her double veil and under her broad-brimmed, tied-down travelling hat. But the heavy-built, sinewy slave-woman who guarded the portal of the Atrium passed her in without remark. She met no one on her way up to her suite, where she found Utta squatted outside her bedroom door.
But when Commodus had been Emperor a little over a year, Brinnaria, as she descended from her carriage at Vocco's door, felt a thrill of vague foreboding. On entering the house her premonition of something wrong intensified. At first sight Flexinna's face confirmed her suspicions.
As soon as he was gone the arrangement for the procession began, the slaves lit their torches and grouped themselves outside the house-door, the flute players struck up a tune, Flexinna's thirteen-year-old boy lit his white-thorn torch at the altar-fire, her eleven-year-old and nine-year-old, as pages of honor, caught Brinnaria by the hands and led her out at the door.
He can gain credit there without danger, can learn to command men and to know the great game of war. Nepte and Bescera are pleasant little cities he will be comfortable between campaigns. I'll see he sets out the day after to-morrow, at latest." Two days later, Brinnaria had a visit from Flexinna. Flexinna's eyes were dancing. "G-G-Guess where I've been," she challenged.
As when younger, she dined out very often and regularly with Vocco and Flexinna. But since Calvaster's accusation, she never visited Flexinna alone, always in company with another Vestal, usually Terentia, so that her dinners at Flexinna's became restricted to evenings on which she and Terentia were both off duty.
They chatted of their girlish interests and of local gossip and family news, like any pair of girls, until Brinnaria described the escapade that led to her rustication. Flexinna's eyes were wide and wider as she listened. "D-d-do-you really m-m-mean," she stuttered, "that you had a c-c-chance to be a V-V-Vestal and d-d-didn't jump at it?" "Jump at it!" exclaimed Brinnaria. "I jumped away from it!
Her bridal dress of pearl-gray, with the flame-colored bridal veil, reminded her more than a little of that costume of Flexinna's which she had worn to Aricia and back, only that was mostly pink, this mostly gray.
With Vocco and Flexinna she dined frequently, three times a month at least and generally oftener. Brinnaria loved children, especially babies, and there was always a baby in the Istorian household Flexinna's babies were all healthy and grew famously. Of the six children, Brinnaria could not have told which she loved or which loved her most.
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