What a day that was! The vines, festooned gracefully between dwarf
mulberry trees, were loaded with huge bunches of purple and white
grapes. The men and women slaves were gathering them and heaping them
up in baskets. The red juice escaped and ran in streams over the
yellow earth.
Laughing and merry the four young people passed among the servants
eating grapes to their heart's content, telling stories of other days,
leaving the future to unfold for itself. They did not try to foresee
it.
At noon, they went to the cool, shady room overlooking the garden and
ate the cold meats and fresh green salad, luscious fruit and white
goat's cheese, finishing the meal with sweet cakes and a delicious
drink made from the fresh juice of the grapes just gathered.
Before they ate, the freedmen stood, respectfully waiting, while
Octavia, in a low voice, offered a prayer of thanksgiving for the food
so bountifully provided. Only a small part of the servants, formerly
slaves, were Christians, and Octavia had often been warned that her
life and that of her children was in danger through her open defiance
of the priests and declaration of her own Christian faith.
Pages:
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95