Deadly Election (40 page)

Tiberius, no fool and a good man, was subsequently cool with him. I found my feelings affected unexpectedly. I could never say I had liked Julia Optata; I certainly pitied her husband for what he had endured with her. But I felt belated sympathy; I saw the sadness of her life.

On the surface, Tiberius continued his friendship with Vibius and was always kind to his two children. A wise partner does not come between her man and his best friend. Luckily, at heart, mine shared my reserve. So Sextus Vibius Marinus would not be invited to our home, when we had one, as often as he once might have been.

We would have our own home. But that is another story.