The Roman Mysteries Complete Collection Quotes

“Flavia watched Flaccus lie down and close his eyes. She wanted to ask him a dozen questions. How had he found out they were back in Italia? Why was he helping them? What was marriage to Prudentilla like? Why had he looked so hurt when he found her kissing Tranquillus? Flaccus’s muscular forearm was over his eyes to keep out the bright sunshine. Presently he fell asleep. His arm slipped back above his head and his forehead relaxed. Although he was twenty, he suddenly looked very young. Flavia swallowed hard. She realised she was still completely and utterly in love with him.”
― Caroline Lawrence, The Roman Mysteries Complete Collection

“He was standing so close that she could feel the heat from his body and smell his musky lavender scent. She kept her gaze on the floor, afraid that if she looked up her eyes would betray her feelings. ‘I dedicated it to the god Neptune,’ she said. ‘As thanks for sending his dolphin to save me from the shipwreck.’ ‘A dolphin saved you?’ ‘Yes. When our ship ran aground in the storm.’ ‘You must tell me about it,’ he said and put his hand on her shoulder. ‘You poor thing. Even the memory of it is making you tremble.’ ‘Yes,’ she said, ‘I will tell you about the shipwreck and the dolphin after we have played lullaby music.’ She moved away. It was not the memories making her tremble. It was his touch.”
― Caroline Lawrence, The Roman Mysteries Complete Collection

“Finally, as the stars began to prick the lavender sky in the east,”
― Caroline Lawrence, The Roman Mysteries Complete Collection

“Love is the worst poison. Love has driven more men to murder than hate or greed ever did. And for love there is no known antidote.”
― Caroline Lawrence, The Roman Mysteries Complete Collection

“Just as I choose a ship when I am about to go on a voyage,’ said Jonathan, ‘so I shall choose my death when I am about to depart from this life.”
― Caroline Lawrence, Roman Mysteries Complete Collection

“Death either destroys us or frees us.”
― Caroline Lawrence, Roman Mysteries Complete Collection

“I pity the man she marries.”
― Caroline Lawrence, The Roman Mysteries Complete Collection

“Nubia closed her eyes and prayed silently. ‘Dear Lord, I am not afraid to die. But please help us do the right thing. Amen.”
― Caroline Lawrence, The Roman Mysteries Complete Collection

“Go ahead then!’ she cried. ‘Look at it. You won’t be able to read it even if you tried. I dropped it in the bath last night.’ Tranquillus took the tablet and opened it and frowned. Then his eyes grew wide as he read: ‘Give me a thousand kisses, Flavia, then another hundred, then a thousand, then a second hundred, then a thousand more—’ ‘It does not say that!’ Flavia snatched the tablet back. ‘You’re just quoting Catullus.’ She eagerly examined the two inner leaves of the tablet, but they were perfectly blank. ‘You’re disappointed!’ cried Tranquillus triumphantly. ‘You actually thought he wrote that.’ Then his smile faded. ‘You love him, don’t you, Flavia? You love Flaccus?’ ‘No I don’t!’ Tranquillus looked at her friends. ‘She loves Flaccus, doesn’t she?’ Aristo and Lupus both shrugged their shoulders and Nubia looked down at her lap. ‘No, I don’t,’ repeated Flavia, biting her lower lip. ‘Of course I don’t!’ ‘If you say so,’ said Tranquillus. He looked away. Flavia turned her head too, and looked out the back of the carruca at the passing tombs. And for some reason the Greek epitaph came to mind: Eat, drink, be merry and make love; all below here is darkness.”
― Caroline Lawrence, The Roman Mysteries Complete Collection

“One step at a time, Jonathan moved towards his destiny.”
― Caroline Lawrence, The Roman Mysteries Complete Collection

“Jonathan ben Mordecai, to his friends Flavia, Nubia and Lupus, and to his tutor Aristo. By the time you read this I will be gone. Don’t be upset that I didn’t say goodbye. You probably would have tried to convince me not to go. And you might have succeeded. But this is something I have to do. For the past few weeks I have been having dreams. Or visions. I’m not sure what they are. I only know they have been getting stronger and stronger, especially a dream of a spiritual battle in the constellation of Gemini. I have had this dream several times. Tonight I had it again and I finally think I know what it means: Titus is in danger from his brother Domitian. Once I tried to kill Titus. Now I have a chance to make it right and I think God is calling me to do this. I am going to go to Rome to warn Titus and to help if I can. Please don’t follow me. It will be very dangerous. If I reach Titus I will try to explain about the warrant for our arrest and get him to revoke it. Then you will be able to come home again. In the meantime, stay in Ephesus, so that I will know where to find you. I pray that you will all stay happy and healthy and that one day I will see you again. Shalom. P.S. I don’t hear the voice anymore. P.P.S. Erase this message once you have read it.”
― Caroline Lawrence, The Roman Mysteries Complete Collection

“What is it?’ said Flavia, looking from Nubia to Aristo and back. They stood side by side, both smiling. Their eyes had a strange shine. Nubia wore a beatific look on her face and Aristo looked almost boyish. ‘Great Juno’s peacock!’ cried Flavia. ‘You’re betrothed!’ A look of utter astonishment flitted across Aristo’s face. Nubia’s smile faded and her golden eyes grew wide. ‘No!’ she gasped, covering her mouth with her hand. ‘It is not that.’ Aristo laughed. ‘Of course not! It’s something even better.”
― Caroline Lawrence, The Roman Mysteries Complete Collection

“With a cry of horror, Nubia turned to hide her face in Aristo’s tunic, and she felt his strong arms encircle her protectively. The giant was Mindius’s evil bodyguard, Ursus.”
― Caroline Lawrence, The Roman Mysteries Complete Collection

“In the palm tree courtyard of the Villa Vinea, Nubia finished telling Aristo about her adventures in North Africa and Egypt. ‘Amazing,’ he kept saying. ‘That’s amazing.’ The jasmine-scented courtyard was dimly lit by bronze hanging lamps, some of them were reflected in the mirror smooth pool beside them. The silver light of the rising moon illuminated the tops of the four palm trees. ‘Tomorrow,’ said Aristo softly, ‘I am going to gather all the children together and begin to teach them. It’s what I know how to do, and it will keep them busy and occupied. Do you think that’s a good idea?’ ‘Yes,’ said Nubia. ‘That is a very good idea. You are a wonderful teacher, Aristo.’ The air was filled with the scent of jasmine, but as he moved a little closer she caught a subtle whiff of his musky lavender scent. It made her dizzy. ‘Nubia,’ he said softly. ‘I want to tell you something.’ The tone of his voice made her heart begin to pound. ‘Something you said a few days ago . . . about being old enough for love . . . For a long time I thought . . . But then Flavia said . . . and I couldn’t bear to think . . . I’ve been such a fool . . .’ Nubia couldn’t understand what he was saying. So she willed the pulsing roar in her ears to be quiet and when it was, she heard him say: ‘I loved Miriam so much!’ Nubia felt sick. How could she compete with the most beautiful girl in the Roman Empire? A girl whose beauty would never fade or grow wrinkled? She had been right not to tell Aristo her feelings. He would laugh at her. Or despise her. Or worst of all: pity her. In the darkness she felt him take her hand in his. The shock of his touch was so powerful that she almost cried out. ‘You’re trembling again,’ he said. ‘Are you cold?’ ‘No,’ she whispered. She wanted to cry out: Why do you still love Miriam? She never loved you. But I do. I will always love you. But she knew it would be the worst thing she could do. So instead she snatched her hand from his and ran upstairs and groped her way along the dim corridor to the bedroom and threw herself onto the bed. And in the lonely darkness, she wept.”
― Caroline Lawrence, The Roman Mysteries Complete Collection

“In a villa in Ephesus, forty-six children were lying clean and bathed in comfortable beds. Although their life had been terrible, it had held a sort of routine. Now everything had changed. The change had given them hope. And with hope came fear that their hope might be in vain. Then the music began, lyre and flute blending together, rising up from the courtyard below and filling the rooms with a wordless song of comfort. The children had never heard such music before. It took them from their dark places and transported them to sun-dappled glades, with warm sunshine, cool breezes and birdsong. The notes were like a mother’s fingers, gently brushing the hair from the forehead, soft and infinitely loving. And soon all the children were asleep.”
― Caroline Lawrence, The Roman Mysteries Complete Collection

“If anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because of me, he will not lose his reward,’ quoted Jonathan softly.”
― Caroline Lawrence, The Roman Mysteries Complete Collection

“Some people call camel “ship of the desert”. I have named our camel Selene, because she is pale like the moon. She is very good. You will become used to her soon.”
― Caroline Lawrence, The Roman Mysteries Complete Collection

“My body might not be ready for love,’ she sighed, ‘but my heart is.”
― Caroline Lawrence, The Roman Mysteries Complete Collection

“good looks aren’t enough. Skill is the most important thing. Skill and talent.”
― Caroline Lawrence, Roman Mysteries Complete Collection

“Power is a dangerous thing,’ said Ben Aruva in a quiet voice. ‘Any kind of power. If you have it, be careful to use it for good.”
― Caroline Lawrence, Roman Mysteries Complete Collection

“Faith is a kind of imagination. It’s imagining a world we can’t see, but hope is there.”
― Caroline Lawrence, Roman Mysteries Complete Collection

“Jonathan looked surprised, but Flaccus did not seem to notice. He was staring at the bronze charm that Flavia was absent-mindedly fingering. When she saw the direction of his gaze she blushed furiously and dropped the amulet back under the neck of her tunic. And for the first time in a week, Gaius Valerius Flaccus smiled at her.”
― Caroline Lawrence, The Roman Mysteries Complete Collection

“And Aristo – the storyteller – lost in the music. Nubia hadn’t told him that the song was about him; she had been too shy. His curly head was down but she could see his thick eyelashes and as she watched his fingers moving swiftly over the strings, a huge wave of affection washed over Nubia. The music which had arisen in her heart now flowed back to her from him. He and the music were one. And because she loved the music, she loved him, too.”
― Caroline Lawrence, The Roman Mysteries Complete Collection

“You”
― Caroline Lawrence, Roman Mysteries Complete Collection

“Just”
― Caroline Lawrence, Roman Mysteries Complete Collection

“Faith”
― Caroline Lawrence, Roman Mysteries Complete Collection

“Power”
― Caroline Lawrence, Roman Mysteries Complete Collection

“Great Juno’s peacock!’ cried Flavia again. ‘A peacock.”
― Caroline Lawrence, Roman Mysteries Complete Collection

“Everything in Pulchra’s house is fabulously expensive,”
― Caroline Lawrence, Roman Mysteries Complete Collection