His eyebrows were arched high when I put him down, and he threw his sister an eloquent look of long-suffering tolerance. "Thank you for that, Publius, " he said with dignity when I'd put him down. "Now, will you explain this summons? And this greeting? Victoria tells me you had something 'portant for me. " He smiled indulgently as he repeated his niece's pronunciation.
"Of course, Caius, " I said. "You shall have an explanation. Let me see, now. " I pretended to think about it. "Luceiia, why did I ask Cay to come here?" She said nothing, and merely looked at me indulgently. I snapped my fingers. "Aha! I remember. Cay, I want you to meet someone. " He looked around. The smithy was empty, save for the three of us. My daughter had gone.
"To meet someone. I see. And where is this someone?"
"Here. "
He spoke gently to me, humouring me as he would a madman. "Publius, my friend, we are alone in here, you and Luceiia and I. "
"Not so, Cay, " I said, smiling. "There is another here. "
"Really?" This was a languid drawl. "Where? Where is he?"
"He's a she, Cay. A female. A lady. "
"A lady. Well, in that case, where is she?"
"Over there, " I nodded towards the back of the smithy.
"Where? I see no one. "
"Then approach! She is there, Cay. "
He started to protest, and then he saw her. He looked back at both of us, smiling uncertainly.
"Go on, " I urged him. "Move closer!" Mystified, he did so, staring in perplexity.
"She" was a statue, a female figure, two feet high, large-breasted, ample-bellied, abundantly buttocked and faceless. A rough-sculpted, iron woman standing on a plinth of solid metal that rippled from her footless legs in a puddle.
"Who is she, Varrus? What is she?" There was wonder in his voice, for he had never seen the like of this.
"Coventina is her name, Cay. She's Celtic, " I told him. "The Celtic goddess of water. She is a water nymph, and her spirit has lived for centuries in every body of water in this country. She's the reason all these Celts throw coins and offerings into pools. I call her the Lady of the Lake. "
"The Lady of the Lake. " And then he saw it and swung towards me. "Of the lake! You mean... ?"
"Aye, Caius. I mean!" I could no longer control the great grin that spread across my face. "She's made of iron from the skystone. I smelted it last month. "
His eyes grew wide. "Last month? And you said nothing? All this time?
How could you? And you, Luceiia, how could you let this go by?" Luceiia shook her head, looking at me. "Do not blame me, Brother. I knew nothing of this until now. My secretive husband sent for me only a short time before he sent for you. Until that time he had said nothing, not even a hint. "
I smiled and shrugged, saying nothing again.
Caius looked mildly confused, then. "But why a statue, Publius?"
"Why not?"
He looked again at the Lady. She was crudely made, but still, she had a certain beauty.
"Indeed, why not?" he said. I joined him, gripping his shoulder as we looked at her together.
"What else could I do with her, Cay?" I asked him. "I didn't want to end up with a simple ingot, after all. Seven years of effort deserves more of a symbol than a metal ingot. And yet I have no urgent need to use the metal. Some day I will. Some day I shall find the perfect use for it, but until then I thought to leave her in your care. I promised you that if you left me to my own time, you should have iron from those stones. So, until I find a better use for her, she's yours. "
He ran his hand over her, feeling her substance. "The Lady of the Lake!
Why doesn't she shine, Publius?"
"She will, Cay, " I assured him. "She will. The lustre is there in the raw metal. She will shine bright, some day, when I have found the perfect use for her. "
"What does this mean, Varrus?" His voice was hushed.
"What does it mean?" I sucked in a great breath and touched the head of the statue, caressing its cold, solid hardness. "I don't know what it means, Cay. Maybe it doesn't mean anything, apart from the fact that my theory was right. Then again, it means that in spite of what your mind tells you is impossible, stones full of iron do fall from the sky. " I was rubbing the ball of my thumb against the smooth surface of the Lady's face, and I felt the smile on my own face as I added, "It means, my friend, that God still has some secret wonders that He chooses to hide from men."
"Aye, that it does, " he whispered. He reached to pick her up.
"Careful, Cay, " I warned him. "She's heavier than you think. Here, let me help you. "
Between us, with Luceiia leading the way, we picked her up and carried her with difficulty across the yard and into the house. We placed her in his cubiculum, on a table by the window.
"I'll be back in a minute. " I left him alone with her and returned shortly, carrying the skystone dagger. I placed it on the metal plinth on which she stood.
"There!" I said. "Like unto like! Let them feed on each other. "
"And now, Publius?" Caius's voice was soft. "Will you make swords from your Lady of the Lake?"
'"Swords?" I answered, shaking my head slightly. "No, I think not, Caius. Not swords. But perhaps one sword. I believe this lady may have one great sword in her. "
THE END