Days passed, then weeks, until it had become three months since the engagement banquet and the wedding date was nigh. Hope had been blossoming within Julia for a while now, ever since the household had gotten news that Augustus's journey back from Western Europe would be delayed. He had gone to make his rounds with the troops stationed there; the emperor making a personal appearance would bolster the soldiers' morale as they prepared to press further toward the Western Sea. But word had come that he wouldn't be back in time for the wedding...So maybe...?
Her hopes were dashed when she was informed that the wedding would go on regardless of Augustus's presence. His orders had been adamant: come what may, on the established date, she and Marcellus must be married, no exceptions. Not even fo
