She nearly felt her jaw drop. “Titus?”

“Why not? I’ve had my eye on him for a while. Quiet, conscientious, a hard worker. A fine old family; pots of money; and he did a fine job as quaestor. Not much liking for military matters, but he’s got courage—brought a nasty little matter to my attention recently, and I owe him for it. Rome owes him for it, truth be told.”

Sabina tried to collect her thoughts. Titus, forever claiming he’d never be anything more than a plodder, now a candidate for Emperor of Rome? “He’s very young, Caesar,” she ventured at last. “Surely the Senate wouldn’t approve a man under thirty-five to be Emperor?”

“They might,” Trajan rasped. “The idiots fell all over young Nero and young Caligula, didn’t they? They just might pick Titus if Nigrinus has too many rivals blocking his path. Or they might give Nigrinus the purple, but have him adopt Titus as his heir. Either way, he’s my backup plan. Not that I need a backup plan. I’ll be on my feet in a day or two, and when I get back to Rome I’ll take the boy under my wing and see how he does with a little grooming. Give me five years to season him, and I’d pick him over Nigrinus any day.” Trajan’s chest heaved. “Gods, just five years. That’s all I ask.”

“Titus.” The more Sabina thought of the idea, the more she liked it. “He hasn’t an enemy in the world, I’ll say that. How many men can make that claim?” She thought inconsequentially of Vix, even now sitting somewhere outside with his head bowed and his fists clenched together. Vix, who bashed through life making one enemy after another… oh, gods, the cry that had torn out of him when Trajan fell!

“Plenty of spineless jellyfish don’t have enemies,” Trajan slurred. “Not many brave honest men, though. And I can think of at least one enemy young Titus has made, but it was on my behalf so I can’t complain. He’s my fifth name, anyway. Get Phaedimus for me to make it official. He’s my secretary of grants and promotions; he’ll know how to write it up.” Trajan’s chest heaved in another bout of coughing. “Damn me. I left this too long, didn’t I? Should have done it years ago.”