For a Roman's Heart (36 page)

“It’s a long story, my love. A very long one. I saw Victor stabbed, then I was attacked and stabbed as well. But my armor kept back most of the force.” Terentius’s gaze took on a faraway look for a moment. “At one point I dreamed that Victor dragged me into a ditch to hide me. When I came to, I was in a ditch some distance away from the battle, but there was no sign of Victor. I had a head injury and broken ribs. My guess is I crawled into the ditch to hide, but I don’t remember doing it. By the time I awakened everyone had stopped looking for me. I tried to make my way back to the legion, but it took several days of walking, and in between I hid from the enemy. The only thing that kept me going was the thought of returning to you.”

He kissed her again, this time deeply and with sexual promise.

“Terentius, I am with child.”

Tears overflowed his eyes as he placed his hand upon her belly. “I know, sweet one. Capito told me when I reached the fort. He also told me about Sulla.” He pressed more kisses to her face. “My wonderful Adrenia. So brave. So reckless. When I think what you’ve been through.” He buried his face in her neck and mumbled. “I vow to the gods I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you.” He whispered hotly into her ear. “And after our child is born, I’ll give you many more babies. Many more.”

She laughed and then pressed kisses to his face. Terentius loosened his grip on her long enough so that she could look around and see her friends. Capito held Longa in his arms. Longa cried, as did Pella. Pontius smiled widely. Cordia and Nerva stood off to the side. Cordia looked devastated.

Terentius lifted Adrenia’s left hand, and he kissed the ring she wore. “I will make this official. Will you marry me, Adrenia, and spend all your life with me?”

Sharp, wonderful happiness filled her and she answered. “Yes, Terentius. Yes, yes, yes.”

As Terentius eased from Adrenia’s body, his breath harsh with completion, she settled into his arms with a sigh. For a long time she listened to his heartbeat as she snuggled into his embrace. Arms so powerful and sheltering held her tight. Deep into the night, the town had turned quiet. She couldn’t hear a dog barking, or horse hooves traversing the street outside. They might have been the only people in Durovigutum, and she liked the thought of staying this isolated for days and days. She traced her hands over his hard form, savoring a return to his beautiful masculine body and territory she hadn’t forgotten. His firm skin over strength, his tenderness despite power—ah, yes. It all filled her with satisfaction and elation.

“Adrenia?”

She propped up on one elbow and watched light from the oil lamp flicker over his face. “Yes?”

“There is so much to catch up on. To know.” His eyes flashed. “Would that I could have spared you such pain. The fact that Sulla attacked you—”

She placed her index finger over his mouth. “Shhh. Do not say it. It was horrible, and I thought I was dead. But I fought for my baby. I fought to stay alive for you. I fought to make him pay for what he did to those women.”

Terentius caressed her face, his eyes alight with tenderness. “You’re so strong. Do you know how brave you’ve been? I admire that more than I can say. I have never met another woman like you.”

She smiled. “Good.”

“And the money you’ve accumulated while I was gone. Incredible and wonderful. I’m so proud of the woman you’ve become.” He kissed her with a soul-searching intensity. He drew back and pinned her with a serious stare. “Before I left for Germania I was unkind to you.”

“In what way?”

“How could you forget? When you had the vision of Victor and I in Germania. The vision came true just as you said. Then I saw...” He swallowed hard. “I saw you lying against a wall with blood down the front of you. That’s when I was stabbed.”

Adrenia gasped softly. “Then you had a vision of me after Sulla’s attack.”

“It would seem so.”

She smoothed her fingertips over his brow. “Then trust me in this. As we made love tonight, I saw another child for us.”

“How many?”

“At least three boys and two girls.”

He grinned, then growled softly as he nuzzled her neck. “I love making babies with you.”

She giggled, then slowly sobered. She took a deep breath. “You can’t imagine the agony when I thought you were dead, Terentius. The horrible, horrible agony.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“Was it awful waking in that foreign land hurt and alone?”

He nodded, and somehow she knew it would take him considerable time to explain his feelings in full. “My worst thought was if the enemy caught me, I’d never see you again. That was my number-one purpose and it’s what kept me alive. I’d do anything to be with you again.”

Adrenia tasted his forehead, his nose and finally his lips.

“Do you mourn Victor?” she asked after a time.

He nodded. “Very much. I searched for him but never found his body.”

“Could he be alive?”

“Unlikely. The fighting was fierce, the wounded and dead thick on the ground—”

“Then he could still be alive.” Hope surged upward. “After all, Capito couldn’t find you and that’s when everyone thought you were dead.”

Terentius’s eyes went thoughtful. “Anything is possible. The chances are slim for his survival, but if anyone could find their way out of there in one piece, it might be Victor.” He drew her down into his arms again, holding her so tightly he squeezed her ribs. “In the morning we shall make dedications at the river to give thanks for our good fortune in finding each other again. And, if Victor was so blessed, for our friend’s safe return.”

So, in the morning, when the sun rose high, they rode a horse to the river near Durovigutum. Terentius helped his beloved soon-to-be wife climb from the horse. He’d hooked one of Victor’s helmets onto a pack on the back of the horse. He carried the helmet with him to the river’s edge.

“Today is so beautiful.” Adrenia turned her face up to the sky and closed her eyes.

Warmth filled him from every corner. Her hair flowed around her shoulders, and he recalled how delicious it felt to bury his face in the blue-black beauty of it and breathe her scent.

“Stand close to me, Adrenia.”

She moved nearer. She took the two diminutive statues of Abandinus and Coventina from the pouch at her waist.

Holding the statues over the trickling, clear water, she recited words from the heart. “Goddess Coventina and god Abandinus, we thank you for bringing us together and returning us to each other’s side. We dedicate these to you and vow to honor you with new statues and new prayers each day.”

With a gentle toss, she threw the statues into the babbling water. Terentius watched them roll over and over before the river took them away.

He held Victor’s helmet over the water. As pain scored him, he drew in a shivering breath and managed words. “Minerva, Jupiter and Mars, Abandinus and Coventina, I bestow this helmet upon you for safekeeping. It belonged to my friend and optio, Domitius Quintus Victor. He was a true and honorable friend and fierce warrior. We honor him forever. And if by chance he survived the battle, keep him safe and return him to us one day.”

He tossed the helmet into the river and watched the gleaming metal tossed up and down in the current until it disappeared around a bend.

Terentius turned to Adrenia, peace overtaking him. He drew her into his arms and kissed her with passion. When he released her mouth, her eyes contained the enjoyment of a well-loved woman.

One thing remained unsaid. “Adrenia, I’ll love you to Elysium and beyond.”

She smiled and cupped his face. “And I will love you forever, no matter where this journey takes us. I would do this all again for you, for my Roman’s heart.”

Epilogue

Present Day

Huntingdon Museum

Huntingdon, England, not far from Godmanchester, once known as Durovigutum

As the archaeologist uncovered their recent finds, Denise Acone admired the tombstone more than the other finds they’d discovered this season. As an American amateur archaeologist, she also never expected to participate in a great find like this. The tombstones, recently unearthed in a field near Godmanchester, had thrilled the small team of Cambridge University archaeologists. Several amateurs gathered around the large wood table that held two tombstones of similar size and construction. Most remarkable was their pristine condition. Buried for so long under deep earth near the site of a second century villa excavation, the stones had remained virtually undamaged for hundreds of years.

Today, the stone was bared to Professor Claurice Allrich for inspection. Denise and the others admired the stonework.

“Would you look at that,” one young Englishwomen said. “The carving on this one looks like a woman.”

“Definitely a woman,” Denise said.

“The other tombstone belongs to a man,” another woman said.

Professor Allrich leaned over and read the Latin inscription on the tombstone with the figure of a woman. “Adrenia Tertia Brigomalla Atelli, beloved wife and mother, died 242. Dedicated by her sons Primus, Capito, Victor, and her daughters Pella and Longa.”

“What does this other one say?” A man asked nearby.

Professor Allrich pushed her wire-rimmed glasses higher on her nose. “This inscription is even more extraordinary than the woman’s. It says, for Terentius Marius Atellus of Legio XX VV. Died 241. Dedicated by his devoted wife Adrenia.” She pointed at the Roman numerals. “This says he was a legionnaire with Legion Twenty Valeria Victrix. They were stationed at Deva, which is now modern-day Chester.”

“What was he doing in Godmanchester?” Denise asked.

The professor shrugged. “Anyone’s guess. Perhaps he retired from the military here. There’s more. This last part says, ‘for a Roman’s heart, she was truly saved.’ The woman’s last name appears Briton. The man’s name is Roman in origin. She was probably a lowly Briton married to a Roman citizen. Not something you find on a Roman era tombstone every day.”

A warm glow started in the pit of Denise’s stomach. She wondered, in her already active imagination, what this couple had been like.

The professor whispered new words, these not carved on stone but spoken centuries ago, “
Omnia vincit amor et nos cedamus amori
.”

“What does that mean?” Denise asked.

The professor smiled. “In the immortal words of Virgil, ‘Love conquers all; let us, too yield to love.’”

Denise knew a story was carved into this stone, a testament to a love that had overcome hardship and social rank. A love that lasted forever.

About the Author

Suspenseful, erotic, edgy, thrilling, romantic, adventurous. All these words describe Denise A. Agnew’s award-winning novels. Romantic Times Book Review Magazine called her romantic suspense novels “top-notch” and her erotic romance
Primordial
received a TOP PICK from Romantic Times Book Review Magazine. Denise’s record proves that with paranormal, time travel, romantic comedy, contemporary, historical, erotic romance, and romantic suspense novels under her belt, she enjoys writing about a diverse range of subjects. The fact she has lived in Colorado, Hawaii and the United Kingdom has given her a lifetime of ideas. Her experiences with archaeology and archery have crept into her work, as well as numerous travels through the UK and Ireland. Denise lives in Arizona with her real-life hero, her husband. Visit Denise’s Web site at
www.deniseagnew.com

Look for these titles by Denise A. Agnew

Now Available:

Male Call

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Marshall’s Law

With ghosts like these, who needs TAPS?

Marshall’s Law

© 2010 Denise A. Agnew

If Dana Cummings was inclined to list the best ways to meet men, having one arrest her for burglary—during a tornado, no less—wouldn’t be in the top ten. Dating isn’t high on her agenda, period. She’s sworn to never again fall for know-it-all men with fiery gazes and devastating smiles.

Besides, she’s only in Wyoming to help her eccentric aunt find out if horny ghosts really do haunt the family bed. And hopefully bust a hellacious case of writer’s block. Extracurricular activity with a gruff, hunky lawman is off limits, even if he does fire her libido.

Witnessing too much of life’s seedy side led Brennan Marshall to live by three simple rules: work hard, play hard, and never fall for a sweet-faced female with a witty tongue and snappy comebacks. Especially the ones with a dollop of vulnerability—like Dana. But their razor-sharp sexual tension cuts right through his defenses and leads them on a dangerous journey.

One that will test the limits of their beliefs—and could cost their lives.

Enjoy the following excerpt for
Marshall’s Law: