The Barbarian's Mistress (21 page)

‘Don’t Vali, you’re just torturing us both. We can’t do anything with all these men around. They look at me lustfully already. I don’t want them thinking…’ She stopped, blushing hot.

Vali’s white teeth looked brilliant in the morning light. His mouth was so inviting. When he saw how her gaze dwelled longingly on his mouth, he smiled even more. ‘I have created a monster. Where has my sweet little innocent doe gone?’

‘I’m still innocent, more’s the pity. I think I’ll go to my grave a virgin,’ she grumbled, taking another bite from her bread and chewing hard.

‘Sweetling, you’re so cute when you’re grumpy.’ He leaned in and kissed her pouting lips. He tasted of olive oil and the watered wine he’d been drinking.

6 September 79 CE, Rome LATIUM

Braxus stood before his patron, hands behind his back, feet spread apart. It was an old pose he had never grown out of. His dark brown eyes watched his quarry like a cat watches a bird. Unblinking.

‘Vali?’ Salvia Camilli said, on a gasped breath. Her eyes grew large and uncertain, and for a brief moment he saw fear written there, and something else. Then she frowned and dropped her head. Her fingers began to shred a flower she’d just taken from its bowl.

It had been red and beautiful. Scarface had no knowledge of such things, but he could appreciate beauty. But instead of smelling its perfume, as most women would have done, his patron had begun to rip the petals from the bloom and tear them into pieces. It was like watching an innocent being deflowered.

‘And he’s with a girl. A blonde girl you say?’

‘That’s what we were told. Her name is Lara and she’s a liberti, as is the Germanian, although his hair is white-blonde.’

‘He’s not from Germania.’ Salvia seemed distracted. ‘His people were from further north, ou
tside the sphere of the Empire.’ She seemed to bring herself back to the issues at hand with some effort. ‘Interesting. How would he have managed to become a freeman in such a short time? And with a wife? What has this to do with my ex-husband, I wonder?’

He knew she was not talking to him. It was almost as if he didn’t e
xist to her. Her mind was turning over and over each detail feverishly, considering all the possibilities.

‘Anything else?’

‘Only that there seem to have been no “goods” that we could find. And they were headed for Carthago, not back to Rome. My partner has followed them, in case you required it.’

‘Hmmm… quite the mystery. What has my ex-sex slave and my ex-husband got in common that they would want to keep secret from me? I know Bibulus found him a useful assistant, well versed in financial matters. Could Vali be dealing in something contraband for Bibulus? His finances are in a bad way, he might think to recoup his losses illegally. But what had Pompeii to do with it. And who is the S who died? I need to know more.’ Her still beautiful face turned ugly, and she crushed the last of the bloom in her fist, and threw it away.

‘I’m not sure how this relates, but the girl was grieving her dead father.’

Salvia’s head shot up, and her piercing, golden gaze drilled into him. ‘Grieving her father?’ Then she looked away as she followed that thought through. ‘It couldn’t be. Not even Bibulus would be fool enough to give his innocent little Anniana into the hands of that sexual aggressor. And for certain, he knew what Vali was, and what he did for me… to me.’

Braxus didn’t know what she was talking about, but it didn’t matter. She wasn’t speaking to him. Her eyes were fierce now with vengeance.

‘If he’s taken her virtue, I’ll kill him myself. Slowly. Just as I should have done years ago. But the money I was offered for him made better sense, back then. Too much money to give up for payback. And he wouldn’t have broken easily. Not that one…’

‘Who is she, Lady?’ Braxus’ curiosity got the better of him. He had to know what this was really about. Not a husband keeping resources from his wife. Not a mistress, or even a bastard child, as he’d started to believe.

‘Who is she? Well, that’s now become clear. This liberti is no such thing. She is Annia Minor Bibuli, my youngest daughter. And my ex-husband sent her away so that I couldn’t marry her to the emperor. Fool that he is! Who would not want to be the father-in-law to a god? But the fool was more worried about her feelings. So what did the idiot do? Entrusted her to a sadistic bastard who would do anything to get even with me.’

‘But they’re married, and there was no suggestion that the marriage was … not real. My informant liked Vali and the girl. He wouldn’t have idolised the man, as he evidently did, if he was mistreating his wife.’

‘Oh, Vali is good. Very good. He can make pain into pleasure. My sweet little daughter wouldn’t know what to do with a man like that. She’s such an insipid drab. Do you know,’ she started to say, her eyes alight with vicious pleasure. ‘My youngest son once raped her thirteen year old handmaiden in front of her, and she did nothing but stand there.’

‘She liked to watch?’ Scarface couldn’t keep the disgust from his voice.

‘Oh, no. That I would have respected. No, she was too terrified to do anything to help her beloved friend. Publius laughed himself sick when he told me. I had to forbid him to touch the girl again. She was the sort that would have broken, if mistreated too greatly. Then she’d have been worthless.

‘But that was my youngest daughter, a cowardly shadow. Weak and mewling, unable to stand up to her own brother to save something she truly valued. Just the sort that Titus likes. Strong women offend him. I learned that the hard way.’

As if suddenly realising how much of her personal life she’d given away to an assassin and spy, she changed the subject abruptly. ‘Go after them. Bring my daughter back to me, unharmed. She is still of value, even if her virtue is compromised. Maybe she can’t be wife to a god now, but she can certainly be his concubine. There’s power in that, as long as she has not been too badly damaged.

‘Be careful. Vali is strong and smart. He won’t let you take her without a fight. And two of you may well not be enough. If you need to, hire another man or two, for safety. Whatever it costs, whatever it takes, get my daughter back. And kill her ‘husband’. Because, if you leave him alive, he’ll come after her. That one is all about vengeance. And if he hasn’t finished with his little plaything by the time you catch up with him, he won’t take well to having her taken from him. Are we clear?’

‘Certainly. Kill the man, return the girl to you, unharmed. It will be done.’ Braxus kept his voice neutral and his face blank. He was use
d to working for people like this. With a career that spanned piracy to the gladiatorial arena, he could hardly claim past association with saints. It wasn’t his business what this girl, Annia Minor, or Lara as she was calling herself now, was doing with a man her mother clearly feared and hated. His job was simple. Get the girl, kill the man. And get paid handsomely for his work.

7 September 79 CE
, Rome LATIUM

Bibulus unwound the message that had just been delivered to his door. His hands shook as he read the words, in the childish hand of Anniana’s handmaiden. ‘A has gone to Carthago with V. Spies are close on her trail, and we follow in their steps. She appears to be uninjured. N’

Carthago? Why would Vali take her there? At least he was not foolish enough to take Salvia’s bait and bring her home.

He had received a missive from Salvia’s father that morning demanding the return of her dowry and her youngest daughter, as stipulated in the marriage contract. He already had people working on his accounts, calculating how much of her dowry Salvia had frittered away over the years. It would be a fierce legal battle for his finances, which he might actually win. But he would not win control of his daughter. That was ironclad. Now that she was no longer the wife of Severus, even if the marriage had been consummated, she was again vulnerable. It meant that she returned to her paterfamilias, which, because of a foolish error on his part all those years ago, meant her maternal grandfather’s family.

For the thousandth time he cursed his own stupidity and greed all those years ago. One of the gods had surely seen his hubris and decided, then and there, to make him pay. Who would have thought his heart would only ever belong to one tiny girl-child? Not even his eldest son, whom he was exceedingly proud of, meant as much to him as his lamb. He would die for her. And if that would have given her the freedom she needed, he would have done just that. But death or divorce meant the same thing. Anniana returned to her mother’s paterfamilias. And the licentious Titus would support Salvia’s legal rights, just so he coul
d get his hands on his little darling.

Bibulus dropped his head into his hands and fought to control the tears. Maybe it was time to involve Gaius in all this. It would be his paterfamilias one day. And he loved his sister. If he knew what was going on, he might have some thoughts. Somehow, the idea of having someone else on his side was suddenly appealing. Even with Gaius in Magna Germania, it would feel as if there was more than just him fighting for his little girl.

He drew a clean piece of parchment from the shelves, inked up the stylus, and began to write.

‘To Gaius Annius Bibulus,
Tribuni angusticlavii, Legio 1 Adiutrix, Moguntiacum, Magna Germania.

‘
Greetings to you my son, I write to you on a grievous issue at a time when I am unsure of my next actions. Your mother has been threatening to divorce me and take Annia Minor with her, so she could marry her off to the emperor. I thought to circumvent this by sending Anniana to Pompeii, to marry a young noble she liked. But Vesuvius foiled these plans. Now your mother has formally divorced me, requiring the return of her dowry to her paterfamilias, along with Anniana. Financially, we are not in a good position, and as heir, you need to be aware of this. I am endeavouring to legally reduce the dowry concerns. But Anniana is another matter. Currently she is fleeing from her mother’s control with Vali, an ex-slave you may remember. I bought him back, freed him, and set him as her protector for the trip to Pompeii. Now he has taken her to Carthago, and from there I cannot be sure, although I offered him the position as manager of my estate in Britannia, so he may well be heading there with her. Salvia has men searching for your sister and they are not far behind. I have two slaves in pursuit, neither of which are suitable protectors. I am at a loss as to my next course of action. Any help you can offer would be appreciated. Your father ‘

The message would take weeks to deliver, even with the fastest messenger. But at this point, he had no other option. The earliest he would hear back from his son was a month, and by then he might have already failed. But what else could he do? Helplessness overwhelmed him, and he suddenly felt every one of his sixty years.

He called for a slave, and had the message sent. All he could do now was wait.

Chapter Sixteen

7 September 79 CE, Carthago AFRICA

Lara had never been so happy to see land in her life. And the sight of Carthago, with its mighty harbour, complete with special port facilities for merchant ships and the navy, was an awesome sight. Even by Rome’s standards, the fast growing Colonia Julia Carthago, built on the strategically located African promontory, was impressive.

They had docked in the late afternoon after a trouble-free crossing from Sicilia. But the last two days without sight of land had been nerve wracking for Lara, even when the seas were placid. She had wondered how they knew they were going in the right direction. Vali had explained how they used the position of the sun and the stars to navigate. It seemed such a fragile method. How did they tell one star from the others? There were millions of them, scattered like dust across the inky sky.

The night before, Vali had made her lie out on the open deck and watch the stars. He pointed out the constellations he knew from his childhood, and the ones this ship used to guide its path. To her, it was even more of a mystery after he’d given her instruction.

The idea that during the next stage of their journey they would spend nearly a week aboard a ship relying on these frail signs was terrifying.

Before they left the harbour, Vali used the advice of the ship’s master to try to locate a ship in port that might take them to Gaulia. They came up empty handed on the recommended
Baal
, although word was that the ship, which made the crossing regularly, was already a day late. Vali was prepared to await the late
Baal
for a few more days. He’d come to trust the
Utica’s
master’s judgement. If that hardy seafarer thought their fastest and safest option was the
Baal,
then Vali would rather wait than take an untested alternative that might already be in port.

‘It should please you not to be stepping straight back onto a ship,’ Vali said as he watched her face after he shared his decision with her. ‘A day or two here in comfort might do us both good. It’s an interesting looking city.’

‘Good. I’d like the ground beneath my feet to stop moving before I have to go through it all again. Where are we staying?’

‘The master has an uncle who owns an establishment like Daria’s. I think that would be the better option to one of the regular inns or hostels around the harbour.’

‘Just as long as it’s clean and comfortable, I don’t care. I am so sore and dirty. A bath. I want a bath!’

Vali grinned at her, and wiped a streak of dirt from her sweaty cheek. The salt that crusted her skin came away with it.

‘A room, a bath and food. Then some alone time. I have missed your touch…’ His eyes glittered with hunger, and she felt her face begin to burn. And it wasn’t the sun that was responsible for her hot skin.

As they trudged along the road that led up toward the citadel, where the forum was located, Vali told her about the city.

‘This place must have been a sight, back in the day,’ he said, as his dusty sandals moved surefootedly across the cobbles. ‘But your people levelled the place after the last war with Carthago. They raped and pillaged, taking anything of value, including 50,000 citizens as slaves, and then burned everything else to the ground. Then they tried to set up another city in its place, further along the coast. But this location was too perfect, so Augustus finally resettled it fifty years ago, and the city just grew up like a mushroom.’

Lara looked around her. It was hard to believe so many buildings could have been built in such a short time. The place looked as if it had been in existence for hundreds of years. Even the temple on the citadel of Byrsa Hill looked like it had been there a long time. But she noted that there were no aqueducts bringing water to the city. In such a dry climate, how did these thirsty people drink and keep clean?

‘Do you want to hear how the city was founded? You might have heard of Dido?’

‘Virgil’s Dido?

‘Yes. Supposedly it was the Princess Elissa of Tyre, Virgil’s Dido, who settled here after her brother killed her husband, so he could keep their entire kingdom for himself.’

‘Hmmm. I could imagine Publius doing something like that. Good thing I don’t have a kingdom.’ She tried to make her voice light and uncaring. But the look Vali shot her told her she failed.

‘If I was your husband, I wouldn’t be so easy to kill. But I could see you setting up your own kingdom and ruling it like Dido. Of course, you wouldn’t be foolish enough to cast yourself onto a burning pyre, as Virgil said she did, if your lover left you. Would you?’ He was trying for amusement, but also fell short.

‘I could understand why she might do such a thing.’ She smiled sadly at him, and he looked away hurriedly.

‘Aenias had a wife to get back to. What choice did he have?’

‘Do you have a wife to get back to?’

‘I’m not Aenias.’

‘But you live by duty, don’t you? All men do. Would you choose duty over love?’

‘Aenias was said to love his wife. It was not duty that took him from Dido.’

Lara grunted with disgust. She was not going to win this argument. He was telling her quite firmly, yet again, that his duty lay in keeping her virginal and he did it for love of her, so she would keep her value for another man.

Because she deserved better than Vali.

It didn’t matter to him what
she wanted
. His misplaced honour was going to destroy them both.

The darkness was not much cooler than the light of day, as the couple made their way back through the narrow lanes and alleyways of Carthago to their accommodation just off the forum. Even after their baths, fresh sweat had already started to trickle down their backs, staining their clean garments.

Even so, Vali felt the relief of being clean and refreshed for the first time in days. And Lara was even more relieved. These last five days had been tough on her, but she had handled it remarkably well. Few women, especially those of her class, would have been as accepting of
the conditions she’d lived under during that time. The way she handled her fear of the sea was particularly amazing.

He remembered her face as she stared up at the stars on the night they’d spent at sea. They had found a quiet spot out of the way of the busy crew and lay back to watch the sky. The moon was waning, but was still bright enough to blot out stars in its vicinity, but there were still countless numbers of them to identify. One by one, he’d pointed out the different patterns used by his people to guide their longships. To him they were as obvious as drawings on a page.

But Lara had stared up at them, a perplexed expression on her beautiful face. Bathed as it was in moonlight, he’d almost forgotten what he was talking about. If there hadn’t been curious sailors all around them, that look would have made him kiss the little line between her brows.

By the time he’d finished explaining the constellations, she was obviously just as confused by the process of navigation as she had been when he started. But she thanked him for his explanations, as if his efforts were appreciated.

She always appreciated him. Had always appreciated him. With her, he no longer felt like a filthy animal only good enough to service a mistress’ jaded sexual appetite. With her, he felt honourable and whole again. And keeping her virginal was part of that honour to him. Once he took her virginity, she would be condemned to a life beneath her. Anniana belonged to the highest class in the most powerful empire in the world. She deserved to live in luxury, respected and loved by all those who knew her. She deserved to be the mother of leaders.

As he thought about this for the umpteenth time, he realised he’d lost his focus on the present. In that time, the dark alley ahead of them had suddenly become crowded with bodies. Three men now stood, shoulder to shoulder, across the narrow expanse ahead of them, blocking their path.

He cast a quick glance behind him. Sure enough, just as he’d expected, there were another two men there, blocking their retreat. His heart started to hammer in his chest. Cold sweat broke out on his brow. Lara would not escape these men unharmed. They would take him down, steal their possessions and take turns raping her until she was dead.

If he let them.

He was one man against five. If they got past him, Lara was as good as dead. Fear like he’d never known before exploded inside him. The thought of anyone hurting his woman was beyond bearing. He would not let it happen. If he had to die to save her, he would.

Hands that had started to shake with the realisation of her predicament were suddenly firm again.

‘Sweetling, take the bag and move to the side of the alley. Get down and stay down. Do you have the little dagger I bought you?’

‘Yes,’ she squeaked, immediately aware that something was wrong by Vali’s calm, serious tone.

‘Get it out, and be prepared to use it if one of these ruffians gets past me. But stay down and out of my way. I’ll be moving fast in the dark, and I don’t want to worry about catching you with the blade.’

Nodding, she moved over to the side of the alley with the hold-all he handed her. She put it over her shoulder, and then dropped into a ball against the wall. Vali put his back to her so he could watch the two groups of men approaching from opposite ends of the alley.

They closed in slowly, but not cautiously. It was as if they considered one lone man no threat at all. Not even a mountain of a man, as he was.

‘Ah stranger, you seem worried. Relax, we have no reason to fight you,’ the smaller of the threesome said. He had a very heavy accent, and his features were so dark it was impossible to see them in the shadowed lane.

‘Then go on your way, and let us do the same.’

There was shared laughter amongst the gang as they sidled closer. Its edge was cruel.

‘Give us what you have and we will,’ the tallest, skinniest man of the three said. His accent was even more difficult to decipher than the first. He wore a strange white headdress that covered most of his face.

‘Now, now Bheurit, that is abrupt. Consider…’ The first man’s admonishing voice was suddenly cut off as two of the men, one from each end of the alley made a lunge for Vali with their daggers drawn.

Vali was ready for them. This kind of distraction was a common ploy. He drew his sword in an instant, wielding it in one smooth arc and sliced both men across their chests, just below their necks. With cries of pain and surprise they both jumped back.

Damn, not deep enough. The darkness was deceptive. Distance was difficult to gauge.

While he reassessed the situation, he readied for the next onslaught. It came almost immediately from two new opponents. One was the tall, skinny man who had just spoken. They began to dodge and feint as they moved in on him.

Vali knew it was time to act. He noted the position of the others in the group. They were waiting to move in on Lara while he was distracted. That wasn’t going to happen. Taking the initiative, he let out an explosive war cry that echoed off the walls. Then he lunged. The speed and agility his gladiator training had honed in recent months made his first blow murderously accurate. The severed head of the closest man rolled to the ground. Arcing up from the blow, his next swing came down from above hacked deeply into the shoulder of the tall, skinny man. Ink-black blood blossomed on the headdress as the man went down.

Vali stepped over the bodies, the cobbled street already sticky with blood. There was no more waiting, no more assessing. Three opponents remained, although two were injured. Unfortunately, their wounds were not enough to deter or incapacitate them. Those two moved in.

Before they could understand and react, Vali dropping low, spinning in a full circle, his blade cutting the legs out from under them. While he went in for the kill, he caught sight of the last man dragging Lara to her feet by the hair. He was the leader, and though no taller than Lara, he was obviously strong.

Kill the injured men first or go after Lara’s captor? No decision there. Lara was first. Always. He moved towards the man, his blade dripping blood. The sound of the groans of badly injured men was loud in the air. The stench of sweat and blood filled his nostrils. His mind was crystal clear.

‘Come no closer big man, or I’ll stick this pretty young thing. You have cost me much tonight. I need something in return. Blood will do, if you don’t back down.’

‘Do you think you can get away from me?’ Vali snarled, suddenly seeing red. ‘Try to take what’s mine and you die!’

Before Vali could bring his sword up to strike, the assailant suddenly cried out and bent double. Lara sprang away. Not sure what had happened, but determined to make the most of the advantage, Vali followed through with his strike, bringing his sword down on Lara’s attacker’s exposed shoulder. The last cutthroat didn’t utter a sound as he collapsed forward onto the cobblestones, dead.

‘Come, quickly,’ Vali ordered, taking Lara’s hand. They began to run up the lane, leaving what was left of the living thieves writhing in agony in their wake.

A block further on, Vali sheathed his sword and took the bag back from Lara. Then, as she began to stagger, he drew her in to his side.