The Barbarian's Mistress (3 page)

‘
It is important that you travel in secret, which means not staying in the country villas of our friends or relatives on your way down to Pompeii.  I would advise against staying at inns or mansios, too. P
articularly those close to Rome.
No one must know who you are and where you’re going. Pass my lamb off as your wife, using the documentation I have acquired for her, if you need to, but no one must know who she really is. Do I make myself clear?’

‘Perfectly. But she’s hardly old enough to pass as a wife. I could say she’s my little sister.’

‘Whatever you feel works. I don’t care. When you have safely delivered her to Severus, send a message back via the master of this household. He will get it to me.

‘I have enclosed a missive to my current manager of my estate in Britannia. If you choose to take up that position, use the money I have given you, and book passage for Londinium. I am giving you more than double what you will need for the journey. Four thousand denarii, in the form of one hundred and fifty gold aureii.’ Bibulus placed a large bag of coins on the table beside the goblet.

Vali’s head was reeling. The man was entrusting him with all that money? It was a small fortune for an ordinary man like him.

‘The directions are included with the other documents. This property will stay in my name after my wife takes back her dowry. It may be one of the few income earning properties I’ll be able to hold onto. You might mean the difference between wealth and penury for my paterfamilias after this. So I hope you chose to take up the offer.

‘My Anniana has a good head on her shoulders. She knew you for what you were, back then. If I had listened to her…. But I must go. There is still much to do before tonight.

‘Come to the front door of my house at midnight. Do you think you can find it again after four years?‘ When Vali nodded absently, he went on. ‘I will bring Anniana to you then.’

Bibulus stood quickly, picked up a pile of bound scrolls and the large bag of gold coins, handed them to Vali, and then headed for the door. ‘Make yourself at home here. There will be food brought to you, and a bed if you want it. You might want to go out and buy yourself some new clothes. Keep them simple – for the liberti you now are. The carrus can be sold at the end of your journey or remain with Severus.’

Then he was gone, and Vali was left staring at the poorly executed mural on the wall. He eventually climbed to his feet, and drank down the last of the wine in Bibulus’ goblet. It was watered down, but sweet enough, and it took the metallic taste out of his mouth.

Then he sat down to go through the documentation Bibulus had left him. He didn’t even know how far away Pompeii was. He knew it was south. He knew it was a popular holiday destination in Campania for the rich and noble citizens of Rome in the sweltering summer months of the year. Now, in fact. But how he was going to get himself and a young girl across the country without being detected he didn’t know.

But the one thing he did know. If Anniana needed him, then he would be there for her, no matter what.

After that, he would have to decide on his own future. What would he do with his freedom? Try to make it back to his homeland?

As he fingered the pile of gold aureii, he thought about that icy, barren land of his birth. His mother had died in childbirth a year before he went aviking. His father and uncles had been killed when pirates attacked their ship mid-sea. Only the youngest of those on board had been kept alive to sell on as slaves. He had cousins and younger brothers and sisters at home, but there had been six years between him and his next brother, and they’d never been close. Vali had been more interested in following his father around like a stray puppy, than playing with the other children.

No, there was nothing left for him back in his homeland. But managing Bibulus’ property in Britannia might do well. It was cold there, he knew. That would suit him much better than the sweltering heat of the south. He could create a place for himself in t
hat new land, maybe take a wife and have children of his own. Such thoughts had never crossed his mind before. They had seemed too impossible to ever be realised, so he had not allowed himself to dream.
One step in front of the other…
But now the destination was worth considering: A life as a citizen of the empire, managing a property, and living in a roman villa. It was not the worst life he could imagine for himself. Not the worst by a long shot.

Ninia entered the small office where she found her master, busy studying a scroll with fixed attention. Shifting from one foot to another, she was anxious about being sent for by this man she barely knew. It was just about time for the evening meal, and she didn’t want to be late taking it to Anniana. Not that her mistress would notice or care that she was late, but it was a matter of pride that she maintained her impeccable care of her charge.

‘You have been my daughter’s friend most of her life, have you not
, Ninia?’ he said, without looking up. She could see the perspiration on his receding brow as he leaned over his documents.

‘I… I have served my mistress to the best of my ability
for as long as I can remember, Master.’ The use of the word friend was forbidden between master and slave. Why would Bibulus use it now?

‘Do you serve your mistress out of obligation or affection?’ His head came up and his sharp eyes pinned her to the wall.

‘Affection, sir. She inspires nothing less.’

‘Good. Then I need you to do something for me. For her. Her mother has plans for Anniana that would probably mean her death. I must stop that at any cost. So I am sending her away to be married. But her mother must not know of it.’

‘How…?’ The shock of his statement had her head spinning. Sending Anni away? But he couldn’t. The only thing that stood between her and madness was Anni. If her sweet friend wasn’t there to comfort her when the abyss opened again, she didn’t think she’d make it out another time. The darkness was too complete. The fear too jagged.

‘The how is not important, and the less you know the better, for the moment. You play the lyre, do you not?’

‘Yes… yes sir. Not as well as Anni, but well enough.’ She kept her tone cool, hiding her discomfort and uncertainty from the too observant eyes.

‘Anni? You call her Anni? That suits her.’ His tense face softened for an instant. Then he was all business again. ‘I need you to assist me in this subterfuge. I plan to send Anni, as you call her, away tonight when the house is asleep. But my wife must not know she is gone. We must act as if she’s still here, playing her lyre, abed with a headache, whatever it takes to convince Salvia that there is nothing amiss. From what I can gather, Salvia barely registers her ex
istence, most of the time. It should be easy enough for her to remain ignorant of my lamb’s absence for a few days, at least.’

‘But what if she asks…’

‘How often does she ask for her daughter?’

Ninia thought quickly. The more beautiful Anni had become, over the years, the less Salvia wanted to see her. The mother didn’t want to be reminded of what she had lost. Salvia never asked after her daughter. The only time she made the effort to see her was if she wanted something.

‘Rarely.’ She didn’t let her condemnation influence her neutral tone.

‘As I thought. So if we can create the illusion of my lamb’s continued presence in the household, then her absence might go unnoticed for some time. Can I entrust you with that task?’

‘Yes Master, of course. But shouldn’t I be going with your daughter? She will need a handmaiden…’
Stay calm, Nin, don’t let him see your panic.

‘Not for the time being. When she is settled in her new home I will send you to her, do not fear. But until then, your job is too important here.

‘I need you to take one of your tunics to Anniana’s room, and any other clothing she might need to pass as a reasonably well off pleb. But don’t tell her what you’re doing. Don’t let her know what’s happening. I will explain it all to her later this evening, just before she leaves.’

‘I can’t say goodbye?’
Keep cool. Don’t let him see how this devastates you. He doesn’t care.

‘No. It will distress her too much. Stay with your parents after you have settled her for the night. Claim your mother is sick, whatever you need to do so she is unaware of the real reason for your absence from her room. I know this will be hard for you, but it is a kindness to her.’

‘All right. I can do that. I’ll return to her room with breakfast as normal, and try to make it seem she is still here.’ Ninia drew back her shoulders, determined to do what she could to protect her mistress. It was selfish of her to think only of herself in this.

For a moment Bibulus stared at Ninia, a frown forming on his high forehead. ‘You were always such a bubbly little thing. When did you become so… so cold and empty?’

Ninia felt fury flare into being. Cold and empty? What would the great Roman senator know about being empty? About what it was to be a slave, at the beck and call of others who could do anything they wanted to you.

‘Since your son raped me, sir. May I go?’ She was proud of her studied neutrality and gained a certain satisfaction from seeing the shock on her master’s face. But then fear took its place. Slaves never criticised their masters. They never accused them of crimes.

‘Publius? I… I didn’t know.’

‘It was a long time ago, sir. He was trying to hurt Anni through me.’

‘Anniana knows?’

‘She was forced to watch,
sir.’ A little of her distress managed to get past her cold exterior.

‘Forced to… Why wasn’t I told about this?’ His fury was all for his daughter, she knew that. But it filled her with satisfaction, nonetheless. It was time he knew what was going on right under his nose. What his beloved daughter had been forced to put up with.

‘It was not my place, sir. And though Anniana wanted to tell you, she knew it would only get worse if she did. Publius would have made us pay…’

‘I… should have been told. I could have stopped…’ But he petered out before finishing, clearly aware that he would have done nothing to stop his son. Publius was his mother’s pet, they all knew that. She would have protected him with a vengeance.

‘May I go, sir?’

‘Yes, yes… But remember, my lamb must not be made aware of what is to come. She must be protected from her own tender heart. Do you understand?’

‘Of course, sir. I’ll do my best to protect her.’

Chapter Three

‘Sit down, my lamb,’ Bibulus said, indicating the couch beside the bed in her sleeping quarters.

Anniana did her father’s bidding, but sat on the very edge, her fingers of both hands entwined, as she studied the man she loved most in the world.

He was worried and in a rush, moving around the room like a caged beast. A slight sheen of sweat covered his pale face. Stubble had begun to surface on his cheeks, giving him a careless look. Always so immaculately clothed and cared for, this air of neglect was frightening. His body smelled too, of day-old sweat, the city, and an acrid odour she associated with fear.

Certainly, Rome in midsummer was not a pleasant place. In other years, they might have moved to the coast for a month. But for some reason, this year she and her parents had stayed in their residence in the city.

For all that, Rome in August couldn’t be totally blamed for her father’s current state.

‘Things have become difficult, my lamb. Your mother has become more truculent of late. She is demanding you marry the new emperor, Titus, or she will divorce me, and take you from me, so she can achieve her ends. I’ve always allowed her too much freedom. I’ve allowed her to convince me that she married beneath her, and therefore I should do whatever she required
, to make up for it. But this I will not do.’

The room was comparatively large, but it seemed to shrink with each circuit of the confined space her fa
ther made. It had been Annia Major’s sleeping space before her marriage three years ago. It had become hers by default after that.

‘Titus? But he would not consider me, and he’s … ugly and … old. He scares me.’ Her voice was scratchy, as if she hadn’t used it for a long time. Truth be told, except for singing to her lyre, she rarely spoke these days. When treated as if you didn’t exist by a powerful woman like her mother, it became easy to believe it, and act accordingly.

‘Yes, he is old and unpleasant. Not much younger than your mother. And that would not normally be an issue, as most patricians’ daughter’s first marriage is usually to an older, more powerful man. But Titus is a degenerate. His father knew him for what he was, and I would never give my precious child to such a man as he, even if it meant she became the empress of the civilized world. The chances of you surviving more than a few years in the cesspool of the imperial court are remote. Titus would kill you, or some other ambitious woman would do it to get her chance at being Empress.

‘And besides, I would rather you marry beneath you and be happy. But your mother doesn’t think that way. She has always been cosy with Titus. They knew each other at Nero’s court. She has hinted to me on more than one occasion that it was she who convinced Titus to help murder Britannicus for Nero.’ He paused for a moment in his monologue to shudder.

Anniana didn’t know what to say. She knew the depths her mother had sunk in many areas of her life, but to have arranged for the murder of a fifteen year old boy? That seemed beyond even her. But if she had boasted of it, then it must be true.

‘It was because of her connections with Nero and his wild crowd, and Nero’s mother Agrippina Minor, that I was forced into giving away my rights to my daughters in the marriage contract. At the time
, I was in awe of your mother’s youth and beauty, her status and connections. I was a greedy and ambitious middle-aged man being offered an opportunity I never expected to be mine. I was no one special back then. My military service was uninspiring, and my place in the senate was only mine because of my family. Until Vespasian, I was considered lack-lustre and forgettable. So, I admit that I was not unduly concerned about the possible loss of daughters back then, as long as my sons remained within my paterfamilias. After all, daughters go to husbands, eventually.

‘But that was before you were born, my darling girl. You changed everything. For you, I have
been willing to put up with much, to keep Salvia from divorcing me, and taking you away from me. I think she has stayed this long because Vespasian favoured me and despised her. But with him dead, and Titus in power, any political influence I had is now gone.

‘But I will not allow my situation to destroy you. Do you remember Severus, the young man I introduced you to last year?’

‘Yes, of course. I liked him very much. He made me laugh and told me I was pretty.’ She smiled at the memory. Having had little to do with eligible young bachelors, secluded as she was, meeting the short, young patrician had been a nerve-racking occasion. But with a smile that dwarfed his face, a ready wit, and obvious admiration for her, she was easily put at ease. And, though she stood at least a hand’s width taller than he, coming as he did from the Campania district where people were naturally shorter than their northern neighbours, she felt comfortable with him.

‘He asked to marry you at that time, but I put him off because I felt you were still so young. And, to be quite frank, I didn’t want to lose you. If you didn’t marry someone from Rome, how would I ever see you? But, it would seem my selfishness has yet again led to our current disaster. But it is a disaster that can be mitigated, if we’re quick and discrete.’ 

His next question seemed to be a total about turn. ‘Do you remember Vali, my assistant?’

‘Of course.’ Anniana’s heart fluttered in her chest like a cloud of butterflies. She felt her cheeks warm in a blush. Remember Vali? How could she forget that handsome young man her childish heart had adored? But what had he to do with all this? Her mother had sold him to that awful friend of hers years ago. And she’d never heard of him again.

‘I found him, bought him and freed him. In return, he has agreed to take you, in secret, to Severus in Pompeii, so you can complete the marriage contract immediately. The written part of the bond is done. You need only present yourself to your new husband for the formalities to be complete. Once that is done, your mother will have no power over you, if and when she leaves me.’

‘Vali will take me south? When? When will this happen?’ She was caught between excitement and dread. To see Vali again after all this time would be wonderful, but to travel in secret, away from the only home she had ever known. Away from her father. It seemed too extreme, to frightening to be considered.

‘Tonight. Soon. At midnight. You’ll leave the city under cover of darkness and be on the road south by dawn. You‘ll tell no one, not even Ninia. And you’ll take only your most basic personal items with you, travelling in-cognito, as a moderately well-off liberti. A friend recently prepared to free his childhood nanny, but she died before he could present her with the documents. He gave them to me, for a price. You will use them to get safely to Pompeii. Vali has that document and others to assure your safe conduct.’

‘But this is all so… sudden. Can’t I think about this? To marry anyone so quickly…’

‘There’s no time. When your mother makes her move it will be too late. And if you think that you’ll have a say in her machinations, you’re mistaken. She’ll sell you off to gain power as easily as she sells slaves that no longer suit her. Trust me, my lamb. I have tried to think of every contingency. I know what I’m doing. And I will send Ninia to you as soon as you’re settled. At least she’s my slave, and I can include her as part of your dowry. ’

Anniana nodded silently, afraid that if sh
e tried to speak in this moment she would end up crying. Her stomach’s butterflies had turned to ravens pecking at her gut, tearing it to shreds. Fingers that had entwined nervously at the beginning of this conversation now gouged at the fabric of the couch beneath her.

Finally, knowing her father needed her to acknowledge him and all he had done for her, she said, ‘I trust you father. Of course I do. Your plan is clever and it will save me. But… will I see you again?’

‘Of course you will, my lamb. Once you’re married and things have settled down here, I’ll come for a visit. I haven’t been to Campania since I was a boy. I may retire from the Senate and buy a property there, if funds allow. But one way or another, I will enjoy seeing my daughter as the happy matron of her own villa rustica. The country scene will suit you much more than the cloying, insular life you have lived in Rome.’

Anniana nodded. It was true. She had always hated the confined space of the city. Their month by the sea had always been her favourite time of year. Then she had walked along the shores, and let the sea breeze play with her hair and gown. In such a place she felt truly free.

Some people condemned her attitude toward slavery and slaves. Her mother, for instance. But she had always identified with slaves. Her life had constantly felt as closed and limiting as any slave in their household experienced. And she was subjected to the same kinds of punishments and abuse that were meted out to slaves for infractions. Although, in the case of her mother and siblings, no infraction was deemed necessary, to justify punishment. Reason enough that they felt like it, and had the power to do it.

‘Now, no tears, little lamb. You must get yourself ready. Wear the most serviceable gown you can find. The oldest and meanest there is. I asked Ninia to leave you things she thought suitable. Everything else you must fit into this small shoulder-bag, which you can easily carry. I’ll return for you just before midnight. Be ready.’ He indicated the leather hold-all at the door.

‘Ninia knows?’

‘Yes. But don’t try to see her. She has her instructions.’

Then he was gone, and the door to her room was closed carefully behind him. For several minutes, Anniana didn’t move. She couldn’t. There was too much going on in her head. It was enough to simply draw in one breath after another, keeping her spine straight, her feet planted firmly on the tiled floor. More than that was impossible.

Then, as she studied the flickering shadows cast by her only candle on the mural covered wall, she finally came to life. It was late already. Her father had not come to her until the household had begun to settle for the night. That meant that it would be no more than an hour at most before midnight. There was no time to sit and stare into space. No time to contemplate the monumental changes that were about to occur in her life.

With care, she began to sort through her clothing that was neatly folded in a trunk at the bottom of her bed. She noticed the unfamiliar gown at once. Ninia’s work. How would she be feeling about all this? The girl depended on her. The idea of being separated, even for a short time, would terrify her. But Anniana couldn’t think of that now. Her father had put too much into this plan for her to sabotage it with her worries.

Sticking precisely to her father’s instructions, she got to work selecting items that she would take with her. Items she needed. Items that meant something to
her and that might disappear if she left them behind.

Mementos. A beautifully carved whalebone comb and a pair of emerald and gold earrings with matching pins her father had given her for her coming of age day. A tiny portrait of her father. A stylus she had used since she was a child. A necklace of shells her brother Gaius had made for her one year at the beach. There were three bracelets of carnelian, amethyst, and garnet, one for each of her last three naming day anniversaries sent to her by Gaius from wherever he was stationed at the time. A tiny piece of amber Vali had given her after one of his many trips to the marketplace for her mother. He said it was the colour of her eyes and explained where amber came from and how it could have small creatures or plant life frozen inside it. Her piece had a tiny bubble in it. She had always loved the feel of it in her hand; soft, warm and smooth…

By the time her father returned, she was dressed and packed. When he saw her ready, he nodded his approval and led the way to the front of the house. All the slaves were abed. Everything was in darkness. The only sound was their sandaled feet on the tiles of the atrium. The air was so heavy as to be suffocating. They had no candle, depending on the moonlight from the open roof of the atrium to guide their way.

The door groaned on its hinges as it opened and her father looked around in concern. But, though the sound was deafening to them, it was probably not enough to disturb any of the people asleep deeper in the house.

On the other side of the door was a giant silhouette looming over them. Anniana caught herself before she cried out. Even her father gave a little grunt at the unexpected sight. But he quickly recovered and nodded at the intruder.

The man in the doorway was backlit by moonlight, making his features impossible to see. This man seemed bigger than she remembered; taller and broader in the shoulders. But when he spoke softly to her, she recognised his voice immediately, and her fear of him evaporated.

‘Little mistress, are you ready?’

‘Yes
Vali.’ She turned to her father at her side and wrapped her arms around him. He was her height and she could rest her cheek on the top of his shoulder. He seemed so frail in her arms now. Not like the strong man she always took him to be.

‘Be safe, little lamb, until we meet again,’ he whispered into her hair, his voice breaking.

‘I will miss you,’ she whispered back. ‘But don’t worry. Vali will take good care of me. Thank you for not giving in to mother this time. I know what it will cost you.’

Then he was drawing back from her and thrusting her gently toward the giant in the doorway. A warm, rough hand took her bare arm, and drew her down the front stairs. The door behind her closed with a groan. The shadowed street lay empty before her.