Virginia Henley (23 page)

“Weigh it carefully, my friend. I don’t need your decision for a couple of days. I intend to sail next week, though.
There won’t be much time until the gales make the sea crossing hazardous.”

“Come to dinner tonight. There’s something I’ve been hesitant to ask you about, and the questions will come easier on a full stomach.”

“If your lady, Diana, will be there, it will be my pleasure to dine with you,” Julius accepted with twinkling eyes.

“If you are to be my guest, Julius, I am certain she will accept my invitation,” Marcus said graciously.

Before they dined, Marcus and Julius relaxed in the bath suite for the daily ritual that was so socially significant. They had been oiled, cleansed, and massaged and finally Marcus’ tongue was loosened enough to bring up the subject that had been foremost in his mind. Before they took the cold plunge, Marcus said, “I am a career soldier, you know. I signed up for twenty-six years and have served sixteen of them.” His glance met that of Julius. “It is taken for granted that a life soldier will not marry.”

Julius knew immediately what Marcus had in mind. “That rule has been relaxed in the last couple of years. You will need permission, but if I recommend it, it will be given almost automatically.” Julius could smell victory. “If you come to Rome with me, it will expedite matters considerably.”

“Well, that is certainly an incentive,” Marcus admitted.

“So, your relationship with the lady Diana is serious, I take it?”

“Yes. I would like a son and I grow no younger. Until now I was content to have my brother be my heir, but at thirty I have suddenly decided I want a wife and a legitimate heir of my own.”

“Good for you, Marcus. It is a big step but a wise one, I think. With maturity comes the realization that none of us
is immortal, and when we see a chance for happiness staring us in the face, we should grab it with both hands and never let go.” He winked at Marcus. “I’m ready for the cold plunge when you are.”

Some hours later, Kell escorted Diana to the triclinium, where both men welcomed her with a chaste kiss of greeting. She wore a pale lavender stola with a deep purple palla draped and fastened over one shoulder. Her golden curls were piled on top of her head to show off the amethyst torque she wore about her elegant neck.

The conversation was politely impersonal while the serving slaves moved about the couches and table quietly and efficiently, but the moment they withdrew, Julius spoke of his journey to Rome. Without warning he turned to Diana and said, “I must convince the emperor and the senate that Britannia’s army should be turned into a peacetime force whose main function is to police her territory and defend her frontiers.”

“Your mission is most noble, Julius. I hope with all my heart that you succeed.”

“If Marcus adds his eloquence to mine, I am sure we shall convince them. But the decision is his.”

Damn you, Julius, why couldn’t you let me tell her?
Marcus thought.

Panic spread its wings inside Diana’s chest and fluttered wildly. The procurator’s words told her that Marcus was needed in Rome, but that he had not agreed to go. By telling her that the choice was his, Julius was hoping she would influence that choice. Diana did not want to be separated from Marcus, did not want to be left alone. Marcus was her world, her life, her reason for being. The food in her mouth turned to ashes. She did not dare to look at Marcus for fear of what she would see in his eyes.

Julius dipped his fingers into the perfumed water and
dried them on a linen napkin. “Perhaps Diana would like to see Rome.”

Marcus’ spirits soared. He could clearly see that Julius was making it impossible for him to refuse. He issued Diana an invitation because he guessed Marcus would not go without her. Of course Julius had no idea Diana was a slave who had no free choice, but would come or stay as Marcus commanded. And he did not want Julius even to suspect she was his slave. Romans did not marry slaves!

Diana no longer followed the conversation. Dimly she heard them speaking of Marcus’ father and the lands he would inherit from him. Her pale countenance was remote and calm as a moon goddess, as if she were completely detached from the subject of the conversation floating about her. But inside she was in turmoil, her thoughts filled with Rome, the Eternal City. The suggestion that she might visit ancient Rome was so startling, she was thrown completely off balance.

The thought of Rome was terrifying, though it wasn’t the magnificent city that filled her with dread. It was the people of Rome. It was Romans!

Of all the emperors who had ruled, Nero was the cruelest and most degenerate.
Nero is a madman,
Diana thought, with a shudder of revulsion. Julius would take Marcus right into Nero’s court, which was nothing more than a seething den of depravity. Her history books had taught her well what Nero did to Christians, so a visit for Diana was out of the question. Yet in her heart she knew that Marcus would consider it his duty to go. And if he went, would he ever return?

No! No!
her heart cried.
Make this day start over without Julius’ visit!

From beneath her lashes she observed Marcus. Her eyes secretly caressed his noble profile, his heavily muscled torso, his powerful hands gesticulating as he talked with Julius. It dawned on her that the procurator spoke openly before her because he suspected she had total influence
over Marcus Magnus. She prayed that it was so. She would use that influence to stop him from going to Rome. She would keep him beside her if it was humanly possible to do so. Had she not set out to enslave him? She would use her powers of persuasion to influence his decision, and if they did not work, she would use her body. Playing harlot to Marcus was a small price to pay to protect what they had found together, here in Aquae Sulis!

Diana retired to the sleeping chamber, leaving Marcus to bid the procurator goodnight. She removed the brooch that held her palla in place over her shoulder, but she neither undressed nor took down her hair. She would leave these intimate enticements for Marcus.

The general accompanied the procurator outside to his litter. “I’ll give you my decision tomorrow, Julius.” As he reentered the atrium, Marcus became introspective. He was a decisive man. He had made instantaneous decisions all his life and regretted few of them. Why was he hesitant about returning to Rome? The answer came back immediately, of course. Diana. Diana was the reason.

He paused with one foot on the bottom stair, his black eyes unseeing as he gazed upward. How did he go about this business of proposing to a woman? He ran a distracted hand through his hair. What a fool he was! Before he asked her to marry him, he would have to free her. But what if Diana refused to go to Rome? As his slave she would have no choice. Perhaps he should not be in such haste to free her.

Yet in his heart he knew he should have done it long ago, and he would have, if he hadn’t been afraid she would leave him the moment she was free. Trust. That’s what it boiled down to. There should be complete trust in a marriage,
and before trust could be shared, truth must be shared. Marcus squared his shoulders and ascended the staircase.

Why in the name of Jupiter was he worrying? As his slave she must obey him, as his wife she must obey him, and as his concubine she must obey him. If she rebelled, he would simply bring her to heel. She was a mere woman and would have to learn her place, which was at his side, in silence and obedience.

The moment he stepped into the chamber and saw her before the mirror, his body responded as it always did. His heart skipped a beat, then his pulse throbbed so heavily he could feel it in his throat, his groin, and the soles of his feet. Blood flowed hot and strong through his veins, pumping into his shaft so that it shot out of its cowl like a predator would spring from its cave to devour unwary prey. Marcus faced a difficult truth; Diana was not an ordinary woman.

It was not just his body that responded to her either. His mind took great delight in her intelligence, and when he was not making love to her, his favorite thing to do was talk. There were times he had the fleeting impression that their spirits touched. Marcus could not imagine spending his life with anyone else. He had a gift tucked away for her, but he would wait until the right moment presented itself. He wanted it to be intimate, special, and meaningful when he gifted her with a symbol of sharing their love and their lives.

Diana cast him a provocative glance from beneath her lashes; it drew him as the moon pulls the tide. His hands removed her palla, exposing one bared shoulder, and she shivered with pleasure as his calloused fingers touched her soft skin. As his hands lifted to take the pins from her hair, he murmured, “I wish Julius had let me tell you about Rome.”

“Marcus, I—”

His fingers covered her lips, staying her words. “Let me talk. I have many things to say tonight.”

Diana’s heart contracted.
Goodbye. He’s going to say goodbye!

Her nearness scattered his thoughts. He moved to the hearth to poke the banked fire into a small blaze and to collect himself. With his back to her, he gazed into the flames. “I want to free you, but before I do, there must be truth between us, Diana.”

She stiffened. “I thought there was nothing but truth between us.”

He turned to face her, his dark eyes intense. “Your tales amuse me, my love, but it is time for the truth. Trust me, I will not punish you.”

A curl of anger spiraled inside her. His arrogance was intolerable. “Punish me? You actually still consider our relationship that of master and slave!” In the space of a heartbeat her anger burst into a fine rage. “Let me disabuse you, Roman. Where I come from, there is no such thing as slavery. You cannot free me for I have never been your slave. I am not your slave now, nor will I ever be in the future!”

In two quick strides he had her shoulders gripped in his powerful hands, shaking her until her teeth rattled. “Since you will not confess the truth to me, I will tell you. I know you are a Druid who was sent here to spy. Credit me with some intelligence. I do not fear your secret rites, that is not where your strength lies. It is Druid control over the Celtic tribal aristocracy that must be broken. The Druids are the strongest unifying force in Britannia. I know Druid priests and priestesses educate the children of the Celtae kings and nobles and that you are influential advisers with strong anti-Roman feelings, bent on holding back the influence of Rome. They sent you to me because you were beautiful. Your job was to seduce me.”

Diana, already flushed with anger, blushed deep rose; had she not just been planning to seduce him?

“Can’t you see that I made you my slave to protect you? If Paullinus had the slightest suspicion about you, you would have been condemned to death. Have you ever seen a public execution? An enemy of Rome is not allowed simply to die. Death is an escape. An enemy must suffer torture.” His voice was harsh, trying to bring home what could befall her if she did not cleave to him.

“I have seen prisoners flogged until their flesh fell from their bones in bloody strips. Then seen them staked and set on fire.” In a much quieter voice, he asked, “Have you ever witnessed a crucifixion?”

“Stop!” She pulled away from him, her eyes glittering with outrage. “I am not a Druid. I am a Christian. The Romans crucified Christ, so I have been taught all about such abominations!”

“Christianity is an unpopular eastern cult whose converts are considered atheists. You are too intelligent to be a Christian.”

“And you are too ignorant even to carry on an intelligent conversation about Christianity. We believe in one supreme being, one God. How can that be considered atheist?” she demanded.

Marcus hung on to the last shreds of his temper, knowing that if he lost it, violence would reign. “They are atheists because they renounce all other true gods,” he explained, as if speaking to a stupid child.

Diana stared at him, speechless for a moment. Then with quiet dignity she said, “The gulf between us is so wide and so deep, it can never be breached. Time separates us, Marcus. Between your time and my time, Christianity has spread so that it encompasses most of the civilized world. And the ironic part is that the highest Christians are known as
Roman Catholics
and
Rome
has become the heart and soul of Christianity.”

“Rome is too cultured and civilized for such a thing to ever happen,” he sneered.

“Romans are about as cultured and civilized as wild
boars. You have the intelligence of donkeys, the stubbornness of mules, and the arrogance of hairy, blue-arsed baboons!” Her beautiful breasts rose and fell with her deep agitation. “I shall never come to Rome with you!”

Marcus stepped away from her as if she were a viper. If he laid hands upon her, he would not be responsible for the damage he might inflict. She deliberately incited him to savagery. “I shall never ask you,” he vowed.

Diana snatched up her palla and swept past him with the contempt a queen would reserve for a leprous beggar.

Kell dismissed the slaves who had cleared and tidied the triclinium. He did not want them to overhear Diana shouting at the general.

Nola descended the stairs. “They are at it again.”

“Eavesdropping, woman of Gaul?”

She ignored the taunt. “I will go to her; you go to him.”

Kell nodded. When he tapped on the chamber door it was thrown open with such violence, Kell stepped back in alarm. Marcus, still fully dressed in a purple-bordered toga, ran a distracted hand through his short curls with impotent fury. “I offered her her freedom and she threw it in my face. By the bloody balls of Mithras, what is wrong with women?”

“It is my fault, General. I knew she needed a beating from the first day she arrived, but I left her chastisement to you. I was too much of a coward to mar her beauty.”

“She
is
exceptionally beautiful, isn’t she?” Marcus asked wistfully.

“Yes, she is. But between us we have created a monster, for now she is willful and spoiled as well as beautiful.”

“What do you suggest I do? Put her back to scrubbing floors?”

“She would relish the punishment so she could throw
that too in your face. My advice is to shun her. Neither look at her nor speak to her. Her vanity will not allow such a thing to continue and she will be instantly contrite.”

Marcus paced about the chamber, grim-faced. “Gather her things and take them to her.”

In the apricot chamber Diana catalogued her grievances to Nola. “He thinks me a spy sent by the Druids to seduce him. He refuses to believe I am a Christian. He refuses to believe anything I’ve told him. If he loved me, he would believe me!”

“What did the procurator want?” Nola asked.

“He wants Marcus to go to Rome. Well, good riddance. If he has to do without me, he might come to appreciate me.”

Nola was startled at the news. Had Kell been keeping this visit to Rome secret? “Keep to your own chamber. If you shun him, he will soon be contrite.”

Kell scratched on the door before he entered Diana’s room.

“Thank you for sharing the news that the general is returning to Rome,” Nola said with sarcasm.

Kell’s mask was in place, so the shock of the news did not register on his face. He put Diana’s gowns and hair ornaments on the bed. “The general forbids you his sleeping chamber. He asked me to return your things.”

Diana was outraged. “What the hell is the matter with men?”

Nola explained sweetly. “When they are young, their brains are too soft and their cocks are too hard. When they reach Kell’s age, they suffer from hardening of the brain and softening of the cock.”

“Woman of Gaul, you are enough to induce limpness in any man, regardless of his age.”

“That depends on how I wield my tongue,” Nola said suggestively.

“Your tongue is so sharp, it would draw blood.”

“Briton, my tongue could drain you dry,” Nola retorted, refusing to let him have the last word.

Diana lost her patience with both of them. “I thought this was about my problem, but obviously it is about yours. The pair of you need to go someplace private where you can work off your sexual energy.”

Nola and Kell stared at each other in horrified silence as the truth was brought home to them. Kell bowed stiffly and withdrew. Nola threw her a quelling glance of accusation and followed him.

For the next two hours Marcus paced about his chamber. The pendulum of his emotions swung all the way from self-righteous outrage to self-blame. He had botched it plain and simple. He should have taken a firm hand with her long ago. He should never have agreed to let her say whatever she wished when they were private. The first time she was insolent to him he should have put her across his knee and made certain it was the last time she dared challenge him!

The pronouncement she had flung in his teeth galled him like a burr on his backside.
I shall never come to Rome with you!
The echo of her taunt lingered in his ears. By the splendor of Jupiter, Kell was right. She needed a beating. She had asked for it and she was going to get it. He was in the right bloody mood to slake his temper!

Marcus selected a short leather flagellum from among his weapons, then hesitated. If he went to her in a roiling rage, he would damage her. She was so delicate and finely boned that he might kill her if he struck her. He reflected for a moment. Where in the world
had
Diana come from? She was so different, he was almost ready to believe she
was
from another time. Did he love her enough to believe in the impossible and accept what she told him? For his sake as well as hers, he realized he had no choice. The only way
there could he truth between them was if he accepted
her
truth.

To vent his blood’s heat and achieve a measure of calm, Marcus went to his desk and opened maps to plot his journey. They would likely sail from the closest port of Silarum on the Sabrina Aestuary into the Oceanus Britannicus, then into the Oceanus Cantabrius, past Gaul and Hispanic. Then they would pass through the narrow strait by the towering rock into the vast Mare Internum and thus to Roma.

It would be good to see his father again. Though Titus Magnus was of noble ancestry, he was not above making money through trade. His olive groves alone brought him vast wealth. His father had always been a shrewd businessman as well as a total authoritarian. Marcus grimaced. He had had discipline knocked into him at an early age, but it had served him well in his military career.

Marcus wanted his father to meet his beautiful bride. Though it was no longer necessary to Marcus to have bis father’s approval, it would be pleasant to have his blessing. Marcus stood up and stretched, then he let his glance travel about the chamber, seeking a way to make it more inviting. He turned down the fur covers on the bed and slipped a small ivory box beneath Diana’s pillow.