For a Roman's Heart (17 page)

His touch did insane things to her body, sending madness and craving into all parts of her until she wanted to find somewhere private and discover the full secret between man and woman.

“There is nothing Cordia could do or say that would entice me to marry her.”

Adrenia didn’t understand. “But she is a woman of good birth. She has money and position. I am—”

“A person of dignity and honesty. I don’t care about Cordia’s money or position. Those things matter nothing to me.”

Shocked, she stared at him. “You are a strange man, Terentius Marius Atellus.”

He laughed again, and she liked the way it lightened his eyes and removed that steady hardness that always seemed to flame within him at unexpected moments. She couldn’t help but respond and smile.

“I may be strange, but I’m not oblivious to a woman’s greed. Cordia obviously sees me as a piece of opportunity if she is plotting to marry me.”

“Because you are a centurion.”

“That’s the way of it.”

He took her hand and led her away from the crowds that dispersed now that the festival atmosphere had disappeared. Terentius went silent as they moved. As he urged her along at a quick pace, she sensed a far more serious reason for his quietness.

“Where is Victor?” she asked.

“Don’t worry. He can take care of himself.”

She shook her head. Men. They thought they were indomitable, especially soldiers. Yet something inside her responded to this soldier’s strength, to his seemingly invincible exterior and confident interior. Indeed, no person had ever made her feel safe the way he did. Part of her loved it, another part feared she would lose everything she was if she allowed his protection to surround her even one more time.

“There you are,” came a distinctive and familiar voice out of the dwindling crowds. Victor frowned as he walked up to them, leading two horses behind him. “I lost Sulla, damn it. I’ve been looking all over for you.” He nodded at Adrenia. “I’m glad to see you safe.”

Terentius clapped one hand on his friend’s shoulder. “We’ve failed the mission for now. We will take Adrenia someplace safe.”

“Take me home,” she said. “Terentius, if you want to still catch Sulla, I want to help you.” The words almost stuck in her throat, but she forced them passed her lips. “Sulla as much as confessed to me that he killed that slave girl that I told you about. He said she is in a far better place with the gods. He used my father’s money to buy the girl, then we never saw her later. What is even more disturbing is that my mother and father never said anything about the girl.” She rubbed her fingers over her forehead, weary. “I should have asked after her. Instead I was cowardly.”

“It is suspicious the girl never showed up at Adrenia’s home,” Victor said, his gaze fixed on Terentius.

Terentius jammed a hand through his hair and growled his next words. “He is a blemish on the ass of Mars. I will send him to the gods myself.”

“Not without my help,” Victor said.

Adrenia reiterated her commitment. “Or mine.”

Terentius’s mouth twisted. “Adrenia, you must not do this. I haven’t told you…”

“Yes?” she asked.

“Come. Get on my horse, and I’ll tell you what I learned from some villagers today. If you stay at the farmstead, your life could be in grave danger. But I have a solution. You will marry me.”

Stunned into silence, she gaped at him. Conflicting emotions tossed inside her like ships battered on the ocean by a storm. Her mouth felt dry, her head hurt, and she wondered if she had taken leave of her senses. “No.”

Now it was his turn to stare at her in disbelief. “We’ll go to your father now and ask permission.”

She looked away and patted the horse’s neck, her throat tight and her eyes filling with tears of anger. “I have no money other than what I’ve saved, and it is not enough for a dowry.”

He gestured dismissively. “That’s of no consequence. I want to marry you, and your father will welcome it.”

Hurt stung deep into her heart. She stepped away from the horse to glare up at Terentius. He hadn’t said the one thing that might have influenced her to say yes.

I love you.

“No,” she said.

Victor cleared his throat. “I’ll take the horses around the side over there.” He pointed at a building in front of them. “When you’ve completed negotiations—”

“No.” She rounded on Victor. “There will be no negotiations. I’m not marrying anyone.”

Victor, who never seemed fazed by anything, stared at both of them as if they had lost all sense. “As you wish. A private conversation such as this is not for my ears.”

He led the horses away, and once he disappeared around the building, Terentius approached her. She took a step back, aware that if he touched her, much of her reserve would disappear under sensual persuasion.

Terentius stopped, his jaw clenching. “Are you afraid of me all of a sudden?”

“No.”

“Then why did you step away?”

She chose to ignore his question. “Eventually I will have enough money to buy my own loom and start my own business. As soon as that happens I intend to leave my father’s home. It’s been my only goal for some time. I will not trade that freedom for marriage bonds. I approached Cordus’s wife the other day and asked if I could become one of their tenants by renting a room at the villa. She said if I could provide them part of the profits from my weaving, she thought it an excellent idea. Her husband must agree, of course.”

His mouth twisted for a moment as if he might speak. As rain splattered the land, Terentius slipped the hood on his cloak over his head. She did the same with her worn garment. He urged her to stand closer to the building roofline.

He leaned closer to her. “I commend your plan, but I fear it will not work.”

She bristled. “Why not?”

“Because if a mob comes after your family, they may torch the villa proper as well. You cannot take that risk. Even if you refuse to marry me, at least find shelter in my quarters. I won’t demand wifely duties from you. You will be free to come and go as you please.”

Ah, but curiosity made her wonder deeply about wifely duties. The physical aspects, in any case.

His concern warmed her, but a deeper fear prevented her from appreciating his attentiveness. “What makes you think a mob is coming after my family?”

They went silent for a few drops of rain until he continued. “A man came to me today and said people were angry and may attack your home.” He explained what he’d learned. “Do you believe what he’s said about your family?”

Adrenia’s heart twisted but if she confessed what she knew, what she believed might come to be true, she feared Terentius’s reaction. “I’ve suspected for some time that my parents had something to do with my siblings disappearing, but I have no proof. As for what they are doing with Sulla, I don’t know.”

His eyes were fierce with question. “Then why won’t you take this opportunity to escape them?”

“By staying with the Cordus family, I will work toward my complete independence. I already have one male in command of my life, sir. I dare say I do not wish to take on yet another.”

His mouth twisted, and she saw desperation in his eyes. “You do not trust me.”

“Adrenia!” Her father’s voice echoed across the short square.

Her heart sped up. Everything within her rebelled at leaving Terentius’s side, despite what she’d said to him. Her father walked toward them, and Adrenia found herself reacting to old tunes. Obeying. Deferring.

“Father.”

He stood in front of them, eyes flashing with annoyance and suspicion. His hair was plastered down on his head from the rain. “What are you doing here? Where have you been?”

“I was at the festival buying a new slave, just as you instructed. Sulla came along and just then a disturbance broke out in the crowd and people panicked and were running and shoving.”

“I heard about it. Where is Sulla?”

“I was separated from him. The centurion came to my aid.”

With a sullen smile, her father nodded at Terentius. “Centurion. Once again you save my daughter. How do I thank you?”

“Brigomalla.” This time Terentius didn’t bother with a polite salute. “You can thank me by keeping your daughter safe.”

“Of course. Perhaps I should refuse to let her out of might sight from now on. She has a propensity to get into trouble.”

“I can see that.” Terentius turned cool eyes upon her. He cleared his throat. “Sir, there is a grave matter I wish to speak with you about. A business proposition.”

No. Please no. Do not ask for my hand this way.

Her father tried standing up taller, puffing his chest out and running his hand along his chest. “I do not talk business in front of women.”

“Yet you allow her to buy slaves for you.”

The older man’s mouth opened, then closed. Adrenia watched the men, afraid of what could erupt between them.

“I’ll come to your home tomorrow and discuss business.”

Her father took her arm. “In the meantime you’ll go home with me, Adrenia. You have chores.”

She forced compliance past her lips as she allowed him to steer her toward their wagon across the street. “Yes, Father.”

She didn’t look at Terentius as she climbed onto the cart and her father drove them away.

Chapter Nine

“It is convenient that there be gods, and, as it is convenient,

let us believe that there are.”

Ovid

Roman Poet, 43 BC–c. AD 18

“That bull does not look happy,” Victor said to Terentius as they stood back from the center of the square.

“Do they ever?” Terentius asked as the tethered bull stomped and puffed as cold air iced the day.

Its cries of distress surely gave clear indication it might know its fate. Terentius watched in solemn quiet, Victor alongside him, as a soldier holding a wicked knife slit the bull’s throat. Two other men administered the chanting, the incantation designed to bring sure prosperity to the auxiliary fort. Blood sprayed, splashed on the man who made the fatal blow. Another man caught the blood in a goblet, took a drink, and passed it on to the next soldier.

Terentius’s stomach lurched. He hoped the blood would run out before it reached him.

One soldier raised his fist as the bull’s legs gave out and it fell dead. “Jupiter, Juno and Minerva bless us.”

Luckily the goblet
did
run out of blood before it reached Terentius and Victor.

Victor grinned. “The gods must favor you, Terentius.”

Terentius threw Victor a dubious expression. “Do not jest with me. I’m not in the mood. We have work to do.”

The ceremony finished and Terentius walked away, glad to see the end of it.

Worry ate away at Terentius all day. He wanted to see Adrenia with a brutal hunger, and he feared for her safety with every passing moment. “You will accompany me to Adrenia’s home. I am taking her out of there today whether she likes it or not.”

Victor frowned. “If she does not go willingly, she will hate you for it. That is the opposite of what you want, isn’t it?”

Terentius glanced to the west where a fiery sunset spilled over the horizon, aided by gathering clouds that threatened to release snow. He’d thought about it long and hard last night. He understood her need for independence, but the thought of her hurt or killed by a mob had almost prevented him from sleeping. Once he’d fallen asleep, he was haunted by nightmares of a crowd gathering to attack Adrenia’s home. “At this point, I do not care if she hates me. All I care about is her safety. Once she’s in my quarters, she can throw things at my head and curse me. It will all be worth it.”

“We won’t make it to their longhouse before dark.”

They made way for a multitude of soldiers coming down the Via Praetoria.

Before they arrived at Terentius’s quarters, two feuding soldiers burst from a building and into their path. One fell right into Terentius and knocked him into Victor. Victor grabbed Terentius by the arm to prevent him from falling. The two battling soldiers rolled along the Via Praetoria, grunting and fighting until Terentius and Victor grabbed them by the scuff of their necks and hauled them toward confinement. By the time the two men were sentenced to punishment—several days cleaning the baths and latrines—Terentius was ready to chew leather.

Victor walked ahead of him as they cut through the continuing crowd of soldiers heading for an evening meal. They made it to Terentius’s quarters and before long headed to the stables in full armor including helmets. Terentius wouldn’t take any chances. His gut feelings told him to prepare, just as he had entering the Haunted Woods to locate Adrenia. His breath rushed in and out as they rode their horses out of the fort and headed straight for Cordus Villa and the Brigomalla longhouse. Thirty additional soldiers riding horses followed close behind. Danger rode along with them, and he knew it.

Adrenia stared out of her single small window as the last rays of sun created a blood red sky. Snow had come and gone all day.