He grunted and stopped walking. His beautiful blue eyes raked over me and then he tried to stare into my soul.
“Were you ever in love with them? Either of them?” he blurted out.
I laughed and shook my head without hesitation. “Ozias was good to me, but I do not think love was the word I would use. I was loyal to him, because I had no choice. Without him, my fate was uncertain and terrifying. Many men are not as kind to slaves as he was.”
He nodded in understanding, “What did your mother call you?”
Tears stung my eyes. I hadn’t thought it was possible. I hadn’t cried in years. All the thinking about the past and the memory of my name on her lips brought back emotions that were bigger than I was.
“I was her Little Nata. She named me Renata.” My voice was almost inaudible.
“And now you are my Little Nata.” He pulled me toward him.