Page 73 of Enslaved
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 asRoman CatholicsandRomehas 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?”
