I haven't forgotten "Weddings Can Be Reminders" or that poor Bear waiting patiently and politely to take his case to Parliament. But I've been knocked for six by RL recently. Because of this I've been rather down for the last few weeks/months. I needed to have something new and short to write to get back into the swing of it again (of course it was never going to stay short, but it started out that way!). I hope you like it.
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DEDICATED TO LADY SPOTTED HORSE, FOR BEING SUCH A MARVELLOUS FRIEND, AND A PILLAR OF STRENGTH IN ALL SORTS OF WAYS BUT ESPECIALLY IN THE ANDITH COMMUNITY. HERE'S TO YOU, SWEET LADY HORSE!
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It is 30 BC/BCE. Anthony is a Roman senator. Edith is the daughter of a British chieftain. She has been taken in lieu of taxes by the Romans, taken to Rome, and sold as a slave.
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Gaius, Anthony's nephew, was desperate to be elected to the Senate, to sit in State like his uncle. So Gaius repeatedly invited Anthony to his house to eat good food, drink good wine, be offered beautiful slave girls for his amusement, and to ask Anthony to 'fix' it so Gaius would become a senator. And every time, Anthony accepted the former two, and politely declined the latter two. Anthony thought that the young man would make a very good senator…in time. He needed to grow up a bit first. In the meantime, though Gaius probably hadn't noticed, Anthony had taken him under his wing and was trying to teach him statesmanship. It hadn't sunk in yet, but Anthony was sure it would eventually. Anthony continued to invite his nephew to his house to meet prominent men, and accepted Gaius' invitations to his parties.
One evening he was at Gaius's house with a group of Gaius's friends all laughing and talking. They were beginning the meal, when Anthony looked up at the slave girl pouring his wine. There was something about this girl, something…vulnerable, yet proud. Gaius, sitting next to him and ever watchful, saw his uncle's interest.
"She's not particularly good looking so I didn't offer her to you. She's from Britannia…a Chieftain's daughter surrendered in lieu of taxes. I bought her last week. Do you like her?"
"I know what you are going to offer, Gaius, and the answer as always is 'no thank you' " Anthony replied. "You know that I don't approve of owning slaves."
"It's not illegal. I don't see why you should object. Humans are a commodity, like anything else."
"Would you think that if I bought you?" Anthony asked with a smirk behind his wine goblet.
"Don't be silly. I'd never be a slave!"
"I'm sure that's what the Chieftain's daughter thought" retorted Anthony.
"But I...we're Romans, Uncle! Aristocrats, Patricians, not barbarians from some beastly, cold, wet corner of the Empire!"
"Gaius" Anthony was suddenly quite serious "that is the kind of arrogance that lost us the Republic. And it may yet bring down the Empire as well if matters are not controlled."
"Uncle Anthony!" Gaius hissed "you mustn't say things like that. I know what you mean, and that your censure is that of a true patriot, but others may not. I would vouch for most of the people here, but not all. Friends bring friends, you know."
Anthony smiled. "So now who's teaching discretion, my nephew? Is it possible that you have finally learned some of my lessons?"
Gaius nodded sadly. "Perhaps, Uncle, perhaps."
…
"Take that wine up, and don't spill it!" Berylia, the cook, wailed at Edith even though she knew the girl would be careful. Edith was used to the older woman's ways by now. She'd been a member of Gaius's household for three months. Her Latin had improved. She'd learned all sorts of skills; some of them she'd had servants to do for her at home, and some of them were totally unknown among the Britons, such as how to curl her master's hair. Any man with curled hair in Brigantes* would be laughed at until he died of embarrassment.
She'd also learned that the older man who came to visit her master was his uncle, that his name was Anthony, and that he was a senator. And that when he gave her a slightly lopsided smile her insides melted. Seeing him when he came to her master's house for dinner was the only pleasure left in her life...not that she had had many even before she was given up to the Romans. So it was an easy choice for her to make that night when Anthony bade his nephew a good evening, to leave Gaius's house without permission and follow the tall man for a few streets before she caught up and stopped him.
"My lord. My lord Anthony."
He knew it was her before he even turned around. Her accented Latin betrayed her, even though she had whispered. But he was still surprised.
"What are you doing here, girl?" he asked kindly.
"I had to speak to you, to warn you. There were men at my lord Gaius's house tonight who were talking of a plot...a plot to assassinate you."
Anthony sighed.
"That again? Believe me, child, ever since the Emperor Julius this happens every other year or so with someone or other in the Senate and they haven't yet succeeded with me. And even if they did this time, it really is the least of my problems since it would release me from the cares of this weary life."
"But...but they want to kill you! I overheard them as I served them."
Astoundingly, this prospect seemed to distress her. He took a step towards the darling girl. Gaius's may not have appreciated her beauty, but he certainly did. By all the gods, if only I were twenty years younger...
"My dear, I am old and foolish and a great many other things, but I am not stupid. I know that I have outlived my usefulness to the present Emperor, and that my...well some might call it my 'honourable' style of governance, which believes that justice acknowledges duties and responsibilities as much as rights and entitlements, is old-fashioned and out of step with the present mood of the Senate. Perhaps it would be better both for them and for me if I was...removed."
"If you are so unhappy with the present situation, my lord, couldn't you just resign?!"
She sounded desperate to find a way out for him, even though he knew only too well that there was none. Her concern endeared her to him even more.
"Leave Rome? Go back to my country villa and live a quiet life? There is nothing I would like more, my dear. But my sense of duty would never allow me to go and just leave Rome to destroy itself."
Edith looked at him through the threatening tears. He was the most unselfish, principled, and scrupulous man she had ever met. Of course he would not be persuaded to abandon the country he loved to disintegrate simply because someone wanted him dead. And if the prospect of assassination would not convince him otherwise, why would he listen to a foreign slave girl half his age?
"I am sorry to have taken up your time, my lord. Please be careful, and may the gods go with you."
She turned to go back.
"Wait!"
"Yes, my lord?"
"How did you get permission to leave my nephew's house?"
Her silence and downcast eyes told him all he needed to know. She'd risked a beating (or worse if Gaius had been that sort of slaveowner) just to leave the house...just to warn him.
"Come. I will walk you back to my nephew's. You do know, don't you, that he would be within his rights to put you to death for leaving his house like that?"
Without missing a beat she replied.
"My lord, you aren't the only one who believes that trying to save something you love is worth more than your own life."
That truly took his breath away. He found he had no more words that were adequate, and they walked back to Gaius's in a silence crackling with emotion, and punctuated with furtive and preoccupied glances.
When they arrived, Gaius's Steward looked at Edith with annoyance as she entered through the front door. But Anthony quickly followed her and asked for Gaius. Looking from the senator to the slave and back again, the Steward wisely kept silent and went to fetch his master. Edith stood by Anthony's side, calm and almost careless of her fate.
"Uncle, you're back!"
"Gaius, I'm going to surprise you. You have often offered me your slave girls in the past. Finally my interest has been aroused. I would like to buy the Briton from you. Name your price."
It took Gaius several seconds to respond. And Edith was gaping at Anthony in surprise.
"Good grief! Are you, perhaps, learning something from me, Uncle?"
"I hope I am not so old and set in my ways that I am closed to having my mind changed by the ideas of others, Gaius. So, yes, it seems I am. How much do you want for her?"
"She's yours, a gift from me. Treat her kindly, as I'm sure you will. She's not as tough as she tries to make out."
Anthony put his head on one side. Gaius had taken the trouble to learn about his slave and not just the qualities on the surface, but also her emotions. And that did surprise him. He'd have to think more seriously about proposing him for the Senate if he continued to show this level of maturity.
He thanked his nephew sincerely, while Edith went to fetch her few possessions. They were soon walking back to Anthony's house which was larger, though much simpler, than Gaius's.
"Have you eaten?" he asked, aware that usually servants ate after the masters, and the slaves ate last of all after the servants.
"No, my lord."
"Very well. Sit down."
Anthony's Steward, Septimus, was asked to bring some food and returned with some bread, cheese, and olives.
"I want to grant you your freedom. I'll draw up the document tomorrow."
Edith stared at him.
"Did you think, despite what I said to my nephew, that I was going to go back on the belief of a lifetime and start owning slaves?" he scoffed gently.
"I could but hope, my lord" she muttered.
Anthony's brow furrowed.
"You don't want to be a slave, surely?"
"What else am I fit for?"
"I could pay for your passage back to Britannia…" The thought of not seeing her again stung with unexpected ferocity, but it was, he believed, in her best interests.
"No! Please, my lord, anything but that. Employ me in your household, keep me as a slave, anything, but please, don't send me back!"
"You don't want to return to your country?"
"It's not that. It's just...I don't think my country...or rather my family...wants me."
"That can't be true…"
She cut him off. She wanted to get through this topic as quickly as possible.
"When my father was asked for his taxes, he had more than enough money to pay them, but the Governor rather fancied my elder sister and so he gave my father the choice of paying in gold, or with a daughter, hoping he would get Mary. And while my father would have given all his treasure and more to prevent either of my two sisters being taken, he was more than happy to give me up in order to save the money, and pull a trick on the Governor."
Anthony quietly regarded her. He put his hand on hers and said "Forgive me, but I think your father is a very foolish man. But his foolishness led to my gain, so I thank the gods for it. You are very welcome to stay here in my household, if that is your wish."
"Yes, it is, my lord. It really is."
"Very well, but you will be neither servant nor slave."
"Wha…?"
"You will be a member of my family. And that's the last word on the subject. It's late, and I need to let Septimus show you to your bedroom so we can all get some sleep."
...
It took Edith a long while to get to relax. The astounding turn of events that had brought her to Anthony's house kept circling her thoughts. And she continued to worry about the possible threat to his life. Eventually she did doze. The bed was far more comfortable than the one she'd had at Gaius's slave quarters, and much better than any beds back in her father's house.
She woke, out of habit, at the same early hour that was expected of her as a slave. Nevertheless, she found Anthony awake, reading scrolls, and eating grapes in the large downstairs room.
"Good morning, Edith. Did you sleep well?"
"Very well, thank you my lord" she lied.
"You do not need to call me your 'lord' any more. Anthony is good enough for me."
"Thank you...Anthony."
He didn't add that he loved hearing her call him by his name. He too had had a disturbed night but for different reasons. He knew that he would gladly have paid Gaius for her. The truth was that he could no longer bear to see Edith's welfare in anyone else's hands but his. She could be headstrong as he had seen when she followed him out of Gaius's house. She wasn't totally acquainted with Roman laws. It was only a matter of time before she would have got herself into serious trouble. Offering her a home with him had been a protective impulse. It was not an impulse he regretted though having her in his home was upsetting his equilibrium...in the most delicious ways. His dreams had been turned inside out depicting all the things he'd like to do to her if she were in his bed. He blushed just thinking about them.
"Do you usually rise this early?" she asked, as he offered her the bowl of grapes.
"Sometimes, especially when I have work to do. It's habit really...from when I served in the legions."
Edith paused in the act of putting a grape in her mouth, and her blood ran cold. He saw her reaction and hastened to clarify.
"It was a long time ago, and I never served in Britannia, only in Gaul**."
"Ah" she nodded and ate the fruit, and although she was relieved, she was reminded that this man, who had stolen her heart and could twist her emotions with a word, was still a Patrician member of the race who had conquered and enslaved all the known world.
"You have to remember, I was very young when I enlisted, and very patriotic as young men tend to be. I had been tutored to believe that the Republic and the Empire were the pinnacles of civilisation, and that to serve Rome was the greatest honour a man could win. My experiences in Gaul taught me otherwise...that other races and cultures had their own values and virtues. When I returned and entered the Senate...well, ever since then my views have been considered either laughably odd or dangerously revolutionary."
He lowered his voice.
"I am very sorry for what happened to you, and to your country and countrymen."
A wave of emotion swept over her. He was still, and always had been, the Anthony she had hoped he was. Overcome, she leaned to him and kissed his cheek.
"Thank you" she murmured.
Anthony could hardly breathe. Her lips were soft and sensual, and aroused desires in him that he hadn't felt in years. He was out of practice trying to keep them in check, and he only just managed to keep sane, and whisper an incoherent acknowledgement of her gratitude.
Then he coughed, looked away from her, and tried to get a grip on his emotions.
"Well...ahem...I...er...I think it might be a good idea...um...today...bearing in mind the tiny size of that pack you brought back with you last night...if we bought you some new clothes...if you agree?"
Edith burst out laughing.
"I'm sorry" she said when she saw how puzzled and hurt he was by her reaction. "I'm surprised and very grateful, truly I am. It's just...you are a Senator! You're a master of oratory! Perhaps you should stick to politics...because you obviously don't know how to talk about shopping for women's clothes!?"
When Anthony gave her his crooked smile, and then began chuckling himself, she knew he'd forgiven her.
...
Neither of them had ever thought that they would experience a day like that one. They wandered around Rome, of which Edith hadn't seen a lot. It had been such a long time since she was free to wander around at will, and it felt strange to her, almost miraculous. She looked up to Anthony as her saviour and worshipped him. She hoped she would be able to express her gratitude to him more profoundly very soon.
Anthony felt sure that every passer-by could see how puffed up like a peacock he was to be seen in this beautiful girl's company, and sometimes she even took his arm, gazed into his eyes, and his chest felt it would burst with pride. He felt years younger, stronger, more confident. He delighted in buying Edith the things that she needed now she was a free woman once again: clothes, perfumes, jewellery. He wanted to give her the earth.
She asked to visit the Libraries of the Forum, even though she couldn't read the Greek and Latin the scrolls were written in, just to witness all that knowledge. It was then that he knew absolutely that she was so very special, and that he'd fallen completely in love with her.
They returned home very late in the afternoon.
"Home!" she thought. "This really is my home! My very first home; the first place where I've felt comfortable and happy."
Dinner was just the two of them, laughing and joking, and discussing their day. Chestnut eyes met azure ones, and they spoke silently of so much more. Afterwards, he said he had some correspondence to attend to that couldn't wait any longer, so she took the opportunity to look over the gifts he'd given her. It shouldn't have taken her quite so long as it did to put away all their purchases, but she spent time looking at each one, admiring it, and loving the fact that Anthony had bought these things for her. She wanted to commit the whole day to her memory, how he had looked at her, how gentle and kind he had been.
So when she returned downstairs and still couldn't find Anthony anywhere, she was concerned. Had she done or said something wrong? Continuing to look for him around the house she found herself in the courtyard. It was a beautiful haven from the busyness of the city. A lily pond held the centre of the quad. There were marble busts all around the surrounding cloisters, and it didn't take Edith long to realise that these were Anthony's ancestors. At the end of the line she found the statue of Anthony. It had been carved years ago when he first took his seat in the Senate, but Edith thought he was no less handsome now. She let her hand idly fondle his stone hair, then lovingly stroke his marble cheek.
"Oh Anthony!" she sighed, her emotions confused and tangled, as she reached up to kiss the statue's smooth, cold lips.
Behind her, Anthony stood, his lips parted in astonishment, struck silent and immobile by the sight of the woman he loved expressing her love for him in the only way open to her.
Edith looked around, saw him there watching her amazed, and was instantly furiously embarrassed. She made a dart to run upstairs, but Anthony caught her hand, and held her, gazing imploringly into her eyes, his feelings turbulent.
"Are you disappointed or angry at me, my lord?"
"Of course not. I'm not disappointed or angry or...or anything like that. I just want to know...why? Why were you kissing my statue?"
Edith shrank back and was silent. Anthony continued, his voice softer, both hopeful and hopeless.
"Why kiss my statue...when you could have me?"
Edith's face lit up with such unbelieving joy, that Anthony almost believed he'd crossed over into the land of blessed spirits.
Before the moment escaped him, he coiled his other arm around her body, gently drew her to him and pressed his lips delicately to hers.
The kiss started slowly. At last a hand snaked around Anthony's neck. He let Edith's wrist go and wrapped both arms snugly around her body, hugging her to him snugly. She moaned. He broke the kiss to bury his face in her hair murmuring "Oh Edith! My lovely Edith!"
She rubbed her cheek against his, thrilling at the feel of barely-there stubble and the intoxicatingly masculine smell of him.
"I'm yours, my lord."
"I told you, you are a free woman."
"I didn't mean like that. I mean I'm yours."
Anthony almost fainted. He picked her up and spun her around in his exaltation. They kissed some more, Anthony nibbled her neck causing her to sigh contentedly.
"I love you, Edith. I've loved you since I first saw you pouring my wine."
"And I adore you, my lord. You have been the best thing to happen to me ever in my life."
They held each other. They talked softly of the past and the future. They sat in the darkening garden and watched the stars come out.
Finally, with a wedding halfway to being planned, Anthony took her up to his bed.
.
The next morning Edith woke with the most delicious aches in places she'd never really thought of before. With excitement she rolled over to embrace her fiancé...only to find that she was alone.
She found her clothes and searched the house. It was still early, but she heard Septimus talking downstairs. Realising that he was bidding farewell to his master, she ran towards them, calling to stop Anthony leaving.
Anthony turned at the door, and gave Edith a sad smile as Septimus melted away.
"Good morning" she said shyly.
"Good morning, my dearest darling." He stepped to her and kissed her forehead lovingly.
"You were going somewhere. Should I be preparing as well?" she asked, wanting to please him.
"No. You rest. I'll be back later this afternoon."
"Can't I come? I'd like to be with you...please."
He shook his head.
"You can't come where I'm going today."
It hit her then, like a hundred horses running her down.
"You're going to the Senate, aren't you?! Despite everything I told you!"
"Yes, my dear, but it's not what you think. You have convinced me that there is more to Life than an old man trying to bring back the old days. The times are changing. Today I resign from the Senate and propose Gaius in my place. It can be his fight now. He wants it so much, after all. And we can have some time to ourselves."
She stared at him.
"Would that not please you?" he asked, his brow furrowed.
"Of course it would!" She threw herself into his arms and kissed him.
"All my dreams come true! But be careful please Anthony. Take care."
"I will, my sweet one." He kissed her again. And again.
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The first thing Anthony noticed when he arrived at the Senate was that Gaius was there, milling about in the lobby.
"Gaius, my boy, what brings you here?"
"Ah, Uncle! Well, to tell you the truth, I'm not entirely sure why I'm here. I know it makes me sound like a madman, but I just had a strange feeling that I should be."
He looked uncomfortable and troubled, but Anthony saw more there than others might have done.
"It doesn't sound at all mad to me. When I was a Tribune*** I found that trusting my gut instinct was a particularly wise thing to do. You're going to be a very valuable member of the Senate, Gaius, and I will be proud of you."
Gaius was stunned.
"You...you mean…?"
"From this moment, Gaius, my place in the Senate is yours. It has been approved by the Emperor, and in a moment I will make it official. All I need to do is declare it in the chamber."
"Oh Uncle!" Gaius was about to embrace Anthony in thanks when a man behind him shouted something Gaius didn't make out, and Anthony grunted in pained surprise, arching his neck and back, then falling to his knees. Gaius acted totally on instinct. He leaped forward to catch the man's arm holding the bloodied dagger before he could plunge it into Anthony's body again. He twisted the knife out of his hand, unintentionally slicing the man's arm as he did so, but at least it disabled him enough for the Praetorian Guard to seize him.
Gaius stood panting, watching while Senate staff were attending to Anthony. He was lying where he fell, crumpled on the marble floor, his eyes closed. There seemed to be blood everywhere. Someone had pressed their senatorial sash to his shoulder, where the blade had struck him. The best thing to do, it seemed to Gaius, was to make sure he was stable, and then organise a stretcher to get his home where a doctor could work on him.
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Edith was just finishing getting ready for her first day as a free citizen of Rome, and the fiancée of a Senator, when she heard the shouting in the street. When she got downstairs she saw Septimus and Gaius talking animatedly and waving their arms around.
Then she saw a contingent of guards entering bearing a stretcher.
Then she saw Anthony, and she almost screamed.
"No, no, no!"
All her worst fears...why hadn't he listened to her? Her darling Anthony. If he was dead, then she wanted to die too, to be with him.
As she watched they took him upstairs to their room. Very soon Gaius ushered in an older man who ripped Anthony's clothes from his shoulder in a very business-like fashion. He poured a little water over the wound, making Anthony flinch, and then declared that Anthony would be absolutely fine as long as they could control infection and fever.
"You there, fetch me more water, the hotter the better, and clean cloths."
Edith just assumed that he meant her and so collided with Septimus in the doorway.
"My lady."
"Let me help, Septimus. Please."
He saw the anguish on Edith's face and merely nodded, leading her down to the kitchens and showing her where the clean cloths were stored.
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It was a little over an hour later when Anthony, his shoulder stitched up, and his face creased with pain, came to consciousness.
"Edith!"
"Yes, I'm here. I'm here my love."
"What…?"
"They tried to kill you, Uncle. You have a stab wound in your shoulder."
Gaius stood with quiet command, a different man even from this morning.
"No wonder it bloody hurts!" Anthony gasped.
The doctor chuckled and gathered up his instruments.
"He'll be fine now. Just don't let him do anything too strenuous."
Once the doctor had gone, Gaius turned to his uncle once more.
"I've spoken to the Censor. He will accept a written resignation from you, proposing me as your successor...if that is what you still wish."
"Of course I wish it, Gaius. You saved my life! And you've become a force in your own right. I'll write it out now...if you like…"
Anthony grimaced in pain as he tried to sit up.
"No, don't worry now, Anthony. The formalities can happen another day. Gaius just needed to bring you up to date."
Anthony looked at Edith fondly.
"And you have told him our news, I hope?"
"Yes, Uncle" Gaius replied for her. "I'm very glad I could play a small part in bringing you happiness."
"You have done more than that, my boy."
.
Eventually Gaius was convinced that his uncle was out of danger, and he too left.
Anthony and Edith were left alone.
"You told me not to go."
"I did. But I was thinking of your health, and not of your reputation. I know these things are very important to Romans."
"And now I'm a cripple. I don't need a wife. I need a nurse."
"Can I not be both to you, my lord?"
"I should let you go, let you live your life to the full."
"I would only live my life to the full if I am allowed to stay by the side of the most remarkable man I have ever met."
She saw his eyes glisten, and knew her own were too.
"I love you Edith, and if at any time you want your freedom…"
"I love you too Anthony. And I have my freedom right here."
And she kissed him sweetly.
...
*Pre-Roman Northern England including Yorkshire
**Roman France
***A rank in the Roman legions relatively equal to a Major in the British Army, although with the additional expectation that Tribunes would become, or would have already become, Senators.