Gladiator Heart (16 page)

Another easy out for her. “I’m sorry, but I’ve been on a horse for weeks. Going for a ride is not something I could enjoy at the moment.”

“Of course, forgive me. How could I have forgotten?”

“Go enjoy your day, cousin,” she said. “I’d like to get some rest.”

Crispus started towards the door, then stopped and turned back to her. “You won’t leave me again, will you?”

“No.” Valeria shook her head, a little afraid by the crazed look she saw in his eyes. “I won’t leave.”

“Then all is well again.” He swept out of her rooms with his white toga trailing behind him like nothing had happened.

In that moment she wasn’t sure who it would be worse to be stuck with; her cousin, or Gaius. Crispus she could control, but Gaius would see right through her tricks. She’d get nothing past him. A long engagement sounded like a great idea to her.

Lucia Vito lived in the heart of the city center in a walled-in, white stone villa. From the street, the house looked narrow and the heavy wooden door took up most of the façade. Inside, the length of the villa stretched deep and the open roof over the atrium gave a grand sense of space. White stone fountains bubbled with fresh, clear water. Green plants grew tall and wild and white jasmine hanging from the wooden rafters bloomed, the delicate flowers flooding the rooms with their fragrant scent.

Valeria always felt like she’d stumbled into a secret oasis in the middle of the busy city when she came here.

“Valeria!” Lucia rushed up to her with her arms open.

Valeria flew into her embrace and let the woman hold her. Lucia rocked her back and forth and stroked a hand over her hair in a comforting manner. Valeria thought she might break into tears. It was the closest she’d get to a mother’s love.

“Let me look at you.” Lucia pulled back and held her at arm’s length, taking in her appearance. Her light brown eyes sparkled knowingly. “You’re different.”

This was the one person in the world Valeria couldn’t lie to. The Gods knew she’d tried, but Lucia always seemed to be one step ahead of everyone else and she saw through a dishonest heart.

“Am I different?” Valeria had to find her way out of this because she couldn’t tell Lucia about Tristan. “I haven’t been gone so long.”

“That’s not what I’m talking about.” Lucia narrowed her eyes, studying her closer.

Her brown hair was piled on top of her head in an intricate style with curls and tiny braids. Lucia’s beauty rivaled her age. Though twice as old as Valeria, she still turned many heads in the city. Especially that of one Rufus Paulinas. Valeria suspected there was a strong bond between them since Rufus had vowed an oath to protect her, and had only done so with Valeria a second time because he could see how much Lucia loved her.

“Were you harmed by those savages?” Lucia asked, disgusted. “When we received word of what happened, I feared the worst.”

“They aren’t savages,” Valeria argued. “They treated me better than the soldiers treated them.”

Lucia knew her little girl had a big story to tell. She could feel the impatience and restlessness coming off her. Something had happened to Valeria on her long journey, and Lucia prayed it was nothing too terrible. The girl was like her daughter and she was grateful to have her back alive, but also hoped she’d come to no harm while she was away. She couldn’t have stopped her from leaving, the Gods knew she was headstrong, so she’d let her go despite her misgivings. But it was time for her to grow up. To start making her own choices. Thank the Gods Rufus had gone with her.

“I imagine you were exposed to things you’ve never seen before,” Lucia mused, opening the conversation.

A woman alone in the north with an army of men had to have gotten an eye-opening experience. She wouldn’t push Valeria for the details. It would be better to let the girl come to her when she was ready to talk about what happened to her. Valeria was stubborn to a fault, and needed to be coaxed gently, not forced.

“I saw things I will never forget, Lucia.” The events of the last few weeks flashed through Valeria’s mind. She’d given up her virginity to a man who now hated her, and had gained the attentions of a nefarious rake who intended to make her his wife, and that wasn’t the half of it.

“You’ll have to tell me all about your journey.” Lucia led her into the atrium where an evening meal was laid out on the table. “Dine with me.”

“Aren’t you going to the ludus?” Valeria was in a hurry to see Tristan. He could be dying with no one to help him.

“I’ve been called.” Lucia raised her brow in surprise. “What’s the hurry? Do you wish to be rid of my company so soon? And here I thought you came to see me.”

“I wish to go with you.”

“Ah.” Lucia poured two cups of wine and handed one off to Valeria. “Who are we so anxious to see?”

Valeria bit out a curse. The woman could look right into her heart. She chugged down the entire cup of wine and swiped at the drops running down her face with the back of her hand in a very un-ladylike gesture.

“There was a prisoner on our journey,” she hesitated, considering what exactly to tell Lucia. “The soldiers were awful to him and I only wish to see if he is well and tend to his wounds. They wouldn’t let me care for him on the road.”

“Why would you want to?” Lucia challenged her. “A prisoner of Rome should mean nothing to you.”

Valeria thought Lucia, of all people, would understand. “I am a healer, like you taught me. It’s my duty to care for others no matter what their station. Besides, you treat the slaves at the ludus.”

“Only because it pays well.”

Valeria found herself with nothing to say. Had Lucia always been so cold-hearted and she was just now realizing it?

“I guess I misunderstood.”

“Listen to me, Valeria, because I’m only going to tell you this once.” Lucia caught her in a stern stare. “Do not try to go against Rome. It will only bring you suffering. The prisoners who go to the arena are not worth your misery. I treat those men because it is the only way I can settle my conscience about what is done to them, it’s the only power I have, but you are in a position with too much to lose.”

“I wish I wasn’t,” Valeria grumbled. “I wish I was just a common citizen like you. At least I’d be free.”

“None of us are free,” Lucia stated bluntly. “We are all bound by our stations.”

Valeria had never heard a greater truth spoken. She was no better than a slave herself. Her uncle owned her, and soon Gaius would own her. Why couldn’t she just accept her fate as it was?

“Gods, it’s all so unfair.” She slumped down in a chair at the table and slammed down her empty cup in a childish huff.

“No one said life would be fair.” Lucia swept into a seat beside her like a whisper. “You have to make the most of what you’re given, and you’ve been blessed.”

“Blessed?” Valeria let out a sob of laughter. “If being forced to marry someone I hate is blessed, then I don’t want it.”

“Forced to marry?” Lucia wrinkled her brow. “Of what do you speak?”

“One of the officers who brought me home seeks to make me his wife.” Valeria had to tell the woman sooner or later. Besides, she might come up with a plan to help her get out of it.

“Who is he?”

“Gaius Cato. Do you know him?”

“I know of him. He lives in the country. Trains horses I believe.” Lucia’s mouth curved in a clever smile. “From what I’ve seen, he’s very handsome.”

Valeria snorted with disgust. “He’s positively vile.”

“Oh, he cannot be that bad.” Lucia gave a dismissive wave of her hand. “Men have different ways of doing things, that’s all.”

“You would not defend him if you knew of his character. He intends to force himself on me.” Valeria trembled with dread at the thought. “I believe it will give him great pleasure to train me like one of his horses.”

Lucia stared back at her in thoughtful silence. “You’ll have to marry sometime, it’s your duty. Are you sure it will be so bad with Gaius? In time you might come to love him.”

“No, Lucia,” she declared. “Never.”

“How can you be so sure when you don’t yet know what it’s like to love a man?” Lucia chuckled quietly to herself and sipped from her cup of wine, a faraway look coming to her eyes. “The physical aspect of love, while very enjoyable, can be confusing at the same time. It can change how we see things.”

“Oh, Lucia, I can’t stand it,” Valeria cried.

She folded her arms on the table in front of her and dropped her head down. It was no use. She couldn’t deny the evidence any longer. Tristan had found his way into her heart. The only man she wanted was the one she absolutely could not have.

“I don’t know what to do.”

“Don’t be so dramatic,” Lucia said, patting her on the head. “Marriage isn’t that awful, and I can teach you about what a man expects from a wife.”

“I’m very familiar with what a man expects from his wife.” Her voice was muffled in her arms.

Lucia chuckled heartily. “I guess your shameful friends have finally given you an education.”

“No, not them.” Valeria shook her head in dismay, still hiding her face in her arms. “Tristan did.”

“What are you saying?” Lucia’s voice had a hard edge to it. “What do you mean?”

“The prisoner I told you about. I shared relations with him.” The confession made her feel like a great weight had been lifted and her whole body relaxed with blessed relief.

“Curse the Gods!” Lucia slammed her hand down on the table. “I knew you were raped. It was my greatest fear.”

“I wasn’t raped,” she mumbled, keeping her head down. She couldn’t bear to look at Lucia when she revealed her secret. “He made love to me.”

At Lucia’s astounded gasp, Valeria lifted her head. The woman had gone pale, all color drained from her face, and her mouth still hung open as she stared at Valeria like she’d never seen her before. This was exactly what she’d wanted to avoid. She didn’t want Lucia to think less of her for what she’d done. What happened between her and Tristan was supposed to remain a secret, but how had she thought to keep such a secret from Lucia? Valeria had no one else to talk to about something like this.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Valeria, how could you?”

“How could I what?”

“Give yourself so easily, like a common woman,” Lucia accused.

“I did not give myself easily,” Valeria said, growing defensive. “I was kidnapped and held prisoner. I was alone and frightened, and when Tristan held me in his arms, I felt safe.”

At Lucia’s look of complete and utter surprise, Valeria continued to reveal her secret. Talking about all that happened was easier than she’d thought it would be.

“I liked it,” she finally admitted. “For two nights I shared his bed, willingly, and I’d be with him again in place of every other man in Rome.”

“This can’t be,” Lucia muttered. She sat back in her chair and stared off into space with a blank look. “It just can’t be.”

“I made a promise to the Gods that I’d free him,” Valeria went on with determined purpose. “And you have to help me do it.”

Lucia’s serious stare evaporated when she erupted into a sudden bout of laughter. Tears streamed down her face and she chuckled wildly. “My clever girl, I should have known you’d be destined to get yourself mixed up in something like this.”

Valeria dropped her head back down on her arms.” I’m glad you can find amusement in my misery.”

She’d come here for help, not to be laughed at.

“Does Rufus know?”

“No one else knows.”

“We need to keep it that way.”

Lifting her head, she fought the urge to cry. “I can’t marry Gaius Cato.”

“There are ways to fool men when it comes to letting them think they’ve taken your virtue.” A conspiratorial glint sparkled in Lucia’s warm, brown eyes. “There’s no need for this unfortunate incident to ruin your future.”

“Gaius will know,” Valeria insisted. “He’s not so easily fooled.”

“Then you must tell him and he’ll let you out of the marriage.”

“No, he won’t.” Of that Valeria was certain. “He knows something happened between me and Tristan. He’ll marry me anyway, and then punish me for it.”

“You make this Gaius sound like a degenerate lout,” Lucia spat in a nasty tone.

“I’m terrified of what he’ll do to me.” Valeria knew he would find ways to hurt her and take pleasure from it.

Lucia sat up straight in her chair and collected herself. “We’ll just have to find a way to get rid of him.” She smoothed her hands over the lap of her red stola, then picked up her cup of wine and took a long swallow.

“Crispus is holding him off for now, but I don’t know how long that will last.”

“Enough with all this.” Lucia flourished her hand in the air. “There’s no sense in worrying about things that haven’t happened yet. We have a job to do.”

She signaled to one of her servants and the girl came over directly. She ordered her to bring Rufus. He always accompanied Lucia and Valeria when they went out on jobs. His strength and protection had been needed on more than one occasion, too.

“We must prepare to leave at once.” Lucia stood and drank down the rest of her wine. “I’m anxious to meet this prisoner of Rome, this man who has won my daughter’s heart.”

Heat flushed Valeria’s cheeks. “I’m not in love with Tristan.”

But the words felt wrong as soon as she’d spoken them.

“Then go back to the palace and let me see to the prisoners.” Lucia turned and started walking away.

“I can’t. Not without seeing him first.” Valeria needed to get into the ludus, and Lucia was her best chance. She had to find some way to save Tristan.

“That’s what I thought you’d say.” Lucia cast a sly glance over her shoulder and smiled at her, a knowing twinkle in her eye. “Come to the kitchen and help me prepare.”

It was hot, and the air so heavy he couldn’t breathe. The pungent smell of sweat and urine clung to the damp stone walls. Flickering torches lit their way as Tristan was led past rows of cells with heavy iron doors.

Only barely alive, he didn’t know how his feet carried him on, but he’d made it to Rome and it seemed like a waste for him to die now.

Groans of misery echoed up ahead and he didn’t think he wanted to find out what lay in store for him. There wasn’t much else they could do except kill him. He was brought into a great, open room full of rows of long wooden tables. Men lay on some of the tables being treated or massaged. Tristan was left in his shackles and forced to his knees by the soldier who had led him here.