by Carol Ashby
“I renamed him. He fought like a lion to protect me from the kidnappers, and it fits him. Leander thought it might be too dangerous to use my real name, so I renamed myself, too. I became Calantha so Aulus couldn’t find me.”
Father’s back straightened. He stepped back but left his hands on her arms. “Aulus? Your brother?”
“Yes. Leander overheard him talking about losing too much gambling, and he and Marcus planned the kidnapping to get the ransom to pay the debt without you knowing.” Her eyes sought out Leander on the bench, where Servilia stood with her hand on his shoulder. “Leander tried to warn me, but I didn’t let him. Then he stopped the kidnappers, and he almost died protecting me. Even when I thought he was dying, all he thought about was keeping me safe until you returned.”
She turned to look at Leander, and her father’s gaze followed her own.
Then he smiled at her lion as he sat on the bench with his head back against the wall, eyes closed. “He doesn’t look like a lion now, but I’ve seen his courage.”
“What you’ve seen is nothing compared to what he really is. He knocked out the first kidnapper. Then the second one stabbed him, and he knocked that one down, too. We were getting away when one of them tried to shoot me, and he deliberately took the arrow. That’s why he’s limping.”
Father’s eyes were focused on hers, and his smile wrapped around her like a warm blanket. It was time for her first request.
“He couldn’t have been more loyal or taken better care of me until you returned.” A deep breath, and she forged ahead. “The only fitting reward is to free him.”
Her father rested his hand on her cheek. “Any man who would do what he did to bring you back to me deserves his freedom.”
She beamed at him. “Promise me you’ll do it as soon as possible? Even as soon as tomorrow?”
“I will.”
She walked over to Leander and swept some hair off his forehead. He smiled without opening his eyes. “I knew you’d want to do the right thing for a man who risked everything to save me.”
When she ran her fingers through his hair, her father’s eyes narrowed. “Where have the two of you been for the last month?” He crossed his arms.
She stepped away from Leander so another touch wouldn’t add fuel to Father’s suspicions and moved within arm’s length of her father again.
“Servilia helped us when the kidnappers were chasing us, and she asked a friend and his wife to let us stay at their farm until you returned. First Servilia, then Marcella took care of Leander and me.”
His face relaxed. “I’ll repay them for everything.”
“You can offer, but they probably won’t take it. They helped because we needed it, not for any reward.”
Her pulse quickened. It was time for her second request. “I discovered something while I was with them, Father, and I hope you’ll approve.”
“What?” His smile warmed her like summer sunshine.
As she gazed on the face of the earthly father who loved her, she asked her heavenly Father for help.
“You know how much I love you. No one ever had a better father. I love being your daughter.” A deep breath, a quick prayer, and she took the first step toward freedom.
“But I don’t want the life I had. I’ve grown to love the life of a common woman. I love Marcella and her husband. They took me in and protected me, no questions asked. She’s like another mother to me, and they’ve become my dearest friends.”
His smile vanished.
Another deep breath, another prayer, and she forged ahead. “I want to stay with them as Calantha instead of returning to your house as Julia.”
The frown he used so often on Aulus appeared.
“It all started as an act to keep me safe until you returned. But I’ve been so happy there, and I don’t want it to end. I’ve been missing for so long everyone thinks I’m dead. Let them keep thinking that.”
“That’s foolishness.” Father’s mouth turned from frown to scowl. “You’re a Julius Secundus. No one would choose to be otherwise. I thought you were dead. Now that I have you back, I’m not losing you again.”
“You don’t want to lose Aulus, either. After being gone so long, my return will raise so many questions. What if someone learns he had me kidnapped? He’d be in terrible trouble. It would end his political future. It would disgrace our family name.”
Her father’s eyebrows dipped. She had found his weak point, but victory was still not assured.
“Please, Father. I don’t want my brother destroyed. I don’t even want him getting into trouble over this. What he did was stupid. But if he hadn’t been so desperate to hide what he'd lost from you, he would never have done anything that could hurt me. It was Marcus’s plan, and you know how he follows Marcus’s lead without thinking. I’ve forgiven him, and I want you to forgive him, too.”
“Forgiven him?” Father snorted. “You haven’t even seen him for him to ask it of you. No one forgives without the other person asking for forgiveness.” His hand swept the thought of that possibility away. “And usually not even then.”
She drew a deep breath and braced for Father’s anger. It was time to expose the truth that might make her death reality. “Christians do, and I’ve become one.”
Father’s eyes widened. His jaw started to drop until he clamped it shut. His eyes scanned those around them. No one was listening.
“Do not say that. No Julius Secundus will ever become one. Not while I’m paterfamilias.” His whisper-soft words hit her like a shout.
She lowered her voice to match his. “But I already have. And that means I can never marry the kind of man we’d planned. I won’t worship the Roman gods ever again, and as soon as some enemy of yours tells Emperor Hadrian, I’ll be killed.” She took his hand. “But if you leave me dead, I can marry a man I love, and you can come see me and your grandchildren as often as you want.”
A scowl blackened Father’s face as he tipped his head toward Leander. “Is he one, too?”
“That’s why he risked dying to save me. Jesus tells us there’s no greater love than to lay down our life for another. Even an enemy. Even someone who only treated you like an animal…which is what I did to him before he saved me.”
Father ran his fingers through his hair. Then he fixed icy eyes on Servilia. “Is she one?”
Calantha froze. Father was a magistrate of Rome, and Rome was an enemy of the followers of Jesus. Had her desire for her own freedom just brought death upon two people she loved? Could Father hunt down Marcella and all her friends and kill them, too?
Tears filled her eyes, and she turned to Servilia. “Run.”
Before Servilia could move, Father seized her arm. “Stop. You saved my daughter. I’m not going to hurt you.” She offered no resistance, and he released her. But she backed away to stand by Leander. He struggled to his feet and pushed her behind him.
Father massaged his neck as his eyes bored into Calantha. “This farmer and his wife who hid you and won’t take anything for it, are they also what these two are?”
“Yes, Father. We all are, and what happens to them should happen to me, too. If you want them to die, you’ll have to kill me.” She squared her shoulders and stared at him with eyes both pleading and defiant.
Father’s gaze swept the area around them before returning to her. “Stop saying that.” He rubbed his forehead. “If this was a year ago, I would have shipped you to the estate in Gallia and disposed of your friends.
“But some things have changed while I was in Sicilia.” Again, he checked that no one was listening. “Lucius Cordus has a farm there. He’s the centurion who saved me when I was tribune of the I Minervia during Saturninus’s rebellion.” The anger drained from her father’s eyes. “We met to discuss old battles and life since the legion.” His lips tightened. “And he told me he’s a Christian now. But there’s no finer Roman or better man than him. So…” He released a deep sigh. “If you can keep i
t secret, I will allow it.”
Calantha kept her smile from bursting forth. Father was on the edge…only one small shove was needed. “But how can I keep it secret if I come back to live as your daughter? Especially after I marry. Quintus Sabinus or some other enemy of yours will find out. He has spies everywhere, and I could never be careful enough. Please, Father, let the old me die so I can continue to live.”
His shoulders slumped, and his eyes closed. When he opened them, resignation had quenched the fire. “You leave me no choice. I don’t want to grieve your death a second time.” A deep sigh drained his lungs. “I will allow you to stay dead…Calantha.”
She slipped her arms around him and squeezed as hard as she could. “Thank you, Father.”
A wry smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “You say you don’t want the senatorial life, but you just proved you would have played the political games brilliantly.”
Two barriers down. Only one to go, but first she had to know for sure. She stepped back and took Father’s hand. “One more thing.”
He rolled his eyes. “What else could there possibly be?”
“I’ll tell you in a moment, but first I need to ask Leander something. In private.”
Servilia stood behind Leander, leaning out for a better view. She came from behind him and winked as she passed Calantha. “There are some beautiful roses by the fountain. Perhaps your father would like to look at them, too.”
His eyebrows dipped as his gaze moved from Calantha to Leander. Then, with the poise he displayed when he addressed the Senate, he followed Servilia.
Leander took a deep breath when she moved within an arm’s length of him. Her eyes lit with the teasing fire he’d come to love.
A slight breeze carried the scent of roses from her hair. “Does my lion know what just happened?”
“Your father agreed to free me and to let you go back to Marcella and Gaius.”
She caressed his stubbled cheek. “Do you know what that means?”
He fought the grin. “That Roman law doesn’t have to chain us when God doesn’t want it to.”
“Exactly…and where does that leave us?”
Her laughing eyes breached his defenses, and the grin broke free. “Wherever you want it to.”
“You were willing to give your blood for me.” She touched his tunic where it covered the knife scar. “Can you give me something else?” She placed her palm on his chest.
Again, his heart pounded like the hooves of a racing stallion. But this time, the finish line was in sight.
“You already own my heart. What else do you want?”
“All of you, if you want to marry me.”
As he touched her cheek for the first time, she closed her eyes and leaned into his hand.
“There is nothing on this earth I want more.”
She patted his chest. “In that case, it’s time to tell Father.”
“Tell? Don’t you mean ask?”
Her fingertip traced his jawline. “As I’m certain Gaius will tell you, when a woman truly wants something, there’s not much difference.”
Calantha’s father stood by the fountain, arms crossed, watching them. She waved, and he strode to her side.
He lifted her chin and scanned her face with wary eyes. “What is your one more thing?”
“Now that Julia is dead and I’m only Calantha, I want to marry Leander.”
His hand dropped. Then he rubbed his lips as his eyes bounced between the two of them. Finally, he snorted. “Why am I not surprised? What other bad news do you have for me?”
She wrapped both her hands around one of his and held them to her chest. “But it’s not bad news, Father. There’s no better man for me than him. As you get to know him, you’ll see. Just because everyone else thinks I’m dead, that doesn’t mean you can’t come often to visit us.”
His sigh was deep, but with his free hand, he stroked her cheek. “If you intend to marry this man, I can’t just free him.”
Her eyes widened. “But you promised.”
“I did, and I always keep my word.” He scanned Leander head to sandal and back. “How old is your Leander?”
Calantha looked at Leander with eyebrows raised, and he answered for himself. “Twenty-three.”
“As I thought. Too young for citizenship under normal manumission.” He blew his breath out through his nose. “I won’t have my daughter married to a Junian Latin.”
“I don’t care what he is, Father. He’ll be the best husband.”
“Perhaps you don’t care, but I do. Dead or not, I’m still your father.”
He stood facing Leander, the corners of his mouth slightly down. “Where did you get your skill with horses?”
Leander shifted to face him head on. “My father raised them in Dacia, and I trained them at the Licinius Crassus estate before Gallio bought me.”
“You trained Crassus horses? For the circus?” Father’s eyebrows shot up.
“Yes, and for private drivers.”
The corner of his mouth lifted, followed by another soft snort. “Then you’re going to be my agent running my new training stable.” His mouth curved into a crooked smile. “Then the Council of Ten will grant you full citizenship. No one will question my choice, despite your youth.”
Calantha rested her hand on Leander’s shoulder. “It needs to be near Marcella’s farm.”
Father crossed his arms, but this time he smiled at them both. “That should be possible. I can make anyone an offer they can’t refuse.” His smile turned wry. “Rather like a daughter I used to have.”
His chin rose as he squared his shoulders, but the warmth in his eyes remained. “If you have no more surprises for me, it’s time for you to return to Servilia’s home while the streets are still safe. Have her send me word when you return to that farm you love so much.”
“I know you have to keep Leander for a while to free him, but how soon will he join me?”
“The Council meets weekly. While we wait, we’ll pick out the land and the first of the horses. I expect fewer than ten days.”
She took Leander’s hand and held it to her cheek. “I guess that’s not too long. Marcella and Gaius will be so glad to get their new son back.”
Leander stroked her cheekbone with his thumb. “And his future wife.”
Father looked at their hands before rolling his eyes. Then he sighed. “I have several senators coming for dinner. It’s time to leave.”
As the four of them walked through the archway, Calantha released Leander’s hand.
“The next time I see you, you won’t belong to Father anymore.” She rested her palm on his bristly cheek. “But you’ll still be mine. You’ll always be mine...and I’ll be yours.”
His beaming smile was all the answer she needed.
As she walked away with Servilia, Calantha looked back. Her father stood beside her future husband. Leander was smiling, and Father at least looked resigned. He’d granted the first desire of her heart by leaving her dead. Her prayers would now be for him to fulfill the second…that he’d turn to Jesus and join her in being fully alive.
After a slow-as-a-caterpillar walk back through Trajan’s Bath, Leander and his future father-in-law found Taurus leaning against a wall, holding the horses.
Secundus took his reins. “Go back to the villa. Tell Gallio to start the banquet without me. I’ll return as soon as I can to join my guests.”
“Yes, master.” Taurus dipped his head before mounting his horse and trotting away.
Once more, Leander mounted from the right-hand side. But this time, his thoughts were on the joy in his future, not the pain in his thigh.
They rode many blocks in silence. Then Leander cleared his throat.
Secundus raised his eyebrows. “You want to say something?”
“Thank you for freeing me.” No words would be enough to speak Leander’s full gratitude at that moment, so he kept it short. “And for ev
erything else you’re doing for us.”
Secundus shrugged. “I love my daughter, and you kept her alive, even if I have to pretend she’s dead. What one Roman took from you in Dacia, I can return in Rome, at least in part. And freeing you should be highly profitable. With your horse skills, I can make excellent money off those who want well-trained but spirited horses for riding or for their private chariots. A few well-placed stories about how you tamed a murderous stallion and letting them see you ride him should be enough. You’ll take that beast with you when you leave. Aulus will never be able to handle him.”
“Not yet.”
“Not ever.” Secundus’s face softened. “Julia loves children. She’ll be a wonderful mother, and I’ll be expecting you to give me grandchildren.” The Roman lion smiled at the prospect.
Leander’s own smile broadened. “I’ll do my best to make her never regret her choice.”
“I trust you will.”
Chapter 66: A Whole New Day
The Secundus villa, Day 51
It was midmorning when Aulus rode into the stable yard after a night at Marcus’s house. He’d been tempted to drink himself unconscious, but that would only have given him a beastly headache without solving his problem. It was drinking too much that got him into the mess in the first place, and no amount of drink would get him out of it.
Africanus was going to try for a few more days to find someone who had seen anything in the area where she’d disappeared, but after so long, Aulus didn’t expect success. The one good lead that had seemed so promising had turned up nothing. Africanus had suggested letting Titianus interrogate Callidus, but neither he nor Marcus could risk him telling the full truth. And Marcus was probably right that the soldier had already told them everything he knew that might lead to Julia.
The new stable slave trotted over to take his horse. “The master is home, and he said to tell you he wants to speak with you as soon as you returned.”
As the slave led the horse away, Aulus closed his eyes and heaved a sigh. Then he strode into the house, not eager but ready for the confrontation. When they first told Brutus what they’d done, he’d offered to go with Aulus to speak to Father. He’d repeated the offer yesterday. It was tempting to have a man whose opinion Father respected come along to dampen his father’s anger when he first confessed what he’d done. But a man should face the consequences of his actions, and to hide behind another man in an attempt to avoid them was no longer something he could do.