by Carol Ashby
Adela reached out her arm, and Gunda maneuvered her horse close for a one-arm embrace. Then she nudged her horse into a fast walk up the slope by the road.
A kick to her horse’s side moved Adela into a trot.
Life as a Hermunduri was over. But what would she now become?
Otto moved up beside Adela, but Galen hung back. She mustn’t see him until he could conceal his disappointment. Chieftain’s sons who are good men and will make fine husbands. Adela’s gaze and smile rested on Otto as she spoke those words.
He couldn’t fool himself any longer. She wanted to marry Otto, not him. A Germanic warrior was still her ideal for a husband, and her actions just proved it. When her stepbrother started toward her with his dagger drawn, she ran to Otto, not him.
And what woman wouldn’t prefer Otto? He was the tall, handsome son of a Germanic chieftain with wealth and power among his tribe. When Otto talked with Adela, she brightened, at least as much as she ever did with him. Otto was the logical choice for a smart woman, and she was as smart as they came.
Galen sighed. He was only a Roman with enough to be content, and he always had been before Adela. But Otto had more to offer.
Adela cared for him as a friend, but that was all he should let himself expect. She could be happy with Otto, and he would always pray for life to go well for his two best friends.
Soft night sounds surrounded Galen as he sat by the fire. Adela sat opposite him. On the outside, all seemed quiet, but the human ear couldn’t hear the silent cries of a man who knew the woman he loved preferred another.
Adela stared into the fire, as she had the night before. How could she do otherwise? Disappointed after months of anticipation, losing someone dear to her…that he could understand. But it was time to cheer her up, even if regret dragged him down.
He stirred the coals with a long stick. “Today didn’t go like we planned, but I think you coming home with us will work out well.” He whacked the orange-and-yellow coal that was shaped like his cottage, and it split in three. “Your father was going to arrange a marriage, but you won’t need that. Otto thinks you’re very pretty, and he likes you very much. You’re a lot like my sister, and his father wanted Val to marry his brother Adolf. I know he’ll approve of you. After Otto gets Baldric’s permission, I wouldn’t be surprised if he asks you.”
He stirred the coals again as an excuse not to look at her. Her pleasure over the prospect of marrying Otto wasn’t something he wanted to watch.
“I don’t want to think about that right now.” Her voice sounded strained.
“There’s no hurry. You can stay with us as long as you want. And if Otto doesn’t work out, no man in his right mind could help wanting you for his wife. My sister Val will find a good husband for you. Otto’s father is rich enough you wouldn’t need a dowry with him. But I’ll provide one if you do.”
His sister would find her a husband? Adela’s heart shattered into a hundred jagged pieces, like the marble chips littering the floor at the sculptor’s shop in Luna, something to sweep up and throw away.
It was bad enough that he expected her to marry Otto. At least Otto made her laugh, and she liked to talk with him as a friend. But he’d never be more than that. Galen owned her heart.
And how could he even suggest she’d want just any man his sister could find?
But Galen only saw her as a friend, not as a woman to marry. And with Gundahar’s baby, Otto wouldn’t want her either.
“I’m tired. I think I’ll go to bed now.”
He didn't look up from the coals. “Goodnight. Rest in peace.”
She blinked hard, but that didn’t stop the tears building. “Good night.”
At least she’d kept her voice steady, and she didn’t have to face his eyes that too often saw past her mask. Before the dam cracked and all the pain came spilling out, she entered her tent. There, the flood broke free. She sank onto the cot and buried her face in the pillow as silent sobs shook her.
She fought to dam the torrent and finally won. Maybe no one would notice her puffy eyes come morning. Or if they did, maybe they’d think she’d cried over losing Father. She’d put on a brave front for Gunda, but leaving him forever did tear at her heart every time she thought about it.
Galen always said God could bring good from bad, and He had. She did have somewhere to go. Tiberius was a good friend, closer than her own father had ever been. He was generous, and he probably meant what he said about staying with him. But if something happened that he couldn’t take care of her and the baby …God, please bring good from all this.
The firelight cast Galen’s shadow on the wall of her tent, and her heart clenched.
She rolled on her side where she wouldn’t see it. It wasn’t time to give up. God could change any heart, if only He would.
And please let Galen be part of it.
Chapter 47: A Better Place to Be
Estate outside Argentorate, Day 74
Tiberius leaned on the fence post, watching the chestnut stallion drink. Its head shot up, water dribbling from its mouth.
He turned to see what had caught its attention. Three horses with riders and a pack mule came through the gate, and his lips twitched as he fought a smile. He shouldn’t be happy the reunion with her father had gone badly. But he couldn’t quench the satisfaction that surged when he saw Adela riding between Galen and Otto.
As he strode toward the trio, Adela dismounted and handed her reins to Galen. The young men rode on toward the stable, and Tiberius opened his arms. She ran to him and slipped her arms around him. Strange how that seemed the most natural thing in the world. His own encircled her, like they had before she left.
“He didn’t welcome you?”
“I never saw him. He was at a council of chieftains. But Hildegard wouldn’t let me stay. She was going to tell everyone lies about what I did with Galen and Otto so Father would have to cast me out. Her smile when she said that…” The small jerk betrayed her. “She said he’d have to let them kill me to erase the shame.” Another jerk. “And I’m not sure he’d have any choice, even if he wanted to save me. Her son wanted to kill me right away, but Otto stopped him.”
Adela’s arms tightened. Her chin lowered. “And then Gunda told me it was her mother who hired the kidnappers.” She tipped her head back to look at his face, and the pain there slammed into him. “Did she even tell Gundahar to rape me? How could she hate me that much?”
He rested his palm on her cheek. “She can’t hurt you anymore. You’re safe now, and you have a home with me for as long as you want.”
He stepped back a little, but he left his hands on her arms. A quivering smile accompanied moist eyes. “Are you sure?” Her hand rested on her belly.
“Very sure. As Galen is so fond of saying, if we look hard enough, we can see the good in the bad. Having both of you with me will be a good thing.”
Adela pressed her palms against her cheeks. “I need to keep reminding myself God can bring good from the bad.”
“I wouldn’t say it’s God, but Galen seems to find the good in anything. He’s got me doing it, too. At least your stepmother revealed her intentions when he and Otto were still there. If they’d already left, you’d have had no one to protect you. You’re safe with us.”
“I’m safe for now, but what lies ahead?” Her hand settled on her stomach again.
“Wait and see. Battles are often won or lost when the unexpected happens.”
“Galen would ask God to tell him what to do. I have been, but I don’t hear an answer.”
“Time will give you an answer.”
“I know God can do it. We took the wrong road to Brigantium, but it turned out to be the right road after all, because we had to go to Rome. And going to you, even when Galen was afraid you might kill him, that was the right road, too. Galen says it’s turned into the answer to many years of prayers by his whole family.”
Her voice quavered. “But I’m afraid of
where this road leads. Galen tells me it will lead to good because God wants the best for me. I know staying with Father wouldn’t have been the best.
“But he doesn’t know what we do. He says his sister will find me a good husband. But what man will want me with another man’s child?”
Tiberius wrapped his arm around her shoulder and drew her to his side. When a single tear escaped, his fingers swept it away.
“Time will make it clear.”
What man, indeed? He followed her gaze toward the stable. Galen’s words, too soft to hear, drew Otto’s laugh.
Her shuddering sigh triggered his frown. How could a father let someone kill a daughter like her when she’d done nothing wrong? And if he did, how could he live with that choice?
The memories a man tried to kill and bury― sometimes they wouldn’t stay dead.
Eight years earlier, he’d banished his own son. He’d done it to save Decimus’s life after he rejected everything Tiberius had taught him. He’d had no choice if Decimus was to live, but the way he’d done it―how much pain had that caused? No matter what Galen said, it was too hard to believe Decimus could forgive that. He hadn’t forgiven Decimus for his betrayal, either…but should he try?
Will time make it clear for me?
Galen’s family farm, Day 77
Tiberius and the rest of his party left Otto and his three mares when the wagon track to Galen’s farm turned off the road. The leaves overhead made dancing dappled patterns on the road, and Tiberius’s own heart danced with them.
As they rode along a steep ravine, tendrils of uncertainty wrapped around his mind. What if Galen was wrong? What if Decimus refused to see him?
His mouth twitched. Galen could take him to Otto’s home. They still had to get the stable started, even if his son banished him from his house, as he once had Decimus.
Galen and Adela rode ahead of him, with Galen pointing out things he’d known since his childhood, still telling her the Latin word whenever it was something new.
But Tiberius could read the tension in her body. She was as nervous as he was about what lay at the end of this tree-lined track.
The leafy canopy opened above them as they rode into the farm yard, but the sunlight washing over him couldn’t sweep away his dread of a rejection he deserved.
Adela reined in and dropped back beside Tiberius as Galen rode ahead. Her eyes widened as she bit her lip. He reached out his hand, and she gripped it as if it were all that kept her from sinking into deep water to drown. After a gentle squeeze, he donned a self-assured smile that concealed his own fears.
“You don’t have to be afraid. You’re under my protection.”
Her shoulders squared as she released his hand. When Galen teased her about being a warrior woman, he hit the mark. A warrior wasn’t brave because he had no fear. He was brave because he could act as though he had none, even as fear tried to take him down.
Galen trotted ahead to the corral and dismounted. As he tied the first mare’s lead to the rail, two small boys came running. They stopped a short distance from Galen and bounced as they waited for him to move away from the horses.
Tiberius’s heart rate ratcheted up. Publius and Gaius, the grandsons he’d never known existed and never expected to see.
Tiberius and Adela dismounted and tied their mounts and lead ropes to the railings as well.
As soon as Galen was ten feet from the horses, the boys tackled him.
With the arms of the larger wrapped around his waist and the shorter one’s arms around his leg, he put one arm around each. “This is how I like to end a trip. Where’s Dec? I have a surprise for him.”
The older boy spoke, “Father’s at Adolf’s helping him build a shed.”
Galen released them. “I guess the surprise will have to wait, but sometimes surprises only get better when they do.”
Publius tugged on Galen’s sleeve, and Galen bent over. The boy’s lips brushed his ear, but the soft words reached Tiberius. “Who’s the Roman?”
Galen lowered his voice to answer. “He’s your grandfather.”
Gaius slipped behind him, but Publius stood bravely at Galen’s side. As Tiberius moved closer, Galen rested his hand on Publius head. “Tiberius, this is Publius.”
He reached behind him and drew Gaius forward, only to have Gaius wrap his arms around his leg again. Galen’s other hand settled on his second nephew’s head. “And this is Gaius.”
Tiberius dropped to one knee to reach their level. “It’s my great pleasure to meet you.” He’d never spoken truer words.
Publius squared his shoulders. “Voluptus meus est.” He poked Gaius, and their voices blended. “Voluptus meus est.”
Galen tousled Publius’s hair. “Run fetch Val.”
With a giggle, the two darted toward the cottage.
Tiberius rose, his heart near bursting with happiness. “Handsome boys, like their father at that age.”
A short, pretty woman with hair more gold than brown stepped through the cottage doorway with a baby balanced on her hip. The two boys bounced at her side as they pointed at Tiberius.
Joy radiated from her eyes and smile as she hurried toward them. Still holding the baby, she wrapped Galen in a one-armed hug. “Praise be to God you’re finally home safe!”
When she turned the smile on Tiberius, it didn’t dim at all.
“Tiberius, welcome! My brother has probably told you already, but I’m Valeria, Decimus’s wife. We were so delighted to receive Galen’s letter telling us you’d be returning with him and Otto.” Her eyes warmed with her soft chuckle. “Decimus has been counting the days since it arrived. It’s ironic he’s off helping our neighbor when you do get here. But he’ll be home for dinner.”
Her gaze moved past him to the horses tied to the rail. “They’re beautiful. Such a long way to bring them, but these look worth the effort.” Her eyes focused back on Tiberius. “My father raised horses when I was a child. There’s nothing I enjoy more myself.” She slapped her brother’s arm and got a grin in response. “Galen was supposed to keep himself and Otto out of trouble while they were selling them in Argentorate, but it’s God’s blessing that he failed at that long enough to reach Rome and bring you back to us.”
The warmth of her greeting, as if they were long acquaintances, was a surprise both pleasant and disturbing. Had Decimus told her the circumstances of their last parting? Had he told her he was the governor who wanted all the Christians like her killed? Surely not, or she couldn’t be so open and friendly with her greeting.
“I thank you for the warm welcome. The opportunity to accompany Galen back from Rome was too good to let pass. To see Decimus again and meet his family is more than I ever expected.”
Adela stood back from the family group until Galen turned and reached out his hand. When she came forward, his eyes crinkled. “Val, this is Adela. She’s come to stay with us.”
Valeria’s eyebrows rose as she questioned Galen without a word.
His ears reddened. “She’s a sister now.”
Valeria offered her free hand and a smile that could drive away anyone’s shyness. “Come with me into the cottage, Adela. I’m working on dinner. The men can finish putting up the horses. It’s going to be pure delight having another woman around. With Decimus and Galen and my two sons, and now with Tiberius as well, Priscilla and I have been outnumbered far too long. It will be good to have three against five for a while.”
Adela looked over her shoulder as she followed Valeria toward the cottage. Galen was watching her with smiling eyes and matching lips. But did his eyes only see a friend and sister instead of the woman he might want to marry?
He raised a hand before turning back to help Tiberius put the mares into the corral and unsaddle the horses.
As she stepped across the threshold of Galen’s home, a cold hand gripped her heart and squeezed.
She could stay as long as Tiberius did, but what then?
Go
d, please make Galen want me. Make this last forever, not just for a while.
Tiberius sat at the table, watching Valeria stir a stew whose aroma rivaled any from his chef in Rome. When footsteps pounded across the wooden porch, his eyes flipped toward the sound. The large frame of the son he’d longed to see for eight years filled the doorway.
He rose from the table as Decimus strode toward him, a huge smile lighting his son’s face.
“Welcome, Father. I’ve prayed for this for a long time.” Strong hands gripped Tiberius’s upper arms.
“It’s good to see you again, son.”
At the word ‘son,’ Decimus pulled him into a quick, manly embrace. With a slap to Tiberius’s back, Decimus stepped back, still grinning.
Then his eyes settled on Adela, who sat in the chair next to Tiberius. “And who is this young lady gracing our table?”
Tiberius rested his hand on her shoulder. “This is Adela, daughter of Adalmar, chieftain of the Hermunduri. She’s my ward. She’ll be staying with me until we find a better place for her to be.”
His eyebrow rose as he focused on Galen, who sat on the other side of Adela. He froze his face to stop a grin as Galen’s ears reddened. Adela’s ears would be flaming, too, if she had only seen.
“It’s been too long, Father. I hope you both can stay for a long while.”
Tiberius shifted his gaze from Galen to the son he once rejected. What a fool he’d been.
“Since I came out to Germania Superior to start a racing stable with Otto as my agent, I might be here for some time.”
“You’re welcome to stay with us for as long as you wish. The longer the better. I’d like my boys to get to know their grandfather.”
Tiberius couldn’t keep his own smile from growing into a grin. “I came out here for that as well.”
Valeria’s silken voice came from behind him. “Speaking of the boys…Galen, would you please call them in for dinner now? And make sure they wash their hands first.”