by Carol Ashby
Her lips tightened as she shook her head. “You say that now, but that’s not how it works. No man can love a child who isn’t his own. Even a woman can’t. Just look at what Hildegard did.”
“What she did…that sprang from her own black heart. It doesn’t have to be that way. My father and mother loved Val as much as me and Rhoda, and she didn’t even become my sister until she was twelve.”
Her hand flew to her chest. “Valeria’s not your sister?”
“Of course she is. She just had different parents before we met her.”
He slipped his hand around hers again. “Now that’s clear, will you be my wife?”
The love in his eyes wrapped her in warmth like a leaping fire while a winter storm raged outside. He truly wanted her.
“Yes. Nothing on earth could make me happier…if you’re sure it will make you happy.”
Her words drew his arms around her. “Wise choice. From the evening I met you, I knew you were no fool.”
A sudden thought pierced her bubble of joy. She’d be a fool to refuse him, but why had he really asked her? No one was kinder or more willing to sacrifice himself for others. Was that all it was? She couldn’t let him marry her just because she needed someone.
“You knew I carried a baby before you asked.”
His smiling shrug answered better than words could have. Her stomach dropped, and she fought to keep breakfast down. She didn’t want to ask the next question, but she had to know.
“Are you sure you want me? Did you only ask because I need someone?” Her gaze dropped from his eyes to their feet. “I don’t want you to marry me for that reason. I don’t want to be your wife because I have no other choice.”
Her gaze rose to meet his, and her finger traced the scar on his cheek. “I know I tried to kill you the day we met, but te amo, Galen Crassus. Te amo, and I always will.”
He rested his palm on her cheek and stroked it with his thumb. “I know, and it’s good to hear you using the Latin I taught you the right way. Just remember I’m the only man you can say that to.”
The curve of his mouth grew until a grin lit his whole face. “Actually, I hope what you said before te amo isn’t true. I hope you have no other choice. My own heart wants no other, and I hope yours feels the same.”
His arms slipped around her and drew her to him. She melted against him as she lowered her lips to his, and their first lingering kiss sealed the promise of a future together blessed by God.
Chapter 50: Ready to Listen
Tiberius watched from the porch bench as Adela and Galen talked by the corral. Her surprise, then sorrow, then sheer delight revealed the ebb and flow of their conversation. When Galen drew her into his arms and she lowered her lips to his, a satisfied sigh accompanied Tiberius’s broadest smile.
All would be well for the three of them.
Their lips no sooner parted than Adela grabbed Galen’s hand and led him toward Tiberius, joy radiating from every feature of her beautiful face.
When they stopped at the edge of the porch, he couldn’t decide who looked happier.
With fingers entwined, she placed Galen’s hand above her heart. “I won’t be going back to Rome with you.”
Tiberius rose and stepped to the edge of the porch. “I hoped Galen would be smart enough to take you as his wife so you wouldn’t have to. From the day I met you, it was obvious you would do well together.”
He stroked her cheek with his thumb. “I look on you as a daughter, and I approve of your choice to marry one of the finest men I’ve ever met.” A wry smile tugged at his mouth. “Even if he is a Christian.” He shook his head. “But since you’ve become one yourself, perhaps only a Christian man will do.” He stroked her hair before taking his hand away. “You two deserve each other.”
She threw her arms around him and burrowed into his chest. “We plan to call our first boy Tiberius.”
His arms encircled her and held her tight. “I’m honored.”
No words could tell her how much the love that inspired that choice meant to him. A senator of Rome didn’t wear his heart where others could see, but sometimes the hidden heart burned brightest with love.
She made no move to release him, so he fixed his gaze on Galen.
“If you had agreed to let me adopt you, your child would officially be my grandson. But perhaps there are ties more important than those recognized in Roman law. Your children will be grandchildren to me, anyway.”
Three from Decimus, one from Adela, and who knew how many more to come. Tiberius had never expected to be a patriarch in fact, even if not in name.
When Adela released him and slipped her arm around Galen again, Tiberius couldn’t stop his smile.
After lunch, Tiberius leaned on the post supporting the porch roof and watched his mares in the corral. He needed to focus his mind on something real, something his eyes could see and his hands could touch.
The food had been tasty, but the conversations left a queasy feeling in Tiberius’s stomach. Too much talk about the hand of their god and how he’d guided Galen in his quest to rescue Otto. Even more about how the Christian god had brought Galen and Adela together and all the blessings that would come because of that.
Tiberius was a man of logic, and all the things they talked about could be explained as coincidences…except there were far too many of them, and they meshed together in just the right way to make something that seemed destined to end badly turn out well.
He could try to discount it all as superstitious thinking by childish people of limited intelligence…except Decimus was one of the smartest men he knew. Galen was an acute observer of people and as wise in the ways of the world as any young man could expect to be. And Valeria missed nothing going on around her.
The gods were merely stories made up to control weak-minded people, and yet…if no god was real, why did these intelligent people keep claiming they knew one?
Adela’s words in the darkness, when she told Galen she felt their god with her. His response like that was the most natural thing in the world to expect. And Decimus’s words from years ago, claiming he met his god in his bedchamber and his god was in the dining room while they argued.
And then there was Tiberius’s best friend Publius, widely acknowledged as brilliant, a man who always wanted to know the truth. Yet his allegiance to the Christian god put him in the arena to die when a meaningless sacrifice would have saved him. Sacrificing to the emperor only said you were loyal to Rome, not that you thought he was a god. Why hadn’t Publius understood that and chosen to live?
But Publius wasn’t the only one willing to die for that god. Galen and Decimus were ready to do the same. Without hesitation.
To make matters worse, he felt strangely attracted to what they said. Even while everything he valued argued against listening to them, something compelled him to listen.
He shook his head to dislodge the nagging thoughts and focused back on the horses.
Galen came out and leaned on the other side of the post. “They’re beautiful animals. Otto thought it would be about a week before he’s ready to take them. His father is giving him some land, and they need to build corrals.”
His young friend crossed his arms and showed no sign of leaving. The thoughts Tiberius was trying to banish wormed their way into his head once more.
“That story you read last night, the one about one lost sheep, why did you pick that?”
Galen’s eyes shifted from the horses to him. “It reminded me of Adela and Otto.”
Dipped eyebrows accompanied Tiberius’s frown. “Otto I can see, but Adela? She wasn’t someone you’d lost and had to find.”
“She was lost, not to me but to God. We’re all lost until we hear the Shepherd’s call and follow Him home.”
“The shepherd?”
“Jesus. He was talking about Himself in that story.”
Tiberius deepened his frown. “But wasn’t he a carpenter? When did he
ever risk losing everything to find one lost sheep?”
“Ninety years ago. I was that sheep, and He did more than risk. He paid for me with His blood when Pilatus crucified Him, and He proved what He’d done when He rose from the dead.”
Tiberius’s bicep flexed when Galen rested his hand on it. Why did it feel so warm? “We’re all lost sheep, and He won’t stop calling your name until you finally come, too.”
Galen’s eyes bored into him. Could he see the turmoil beneath Tiberius’s veneer of confidence? The river out of its banks, eating away at the foundations of everything he’d believed?
Questions tumbled in his mind, but before he could form them into words, a big German about his own age cantered into the farmyard.
“It’s Otto’s father, Baldric.” Galen stepped off the porch with his hand raised in greeting, and the big man reined in beside him.
“It’s good to see you, Baldric.” Galen’s teasing grin appeared as he spoke Germanic. “I got good money for your horses this time, like I promised Val. Sorry about taking so long, but there were…complications.”
The big man swung his leg over his massive stallion’s neck and slid off. “I did not expect you to bring back a Roman citizen, but it is good to have Otto home, even if he is one.” The grin that accompanied those Germanic words relaxed into a grateful smile. “I came to thank you for that, for everything you risked to rescue him.”
“No thanks needed. I did it for me as much as for him. Who’d be my bodyguard if we didn’t trade together? He’s even gladiator-trained now. I learned what those cost in Rome, and they’re too expensive for me to hire.”
The German’s eyes shifted toward Tiberius. “Is this the Roman’s father?”
“This is Tiberius.”
Baldric switched to heavily accented Latin. “It is good to meet the father of Valeria’s husband. I used to think all Romans belonged in a grave or back in Italia, but he changed my mind. At least some of them are decent men.”
The wry smile took the bite out of Baldric’s words.
“I’ve known a few Germans who deserve my full respect as well.”
Baldric’s hearty laugh brought Decimus onto the porch. “Welcome, Baldric.”
The big German tipped his head. “I am glad you are here, Roman. I have come to offer my thanks for you teaching Otto so well.” The wry smile broadened. “I do not think you knew you were training a gladiator. It is good you trained him well enough to be a good one.”
Baldric’s large hand settled on Galen’s shoulder. “It is also good you raised Galen to be a man of courage who would never abandon a friend.”
Decimus’s headshake accompanied his smile. “I taught Otto to handle a sword, but Galen gets his courage from God. God himself protected Otto until he could be redeemed. Give God the thanks, not me.”
Baldric shrugged. “Perhaps your god had something to do with it. Valeria has been telling me so for years.”
His gaze shifted to Tiberius. “I also came to offer you my thanks for buying my son out of the arena. I will repay you for that. How much?”
Tiberius swept the question away with his hand. “Nothing. It gave me pleasure to ransom the friend of my son. I won’t accept repayment.”
Baldric’s mouth opened, as if to insist. Instead, a twisted smile appeared. “The two of you make it hard for me to question Roman honor. But I am sure some other Roman will make it easy again.”
Valeria appeared in the doorway, wiping flour off her hands. Her welcoming smile warmed Baldric’s eyes.
“I thought I heard you. We just finished lunch, but I have some left, if you’d like it.” She focused laughing eyes on Galen. “My brother didn’t eat every last morsel today.” She rested her hand on Baldric’s arm. “We always love to have you join us.”
Baldric patted first her hand, then his stomach. “Another time, Valeria. Olga is preparing a special meal for all my family to celebrate Otto’s safe return. I need to be hungry to eat enough to make her happy. She is the finest wife, but your Roman married a better cook.”
He mounted his horse and leaned on its withers. “Do not tell her I said that.” He straightened. “Tiberius, have Galen bring you to my compound. A horseman like you will appreciate what we raise, and since my son is now your agent, we should know each other.”
He reined away and nudged his horse into a walk.
Valeria wrapped her arm around Decimus’s and laid her head against his shoulder. “Farewell, Baldric. Come again soon.”
A backhanded wave acknowledged her invitation, and he kicked his horse into a trot.
Tiberius remained on the porch, watching until Baldric disappeared into the trees. Decimus had walked over to the corral to watch his main stallion with a black mare. Galen and Adela had strolled into the woods for some time alone. Valeria had gone back into the cottage, and he heard her humming and talking to their baby girl. His gaze was drawn by childish laughter. His two grandsons were digging in the dirt with a couple of sticks.
He rubbed his chin, took a step off the porch, then stopped. His mouth turned down. His own life had been spent in pursuit of power in the service of Rome. His son had chosen a better life. Filled with the love of his family. Filled with love for his god…for Galen’s god…for Publius’s god.
When faced with too much evidence, sometimes a man had to change. Only a fool would cling to the past without weighing the facts before him.
He took a deep breath, then blew it out before striding to the corral where his son was leaning on the rail.
He moved into place beside Decimus, who turned his eyes on Tiberius and smiled. A smile of contentment. Of peace.
Tiberius cleared his throat. “Son.” He swallowed.
Decimus tilted his head, but the peaceful smile remained. “Yes, Father?”
A second chance was a precious thing. Only a fool would waste it…and he was no fool.
“I might have been wrong in condemning your decision to turn from Rome to the Christian god.” He rubbed his neck. “Perhaps you and Publius made the wiser choice after all. Tell me why you follow this Jesus...I’m ready to listen.”
Finis
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Dangerous times, difficult friendships, lives transformed by forgiveness and love.
Faithful is the fourth volume in the Light in the Empire series, which follows the interconnected lives of the members of three Roman families during the reigns of Trajan and Hadrian. The eight novels of the series will take you around the Empire, from Germania and Britannia to Thracia, Dacia, and Judaea and, of course, to Rome itself.
For a preview of the opening chapters of the sixth volume in the series, coming in May 2019, read on!
True Freedom
The chains we cannot see can be the hardest ones to break.
When Aulus runs up a crushing debt gambling with his father’s political enemy, he’s desperate to pay it off before his father returns to Rome. All seems hopeless until his best friend Marcus suggests they fake the kidnapping of Aulus’s sister Livia and use the ransom to pay his debt. But when the kidnappers decide they can make more money selling Livia into slavery, Aulus is catapulted into a desperate search to find her and bring her home before his father's return.
Torn from his childhood home by Rome’s conquering armies and sold as a farm slave to labor until he dies, Dacius’s f
aith gives him strength to bear what he must and serve without complaining. After a deadly accident makes him one of Livia’s litter bearers, he overhears Marcus advising her brother to kidnap her. When Dacius almost dies thwarting the kidnapping, a Christian couple pretend Livia and Dacius are their children to keep her brother from finding them before her father returns.
But pretending to be free again makes returning to slavery more than Dacius can bear, while acting like a common woman opens Livia’s eyes to dreams and destinies she never knew existed. With her brother closing in and her father almost home, can Livia find a way around Roman law and custom to free them both for the future they long for?
Sneak Peek at True Freedom
Chapter 1: Ready to Help
The woman’s scream ripped into Dacius. He dropped his shovel of manure and sprinted into the stable yard.
Flames danced in a pile of straw three feet from the grindstone. The fire was small, but it transformed the skittery young stallion the master’s son had just bought into a thousand pounds of lunging, rearing, kicking terror. The horse had ripped its lead rope from the stable boy’s hand and run for the open gate in the ten-foot masonry wall―just as the young mistress returned on her litter.
She blocked its escape, and the stallion was determined to get out, even if it had to go through the litter where Mistress Livia sat screaming. The flailing hooves knocked the right rear bearer to the ground. As the stallion’s full weight came down on his head, it crushed the man’s skull.
Dacius stripped off his tunic as he ran toward the stallion. The horse reared, pummeling the top of the litter with its hooves―right above the mistress’s head. The curtain bar splintered, then snapped before the hooves returned to the ground.