by Glover, Nhys
The last three days they’d worked their way along the southern coast of Britannia. It had meant nights in little townships with poor facilities, and most definitely, no privacy. Vali wasn’t the only one missing their alone time.
‘You don’t expect to find a room to ourselves here do you? We’ve a better chance at the estate. Come on, it’ll be worth the effort, I’m sure.’
By dusk, they reached the Bibulus villa rustica, just beyond the ford on the River Denth. It had been easy to find, as it was one of the largest estates in the area. Not that the villa gave that impression. It was nothing like the villas of Rome. This was more like the long houses Vali had described from his home; a rectangular, wood dwelling, with no windows and a thatched roof.
They drew the horses up at the door that was positioned half way along the length of the building, and Vali helped Lara dismount. She wouldn’t admit to being sore, but she knew she’d be having trouble walking for the next few days, at least. It felt like her inner thighs were rubbed raw.
‘Looks like your father was right. Mismanaged from laziness, I’d say. Look at that midden heap! It needs to be further from the house and in a hole, not piled up there, for every scavenger to feed off.’
‘Yes, but the spirits here are welcoming. I heard them whispering as we rode past the woods.’ Lara looked about her with interest.
‘You haven’t talked of numena since our first days,’ Vali said with a bemused little smile.
She returned his smile, embarrassed somehow to still be that dreamy, young girl she had been back then. ‘I haven’t really felt them since then. Too much else going on, I think. Or they only talk to me in places where I belong.’
‘You belonged in the Pontine Marshes?’ He almost laughed at her, but controlled himself.
‘It was still Latium, my province of birth. Don’t laugh at me, Vali. I know I sound like an imaginative child, but…’
‘Sweetling, I was laughing at the idea of the marshes being your home. Your connection to the spirit world is not a laughing matter. We’ve had to have had help to get this far safely. Maybe it was the numena that kept our ship safe during that storm, not Neptune.’
The great oak door swung open suddenly, and a short, skinny man in his middle years strode toward them. His hair was scarce, but what there was of it was grey. His nose was red and bulbous, and his chin disappeared into his neck. Dark circled eyes glared at them in warning.
‘You’ve come to the wrong place. We take no travellers here,’ the man announced with authority.
‘That’s good to know, as we aren’t travellers. This is the estate of G. Annius Bibulus?’ Vali asked with chilly politeness.
‘Yes. But he doesn’t abide here. Lives in Rome. A senator, so I’m told.’
‘And you would be the estate manager?’
‘I would. Vectitos Biraci is my name.’
‘Well Biraci, I’m the newly appointed estate manager, Gaius Annius Vali. My wife Lara.’ Vali indicated Lara with a gesture of his hand, without looking at her. This was not to demean her, but to simply assign her a position. With her hair no longer fair, her only disguise was now her name and relationship to Vali. If he indicated she was anything more than a liberti wife, word would spread.
‘What? What nonsense is this? I’ve received no such notification. Be on your way, man, before I set the dogs on you!’ The manager had puffed up like a blowfish, his cheeks a garish red. Behind him, a skinny woman in her late twenties appeared, filthy and dressed in rags. By the way she carried herself, Lara knew she was either a slave or an abused wife.
‘You have a choice, Biraci, accept your demotion and work for me, or leave immediately. Your poor management, laziness and possible thievery have been identified by my patron. Did you think it would go unnoticed forever, just because you’re so far from civilization?’
‘Poor management? I resent the suggestion. This is a poor estate. I do my best with what I have. No man could do better!’ The man had begun to shuffle backwards, running into the woman behind him, and forcing her to scuttle back too. It was clear he was trying to get inside, so he could shut the door, but Vali was not about to let that happen.
It took him two steps, and a firm shoulder wedged into the big door, for Biraci’s escape to be foiled. Vali barged over the top of the man and entered the dark dwelling. A hearth fire was blazing warmly. Over it was a spitted pig that smelled wonderful. It was the only thing that smelled wonderful in the dank, musty space.
‘I have the documentation. Do you wish to see it?’ Vali went on, standing over the man now, using his mountainous height to intimidate.
‘Forgery. It will be a forgery. I won’t tell you again. Get off my property before I…’
‘You what? Set the dogs on me? I doubt the shepherds will allow such a thing. And this was never your property, though you have treated it as such. You’ve had your chance. You’ve shown yourself unwilling to step down, so you’ve got an hour to be gone. Take only what’s legitimately yours with you.’
‘You won’t get away with this…’ the man bleated, as he backed up almost to the hearth fire in the middle of the room.
‘Yes I will. I have the legal right to assume management of this estate. I have Rome behind me. Get your belongings, and be gone. Woman?’ Vali looked at the skinny female who hovered at a distance.
She took a tentative step forward, trembling with terror.
‘Are you slave to this estate?’
She nodded as she cast her head down, covering her face with her filthy hair.
‘How many others are there?’
‘Ten sir, not counting the children.’
‘None but this man, are liberti?’
‘No sir.’
‘Good then. Help my wife unload the horses, while I see this oaf off the premises.’
The woman scuttled for the door where Lara stood. The stench of unwashed body and fear hit Lara as soon as she was within two feet of her. Breathing through her mouth, to reduce the smell, Lara led the woman back to the horses. What went on inside she didn’t know, but a short time later the little man came limping out, a red and swelling wound on his left cheek, his arms full of belongings.
‘No one steals from Annius Bibulus and gets away with it. What kind of fool would think I’d let you take gold with you?’ Vali said to the man who limped away, head down, face a picture of fury.
They watched as the Biraci made his way down the dirt track toward the ford and the few dwellings to be found there.
Vali was then at Lara’s side, helping her unload the heavier items. His towering arrogance was gone now, and the gentle Vali she knew was back. It never ceased to amaze her how different he could be, depending on who he was dealing with. He was like the mythical shape-shifters, appearing different to all who saw him.
‘Is there a well?’ Lara asked the woman. ‘Or do we fetch water from the river?’
‘From the river, mistress,’ the woman answered softly.
‘All right. I want you to go and round up all the slaves and bring them here. Vali, I assume this meets with your approval?’ She looked at her husband, and smiled for the first time since they arrived, adding a teasing note to her tone.
‘Yes, wife, it does. Then we can get water up to the house and have some cleaning done. I have no desire to spend the night in that midden.’
‘My thoughts exactly.’
‘They’re all out harvesting mistress… ‘
‘This late in the season?’ Vali said, frowning.
‘It’s the hops, sir. They’ve taken longer to ripen. We’ve been harvesting them the last few weeks.’
‘I see. It’s nearly dark. Why are they still working?’
‘Master says, “dawn to dark”. That’s what they work.’
‘Hmmm. And you feed them when they come in?’
‘Ummm. No, they get their daily meal midmorning, that’s all.’
‘What about that pig on the spit?’
‘For the Master, sir.’
‘And you?’
‘Oh no, sir. If I ate any of it, I’d be flogged. Master says the meat is too precious to waste on us.’
‘Hmm. Well, get them in here. How long before the pig is cooked?’
‘Soon, sir. I was just about to serve the Master when you arrived. ‘
‘Good. Well, off with you girl. I want everyone here as fast as possible.’
‘Shall we take the pig off the spit and start cutting slices?’ Lara asked Vali, as they moved toward the villa with their arms full of bags.
‘Yes. We’ll feed it to the slaves when they get in. Call it a feast, celebrating new management. It smells good, anyway.’
By the time the slaves returned in the glooming, Lara had laid out platters of meat on a wooden trestle she and Vali had brought from inside. The expressions on the exhausted, filthy faces was heartbreaking. Fear and trepidation shone in their sunken eyes. That they were mistreated was apparent. Lara felt her anger at such injustice rising within her.
‘People, I am Gaius Annius Vali, you may call me Vali, or sir. This is my wife Lara. You may call her Lara, or mistress. We are the new estate managers. The poor excuse for a man, who was previously in charge here, is now gone. You’ll find your lives will improve from this point on. Tonight, to celebrate our arrival, my wife has served up pork and bread. There is enough for everyone, including the children.
‘Once you have eaten your fill, there is work to be done…’
‘Vali,’ interrupted Lara. He stopped and turned to her. ‘Not tonight. Look at them. They’re about to drop. Cleaning can wait another day…’
‘But where will you sleep? Not in there. I won’t have it.’
‘Out here. By a fire. We’ve done it before.’
Vali smiled at her, remembering their first nights together in the Pontine Marshes. ‘If you wish. It’ll be cold.’
‘We have warm rugs, and a fire will do the rest. Please Vali?’
White teeth shone bright in the gathering dark. Lara was once more stunned by her husband’s good looks and gentleness. This was not the same man who had so harshly removed the manager.
Vali turned back to the waiting gathering. Several children were whimpering, eyeing the food with obvious impatience.
‘My wife believes you have done enough for one day. Eat and sleep. Tomorrow at dawn we start afresh.’ He waved them toward the waiting food and stepped back beside Lara, as they watched the first tentative moves toward the bounty. When one child broke from his elders and rushed to the table, there was a gasp from the adults. When no punishment followed, and the child began to stuff food into his hungry mouth, the rest took courage and followed.
Soon the table was surrounded, and people were hungrily devouring what had been placed out for them. Lara handed Vali a trencher of hollowed out bread that had juicy meat overflowing it. With a grin of thanks, Vali tucked in, grease trickling down the sides of his mouth. Lara laughed, and wiped the juices away.
‘Love you,’ Vali said between mouthfuls.
Lara grinned. ‘You only say that when you’re devouring something.’
‘Will the fireside be private enough for you?’ Vali stopped eating long enough to ask, his eyes burning bright.
‘We’ll be alone out here and under a lot of covers. I think that’s private enough.’
‘I’ll have to keep my sword at hand, in case that bastard comes back. Wouldn’t put it past him.’
‘No different to every night, then?’ She grinned again, letting her eyelashes drop flirtatiously.
‘Wife, how did I hold out so long against you?’
‘Stubborn. Always stubborn, my love.’
‘I like to hear you say that.’
‘That you’re stubborn?’ she said innocently.
‘My love. I like it when you call me that.’
‘That’s because you are. I don’t think I’ve ever been as happy as I have in the last months with you. I can’t imagine my life without you now.’
‘Well, wife, you don’t have to. But it’s not going to be easy. Look at them. More trouble than they’re worth at the moment.’
‘No, never say that about a human being. They’ll get better. Stronger, healthier, and cleaner. And then they’ll work for you because they respect you, not because they fear you. Your production will increase because of it.’
‘Yes, you’re right, of course. How did you get to be so wise, wife?’ He looked as if he wanted to draw her in against him, but his hands were occupied with the messy meal.
‘Eat, husband. Time for more later.’
And more there was, once the slaves had been sent to their beds and a blazing fire lit not far from the front of the house. On hay from the shed, covered by woollen blankets, Vali laid his wife down. Once they were covered he began the delightful task of disrobing her, and she him. Then, for a few minutes, they lay naked in each other’s arms, watching the fire that burned their faces with its heat.
‘Not what I expected,’ Lara said dreamily.
‘A lot worse than I expected. But this country looks lush, with plenty of water. There’s a beginning. With hard work we can make this place into something your family will benefit from in the future.’
‘Gaius you mean? There is only he and Publius now. I’d hate to think our hard work went toward supplying my younger brother with his degenerate lifestyle.’
‘It may well be the case. But that won’t mean we can’t have a good life. We’ll build a new villa, one that meets the roman demands for cleanliness and size, and my need for warmth and efficiency. We’ll run pipes up to the house, build a bathhouse on the back, a walled garden for vegetables and herbs for the household. Better storage for grains and produce, more animals to assist with the heavy work…’
‘You’re amazing, do you know that? How can you be so capable at everything you do?’
‘In this moment, the only capability I care about is my ability to satisfy my wife. Do you want to see how capable I am in that area, Sweetling?’
‘Please, Vali. I’ve missed your touch so much…’
When he lowered his mouth to hers, the tenderness soon turned to hunger. And though the fire was hot, their lovemaking was hotter, until they both collapsed in a shuddering heap, exhausted but satiated.
Sometime later, with Lara dozing in his arms, Vali drew his sword closer to his side. Nothing moved in the night. But that didn’t mean there was nothing out there watching, and waiting its opportunity. Even so, he felt happier than he ever had. With his woman at his side, his new home behind him, and his future assured, what could go wrong?
Chapter Twenty Four
15 October 79 CE, Londinium BRITANNIA
Braxus allowed Ninia to lead the way from their vessel at dockside. He had never been so glad to see the back of anything. The sea had been turbulent, the wind, icy. If they hadn’t been hugging the coast all the way, they would surely have been blown off course or capsized. But their master and crew were locals, and they knew the waters well. And the last stretch of their journey may have been rough, but it had been safe.
Ninia gathered her cloak around her shoulders, shivering in the strong wind that came off the sea. Once he was on shore, Braxus wrapped his arm around her, drawing her in close, and warming her with his body. She was such a little thing, barely bigger than a child, and yet she was anything but a child. She was stronger and more resilient than any woman he’d ever known; determined and yet kind; innocent and yet hedonistic when it came to bed play. She was what every man dreamed of as a mate. And she loved him.
For the rest of his lonely life he would remember this time with gratitude. For a short time, he had it all.
‘It’s smaller than I expected,’ Ninia commented, as they walked up the straight gravel street toward the forum. One of the best things about Roman towns was their layout. Streets running parallel to each other and at right angles, the forum and the other important administrative buildings and temples were usually located at its centre. It meant that
wherever in the empire you were you could quickly get your bearings, and find what you wanted.
For them it was information. And for that they needed inns that would surround the docks or the forum.
When they found one squat and ugly looking dwelling, with an anchor nailed to the door, they went in. The noise and smell almost had them turning back again. But Braxus pushed on, knowing it was just this sort of place that would give him the information he needed.
‘Two wines, your best,’ Braxus yelled at a passing barmaid. She looked him over with calculating eyes, then noticed the small woman at his side. Her expression changed to something blander as she nodded and hurried away.
While they waited, Braxus found them some stools at a heavy, wooden table. There were a few women in the place, mostly prostitutes or barmaids. One or two wives cowered in corners, well out of the way, while their husbands stood watch over them. Braxus saw the way eyes slid in his direction, caught first on Ninia and then on him. They evaluated him, considered their chances, and decided against confrontation. He smiled. His scar was good for moments like this.
When the female returned with their order, Braxus dropped a few asses in her hand.
‘I’m looking for a big, fair-haired man. He’d be asking for the Bibulus estate.’ He had to yell to make himself heard, not just by the woman but by as many people as possible in his close vicinity.
It had its effect. The girl shrugged and went on her way, but a skinny little runt with no chin pricked up his ears, and sidled over in their direction.
‘You a friend of his?’ The man was already drunk, his features showing a lifetime of excess.
‘The opposite. You know of him? I’ll make it worth your while.’
‘The enemy of my enemy is my friend. I’d be pleased to help you find that bastard. He walked in about nine days ago and took over my place. I’d slaved over that estate for the best years of my life, and then he walks in and throws me out. Who does he think he is? Bastard!’
‘He with a woman?’
‘Yeah, his wife, he said. Pretty thing. Seemed meek and biddable enough. Would have to be with that brute.’