Lord Ramtat!
Vergilius trembled, falling to his knees. “Please understand—I was merely tending to duty. I implore you, do not kill me!”
Ramtat tossed the man a dagger. “For what you did to my mother, you shall die. But I give you the chance to defend yourself.”
“Nay,” Vergilius said, raising his hands pleadingly. “I have been arrested. I am under Roman jurisdiction.”
“You are just where we expected you to be,” Ramtat said, his eyes narrowing. “Knowing the coward you are, we expected you to flee. I am here to stop you.”
Vergilius suddenly understood. “General Marcellus is married to your sister. The two of you planned this.”
Ramtat nodded at the dagger. “Defend yourself.”
Vergilius’s hand inched toward the dagger. If he could grab it in time, and if his aim was true, he could eliminate Lord Ramtat and escape.
Ramtat allowed Vergilius to claim the weapon. Then he unsheathed his own dagger and threw it. The blade struck true, piercing Vergilius’s heart. Ramtat did not even wait to watch the man fall. He had promised himself he would one day avenge his mother’s death.
This was that day.
Now he would reclaim Tausrat Villa.
Sabinah clasped Julian’s hand, needing his nearness, as she made her way to the open doorway. “I had hoped never to set foot in this house again.”
“You must if you are ever to rid yourself of ghosts from the past. I will be with you. No one will harm you.”
Trisella had been watching out the window and met them at the door, her hand at her throat. Bastet stood behind her. Sabinah shook her head as she looked at the two women who had cut her to the heart. “I believe you know my husband, Lord Julian,” she said quietly.
“Uh … ah … I do. Although it has been many years since I have seen him.” Her stepmother’s face turned even paler. “You say he is your husband?”
“Aye, Mother,” Bastet said, finally finding her voice. “Our little Sabinah has hooked the biggest fish of them all.” Her gaze fell on Julian and she shrugged. “There was a time when you favored me.”
Julian merely looked at her with disgust.
Sabinah held up her hand. “I just wanted the two of you to know you are no longer a part of my life. Do not try to contact me. Ever!”
“But what will become of us?” Trisella cried, realizing how bleak her future had become after Vergilius’s dead body had been discovered in her garden, and all Romans had been forbidden to frequent her home. “You know about your father’s will, Sabinah. If you leave us, the house will go to you. That is why you did this, is it not?”
Sabinah gazed into her stepmother’s eyes and saw real fear. “I will allow the two of you to keep the house—I do not want it.”
“But I need new clothing—the kitchen is all but empty. The servants have run off.”
Sabinah felt bile rise in her throat but took a deep breath when Julian squeezed her hand reassuringly. “Not all of them have run away. Ma’dou and Isadad are with me.”
“I will not take the house, not as charity from you.” Trisella glared at Sabinah. “Never!”
Bastet stepped forward. “Aye, you will, Mother. We both will.” She looked at Sabinah quizzically. “Why would you help us?”
Sabinah raised her head. “Because there was a time when my father loved you both. I believe it is the right thing to do.”
Julian, who had remained silent all this time, took Sabinah’s hand. “It is finished,” he told her.
She walked out into the sun, her heart feeling lighter. Julian had been right—it was good she had closed that door to the past.
She looked into green eyes that held the promise of the future. He lifted her onto her horse, and they rode away. Sabinah was not even tempted to look back.
Her future was before her.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Tausrat Villa
The banquet hall was filled with chatter as the family gathered to celebrate. Uriah was seated beside Danaë, smiling and touching her hand to make certain she was there.
Adhaniá was explaining to Marcellus how Julian had united the Badari, while Queen Thalia was reminding her husband, Ashtyn, that they had first met in the gardens of this villa.
Julian gave Sabinah a bite of his fish, watching her eyes widen.
“This is delicious. What kind of fish is it?”
Julian met his aunt Thalia’s gaze. “It was delivered by a young man who told the cook it was a gift for my aunt. It seems he lives in the fishing village she once passed through on her way to Bal Forea.”
Thalia smiled, nodding. “I remember him.”
Ramtat took Danaë’s hand and led her out of the room. They slowly made their way to the garden, where he drew her into his arms. “We have come a long way together, wife.”
“And we have farther to go,” she said, nestling against him. “I miss the children. I cannot wait until they join us.”
He stared up at the night sky. “Do you think she is watching us?”
Danaë did not even need to ask whom he was referring to. “I would like to think so. It would ease my mind if I thought Cleopatra knows her son is safe and happy.”
“Our son is happy, too. He cannot take his eyes off that lovely young girl he married.”
“Hmm. I have seen this for myself.”
“Next week we travel to the desert. The Badari will soon be gathering for the games.”
Danaë sighed, feeling content. “Everything changes, and everything remains the same, my beloved.”
Ramtat gathered her close. “Our son will be ready to step into my place when the time comes. He has proven that.”
She heard Julian’s deep laughter from inside the house. “But not for a time.”
Ramtat smiled. “Not for a time.”
Epilogue
The Badari encampment
Julian rode to the top of the sand dune and waited for Sabinah to catch up with him. Together they watched the sun rise over the desert. He dismounted and lifted her from her horse, holding her close. “Are you happy, Sunshine?”
“I have but one other wish to make my life complete.”
He touched his mouth to the top of her head. “What can that be?”
She took his hand, placing it on her stomach. “The safe birth of this son or daughter that grows beneath my heart.”
His eyes softened, and he laughed aloud. “Then neither of us can ask for more.”
Standing outside the red leather tent, Apollodorus heard the sound of laughter—he could easily distinguish Sabinah’s voice from the others. Her life was full, she was loved, and never again would she have reason to fear.
He closed his eyes, allowing himself the pleasure of hearing her laughter for a moment longer. Then he walked leisurely toward his horse and mounted. He had completed his duty to Queen Cleopatra.
Lately, Apollodorus had felt an urge to return to Sicily. He had three brothers—perhaps one of them was still alive.
He breathed in the desert air, thinking he had loved two exceptional women, one a queen, the other merely a goldsmith’s daughter. But in their different ways, they had stirred something within that he would carry with him, no matter how long he lived nor how far he traveled.
Heikki stepped out of his tent, and Apollodorus raised his hand. “Tell them I have gone home,” he said as he rode past.
Desert Prince
© 2009 Evelyn Gee
ISBN: 9780843960075
LEISURE Books
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