by Carol Ashby
Philip still wore his sword, and the centurion in command of the guards drew his own at the sight of an armed man riding fast toward him. He slid it back into its scabbard when he saw Philip’s scars. The corner of Philip’s mouth lifted. The guard probably recognized him as the ugly man who’d come with news for Tribune Drusus a few weeks before.
Philip dismounted before speaking. “I have urgent news for Claudius Drusus about his sister.”
The centurion turned to a guard. “Find Tribune Drusus and bring him here.”
Philip felt like pacing as he awaited Titus’s appearance, but he didn’t. The centurion was watching him too closely. Even though Titus had become his friend, he was still uneasy this close to Roman power.
Concern pulled Titus’s face into a scowl as he approached.
“Philip? Why are you here? What’s going on with Claudia?”
“I’ve just come from your house. Lucius sent men to get her.”
Titus’s back stiffened. “Did they take her?”
“No. She’s safe at my house. Miriam hid her and let your brother’s agents think she was Claudia, so they took her instead. I’ve come for your help in getting her back.”
“They’ve taken Miriam?”
Titus’s stomach knotted. Miriam in Lucius’s hands. If they took her to Rome, Lucius would be furious with her for fooling his men. What would his scum of a brother do to make her pay for the deception? Tendrils of dread wrapped around his heart.
The intensity of his response was eye-opening. She’d become truly important to him, not because she was his talented cook and Claudia’s beloved companion. Having her in his house made it a home instead of a building. He had to get her back.
“Any idea who they are and where they’ve taken her?”
“Two men, one very tall. They spoke good Latin, so maybe Romans. They appear to have put her in a basket and carried her toward the harbor using your donkey cart. I think they’re planning to smuggle her out of the city on a ship, but I might be wrong. If they try to take her by land, I’m hoping your troops can stop them.”
Titus turned to the centurion. “Assemble the troops. I want men stationed on each road at the edge of town to search everyone leaving until we find them.”
When the troops were assembled, Philip provided the detailed description of the men, Miriam, and the cart.
Then he turned to Titus. “My men will have found out which ships are planning to leave tomorrow by the time I get back to the harbor. I think that’s where we’ll find her. Come with me and bring a few men, but not too many. We don’t want to make them nervous when they still have time to get rid of her and escape. My men and I can check the ships without giving them cause for alarm. When we find the right ship, you can take over.”
Titus ran his hand through his hair. The wisdom of Philip’s plan was obvious. He gave the command to dispatch the troops who would prevent their escape by land. Then he called for his own horse and told six of the men to come with him. He and Philip mounted and headed for the harbor.
Titus’s jaw clenched as they held their horses at a walk so the men on foot could keep up. If Lucius’s men had hurt her...Roman citizens or not, he would deal with the kidnappers himself when they were caught.
Miriam lay on some canvas, the musty smell of damp wood wrapping around her in the dark. Lucius’s agents had trussed her up like an animal after they blindfolded and gagged her. They’d tied her wrists so any attempt to raise her hands to remove the gag jerked on her bound ankles, and that shot screaming pain through her. Had she broken her good ankle when she jumped from the ship to the dock or only sprained it?
Even if someone was hunting for her, they’d never think to look in the belly of a boat too small to sail the open sea to Rome. For herself, escape was impossible, but at least she’d convinced them she was Mistress Claudia. The short one had apologized over and over for having to keep her in the hold after her escape attempt. Lucius must have told them to be careful with his sister, and they would take good care of her until they reached Rome. But when they presented her to Lucius...
A shudder coursed through her. Lucius would be furious that she’d thwarted his plans to kidnap Mistress Claudia. Any man who would murder his father and sell his sister to a brutal old man would likely vent his anger by making her suffer as much as he could before he killed her.
She dragged her thoughts away from the agonies of the future and focused on the joys of the present. When Master Philip returned, he would marry Mistress. A slow smile lifted the corners of Miriam’s mouth as much as the gag allowed. It would be a day of celebration beginning a lifetime of joy. Thank you, God, for letting me give her that.
One month, maybe two, and her end would come in Rome. She fought the tears and lost, but the blindfold kept them from dribbling down her cheeks.
What would Master Titus do after their marriage? Would he stay in the house or go back to lodgings? If he stayed, would he find a cook who’d make his favorites, like she had? Or would he only get them when he dined with his sister? His face drifted into focus in her mind, his eyes laughing and a crooked smile tugging at his lips after he took a bite of his favorite stew, the one she made the first night he owned her.
Thank you for bringing Master Titus to buy me. Please claim his heart, like you did Mistress’s.
Death awaited her in Rome. Soon she’d be reunited with Master Alexander and all his household. Someday she’d be with Mistress Claudia and Nestor again. If only the man she loved with all her heart would join them all.
Titus leaned on one of the posts that stood beside the road above the wharfs and scanned the ships tied to the piers. His men stood at ease beneath one of the trees nearby. He’d never found it so hard to wait patiently and do nothing. Philip and his men were searching the wharf area so casually that no one would ever think they were looking for something. Casual was the way not to alarm Lucius’s agents, but it also took longer. It grated to stand there doing nothing when Miriam was in danger.
When he heard the clip-clop of a mule team, he glanced over his shoulder, then jerked upright. It was Nestor handling the reins.
“What are you doing here?”
“Mistress Claudia couldn’t stand waiting at the house without knowing what was being done to get Miriam back, and Mistress Penelope told me to bring her to Master Philip so she could find out.”
“Penelope? Both of them should have known better than for Claudia to come down here. It’s too dangerous for her. Why did you do what she told you? How many people do you take orders from?”
“Almost everyone, it seems, master. Mistress Claudia was talking about riding a horse here by herself until Mistress Penelope convinced her to come in the covered carriage so no one would see her.” He paused. “Does she even know how to ride?”
“I don’t know what my sister’s learned when I’m not home. It seems I’m the last to know what’s going on in my own house.”
The curtain on the door window was drawn back, and Titus saw his sister’s face peeking out.
“Titus? Come in here and tell me what’s going on. Any signs of where they took her?”
Titus opened the carriage door and climbed inside. He sat across from Claudia and took her hands.
“Not yet. I have troops stationed on all the roads out of town, and Philip and his men are checking the ships to find any that might take her out of Perinthus. I’m waiting here to see what he finds.”
Claudia bit her lip. “We’ve got to find her, Titus. It’s all my fault they took her. She saw them knock Nestor out, and she made me hide by the wall under her blankets while she pretended to be me. She knew exactly what they were going to do, and she sacrificed herself to save me from Lucius. If they take her to him in Rome…I keep imagining all the horrible things he might do to her for fooling his men.”
Titus’s lips tightened. “I never expected a slave to sacrifice herself like this. If they take her back to Lucius, he’ll kill her
for sure, and he won’t do it quick or easy. Philip thinks she’s here. It’s taking longer than I’d like, but it is safer for her if only his men look around the harbor. If my troops start searching ships, Lucius’s men might kill her to get rid of the witness before they try to escape.”
He wished he hadn’t said they might kill Miriam when he saw the stricken look it brought to Claudia’s eyes. He rested his hand on her cheek.
“I expect to get her back unharmed. I know she’s a treasure to you. I know you two love each other like sisters. I don’t want to lose her, either. I’d never find another slave as good as her. She couldn’t be harder working or more willing to do whatever I need.”
He valued her much more than he was willing to say aloud, even to Claudia. He wanted her back at least as much as his sister did.
Claudia’s lips tightened. “Another slave as good as her? Is that all she is to you? She doesn’t just love me. Can’t you see she loves you, too? Not like her old master, but as a man. I know what it’s like to love a man with every fiber of my being, and that’s what I see in Miriam’s eyes when she thinks you’re ignoring her. She looks at you with such longing. She puts on a mask so you won’t know because she thinks you’ll only ever see her as your slave.”
Titus’s head snapped back. With how she blushed and withdrew from him whenever he touched her, he never suspected she felt anything toward him except loyalty.
“She looks at me with longing? So, you think she wants me to take her to my bed? I’d be glad to. She’s a pretty little thing. I’ve thought about it many times, but I told her the first day I didn’t buy her for that, and I’ve kept my word to her. If she wants me, that could change.”
“If you do, I’ll never forgive you. That’s not the kind of longing I mean. How can you even think of using her that way? You’d be no better than Lucius or her first master who did that to her mother. That’s why his wife was so cruel to her for years. She doesn’t just want you; she wants you to love her, too.”
Titus’s eyebrows shot up. “Love her? She’s my slave, Claudia. What would you have me do, free her and marry her?”
“Why not? You’ll never find a woman more worthy of you, who loves you with more devotion.”
He opened his mouth to tell her what a ludicrous idea it was to suggest that a Claudius Drusus should marry a crippled Jewish slave girl, but as he was about to speak, he paused.
Why not, indeed? Maybe Claudia was right. His father had married a woman chosen for him based on bloodline, status, and wealth, and he’d regretted it for the rest of his life. Father had wanted his sons to choose for themselves so they wouldn’t suffer the same miserable fate.
The last thing he would ever want was a wife like his own mother―selfish, cold-hearted, even cruel in the way she abandoned Claudia. He wanted a woman whose love was real. One he could count on for the rest of his life. He was still single because he hadn’t found one...until now. Miriam truly was that kind of woman.
Claudia watched her brother start to open his mouth, then stop. He tipped his head slightly as a frown appeared. Then he raised his eyebrows as the frown was replaced by a wry smile.
“You always were the smartest one. You might be right. I’m never going to find a more faithful woman than Miriam. Maybe I should marry her. I’ll have to give that some serious thought.”
His smile broadened. “And I wouldn’t even have to pay a bride price, so she fits into the household budget. Actually, I guess I already did pay it. She cost me four hundred denarii.”
Claudia smiled, but she still slapped her brother’s arm. “Very funny, but don’t you ever tell her that.”
His face grew serious. “But first I have to find her.”
He placed his hand on her cheek. “Go back to Philip’s house. There’s nothing you can do here, and I want you safe. I’ll bring her to you as soon as we find her.”
He climbed out of the carriage. “Take her back to Philip’s and keep her there, Nestor. Keep her safe.”
As the carriage drove away, he turned toward the harbor and focused once more on finding the woman who made his house a home.
Chapter 73: Finding a Treasure
Titus was tired of standing, so he started strolling along the road. It was taking too long. How many ships could there be that Philip’s men had to check out? As he walked, he scanned the ships tied to the piers. Then a donkey’s bray drew his attention across the road to an alley.
There, parked between a shipping office and a maritime supply shop, was his donkey cart.
His eyes scanned the immediate vicinity. A short distance down the road was a beggar with only one leg. He was sitting on the ground, leaning against the wall of the shipping office. That pulled a smile. So often people would talk and act as if they saw a beggar as a rock or a bush, if they even saw him at all. More than once he’d learned exactly what he needed from a beggar who heard with ears that no one realized were listening.
He strode over and squatted down by the man before throwing a coin into his cup.
“Thank you, tribune.” The man glanced at the coin and offered a sad smile.
“I have some questions for you.” The beggar focused his gaze on Titus. “That donkey cart over there between the buildings. Were you here when it was left there today?”
“Yes, tribune.”
“Tell me about the people with it and what they did.”
“There were two men, one tall, the other about your height. They led the donkey into the alley and left it there.”
“Was there anything in the cart?”
“A big basket.”
“What did they do with it?”
“Carried it down that ramp to the pier.” He pointed a short distance farther down the road. “It looked heavy. They set it down once before they got to the ramp.”
“Which ship did they go to?”
“There’s only one ship down there right now.”
Titus took three denarii from his purse and dropped them in the cup.
The beggar’s eyebrows shot up as a broad smile appeared. “Thank you, tribune.”
Titus was already striding back to where his men waited. He had the clue he needed. It was time to do some searching himself.
Titus stood with two of his men at the top of the ramp the beggar had pointed out to him. A small, dirty-looking merchant ship was tied to the pier below. He watched it for a few minutes to gauge what awaited them there. A single deckhand was visible, a scrawny youth of about fifteen who appeared to be standing guard. There was no sign of a captain or the two agents. Titus signaled to his men. They walked down the ramp and along the pier to where the ship was tied.
When Titus put his foot on the gangplank, the scrawny deckhand’s spine straightened. When the two soldiers followed Titus up the plank and onto the deck, the sailor’s eyes widened as he swallowed hard.
Titus marched up to him and crossed his arms. “I want to speak with your captain.”
The youth fidgeted under Titus’s fixed gaze. “He’s not here, tribune.”
“When will he return?”
“I don’t know.” Fast blinks and another hard swallow betrayed his growing fear.
“We’re going to search this ship for a stolen female slave.”
“There’s no female slave on board, tribune. Only a Roman lady.”
“Take me to her.” Titus’s gaze locked on the cabin.
The young deckhand hesitated. “She’s not in there.”
The deckhand’s eyes darted between Titus, his men, and the gangplank.
“I’ll see for myself.”
As Titus took his first step toward the cabin, the deckhand broke for the gangplank. The younger soldier tackled him. After jerking the sailor to his feet, he pinned his arms behind him while the older soldier held a sword to his chest. Titus stepped close to his face and glared at him.
“Where is she now?”
The youth blanched. “I didn’t do anyt
hing. It was the two Romans. I didn’t have anything to do with her getting hurt.”
Titus’s stomach knotted at the word ‘hurt’. He put his hand around the youth’s throat and squeezed.
“Where is she?”
The youth was struggling to breathe until Titus released his grip. He gasped and coughed before he could speak enough to answer.
“In the hold. But it’s the Roman lady, not a slave.”
Titus frowned at his men. “Hold him. If he tries to escape, break his leg, but don’t kill him…yet.”
He strode to the cover over the hold and dragged it back to reveal a set of stairs. He took a deep breath as he placed his foot on the first of the narrow, steep steps. A chill ran up his spine. What would he find in the darkness below?
Miriam heard the commotion on the deck above her, but she couldn’t tell what was happening. She raised her bound feet, and thumped them once on the floor. Pain shot up her leg and exploded in her brain. She wouldn’t try that again. No one on deck was likely to hear her, anyway.
Silence was followed by a scraping sound. She tried to call out, but the gag muffled her voice enough that no one would hear her outside the hold.
Even with the blindfold over her eyes, she could see more light. Again, she tried to call out, praying that whoever was coming down the stairs was not one of her captors.
Rapid footsteps came down the stairs and raced toward her. Someone knelt beside her.
When the blindfold was pulled off, she stared into the eyes of the one man she longed to see. The master’s fingers worked the knot behind her head and pulled the cloth from her mouth.
“Master. You came for me.”
Joy bubbled up inside her. It hadn’t mattered how well the kidnappers hid her. Master Titus had searched for her until he found her.
He pulled out his knife and cut the leather thong that bound her wrists. Then he held both her hands as he helped her sit up.
A broad grin lit his eyes. “Of course I came for you. I paid four hundred denarii for you, and you’re the best cook in the city.”
