True Freedom

by Carol Ashby

  Callidus chuckled. “A simple plan. It should work. What will you pay me?”

  Marcus leaned in. “Three hundred denarii. That’s almost a year’s wages for a few days of your time, with 150 before she comes. I’ll meet you with the other 150 the day after my friend rescues the girl.”

  Callidus’s mouth curved into a tight-lipped smile. “That’s acceptable. I wouldn’t expect to be paid the entire 300 up front by someone who doesn’t already know I’m an honest man. Where’s this house?”

  “I can take you there after you eat. It’s an empty rental, so you can stay there until we finish this. It might be a couple of weeks before we do it.” He reached into the purse hanging from his belt and pulled out a handful of coins. “Here’s ten denarii to hold you. I’ll bring the rest of the 150 when I come to tell you which day she’ll be coming in her litter.”

  Callidus’s broad grin revealed several missing teeth. “Sounds like an excellent plan to me.”

  The servant girl delivered the food and drink, and Marcus leaned back in the chair. As his unwitting partner in crime shoveled the stew into his mouth and bit off chunks of bread, he sipped his wine, silently toasting the solution to his best friend’s problem.

  The Secundus villa

  Julia heard the anger in Gallio’s voice long before she stepped into the atrium. He stood, arms crossed, lips compressed, glaring at her brother.

  “Your father left me in charge, Aulus. Serving him well can mean making hard decisions. I made the mistake of assuming you were mature enough to make all your own choices. That black stallion in the stable is proof you aren’t. Before you buy another horse, you check with me first.”

  “You’re Father’s steward, but I’m his son.” Aulus’s voice rose. “Father often buys racehorses, and that stallion was a bargain at what I paid.”

  “It’s too wild to ride, too young to breed, and it already killed one slave. If I hadn’t bought that new stable slave the day before, it might have killed your sister. It won’t even let you close enough to mount it.”

  “But that slave you bought has gentled it a lot. He said it would be ready for an expert rider before Father returns. You know how much Father likes a spirited animal. He’s going to love it.”

  “That might be, but I’m not giving you money for another stallion until he returns. You can ride one of the mares.” He dropped his arms to his sides. “I have business to attend to, but this discussion is over, anyway.”

  With a slight dip of his head, Gallio strode toward the exit.

  Aulus rammed his fists into his hips and scowled at the door through which Gallio had passed.

  Julia approached from behind. “Aulus?”

  He spun, eyes wide. “Don’t sneak up on me like that.”

  “I didn’t mean to.” She offered a smile. “I heard what Gallio said. I don’t think he’s being fair. It’s not your fault someone started a fire and scared that horse.” She placed her hand on his arm. “He gave me money for jewelry when Metilia and I went shopping just before she left town. I didn’t find anything I wanted, so I still have the 400 denarii. You can have it for a horse.”

  He brushed her hand off and stepped back. “I don’t want your money. I can get anything I want from Marcus.”

  Two fast blinks, then lowered brows magnified his frown before he followed Gallio out the door.

  Julia’s brow furrowed. Aulus had been acting strange for a couple of weeks, but why did he get angry when she only tried to help? They used to get on so well, but now… It would be good when Father got home and took him in hand. Maybe Father could bring the old Aulus back.

  Chapter 11: Nothing to Worry About

  Subura, Day 16

  With his back against the wall, Callidus sat in the taberna two blocks from his unnamed employer’s rental house and nursed a cup of cheap wine.

  It had been two days since the young nobleman hired him, and no message had come. But that wasn’t a problem. The longer it took for the kidnapping to start, the longer he had a free roof over his head. The longer he could wait before heading northwest to Luna and selling himself into combat for another four years.

  Combat, not for the growth of the Empire and the glory of Rome, but for himself and the money that would let him open a taberna like the one in which he sat. Like the one that had been seized to pay his father’s debts after he died.

  His jaw clenched. The judge should have contacted him and given him a chance to pay them. For twenty-five years, he’d served Rome and her emperors, and that judge had seized and sold his birthright before he even knew his father was dead.

  He gazed into the cup and swirled what was left of the wine.

  “Callidus?”

  He raised his eyes and focused on the thin man across the table. “Who’s asking?”

  A thin man about his own age faced him. “Gnaeus Bassus. Don’t you remember me?”

  “It’s been a long time.” A smile crept across Callidus’s face as he recognized his childhood friend. “Many years and many miles. It’s good to see you, Bassus.” He pointed to the empty chair. “Sit.”

  Bassus settled into the chair. “This is a surprise. I thought you were in a legion up on the Danube.”

  “I was. The XIV Gemina. Fought in Dacia with Trajan. I just retired and came home to join Father in the taberna.”

  Bassus’s brow furrowed. “But he died at least six months ago.”

  Callidus’s mouth turned down. “So I just learned. I come back to find I have nothing.”

  “Didn’t the legion give you retirement pay?”

  “Yes, in land. But not where I’d ever want to live.”

  Bassus signaled the servant girl. “Two cups of wine for me and my friend.”

  He rested his elbows on the table and leaned forward. “What are you going to do?”

  The girl returned with a cup for him and a pitcher of wine to fill both cups.

  “I’ve been a soldier so long; fighting is all I know.” Callidus rubbed the back of his neck. “I have a quick job for some senatorial son who wants to fake a kidnapping so the girl will marry his friend. Then I’ll be heading north to hire myself into a ludus. Four years, and I’ll have the money I need to start a taberna somewhere.”

  Bassus sucked air through clenched teeth. “Four years in the arena? How many survive that?”

  Callidus shrugged. “I’ll get food and a place to live and at least 1200 denarii when I finish. That’s enough to start over.”

  “If you don’t die first.” Bassus rubbed his chin. “What if you could make more than that without the risk? Interested?”

  Callidus’s brow furrowed. “How?”

  Bassus glanced over his shoulder, then moved to the chair beside Callidus to put his back to the wall. He lowered his voice. “This girl…young enough she’d be a virgin?”

  “Probably. The one who hired me won’t be a tribune for two years. His friend’s probably young, too.”

  “Good.” Bassus’s voice softened more. “Then we can make at least three times what you’ll get from the ludus if we sell her…and I know where to do that.”

  Callidus's head bounced back. "Selling a girl from a senator's family? I'm not sure that's a good idea."

  “That judge who cheated you out of your father’s taberna is a senator. It’s only right you use a senator’s daughter to get back what a senator took from you.” The corner of Bassus’s mouth pulled sideways. “You fought in Dacia. You turned thousands of women and girls into slaves, and some of those came from noble families. How is this any different?”

  Callidus opened his mouth to explain; then the logic of Bassus’s point struck home.

  “I guess it isn’t.” His nose twitched. “Noble Romans sold once-noble Dacians like cattle. The generals and the emperor got the money from those sales.”

  His friend interrupted. “And we’ll get the money from this one.” Bassus’s twisted smile grew into a grin. “This is the chanc
e to get both of us enough to start fresh.” He lifted his cup. “To that young son of a senator and Fortuna’s smiles.”

  Callidus lifted his cup as his own broad smile broke free. “To chance meetings with old friends…and Fortuna’s smiles.”

  The Secundus villa, Day 17

  Dacius made the final sweep of the brush along the back of Master Aulus’s gray mare. So far, it had been a good day with his horses. Mistress Julia’s sister had chosen to visit her, and he could hear the children’s laughter through the garden gateway.

  It was eleven days since the lashing, and his back had healed enough that carrying the litter had moved past bearable to almost comfortable again. Glyptus rolled his eyes every time he told his friend it was God’s doing, but Dacius knew the truth.

  He’d even healed enough for Vilicus to put him back digging the pool, but Mistress Julia was in the garden with her nieces today. Perhaps the overseer or, more likely, the steward didn’t want him where Mistress Julia might see the slave who frightened her again. Whatever the reason, he gave thanks to God that he was off pick-and-shovel duty for now.

  Master Aulus and Drusus strolled onto the portico, and the master summoned him with a flick of his fingers.

  He trotted over. “What do you wish, master?”

  “Saddle the gray and fetch Marcus’s horse.”

  “Yes, master.” With a quick dip of his head, he took a step back before turning to walk back to the mare.

  The master and Drusus settled into two chairs and resumed their conversation.

  Dacius caught occasional words, enough to know they were going to Drusus’s house for dinner. Both with legs stretched out and Drusus with his hands on his head, fingers laced, they looked like two men without a care in the world. That seemed strange, but it was a big improvement. Yesterday Master Aulus had been tightly strung, like a bowstring ready for the hunt.

  He tossed the saddle on the mare, and his smile broadened as he tightened the cinch. Perhaps his prayers had been answered, and they’d found a solution to the master’s money problem without having to kidnap his sister.

  He opened the stall next to Niger’s, where Drusus had put his gray stallion. As he led it out, Niger stuck his head out the stall door. His nostrils flared, and a scream proclaimed his displeasure at having another stallion in his stable yard. The Drusus stallion swung to face Niger, rising a few inches off the ground with a front-leg kick and an answering scream. Dacius grabbed its halter, pulled down hard, and hurried it away from the stalls.

  It was time to shuffle the mares to fill that stall so Drusus would have to put the older stallion in the stall farthest from Niger. He scooped up the gray mare’s reins and led the horses toward the portico.

  His gaze fell on the master and his ruthless friend. Had the danger they posed to the mistress passed? Or was this only the quiet before the storm?

  If only what men might do was as easy to predict as horses.

  He rubbed his chin. Maybe there was nothing to worry about. It had been twelve days since he heard Drusus pushing the young master to kidnap her. Wouldn’t they have done something already if it was more than talk? Besides, he, Taurus, and three other bearers were there to protect her when she wasn’t at home, and not even Master Aulus would be foolish enough to stage something at their house. The mistress’s refusal to listen to his warning probably wouldn’t matter.

  He reached back and drew his finger along one of the freshly healed cuts. He’d carry the scars for the rest of his life, but he’d still do it again. Like he told Primus, any man should try to protect the innocent, and a man who served Jesus should be willing to risk everything to obey his Lord’s command to love.

  Circus Maximus, Day 18

  Marcus leaped to his feet as the chariots swept past with the Greens holding a commanding lead. He’d placed no bets so Aulus wouldn’t be the only one in their party not betting. It was enough that the team he would have backed had won.

  He settled back onto the seat beside his friend as the winner took his victory lap. “I met with someone today, and it’s set for tomorrow.”

  Aulus’s back straightened. “I hope we made the right choice.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “It’s not too late to find another way.”

  Marcus slapped his friends back. “You worry too much. I have it all arranged. The problem should be solved and everyone home by this time tomorrow, the next morning at the latest.”

  Aulus’s eyes focused on his feet; then his gaze shifted to Marcus. “You’re right. A man faces his problems and takes action to solve them.” The corner of his mouth turned up. “Without risk, there’s no reward.”

  Chapter 12: Something Special

  The Secundus villa, Day 19

  The young stallion’s nose bumped Dacius as he poured the last bucket of water into his trough. He turned and rubbed the stallion’s blaze. “That’s all for now, boy. Maybe they’ll give me enough time in the stable today so I can give you a good brushing.”

  He slipped past the horse and latched the gate. His gaze swept the stalls where his horses were contentedly eating what he’d just given them. It was worth getting up before the crack of dawn to make sure he could feed and water before the slaves were given their breakfast.

  Dacius was the last one in line as Glyptus dished out the morning porridge.

  The cook plopped a ladle of the runny gruel into Dacius’s bowl. “You work too hard. No one appreciates it, and Primus hates you for it. You make everyone else look lazy.”

  “I can’t let the horses go hungry. Besides, I’m just one more “you” to Vilicus. I doubt he even knows my name, and he’s never there to see what I do before dawn. Now my back has healed, I can’t predict whether he’ll put me in the stable, carrying the litter, or digging the pool. The grooming and cleaning can wait, but I can’t rely on him telling someone to feed if I don’t.”

  Glyptus ladled a second serving into the bowl. One corner of his mouth rose as he shook his head. “Fortuna never smiles on me, but she smiled on the horses when Gallio bought you.”

  One of the housekeeping slaves scurried through the portico and approached the litter escort. “Taurus, Master Aulus wants you in the library.”

  As Taurus followed her into the house, Glyptus’s brows rose. “That’s different. Still, if Master Aulus needs Taurus today, at least you shouldn’t end up taking the litter somewhere. So, what do you think, stable or garden for you?”

  The corners of Dacius’s mouth lifted into smile. “Stable. When I prayed last night, I sensed God has something special for me today.”

  Glyptus’s laugh was more of a snort. “You always expect the best from your god. You’d still be free in Dacia instead of a slave in Rome if your god had any power. Better to worship many gods so maybe one of them will smile on you.” Sadness filled his eyes. “But the gods don’t care about slaves.”

  Dacius rested his hand on Glyptus’s arm. “My God does. To Him, there’s no difference between slave and free, Roman and Dacian, man and woman. He cares about us all.”

  Glyptus’s gaze locked on Dacius, and he opened his mouth as if to say something. No words came out before he closed it. Then he took a deep breath. “I would like to hear more about your god. Sometime when it’s just you and me.”

  Dacius’s grin reflected his delight. “Any time you think is good.”

  Before he could say more, Taurus strode back into the room. “Dacius, Master Aulus wants me to take the bay mare to Marcus Drusus’s house right away.”

  Dacius set his bowl down. “I’ll saddle her for you.”

  Taurus frowned. “No. I’m going to lead her.”

  “Lead her? That will take half a day for you to get there and back.”

  “That’s what Master Aulus told me to do.” Taurus shrugged. “She's probably too small for a man my size, so walking is better.”

  “Let’s go get her.” Dacius looked back at Glyptus as he followed Taurus toward the stable yard.
“I’ll be right back for my porridge.”

  Dacius tightened his lips when Taurus wasn’t looking. What was Marcus Drusus going to do with his little mare? Anyone who could tell a brother to sell his sister to protect himself wasn’t the kind of man he wanted to have control over any of his horses. He sighed. But no matter how much he cared about them, they weren’t really his. Nothing was really his.

  The corners of his mouth lifted into the trace of a smile that set him apart among the slaves. Nothing on earth, anyway. He had great treasure in heaven, and that was all that really mattered.

  Dacius hummed softly to himself as he brushed the back of the black stallion. When he finished, the horse turned his head and nickered.

  “I know, Niger. It feels good, doesn’t it? But I need to brush the others too.” He stroked the horse’s nose. “You’d love a good run, but you have to let Master Aulus mount you before you can have that.” He slapped the stallion’s shoulder. “You’d be safe with him.”

  But not if you were his sister. Dacius’s eyebrows lowered.

  He slipped out of the stall and closed the gate. Niger sauntered over and hung his head over it to watch as he moved to the next horse.

  In less than three weeks, he’d turned the skittish stallion who jumped at his own shadow into a calm animal. He could still kick and bite if startled, but not with Dacius. He was almost ready for the young master to ride. That triggered Dacius’s smile. The Crassus overseer would have given him a reward for that. Here…nothing.

  He mentally kicked himself. Apostle Paul had taught about speaking and acting to please God, not men. Only God’s approval mattered. God had gifted him with his way with horses. He should be thankful that at least part of his work let him use that gift.