True Freedom

by Carol Ashby

  Lucillia plucked her lyre, and all began to sing a song of praise to their god. A surprising happiness brightened each face. Not all sang well, but even with the off-key notes, there was a beauty to the song.

  Calantha’s gaze shifted from Lucillia to Leander. He sat with his head tipped back and his eyes closed while the smile that was always hovering on his lips alternately broadened and relaxed.

  After several songs, Gaius stood. “Leander will be with us for a few weeks, and we’re truly blessed to have him here. He’s memorized some of Paul’s letters to the churches in Asia and Greece and much of the gospels written by Luke and John. He’ll be sharing those with us.”

  Calantha fought to keep the surprise off her face. How had a farm slave had enough free time to do that? But maybe it was from before he was a slave.

  With his left hand, he pushed himself up and shifted on the chair. His mouth twitched with a tiny grimace. “Normally, I’d stand to share God’s Word, but that’s a little hard for me today. Maybe next week.”

  His smile reappeared. “I have no words to tell you how special it is to worship here with fellow believers. My father led a house church, and one of the elders had lived in Thessalonica and Ephesus before coming to us. He even knew Apostle John. He found great joy in teaching what he knew to anyone in our fellowship who wanted to learn.

  “As a child, I never realized how much that would mean to me in the years after I left home. But God knows what’s best for us, and I’ve been blessed by Him giving me all I need and more.”

  His gaze traveled around their circle, pausing for a fleeting moment on Calantha’s eyes. All the tension drained out of her. Her protector would never reveal something to endanger them.

  “He blesses us so we can share our blessings with others. So, let me tell you about one day when Lord Jesus was in Galilee of Judaea, in a flat area where many people had gathered to hear Him teach. He taught them many things that day, but I want to share part of what Lord Jesus said that has carried me through hard times.”

  He closed his eyes, and tilted his face skyward. His smile broadened, and when he opened his eyes, the warmth in them was just like the love in Father’s eyes when he drew her into his arms after a long journey.

  His gaze rested on each face, including hers, and her cheeks warmed before he looked at Petronia, who sat beside her.

  “Lord Jesus said, ‘But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.’”

  Calantha straightened. She’d loved Aulus…until he betrayed her. Surely Leander’s god couldn’t expect her to love him now or give him another chance to hurt her.

  “‘If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount.’”

  He paused, and his eyes captured hers. “‘But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for He is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.’”

  Calantha bit her lip. Leander’s god asked too much. She’d never forgive Aulus for what he’d done. And what kind of god would choose to be kind to evil men?

  Leander paused, and his smile turned sad. “Things happen to all of us that make it hard to follow this command. Some of what happened to me and the people I loved hurt so much that I wondered how I could ever obey.

  “But the answer is in the very next thing Jesus said to the people gathered around Him. ‘Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven.’”

  Calantha dropped her gaze to the foot of his chair, but she still felt his eyes upon her.

  “Before we can love anyone who hurts us, we have to let go of the bitterness that keeps us from forgiving, that makes us want to strike back. When I let bitterness take hold of me, it chains me like the shackles on the legs of a farm slave.”

  Calantha’s eyes flicked up to his face, but he was looking past them all toward the vineyard. How many times had real shackles clamped around his ankles?

  “But forgiveness for those who hurt us isn’t a feeling that comes naturally. It doesn’t even start as a feeling. It’s a decision we have to make. A decision to let go of hating those who hate us. A decision to forgive the ones who hurt us, like Lord Jesus forgave the Roman soldiers who crucified Him, even as He hung on a cross.

  “Sometimes I still struggle with it, but when I do, I remember what Jesus told me. Love my enemies. Forgive those who hurt me. However many times my anger rises, the Holy Spirit will give me the strength to turn that anger away. And each time I forgive, part of me is set free.”

  His regular smile returned, and he shrugged. “That’s all God has given me to say today.”

  Gaius stood. “Thank you, Leander.” He held his hand out to Lucillia. “Now let’s lift our hearts to God again.”

  As the first notes rang out, Calantha wasn’t sorry Leander had stopped. He’d said many things that she needed to think about, and some of them struck very close to the sore places in her own heart.

  When the songs finished, Marcella shepherded the group into the kitchen, where the food was arranged on the table. Each had brought something, with Lucillia bringing a large pot brimming with a pork stew that filled the room with its savory aroma. Sextus had brought some vegetables cut up and mixed together as a salad. Petronia had brought a loaf of bread. Marcella had added the sliced cheese, some dried dates, and some more bread. She set a pitcher of watered wine on the side counter with enough cups beside it for everyone to drink.

  Calantha stepped into the line beside Petronia. “Let me help you with your children.”

  Petronia’s eyes lit. “I’d love to have your help. My baby should be born in about a month.” She patted her swollen stomach. “It’s not so easy to bend over to pick up my daughter now. My mother is coming to help with the children for a little while after the birth.”

  Calantha rested her hands on the shoulders of Petronia’s five-year-old son. “That should be a great help.”

  “It will, but I’ve been doing a lot of weaving to finish making some things to sell before the new baby needs so much of my time. Standing on my feet for too long every day…it makes me so tired.”

  They would all eat outside, and Gaius was carrying a bowl and plate out to Leander.

  Petronia’s gaze followed him. “It’s so good to have Leander here to teach. I’ve heard Greeks are some of the best teachers, and the elder from Thessalonica certainly did a wonderful job teaching him.” Her brow furrowed. “Leander’s a Greek name, but he doesn’t look Greek to me. He looks more Germanic, or maybe Dacian. There are many Dacian slaves on the estate next to our farm.”

  Calantha bent to pick up Sertoria to avoid looking into Petronia’s eyes. “I think he did mention once that his family was from Dacia.” She propped the little girl on her hip. “How long have you known Marcella?”

  Petronia’s eyebrows rose; then a smile broke out. She placed Calantha’s free hand on her stomach. “The baby’s kicking. It’s like having a little mule in there.”

  “My sister’s babies were the same. I love feeling them.” She withdrew her hand. “You were about to tell me about Marcella.”

  “I met Gaius and Marcella when they became Christians maybe ten years ago. I’ve met their two daughters, too, but their sons had joined the legion when they were old enough. They both died in the Dacian war.”
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  Petronia’s eyes sought out her son. “I pray my son never wants to do that. I can’t imagine anything worse than him going to war and someone killing him. I would try to forgive, as Jesus commands, but whether I could truly do it…well, I hope I never have to find out like Marcella has.”

  Calantha turned her eyes back to the little girl on her hip so Petronia wouldn’t see her astonishment. Leander had only been eleven at the time, but how could Marcella and Gaius treat any Dacian like they would their own sons? Could Leander be so happy to be with them if he knew their sons died conquering his homeland?

  She glanced out the door and let her gaze linger on him. Even with his arm in the sling, he looked like he hadn’t a care in the world as he talked with the Roman men whose armies had taken everything from him.

  When he thought he was dying and she asked him why he risked everything to save her, he’d told her about Jesus commanding that he love his enemy. His god had commanded it, and he had obeyed.

  Since Leander could forgive all that Vilicus and the kidnappers had done…and all she’d failed to do, not the smallest doubt of his willingness to forgive lingered in her mind. Leander wouldn’t treat these men as enemies, even if Gaius himself had been the one who destroyed Leander’s family and made him a slave.

  Chapter 36: Next Step in the Hunt

  The Secundus villa, morning of Day 25

  It was after the sixth hour of the night when Aulus and Marcus rode up to the Secundus stable gate and found it barred. Aulus dismounted and pounded with his fist, but no one came to open it.

  “You should tell Gallio to make sure someone is here when you want in.” Annoyance colored Marcus’s voice. “Even if your overseer uses that stable slave for other work during the day, there’s no excuse for him not to be here to open the gate at night when you return.”

  Aulus remounted. “Stay here. I’ll be right back.”

  He rode around the corner of the building and knocked on the front door. The viewing portal opened before he struck the wood the fifth time.

  “Send someone to open the stable gate.”

  “Yes, Master Aulus.” The face disappeared, and the portal closed.

  By the time Aulus returned, Marcus had already ridden into the stable yard.

  Aulus was met by a glowering Gallio. “I told Canis to fetch me the moment you returned. Where have you been?”

  Gallio rammed his fists into his hips. “You disappeared without telling me where you were going or when I could expect your return. I sent Julia’s litter slaves all over Rome searching for you today―to the Drusus townhouse, your sister’s estate, and the homes of six of your good friends. I already had to send a message to Master Tiberius about Julia’s kidnapping. You had me worried sick that I’d be sending another that you’d been killed.”

  Aulus swung his leg over the stallion’s neck and slid off. “I’m sorry. I hadn’t planned to leave Rome when we went to the ludus, but Brutus heard that a girl who might have been Julia had been sold and taken to Ardeo. We went to find her before anything worse could happen. It wasn’t Julia, but we did rescue the girl. She’d been kidnapped, too. We’re so late because we were taking her home. Next time I’ll send you a message.”

  Gallio’s anger faded to be replaced by a sad smile. “I would appreciate that more than you realize. You’re all like my own children. When I think about what might be happening to Mistress Julia...” His jaw clenched, and his eyes looked too moist.

  Aulus rested his hand on Gallio’s arm. “I’m going to find her. I won’t stop looking until I do.”

  “Whatever you do, be careful. I don’t want to lose you both.”

  Gallio’s deep sigh before he returned to his room twisted the dagger in Aulus’s own hurting heart.

  As he and Marcus headed to their sleeping chambers, Aulus glanced back at Gallio. The steward’s shoulders drooped, and his steps were slow. Gallio had seemed a man in his prime, but the last week had aged him. One more consequence of his stupid choice.

  Aulus ran his fingers through his hair. Why hadn’t he just asked Gallio for the money and let Father’s anger blaze? Nothing Father would have done could be worse than the misery he’d caused himself…and too many others.

  Wherever Julia was, whatever was happening to her―it was all his fault, and nothing he could do would ever make amends for what he’d done.

  The Ludus Bruti

  When Africanus left Aulus and Marcus at Pompeia’s house, he’d told Aulus to come to the ludus first thing. So the early dawn found Aulus mounted on Africanus’s stallion and heading back to the ludus with Marcus.

  As they rode into the stable yard, Aulus spotted his gray mare being brushed. She was a good horse, but two days on the stallion had reminded him of what he was missing. Until the young black stallion he’d bought was gentled enough for him to ride, maybe Marcus could lend him one of the Drusus horses.

  He and Marcus had barely dismounted when Africanus strode through the gate. He carried a cloth sack, and the aroma of fresh rosemary bread wafted toward them as he approached.

  Aulus inhaled deeply. “I thought barley porridge was usually served for breakfast here.”

  The corner of Africanus’s mouth turned up. “Master Brutus will be waiting for you in his office. I’ll join you as soon as I give this to Rufus. My wife sent it to him. He loves her bread whenever he can get it.”

  He disappeared through a doorway.

  Marcus’s brow furrowed. “His wife? I thought he lived in the slave quarters.”

  Aulus shrugged. “I guess not. I wouldn’t want to live here if I had a choice.” He tapped Marcus’s arm. “Let’s go. Brutus is waiting.”

  Brutus sat at his desk with several wax tablets open before him. He glanced at Aulus and waved his hand toward the two empty chairs across from him, inviting them to sit as he continued writing.

  When Africanus entered the room, Brutus closed the tablet in front of him and leaned back in his chair.

  “Africanus told me what happened in Ardeo. Not quite what we’d hoped for, but you did well freeing the tutor’s daughter.” His gaze settled on Aulus. “Is your steward still sending a slave to the Castra Praetoria every day?”

  “Yes.” The muscles in Aulus’s neck tensed at that question

  “Good. He should keep doing that as a precaution.” Brutus leaned forward. “Relax, Aulus. The longer they go without finding her body, the more likely it is that she’s still alive. If she was dead, I think they would have found her by now. A fresh grave in an unexpected place or the smell of an unburied corpse is usually reported. And if she’s alive and still in Roma, we will find her.”

  He tapped the tip of his brass stylus on the desk top. “While you were gone, I visited the rest of the special dealers I thought might handle her. I found nothing, but they know I’m in the market now. I expect I’ll hear if someone tries to sell her.”

  Aulus rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t want to just sit and wait and hope she shows up.”

  Brutus’s smiling frown appeared. “And you won’t have to. Since we don’t have any good leads for where Julia might be, we’ll try to find the man you hired and make him tell us where she is.”

  He rubbed his jaw. “So, what do we know about him? Marcus, do I remember correctly that his name is Gaius Faltonius Callidus.”

  “If he gave us his real one.” Marcus ran his fingers through his hair.

  “I think he did. He spoke with pride of serving in the XIV Gemina, and he said he was discharged in Carnuntum. That legion is headquartered there. He’d expected to find his father still alive and running the family taberna. He said that taberna is gone, but that could mean it’s been closed or someone else owns it now.”

  Marcus nodded. “That’s what I remember, too.”

  “So, let’s assume his father died within this past year. His death might not have been reported and recorded in the Tabularium. But if the taberna was seized and sold to pay outstandi
ng debts, there will be a court record. That could tell us what part of Roma he comes from and where he might be hiding out if he still has your sister.

  “I know someone who can check into that for us. But I have something for you boys to do while he does. Callidus came to me to sell himself into a ludus.”

  His eyes turned on Marcus. “How much did you pay him?”

  “Only 150 denarii.”

  “Too bad it was so much. That buys him time to decide what to do, but he still might have gone to another ludus that took him on. I’m going to send you to find out. Africanus will go with you. He’s well known as one of my men, and any lanista in Roma will speak truth to you when he knows you’re asking for me.”

  Brutus stood. “There are no games this afternoon, so you should find the lanistae training their men if you hurry. After the baths open to men at lunchtime, you might not find them at their ludi.”

  Africanus glanced back over his shoulder as he strode through the doorway. “Let’s go. We have eight to visit. We’ll start with the lowest ranked one. The best wouldn’t sign him.”

  As they hurried to catch up, Aulus offered Marcus a hopeful smile. “Seems like a good plan.”

  Marcus nodded, but his lips straightened. “I’d like it better if Brutus went with us instead of his slave. That would guarantee cooperation.”

  “Africanus knew what to do in Ardeo. Besides, you and I know what to ask to find Callidus. We shouldn’t need Brutus with us.”

  Marcus’s only reply was a soft snort.

  Chapter 37: Razor’s Edge

  Gaius’s farm, Day 25

  Pain surged each time Leander put weight on his bad leg, but he limped the few steps to the table and lowered himself onto a chair. When Mistress Calantha took a bowl of breakfast porridge from Marcella and brought it to him, she didn’t move away after setting the bowl down. Instead, she drew a fingertip across his cheek. It had been seven days since his last shave, and his stubble had grown into a beard.