by Carol Ashby
Cutting the logs to length after the trees were down made him keep his weight evenly distributed between both legs. While that wasn’t as hard on his leg as bending and lifting, he soon found it getting sore. It didn’t hurt so badly that he couldn’t do the work, but the pain was a constant reminder that he was far from completely healed.
He massaged it frequently, and that seemed to help, but it didn’t solve the problem. In fact, the more logs he cut, the less it did help. When he took the last swing with his ax, he sucked in a deep breath and blew it out slowly.
His leg was throbbing as he and Galen started their walk back to the cottage. Still, if he concentrated on how he was walking, he could keep from limping so badly that it would make Valeria think he’d done too much and fuss over him. The ax work was finished, so his leg would have a chance to recover during the afternoon. He was only going to be training Galen, and that should be easy.
After lunch, Decimus took Gaius’s sword out of the trunk and drew it from its scabbard. He flexed and twisted his wrist to check how it handled. It was well balanced and had a comfortable grip. It would be a good sword for Galen to learn with, even though it was more work of art than weapon. Both sword and scabbard had intricate engravings on them, and the scabbard was even decorated with some jewels. The whole set had been very expensive. Galen had told him during their first conversation that his father once had an estate outside Rome. From the look of the sword, it might have been a large one.
He was about to close the trunk when something purple at the bottom caught his eye. He flipped back the shirts lying on top of it. There lay a tunic with the narrow purple stripes worn only by the Roman equestrian order. Since membership in that order required a personal fortune of at least 100,000 denarii, Gaius must have been a wealthy man before he left everything behind. What had Galen said his full name was?
Decimus’s eyebrows rose as he remembered. Licinius Crassus. That family had produced several consuls during the Republic, and Marcus Licinius Crassus had ruled Rome in the First Triumvirate with Julius Caesar and Pompey before his death in battle. His wealth was legendary. Why would a rich aristocrat with such a family tree abandon Rome and all he owned to follow the Christian god? That was beyond understanding.
He shook his head as he closed the lid. He would never make such a choice himself.
Decimus’s sword was also well balanced and fit naturally in his hand. He was glad he’d recovered it. It had been specially crafted for him by a master swordsmith, but it was a soldier’s weapon with clean lines and no frills. He draped the narrow strap attached to the scabbard across his chest, and handed Gaius’s sword to Galen. “Take this, and let’s go start your lessons.”
Baldric and Otto were bringing the third mare. They’d almost reached the edge of the trees when they heard the metallic ring of sword striking sword.
“Stay here.” Baldric left Otto with the mare and trotted into the farmyard with his sword drawn. He pulled back on the reins when he saw it was only the Roman and Galen sparring. He watched as the soldier stopped to demonstrate a defensive move, then had Galen try first to attack and defeat it, then to use it while he attacked. The Roman’s skill was impressive and his way of teaching effective. These were moves he would like Otto to know.
He turned as he slipped his sword back into its scabbard. “Bring the mare.”
Decimus heard Baldric call and stopped. “Go. Visit with your friend. We can do this after he leaves.”
Galen handed his sword to Decimus and trotted over to join Otto, who was about to let the mare into the corral with Astro.
Decimus sat down on the tree stump that served as a stool by the corral and massaged his leg. He’d started the lesson already sore after the morning’s ax work. The quick footwork of a sword fight was more stressful on it than he’d anticipated. His leg was really hurting now. He was glad of the break while Galen talked with Otto. Maybe he would wait until tomorrow to resume the lesson.
Baldric rode over by the Roman and dismounted.
“I see you are putting your time to good use, Roman. Galen is handling his sword well for a beginner. The moves you were showing him, I would like Otto to learn.”
Her Roman tilted his head as he looked up at Baldric. Baldric could never quite read what was going on in his mind. He was too good by far at concealing his thoughts when he wanted to. One more thing Baldric did not like about the man.
“I’d be glad to teach them both if Otto wants to join us.”
Baldric’s head tipped once to show his appreciation. He did not like her Roman, but he would gladly use him to teach Otto the skills he was teaching Galen. He was definitely good with a sword.
He looked toward the boys. “Otto, Galen. Your teacher is waiting for you.” With another silent nod toward the Roman, he turned to join Valeria on the porch where she was sewing.
“Welcome, Baldric. I’m glad to see you’ve brought your third mare.”
“Your Roman’s stallion is doing a fine job for us both. Perhaps I should bring a fourth.”
Valeria smiled in anticipation of the mare that would soon be hers. “You certainly may if you want to. No extra charge. Astro’s proving to be as good a stallion as I thought he would.”
Baldric’s lips twitched up to acknowledge her offer as he joined her on the porch bench. He would take her up on it if the Roman and his horse stayed long enough.
“I see you have asked your wolf to train your puppy.”
“I didn’t ask. He suggested it. He said a man needs to know how to protect his family. He promised to teach Galen only how to defend, not to start a fight.”
Baldric fixed his gaze on the Roman. He seemed to have developed a real concern for Valeria’s family. He should have thought himself to tell her that he would train Galen like he was training Otto now.
“So you will be getting something of value from both your Roman and his horse.”
Baldric sat on the porch in silence, watching the Roman train the two boys. He was superbly skillful with the sword. He would be a deadly opponent in a real fight. It was good to have this chance to observe him, to watch for weakness in his fighting style. So far, he had seen none except a slight lack of balance due to his weak leg, and that would soon be gone. However, the more he saw of the Roman, the less likely it seemed that they would end up fighting. He no longer expected him to do anything to hurt Valeria or anyone else in her family.
The Roman’s limp was getting worse. His leg was obviously hurting. He sat down on the stump to massage it and began to talk to the boys about how to read the intention of an opponent.
Baldric’s attention locked on what her Roman was telling them. He talked about watching the eyes and the mouth to see if they showed the same emotion. He counseled them to watch the hands to see if they were sweating from fear. He warned them how fear could make a man more likely to try to hurt you before you could hurt him, and that made him unpredictable. He told them how showing your own fear could make someone decide you were an easy target.
He described how important it was to seem confident but not threatening, how they should try to appear strong even when they were weak because appearing weak brought out the bully in cowards. Baldric had seen these things in the Roman’s own behavior the first two times they met.
The Roman told them how a man who couldn’t control his temper was still like a boy no matter how old he was and how losing your temper gave your opponent an advantage in a fight. He said real men didn’t have to prove anything by being cruel. These were good things for Otto to hear. Baldric had not thought about telling such things to Otto himself, although they were all true and important for a man to know.
Baldric glanced at Valeria and caught her watching him watch the Roman. She looked happy. Probably because she wanted him to like her Roman, or at least respect him. He could give her part of what her kind heart wanted. He did respect the Roman’s swordsmanship.
The afternoon was almost over when t
he lesson ended. Baldric rose and squeezed Valeria’s shoulder. She rested her hand on his and smiled up at him. Then he turned his attention back toward the swordsmen.
“Otto, get my horse.”
Otto trotted over to get both horses from where they were tied to the corral. Baldric stepped off the porch and walked over to the tired, hurting man.
“So, Roman, what time do you start the lessons tomorrow?”
Decimus was shocked at such a question coming from Baldric, but he didn’t let it show. Still, he was genuinely pleased that Baldric saw value in what he’d been teaching. The big German was a man whose respect was worth having.
“After lunch. Galen and I have some work to do in the morning.”
Baldric swung himself into his saddle. “Otto, time to go. We will come back tomorrow.”
Otto mounted his horse and waved at Galen as he followed his father out of the farmyard and into the trees.
Valeria left the porch and walked over to Decimus. As he stood up, his leg almost buckled. He’d seriously overworked it with the training on top of the soreness from the morning.
Her lips tightened when she saw the twitch at the side of his mouth that revealed his pain when he first stood.
“Galen, would you please get his crutch? I think it’s near his bed.”
As Galen headed for the cottage door, she looked at Decimus with lowered brows and shook her head.
“You shouldn’t do this tomorrow. You’ve hurt your leg again.”
“Baldric is bringing Otto back, and he’s not a man I care to disappoint.” Or show any weakness.
“I’m sure he’ll understand. I won’t let you do too much and hurt yourself again.”
He looked down at her with an irritated half-smile. Her statement was out of line, but as he gazed into those caring blue eyes, his irritation vanished.
“I’ll make that decision, not you. You can’t give me orders, and I won’t let you persuade me not to do it.” He pushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear, then drew his thumb along her jaw line before holding her chin for a moment.
“I’m not Galen.”
When Decimus released her chin, he smiled at her in a way that made Valeria feel strangely warm. She hadn’t expected his gentle touch or the warmth in his eyes that confused her. Something about the way he was looking at her made her feel strange, like there were little butterflies in her stomach.
“Besides, it doesn’t hurt as much as it did yesterday, and some of your liniment and a good massage fixed that. Nothing can make a man feel better than some attention from a pretty woman.” The odd look was gone, and his joking eyes had returned.
“I’m not sure I believe that, but let’s go in. I’ll try to fix you again.”
Galen came trotting over, carrying his crutch. Decimus positioned it under his arm and waited for her to take the first step.
She glanced at the man limping beside her. It was odd. Even though he needed the crutch, there was something about him that reminded her of the tribune on his stallion, strong and in control.
Chapter 30: Stallions
At first Decimus wasn’t sure which felt better, the heat from the liniment or the feeling of her hands massaging his sore muscles. As she continued, he was certain it was her hands.
“If you keep overdoing like this, you’re going to set back your recovery by at least a week.”
“That doesn’t sound so bad to me. I’m going to miss having such a pretty woman make my breakfast every morning.” He kept the joking tone in his voice.
“I may be prettier than your typical army cook, but that’s not much competition.”
“You have no idea what a sacrifice it will be to make that change.” She was looking at his leg as she massaged it, so she didn’t see the regret that crossed his face as he spoke.
She finished the massage.
“Seriously, you can’t keep overworking your leg like this without risking permanent damage. Can’t I persuade you to cancel the lesson tomorrow?”
“No.” The finality with which he spoke that word should have silenced her...but it didn’t.
“Well, at least you can take it easy in the morning rather than doing something with Galen that will tire out your leg before you even start the lessons.”
Her lips parted as if a thought suddenly struck her. “I also want you to let me try something that my father used to do for the horses.”
He raised one eyebrow as his head tipped.
“No, really, I think this might help. We had an old stallion that hurt his leg. It was very slow healing, and it seemed to bother him a lot. Father wrapped it with cloth strips to support the muscles, and it really helped. He could walk around like it wasn’t hurting at all. I can wrap your leg before you start training the boys.”
She was looking at him so hopefully. What she was asking didn’t seem like a bad idea.
“That sounds reasonable. Maybe that will solve my problem like it did for your stallion. Did he heal faster after that?”
“Well, yes and no. He felt so much better that he tried to jump the corral fence to get to a mare. He didn’t quite clear the top rail. When he fell, he broke one of his legs. Father slit his throat to put him out of his misery.”
Decimus exploded with laughter. When he finally stopped, he took her hand in his.
“Whatever you do, don’t tell that story to Baldric. I don’t want him to get any ideas about putting me out of my misery if I try to vault into the corral and fail.”
He started laughing again, and it was so contagious that she laughed along with him.
He stood up and placed his crutch under his arm.
“You have persuaded me to take it easy until lunch tomorrow. I’ll go tell Galen that I won’t be working with him in the morning.”
He offered his hand and helped her to her feet. As he limped toward the door, he paused and turned to face her. He didn’t even try to mask his thoughts.
“Who’s to say that stallion wasn’t wise to risk everything to gain a beautiful mare.” His usual joking tone returned as he stepped out the door. “I’m certainly not going to blame him for trying.”
Valeria moved so she could watch him through the door as he hobbled toward Galen. He had such a delightful sense of humor sometimes. It was impossible not to smile when he got going with a joke. His grin could light up a room. It was amazing how much more handsome a man was when his eyes were sparkling as he laughed.
When he’d paused at the door, there was that look in his eyes that put butterflies in her stomach. He was the only one who’d ever had that effect on her. She would miss it all when he left.
Decimus was more than ready to eat as soon as Valeria finished asking the supper blessing. Between the work in the woods and the sword lessons, he’d worked up an appetite almost as big as Galen’s. Valeria loved feeding her family food they enjoyed. Tonight, his appetite was sure to draw smiles from his pretty cook.
When the conversation began, Galen was almost bouncing.
“Otto and I both had so much fun today. I was right about you being a great teacher. Baldric thought so, too. I’m glad he’s bringing Otto back tomorrow.”
“I’m glad you think so. You two are good students, and it’s working well to have you learning together.” He glanced at Valeria. “Your sister thinks I overdid it on my leg today, and I have to admit she’s right. I’m sorry you’ll have to work without me in the morning if I’m going to teach you in the afternoon.”
Galen grinned at him. “I’d be willing to do the work of three to have you teaching me to use a sword.”
Valeria smiled at him, too. “It’s good to have you here to teach Galen. I don’t know how he’d learn without you.”
Decimus’s mouth curved up in a smile that reflected hers. By building the stable and training Galen, he was repaying part of his debt to her family. Honor demanded that, but affection, not honor, had become his reason for everything he was doing.
Valeria had gone out alone to watch the stars appear. He followed her and placed his hands on her shoulders as he stood behind her.
She turned her head to smile up at him before she turned her gaze back to the sky. “They really are beautiful, aren’t they. It’s so peaceful this time of night. I love the sound of the crickets and the breeze in the leaves.”
“I never took the time to look at them before you pointed out their beauty.”
“Gaius and I always loved doing this. It’s nice to have someone to share it with again.” She shivered.
“You’re getting cold. Let me warm you up so we can watch a while longer.”
He stepped forward against her and wrapped his arms around her waist, drawing her close to him. “Warmer?”
“Yes. Thank you.” She rested her small hands on his large ones as she stood there, contentedly watching as the fainter stars began to appear.
He was content, too. She was letting him hold her close without being frightened by him or pulling away. It was his great good fortune that Gaius had taught her to love the evening sky. He might get to do this every evening until he had to leave. It was something he would look forward to all day tomorrow.
Finally, she lifted his hands away from her waist. She kept holding one of them as she turned to go into the cottage.
“Time to go in.” She led him through the door and released his hand to place hers on the ladder.
