“What are your orders, Centurion?” asked Aelius.
Marius smiled, turned Brutus around, and the three headed out of the camp.
“I cannot give you any more orders, Aelius.
There was an instant silence.
His ward said, “What is that supposed to mean?”
“Just what I said, my friend. Kuna is your centurion now.”
This time there was an even longer pause, and Marius turned his head to catch the shocked expression on his friend’s face. He laughed and waited until they caught up with him. He pulled the wax tablet out of his tunic and handed it to the stunned Asian.
“Me?”
“Yes, sir,” Marius said, clicking at Brutus and increasing his pace once they cleared the edge of the camp. “I have been released.”
Both men looked stunned. “He cannot do that, sir. We will protest,” Aelius cried.
Marius shot him a glance. “Suetonius did not do it, Aelius. I did.”
“Sir?”
“Nevermind. As always, you need to trust me. I am going to need your help—all of you, but we will deal with it later,” he said and kissed the top of Delia’s head. “In due time. I have something to do first.”
Marius was careful not to return to the field, taking instead, a road that lead through the woods. Aelius and Kuna rode next to them silently, each obviously contending with his own confusion. Marius had not confided in either of them about this, and their disappointed faces sent a flash of guilt through him for keeping them in the dark, but it also sent a spark of satisfaction through him. He knew he could count on these men for anything. He would reveal everything to them in time—his own time, of course.
“Kuna, can you send someone with my things when they are done here. I will be at Hillfort for the next two weeks or so.”
His friend nodded and shifted a sparkling eye at him. “Yes. Where you go after?”
Marius smiled, but said nothing.
When they finally emerged onto the main road, he stopped Brutus and held out his hand to Aelius first and then Kuna.
“Thank you, both,” Delia said, leaning over to kiss them. Tears filled her eyes as a light rain fell. Marius wrapped his cloak around her.
“I will be in touch,” Marius said, adjusting his reins. “Watch for my message and be prepared. Just—not for a couple weeks.”
“Sir?”
He leaned down to Delia’s upturned face, kissed his lady sweetly, and gazed into her eyes. “I have a wedding to go to.”
Delia blushed and threw her head against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her waist and flicked the reins.
Without another word, he whistled to Brutus and charged down the road with Delia in his arms.
~THE END~
About the Author
Somewhere between thirty and dust...red hair, blue eyes...six kids, one slightly used husband, and any number of pets from time to time...wannabe hippie...want-their-money yuppie...pro musician and actress for 20 years...native oregonian...lover of music, beauty, and all things green...willing slave to the venerable muse.
When she is not writing, Minnette helps teach remedial reading, writing, and math at a local elementary school. Minnette currently resides in Beaverton , Oregon with her husband, having replaced the children with five cats and one dog (there shall always be six!).
Her first novel, Starsight, Volume I, (published by StoneGarden) will be released in March of 2008 and the sequel Starsight, Volume II in November. The Centurion & The Celt, a historical romance set in 60AD Roman Britannia, will be released with Resplendence Publishing in the spring of 2008. In addition to her novels, Ms. Meador has a feature in the Cup of Comfort for Single Moms coming out in March of 2008.
For more info, please visit: www.minnettemeador.com
“Only you can release the muse…just make sure you put her back!”
The Centurion and the Queen Page 20
