Galla came up behind him. “I’m going to the baths,” he told them, looking from one to the other.
Decimus seized on the opportunity. “I’ll come with you.”
Galla raised his eyebrows but refrained from comment. Let the two of them work this out for themselves. He entered the room, going to his pack and taking out a clean tunic.
“Will you be all right by yourself?” he asked Chara quietly. She was looking at the floor, but she nodded her head slightly. He hesitated a moment before turning and leaving the room. Decimus followed closely on his heels.
Chara dropped on the bed and began to cry, deep, racking sobs. So much had happened to her since her mother had died, and now here she was, in a strange city on her wedding day, alone.
Thoughts whirled around in her head, giving her no peace. Where did she go from here? What was to become of her now? The words of Jesus came to her mind. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Closing her eyes, she did just that. Slowly her prayers brought the peace she was seeking. No matter what happened, God was with her. Exhausted, she slept.
.
Galla sat cross-legged on the pool floor, scraping his skin with the strigil and shaking the water off onto the mosaic tiles. Decimus sat beside him, his strong legs dangling in the cool water. He knew that Galla had something he wanted to say, but for some reason, he was keeping his silence.
“You may as well say it,” Decimus told him at last.
Galla looked at him innocently. “Say what?”
“Whatever it is that is causing you to turn blue from choking it back,” Decimus told him, aggravated.
Laughing, Galla continued to scrape his skin. “If I’m turning blue, it’s from the water in the frigidarium.”
“I think not,” Decimus disagreed softly.
Galla regarded Decimus with veiled eyes. The Briton had changed much over the last few weeks. He had a maturity about him now that rested easily upon his shoulders. He was no longer the boy Galla had originally thought him.
“Do you love Chara?” Galla finally asked. He watched Decimus’s brows instantly draw down in a frown.
“Why are you asking?”
“She’s a special lady. I don’t want to see her hurt.”
Decimus glared at Galla, but the older man was unaffected. A few angry looks wouldn’t frighten him, especially when he wanted to make sure someone he cared about would not be hurt.
“It’s no concern of yours,” Decimus finally told him.
“I disagree. I happen to love Chara, too. I want to see her happy.”
The sparkle in Decimus’s eyes intensified. “What do you mean you love her?”
“You know what I mean, so don’t pretend you don’t. She’s like a sister to me. If not for you, I might have tried to make it otherwise, but I knew with you around that I stood no chance. She loves you.”
Decimus sighed, lying back against the marble tiles. He closed his eyes as though that would ward off any other thoughts. “I know.”
The admission surprised Galla. “You know she loves you? Then where’s the problem?”
Decimus lifted his legs from the water and got quickly to his feet. “The problem lies within me. I’m not sure I love her. Not that way. I care for her, yes, but. . .”
“There’s someone else?”
Decimus sighed. “There was. I thought I loved her, too, but the feelings. . . I don’t know anymore.”
“I see.” Galla studied him a moment, then rose to his feet to stand beside him. He wasn’t sure just what to say. How could he reassure Decimus that what he felt was real, when in actuality Galla didn’t know? Only Decimus knew what was in his own mind.
They walked to the changing rooms, retrieving their tunics from the shelves and donning them. Decimus followed Galla into the street. Although his body felt rejuvenated, his mind was still in a shambles.
The sun was setting as they threaded their way through the streets to the inn. Decimus felt guilty when he realized that Chara might have wished to go to the baths, too. Instead, she had deferred to his wish to be away from her.
When they reached the room, Galla began to gather his things together. Decimus watched him, alarmed. “What are you doing?”
Raising his brows, Galla continued what he was doing. “I’m clearing out. I’ll stay with the troops.”
Chara came to her feet, twisting her hands together in front of her. “That’s not necessary.”
“I think it is.”
Decimus and Chara exchanged glances. Decimus felt the heat rise to his own face as he watched the color flow into Chara’s. He turned to Galla. “It’s really not necessary for you to leave. I mean, on the trip north there will be little privacy.”
“Exactly,” Galla agreed. “You need some time alone now.” He went to the door and opened it. Giving one last look at the couple, he left.
Chara and Decimus stood facing each other, eyes going everywhere but toward each other.
“Are you hungry?” Decimus wanted to know.
Chara shook her head. “Not really.”
“Well, I am. How about if we go downstairs and get a meal?”
Chara shrugged. “If you want to.”
Anything to prolong the time when they would retire, Decimus decided. He followed Chara down the stairs into the main room below. Already a crowd was beginning to congregate. Feeling eyes upon them, Decimus decided that maybe this had not been a good idea after all.
The proprietor showed them to a table set back in a corner, and Decimus breathed a sigh of relief. A few moments later, the man returned with a flask of wine and a platter of meats, cheeses, and fruits.
Chara picked up a piece of cheese and began to nibble. Slowly her appetite returned to her. She had not eaten since the meal at breakfast, of which she had consumed little.
Decimus poured himself a drink and one for Chara. The liquid slid coolly down his dry throat. He watched as Chara sipped at her own drink. Everything she did spoke of daintiness and refinement. Where had she learned such things?
“Tell me about your family.”
Surprised, Chara looked up. “What do you wish to know?”
“You told me of your mother in Galilee, but what happened to her later? How did she get to Gaul?”
Chara smiled, her eyes taking on a faraway look. “The family who owned her treated her as a daughter, not as a slave. She was free to go anywhere she chose. My father was a merchant on his way back to Gaul from Syria when he saw my mother at the watering well. When he saw her, he fell in love with her. The family she was with gave her her freedom and their blessings. They were sad to see her go but joyful that she had found such happiness. I was twelve when my father died.”
She paused, her brow furrowing in a frown. “She was a wonderful mother, and she taught me everything she could about being a lady. When my father died, something died within her. She was never the same.” She stopped picking the meat from the chicken leg she was holding. “My stepfather married her a year later. She was a beautiful woman, and though many men wanted her, she chose him. Probably, I think, because he was wealthy and she thought he would look after us.” Chara’s voice softened. “I think he drank so much because he knew my mother didn’t love him. He never said anything, but he knew all the same.”
Decimus regretted asking, especially since he knew how the story ended.
The room was becoming more crowded. Crude language filtered the spaces around them, making Decimus wince. Color flooded Chara’s cheeks as she heard some of the ribald jokes and coarse laughter.
“Are you finished with your meal?”
Chara nodded, rising to her feet. They made their way toward the stairs. Decimus gritted his teeth as he noticed the men in the room look their way. He heard their sly laughter, and he felt like shouting to the whole crazy place that they were legally married.
When they reached the room, Chara breathed a sigh of relief. If she had had to remain downstairs one moment longer, she thought she
would have screamed.
Decimus stood leaning with his back against the door, watching Chara drift about the room. She picked up a garment, folding it and laying it across the room’s only chair. Decimus’s eyes flicked to the bed, and he swallowed hard.
Going over, he began to pull blankets from the bed. Chara stared at him in surprise. He went back to the door, laying the coverings on the floor. When Chara continued to stare at him, he shrugged his shoulders. “I thought it might be safer for me to sleep here. You can have the bed. That way if anyone tries to enter, I will know about it.” The excuse sounded lame, even to his own ears.
Chara was relieved, but piqued at the same time. Would she ever understand this man? Sighing, she began to prepare herself for bed. She could feel Decimus’s eyes on her as she began to comb out her hair with her fingers. Deciding that she could go to the baths in the morning when few others would be around, she lay down in her clothes. Within moments, she was fast asleep.
Decimus watched as Chara’s breathing became even. Finally his own breathing slowed its erratic pace. He shook his head slightly. Getting up, he crossed to where Chara lay sleeping. He watched her for a long rime, awed that she belonged to him. Not as a slave but as a wife. Fear like none he had ever known before filled his entire being. He didn’t know how to be a husband. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know.
He went back and lay down on his cold pallet. Lifting his eyes to the ceiling, he began to pray. Lord, help me to know what to do. Help me to do what’s right. Glancing again at Chara’s sleeping form, he added, Lord, help me to love this woman.
Chapter 7
Decimus lifted Chara to the back of the huge roan gelding. Climbing up behind her, he settled himself firmly in the saddle, wrapping one arm securely around her waist. Memories of riding with Diana in the hills around Ephesus floated through his mind. His job had been to protect her and see that she came to no harm. He felt the same responsibility now.
Instead of traversing the distance through Gaul to the Loire River by foot, Galla had decided to mount the troops. Since the journey could be covered more swiftly by mount, he felt the expense was justified, and there would be the added benefit of using the horses later, if necessary, for battle.
Galla glanced swiftly about him, checking to see that all were accounted for. Thomas, Trophimus, and Caleb, each driving a wagon full of trade goods, gave him a quick nod of acknowledgment.
Captain Caltupa approached from the front of the column.
“We’re ready, Centurion.”
Looking around once more, Galla nodded his head and mounted his own horse. “Let’s go,” he told them, moving forward to the front of the entourage. Decimus and Chara would follow at the rear with the wagons, along with several of the soldiers.
As they moved forward through the city, the sun was suddenly hidden behind clouds that were steadily thickening in the sky. A mist of rain began to fall, causing Chara to shiver. Decimus felt her body begin to tremble.
“Are you cold?”
Although the weather was still somewhat warm, the wetness cooled the temperatures considerably, a precursor of the winter to come.
Chara shook her head. “No.” She looked quickly about her at the countryside of her birth and shivered again. “I just hope the weather is not an omen of things to come.”
Decimus was surprised at her morbid turn of thoughts. Noticing the direction of her gaze, he thought he understood. “You needn’t be afraid of your stepbrother. He has no control over your life now.”
They picked their way along the cobbled road as the rain increased in tempo. Before long they were soaked. Decimus tried to shield Chara as much as possible, but the moisture crept everywhere, filling every available space.
When Chara spoke, her voice seemed to come from a long distance. Decimus realized that she was speaking more to herself than to him.
“I never thought I would see my homeland again,” she told him softly. “And now, here I am, back where I started from. I used to think that Franco was the closest thing to Satan that a person could be, but that was before I knew about Nero. I now realize that with Franco, it was just jealousy. I don’t think he meant me any real harm.”
Decimus shifted slightly in the saddle, refraining from comment. Surely her stepbrother knew what atrocities were perpetrated upon slaves, especially female ones.
“I can forgive him more easily now,” Chara told him. “For if not for him, I never would have met you.”
Decimus swallowed hard. There it was again, that complete trust in him. That faith that he was what was meant for her life. Her belief in him made him want to stand a little straighter, be a little stronger. He wanted to live up to her ideals, but he was afraid that he couldn’t.
Before long they reached a thick copse of woods. The road continued through it, winding its way among the thick shrubs and trees. The rain fell softer here, and the column suddenly came to a stop.
A young soldier came riding toward them. “Centurion Galla says we are to stop here for a short spell. If you have any needs to attend to, do it quickly.”
Decimus quickly dismounted, tying the reins to a small tree. Reaching up, he lifted Chara from the saddle and lowered her to the ground.
“I have a leather cloak in my pack that will help keep the rain off you,” he told her, digging to find the article he was looking for. “You need to change out of that wet tunic.”
Nodding, Chara rummaged around until she found a suitable change of clothes. Clutching the tunic to her chest, she looked hesitantly around her. Seeing her predicament, Decimus rolled the cloak into a ball, tucking it under his own tunic. He took Chara by the hand and led her a short distance into the woods until he found a large tree that shielded her from the others.
“Change quickly,” he told her, “or someone might come looking for us.”
While Chara was changing behind the tree, Decimus availed himself of the opportunity to quickly change his own garments. He pulled the leather cloak he had purchased for himself around him, thankful for the fur lining. The temperatures were dropping rapidly, and he was beginning to wonder if winter was going to come early to this part of the world. He certainly hoped not, because they still had a long way to travel.
Chara emerged from behind the tree, her bright blue tunic making her look for all the world like a small bird in the huge forest. Decimus handed her her own cloak and waited impassively while she secured it around her shoulders.
“Better?” he asked.
She smiled then, and Decimus felt his heart give a leap.
“Much.”
They quickly made their way back to the others, who were already mounting up. Decimus once again lifted Chara to the saddle and positioned himself behind her. He had purchased Chara her own mount, but for now it was being used to carry supplies. Decimus smiled slightly. No matter. He was rather enjoying the arrangement.
The road continued through the forest for many miles. Decimus had never seen so many trees in his life, and although they provided protection from the elements, they also made him leery. Shadows seemed to move through the interior of the trees, and Decimus once thought he saw a pair of glowing yellow eyes.
Before long, the road widened out and the trees began to thin, ending as abruptly as they had begun. The road led down into a green valley, and although the rain hit them with greater force, Decimus was glad to be free of the forest.
Dusk was falling when Galla called a halt for the night. Everyone began to quickly ready their shelters. Chara tried to help Decimus and Caleb, but she was more in the way than anything else. Shrugging, she abandoned the effort, going instead to sit on a rock near a stream of water.
Trophimus was already there watering the horses. He smiled when she reached him.
“I have muscles that ache that I didn’t even know I had.”
Chara smiled in sympathy. “I can agree with that, although I think perhaps a wagon seat might be a little more comfortable than a horse.”
Decimu
s found them arguing good-naturedly with each other about the advantages of traveling on horseback versus in a wagon seat. One eyebrow cocked upward, and he smiled.
“What, Trophimus, you think yourself ill used?”
Trophimus grinned back at him unabashedly. “I would gladly trade places with you.”
Decimus’s smile dimmed somewhat. “Perhaps. But I am not inclined to grant you that opportunity.” He turned to Chara. “Do you think you can fix us a meal? Thomas will help you.”
“Of course,” she told him testily. She was aggravated that he continued to see her as little more than a child. What did he think, that she was useless? He might be surprised at what she could do.
Two pairs of male eyes followed her progress, the angry sway of her hips speaking to them more clearly than any words. Decimus turned to find Trophimus hiding a grin. He cocked an eyebrow at the young Roman, shrugging his shoulders. “What did I say?”
Trophimus turned quickly away, picking up a water bag and hefting it over his shoulder. “Don’t ask me. She’s your wife.”
Decimus sat down on the rock Chara had so recently vacated. Women were so unpredictable.
Galla joined him, arching an eyebrow in inquiry. “Something bothering you?”
Reaching down, Decimus picked up a stick and began to draw circles in the sand. Water dripped down his nose and into a puddle at his feet.
“You’re going to catch your death out here,” Galla told him impatiently. “Come back to camp and get into some dry things.”
Only then did Decimus realize that he had left his fur-lined cloak in the tent Caleb and he had erected for their group. Lifting his head, he stared hard into Galla’s curious eyes. “I didn’t sleep in the same bed with her last night.”
Something flickered in Galla’s own dark gaze before he pressed his lips tightly together. “Well, I’m afraid you had better here. If you leave an opening for these soldiers, you’ll have to accept the consequences.” He stopped, letting his words sink in. “She’s your wife. I’d suggest you treat her like one so that she is afforded the respect she deserves.”
Decimus rose to his feet, angry that Galla should so chastise him. Slowly the anger faded, and he realized that Galla only meant the best for both Chara and himself. Galla slapped him on the back.
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