The Barbarian's Mistress Read online

  ‘Good. That’ll suit us well.’ Scarface grinned wolfishly.

  Ninia and Herakles moved away just enough to appear interested in the notice on the board next to the agent’s booth. When the two men left, Herakles approached the counter.

  ‘Two for Cathago, as soon as possible.’

  ‘That will be the Tanit at dawn. It’s unlikely to be fully loaded, so there’ll be spaces. But I suggest you get there well before dawn. There was a man just here looking for a berth on that same vessel. If they’re short on space it’ll be first on board that gets the places.’

  ‘Thanks. We’ll take your advice. Is there a decent inn near the dock?’

  In a short space of time, Ninia and Herakles were hurrying away, back in the direction they’d come. Once they had a room, they went down to find a meal. Sitting out in the garden courtyard they sipped on watered wine and ate stew of a fair standard. They spoke quietly, conscious of possible listening ears.

  ‘This is luck. We now know that the young mistress and Vali are heading to Cathago, not following the missive’s direction and returning to Rome,’ Herakles said thoughtfully.

  ‘And Anni doesn’t sound injured. She wouldn’t have accompanied Vali to the agents if she was. Just like the mistress to lie. But why Cathago?’ Ninia said as she sipped her watered wine.

  ‘Major city far from Rome. They say it’s growing fast since Augustus re-established it fifty years ago. A perfect place for a smart young man like Vali to make his fortune.’

  ‘But with Anni? Surely he’d be trying to get her to Gaius. If he thinks Bibulus is dead, then Gaius would be head of the paterfamilias. Anni would be his responsibility. And, last I heard, Gaius was in Magna Germania.’

  ‘I don’t know, love. I’m just an ignorant slave. All this is beyond me. You’re the one with the brains. Take after your mother that way.’ He smiled crookedly at her, showing his missing teeth on the right side of his mouth.

  ‘Don’t joke, papa. This chasing across the world is just craziness. Maybe we should go home and tell Bibulus what we’ve found out. Let him send trained men to find them.’

  ‘We’ll get a message back to the master, but with one cutthroat on their trail, I think we’re better off keeping our eye on him. As long as the money holds out. We might not be able to fight such a man, but there may come a time when we can let Vali know he exists. That would be all he needs. That young man was a good choice as protector for the young mistress. Hard as nails, capable and quick witted.’

  ‘But with a cruel streak,’ Ninia added, feeling her protective instincts screaming, as they had since she’d heard Anni had been sent off with the man. What he’d done to Salvia made her stomach turn. It made Publius seem almost gentle.

  No, Anni was in as much danger with Vali as she was with her mother. And that she was masquerading as his wife meant they were sharing quarters. Who knew what sick acts he’d made her perform to satiate his animal needs.

  She imagined her sweet Anni on her hands and knees like an animal while the ice mountain, as she thought of him, took his pleasure, roughly, painfully. Anni would cry and plead. But Vali wouldn’t stop. He’d laugh and go harder, until she had no strength left to hold herself up.

  That was what had happened to her. For Anni, it would be worse, because he was such a big man. Publius had been a skinny, little boy, hardly much stronger than she was. But look at the pain he caused. Vali would be ten times worse.

  Ninia shuddered, wondering if she had the strength to help Anni pick up the pieces, the way her mistress had helped her. She knew how bad that dark place could be, and how hard it was to climb out of. How did she help someone else climb out of that place when her own position on the edge of the abyss was still so precarious?

  She felt so overwhelmed by everything that was happening. Who was she to be chasing all over the Empire after Anni, preparing to rescue her from frightening men with scars, or handsome men with violence in their heart? She was just a weak, young woman afraid of her own shadow, living on the border of sanity. The pit was too close and too dark. Surviving it this time, without Anni, would be impossible.

  4 September 79CE, Regium BRUTTIUM

  She lay quietly next to Vali in the great room. It had been the only place they could find to sleep the night before. Around them on pallets of straw, more than a dozen people slept. The air was fetid with unwashed bodies and flatulence. Lara buried her nose into Vali’s neck. His body was unwashed too, but his scent pleased her, even though it overwhelmed.

  Vali drew her closer in sleep. She loved the way he did that, as if, even in the vales of Morpheus he wanted her close. On his right side he had his sword beneath his hand. On his left, he drew her close. He seemed to breathe in the scent of her hair.

  She could see the sky lightening at the open window. They needed to get up and on the move. The sound of market stalls being set up in the forum was a distant series of clunks and clatters. Food, they would need food for this day and the next. The ship’s master had told them they’d drop anchor somewhere along Sicilia’s north coast tonight, but it was unlikely to be near a village or town. It would be the next day, when they reached the old Carthaginian stronghold of Lillybaeum, at the western tip of the island that they would dock and restock for the two day journey across the Tyrrhenian Sea to Africa.

  Fingers tightened on her arm, and Lara knew Vali was awake. She wondered if he felt their lack of release as she did. Every night they gave each other pleasure and release, and it was like taking a cork out of a fermented jar very slowly. It took the edge off what existed between them, but didn’t defuse it completely. After last night, she felt the built-up tension as a physical sensation in her core.

  ‘Ready to get moving?’ he whispered against her hair. She nodded as she let go of him and started to rise. They’d brought their own pallets to sleep on. And though not thick enough for true comfort, at least they knew they were free of bedbugs and other human detritus any mattress in such a place would be sure to carry.

  They collected their belongings and made their way over sleeping bodies to the door to the street.

  The fresh, cool air was a balm to Lara’s exhausted body and mind. It did nothing for her sexual tension. Vali must have felt something similar, because, once the possibility of observation was gone, he drew her hastily against the wall and took her mouth in a hungry kiss that thrilled her to the tips of her toes.

  ‘That was torture. Having you next to me all night and not being able to do anything about it…’ He kissed her again, even more deeply. But Lara could feel that he had no plans to take it further. They both knew these few stolen moments were short. They had too much to do before dawn found them boarding their ship again.

  Finally, Vali drew away reluctantly and led them over to a well on the edge of the forum. Here they washed as best they could and tidied their tunics. Then they moved into the gloomy forum to buy food from the sleepy stallholders who were still in the process of setting up.

  By the time they reached the docks, the sky had turned a light purple lined with palest lemon. A bank of clouds, the first they had seen since leaving Palinurus, hovered above the line of the dark grey horizon. They could see the hulking outline of Sicilia across the strait.

  They’d left their canvas strung up overnight and were pleased to see it still there as they crossed the gangplank onto the already busy deck. A few sailors gave them a nod or a smile as they found their way to their allotted space and settled themselves in. Then they stood on the deck, staying out of the way of the crew, and looked at the town that was slowly being revealed by dawn’s pale light.

  Regium was not a pleasing sight. Not like Paestum, with its beautiful ancient temples and green hills laced with white dwellings. No, this place was a seaport proper, that served only one purpose; the needs of the maritime world. It was cramped and dirty, smelling badly of fish and seaweed, mixed with the human odours of urine and decaying rubbish. Lara was glad to see the last of it.

  As the ship
made its way across the short distance of the strait to Messana, Lara got working on their meal to break their fast. Their fare today was far less varied and tasty than usual. The fruit, which was obviously from Africa and several days old, was less than appealing. But it was sweet and juicy and took some of her dry mouth discomfort away.

  When Vali joined her in their shelter she grimaced as she handed him the dark, heavy bread.

  ‘Not to your liking?’ he asked as he tore a section off and dunked it in the olive oil they still had from Palinurus. ‘At least we have enough so we won’t go hungry before Lillybaeum. See it as good preparation for the journey from Carthago to Gaulia.’

  Lara groaned and lifted her eyes to the sky somewhere beyond their canvas. ‘This is the first day I’m not happy to be travelling. I’m so sore and tired after last night, all I want is a soak in a bath. I smell so bad.’

  Vali leaned in and sniffed her in exaggerated fashion, and then pulled an offended face. She punched him in his hard, muscular upper arm. He laughed and kissed her on the forehead.

  ‘I like how you smell. Not the same as when you’re clean, but not bad. It makes me think of… well, other things I’d like to be doing to you right now.’ His voice had dropped several octaves, and the sound set her pulse racing with need.

  ‘Don’t Vali, you’re just torturing us both. We can’t do anything with all these men around. They look at me lustfully already. I don’t want them thinking…’ She stopped, blushing hot.

  Vali’s white teeth looked brilliant in the morning light. His mouth was so inviting. When he saw how her gaze dwelled longingly on his mouth, he smiled even more. ‘I have created a monster. Where has my sweet little innocent doe gone?’

  ‘I’m still innocent, more’s the pity. I think I’ll go to my grave a virgin,’ she grumbled, taking another bite from her bread and chewing hard.

  ‘Sweetling, you’re so cute when you’re grumpy.’ He leaned in and kissed her pouting lips. He tasted of olive oil and the watered wine he’d been drinking.

  6 September 79 CE, Rome LATIUM

  Braxus stood before his patron, hands behind his back, feet spread apart. It was an old pose he had never grown out of. His dark brown eyes watched his quarry like a cat watches a bird. Unblinking.

  ‘Vali?’ Salvia Camilli said, on a gasped breath. Her eyes grew large and uncertain, and for a brief moment he saw fear written there, and something else. Then she frowned and dropped her head. Her fingers began to shred a flower she’d just taken from its bowl.

  It had been red and beautiful. Scarface had no knowledge of such things, but he could appreciate beauty. But instead of smelling its perfume, as most women would have done, his patron had begun to rip the petals from the bloom and tear them into pieces. It was like watching an innocent being deflowered.

  ‘And he’s with a girl. A blonde girl you say?’

  ‘That’s what we were told. Her name is Lara and she’s a liberti, as is the Germanian, although his hair is white-blonde.’

  ‘He’s not from Germania.’ Salvia seemed distracted. ‘His people were from further north, outside the sphere of the Empire.’ She seemed to bring herself back to the issues at hand with some effort. ‘Interesting. How would he have managed to become a freeman in such a short time? And with a wife? What has this to do with my ex-husband, I wonder?’

  He knew she was not talking to him. It was almost as if he didn’t exist to her. Her mind was turning over and over each detail feverishly, considering all the possibilities.

  ‘Anything else?’

  ‘Only that there seem to have been no “goods” that we could find. And they were headed for Carthago, not back to Rome. My partner has followed them, in case you required it.’

  ‘Hmmm… quite the mystery. What has my ex-sex slave and my ex-husband got in common that they would want to keep secret from me? I know Bibulus found him a useful assistant, well versed in financial matters. Could Vali be dealing in something contraband for Bibulus? His finances are in a bad way, he might think to recoup his losses illegally. But what had Pompeii to do with it. And who is the S who died? I need to know more.’ Her still beautiful face turned ugly, and she crushed the last of the bloom in her fist, and threw it away.

  ‘I’m not sure how this relates, but the girl was grieving her dead father.’

  Salvia’s head shot up, and her piercing, golden gaze drilled into him. ‘Grieving her father?’ Then she looked away as she followed that thought through. ‘It couldn’t be. Not even Bibulus would be fool enough to give his innocent little Anniana into the hands of that sexual aggressor. And for certain, he knew what Vali was, and what he did for me… to me.’

  Braxus didn’t know what she was talking about, but it didn’t matter. She wasn’t speaking to him. Her eyes were fierce now with vengeance.

  ‘If he’s taken her virtue, I’ll kill him myself. Slowly. Just as I should have done years ago. But the money I was offered for him made better sense, back then. Too much money to give up for payback. And he wouldn’t have broken easily. Not that one…’

  ‘Who is she, Lady?’ Braxus’ curiosity got the better of him. He had to know what this was really about. Not a husband keeping resources from his wife. Not a mistress, or even a bastard child, as he’d started to believe.

  ‘Who is she? Well, that’s now become clear. This liberti is no such thing. She is Annia Minor Bibuli, my youngest daughter. And my ex-husband sent her away so that I couldn’t marry her to the emperor. Fool that he is! Who would not want to be the father-in-law to a god? But the fool was more worried about her feelings. So what did the idiot do? Entrusted her to a sadistic bastard who would do anything to get even with me.’

  ‘But they’re married, and there was no suggestion that the marriage was … not real. My informant liked Vali and the girl. He wouldn’t have idolised the man, as he evidently did, if he was mistreating his wife.’

  ‘Oh, Vali is good. Very good. He can make pain into pleasure. My sweet little daughter wouldn’t know what to do with a man like that. She’s such an insipid drab. Do you know,’ she started to say, her eyes alight with vicious pleasure. ‘My youngest son once raped her thirteen year old handmaiden in front of her, and she did nothing but stand there.’

  ‘She liked to watch?’ Scarface couldn’t keep the disgust from his voice.

  ‘Oh, no. That I would have respected. No, she was too terrified to do anything to help her beloved friend. Publius laughed himself sick when he told me. I had to forbid him to touch the girl again. She was the sort that would have broken, if mistreated too greatly. Then she’d have been worthless.

  ‘But that was my youngest daughter, a cowardly shadow. Weak and mewling, unable to stand up to her own brother to save something she truly valued. Just the sort that Titus likes. Strong women offend him. I learned that the hard way.’

  As if suddenly realising how much of her personal life she’d given away to an assassin and spy, she changed the subject abruptly. ‘Go after them. Bring my daughter back to me, unharmed. She is still of value, even if her virtue is compromised. Maybe she can’t be wife to a god now, but she can certainly be his concubine. There’s power in that, as long as she has not been too badly damaged.

  ‘Be careful. Vali is strong and smart. He won’t let you take her without a fight. And two of you may well not be enough. If you need to, hire another man or two, for safety. Whatever it costs, whatever it takes, get my daughter back. And kill her ‘husband’. Because, if you leave him alive, he’ll come after her. That one is all about vengeance. And if he hasn’t finished with his little plaything by the time you catch up with him, he won’t take well to having her taken from him. Are we clear?’

  ‘Certainly. Kill the man, return the girl to you, unharmed. It will be done.’ Braxus kept his voice neutral and his face blank. He was used to working for people like this. With a career that spanned piracy to the gladiatorial arena, he could hardly claim past association with saints. It wasn’t his business what this girl, Annia Mi
nor, or Lara as she was calling herself now, was doing with a man her mother clearly feared and hated. His job was simple. Get the girl, kill the man. And get paid handsomely for his work.

  7 September 79 CE, Rome LATIUM

  Bibulus unwound the message that had just been delivered to his door. His hands shook as he read the words, in the childish hand of Anniana’s handmaiden. ‘A has gone to Carthago with V. Spies are close on her trail, and we follow in their steps. She appears to be uninjured. N’

  Carthago? Why would Vali take her there? At least he was not foolish enough to take Salvia’s bait and bring her home.

  He had received a missive from Salvia’s father that morning demanding the return of her dowry and her youngest daughter, as stipulated in the marriage contract. He already had people working on his accounts, calculating how much of her dowry Salvia had frittered away over the years. It would be a fierce legal battle for his finances, which he might actually win. But he would not win control of his daughter. That was ironclad. Now that she was no longer the wife of Severus, even if the marriage had been consummated, she was again vulnerable. It meant that she returned to her paterfamilias, which, because of a foolish error on his part all those years ago, meant her maternal grandfather’s family.

  For the thousandth time he cursed his own stupidity and greed all those years ago. One of the gods had surely seen his hubris and decided, then and there, to make him pay. Who would have thought his heart would only ever belong to one tiny girl-child? Not even his eldest son, whom he was exceedingly proud of, meant as much to him as his lamb. He would die for her. And if that would have given her the freedom she needed, he would have done just that. But death or divorce meant the same thing. Anniana returned to her mother’s paterfamilias. And the licentious Titus would support Salvia’s legal rights, just so he could get his hands on his little darling.