<< Go Back

Second Chances (Light in the Empire)

By Carol Ashby

Order Now!

Chapter 1: Husbands and Fathers

Mare Nostrum, AD 122

Hector awoke, once more drenched in sweat. He rolled on his back and stared at the bottom of the bunk above him. As the ship rose and fell on the waves, he willed his breathing to match the rhythm of the swells.

The nightmares of his childhood were long past, the pain that caused them mostly forgotten. But now his dreams were red and raw, a stark reminder of reality, and they tore his heart each time he had one.

The dreams started well enough. It was the end of the final voyage of autumn. As his ship glided up against the pier and his crew prepared to secure it with ropes, his beloved Damara and their ten-year-old Charissa waved from the road above the wharves. Even after seventeen years of marriage, his heart beat faster as he thought about spending the cold winter nights in the warm embrace of the incredible woman God had given him to make him whole.

As the gangplank was lowered, they started down the ramp. He trotted down the plank and loped up the pier. As he dodged the crates and barrels waiting to be loaded, he lost sight of them. When he finally stepped clear of the stacks of cargo, Philip stood before him. He placed his hand on Hector’s shoulder, tightened his lips, and shook his head.

Philip dissolved in a swirl of smoke, and Hector remained on the dock...alone.

He’d known loneliness before God brought Damara into his life, or so he’d thought. But when two have become one, and suddenly one is gone... Those first four months when the sea was closed and he’d been home at his farm, where they’d planned on growing old together―the sweet memories of what he’d lost had engulfed him, tormenting his days and haunting his nights.

It hadn’t been as bad when he was at sea, at least not during the daytime. He’d often been gone for weeks at a time, and he didn’t expect to see Damara smiling at him when he turned around on deck or Charissa running to wrap her arms around him when he walked through the cabin doorway.

Hector rubbed his forehead with the back of his hand. If only Damara hadn’t heard his ship might reach home port early and come to the wharf to see. If only he’d thought to tell her to stay well away from where the wagons unloaded, no matter how much Charissa begged to get closer to watch.

It had been almost a year since the accident, and the pain still cut deep. The shipping season was almost over. One more stop in Rome, then home to Perinthus...and another winter in a cold bed with empty arms.

Experience told him sleep would not come again that night, so he rose and headed out to the ship’s rail. There, alone in the moonlight, he watched his ship cutting through the waves and once more asked God why.

%%%%%%

Rome

Tertius didn’t want to believe what his best friend Gaius had just told him. It shouldn’t be true, but he knew his father too well not to ask. He wasn’t going to let anyone kill his sister if he could prevent it.

His father, Lucius Drusus Fidelis, was reading at his desk when Tertius walked into the library. Tertius’s entrance drew a smile.

“I hadn’t expected to see you today. I thought you were staying with Gaius at the Corvinus estate this week.” His father set the scroll down and turned his attention to the youngest of his three sons.

“I hadn’t expected to come, Father, but Gaius just told me you were talking with his father about betrothing Drusilla to Gnaeus.”

“That’s true. Marcus is looking for the right girl to betroth to Gnaeus now that he’s fourteen. Drusilla’s ten, so she’ll be the right age to marry him in five years.”

“You can’t do that, Father. Gaius says his brother is dangerous. Just last year, he and Gaius were riding out at their estate. His horse stumbled and threw him. He took a hoe from one of the slaves, and when he was through, Gaius had to slit its throat to put it out of its misery. He’s already beaten one of the house slaves to death and almost killed one of the slave girls after taking her. Don’t betroth Drusilla to him. He’s vicious, and she’s going to get hurt or killed.”

His father picked up a stylus and rolled it between his fingers while he listened, then shrugged. “Marcus is my closest friend, and he hasn’t found anyone else who wants his daughter to be married to the boy. I have a daughter the right age, so I can solve Marcus’s problem.”

Tertius’s jaw started to drop, but he stopped it while Father’s eyes were still on the stylus. “You can’t be serious about marrying Drusilla to a monster.”

His father’s brows dipped as a frown appeared. “What I choose to do with Drusilla is none of your business, Tertius. Marcus wants a wife for Gnaeus, and I can give him one. Gnaeus is no worse than many boys his age. Even if he did want to hurt her, Marcus wouldn’t let him. She’ll be safe enough.”

Tertius masked the disgust swirling through him. It would be a huge mistake to let Father see it. “I hope you’re right, Father. Drusilla’s a sweet little thing. You’d really like her if you spent more time at the eastern estate. Mother and I would hate to see anything bad happen to her.”

A sneer flitted across his father’s lips. “What your mother thinks means less than nothing to me. Marcus will make sure nothing happens to Drusilla. Her safety is not your concern.” He fixed irritated eyes on Tertius. “We won’t discuss this again.”

“As you wish, Father. I need to leave now, anyway. I’m meeting Gaius at the Circus Maximus for the afternoon races.”

“I hope your faction wins. Enjoy yourself.” His father turned his attention back to his scroll as Tertius walked out of the room.

When his father could no longer see him, Tertius’s brow furrowed as his lips tightened. He should have known it would be pointless trying to convince Father not to put Drusilla in mortal danger. Time for a different approach to protect the little sister he loved.

 
Chapter 2: Time for a Change

The Drusus estate east of Rome

Father thought he was going to the chariot races, but Tertius headed to the eastern estate instead. He mostly stayed in Rome now he was eighteen, but his mother and sister never came to the town house that had been his grandfather’s before Father turned Grandfather in as a Christian so he’d die in the arena for his faith.

Aunt Claudia had accused Father of murder. To punish her, Father had tried to marry her to a rich, sadistic old man from one of the noblest Roman families. Mother had tried to stop him, and they’d hardly spoken to each other in the eight years since.

Drusilla meant the world to Mother. It took no imagination to believe Father would let something terrible happen to her just to hurt Mother. But Father wouldn’t hurt Drusilla if he could stop it.

Tertius trotted into the stable yard, and a slave scurried over to take his horse. He threw his leg over the horse’s neck and slid to the ground. “Where’s my mother?”

“In the garden, Master Tertius.”

He tossed the reins to the slave and strode through the archway that separated the garden from the stable area. “Mother? Are you here?”

***

Cornelia Scipia’s eyes snapped up from her codex when she heard Tertius calling. She rose from the seat under the grape arbor and waved at him. When he reached her, she embraced her youngest son.

“What a pleasant surprise. I hadn’t expected to see you until next week.”

“There’s something you need to know today.”

The grim set of his mouth ramped up Cornelia’s heart rate. “What’s wrong? Are you well?”

“I’m fine, but Drusilla won’t be if we don’t do something to protect her.”

A cold hand of foreboding gripped her heart. “What might happen to Drusilla?”

“Father is planning to betroth her to Gnaeus Corvinus.”

“Marcus’s youngest? Are you sure?” She’d heard too many rumors about the boy.

“After Gaius told me, I went to Father and asked him. I told him how dangerous Gnaeus is, and he didn’t care. He’s planning to do it anyway just to help out his friend. We can’t let him do that, Mother. She’ll end up hurt or dead.”

Cornelia drew herself up to her full height, and her mouth set into a determined line. “Your father is a traitor to this family. He murdered your grandfather, he would have hurt Claudia if she hadn’t escaped, and now he’s planning to get Drusilla killed. Well, I won’t let him. I’ll do whatever it takes to protect her.”

“How can I help?” Eager intensity lit his eyes as he squared his shoulders.

Cornelia’s brow furrowed as she pursed her lips. “First, don’t tell your father you came here. He mustn’t know I’ve been warned, or he’ll take her away before I can do anything.”

“I can’t tell him. Father said we wouldn’t discuss this again.” His lips curved into a wry smile. “If I’m to be a good son, I must never say anything to him about it.”

If Drusilla hadn’t been in mortal danger, Cornelia would have laughed at her son’s twisted interpretation of the duty to a paterfamilias that grown sons continue to obey their fathers in everything. Her mouth turned up a little anyway.

Cornelia clenched her hand and tapped the top of her fist against her pursed lips. “I’ve stayed married to your father only so he wouldn’t take you all away from me, but you boys are grown. It’s been eight years since he completely abandoned me for other women. It’s time I divorce him and reclaim my dowry. Then I can take Drusilla where he can’t hurt her.”

“But children always belong to the father in a divorce. Where could you go that he couldn’t get her?”

“Away from Rome. Maybe away from Italia. Far enough away that he might decide it’s not worth the effort to find her and bring her back.”

“I want to help. Tell me what to do.”

Cornelia covered her mouth and stroked her cheek with her forefinger. “I think, for now, it’s best that you not know what I’m going to do. If he thinks you’re not part of this, we might get advance warning of what he’s doing to get her back. Later, I’ll let you know where we are so you can warn me of anything he’s planning.”

She wrapped her arms around Tertius’s chest and stretched up to kiss his cheek. “I’m so proud of you and your brother Lucius. Two of my sons grew into fine men like your grandfather Publius. Marcus...well, he’s too much like his father.”

Tertius hugged her back. “If I can’t help right now, I should go to the Circus Maximus. I told Father I was going there to meet Gaius, and I’d better know who won.”

“Go. I already have an idea what to do, but I need to think about it more.”

Tertius kissed his mother’s cheek and left.

Cornelia began pacing. She would need her whole dowry back. As steward and overseer of all the Drusus estates and Lucius’s under-the-table business ventures, Malleolus was the only person who could get it quickly and without Lucius knowing what she was planning. The moment he knew she was divorcing him, he’d come for Drusilla.

Secrecy was vital, but Malleolus would keep everything secret. Even though Lucius Fidelis was now head of the Claudius Drusus family, the old steward’s loyalty still belonged to Publius, even eight years after his death. Saving Publius’s granddaughter was something he’d be eager to do.

%%%%%%

Rome

Breakfast was over, and Aristarchus and Helena walked Hector to the stable. It was a four-hour ride from their house near the eastern edge of Rome back to the ship in Portus. In a few days, Hector would sail back to Thracia, where he would spend the four months that the sea was closed due to winter storms at his farm near Perinthus.

Aristarchus expected his captain of the Claudia to dine with them and spend the night whenever he brought the ship to Rome. Hector was, without doubt, the most deserving man he had ever bought and freed. He had served in the family’s merchant fleet for twenty-five years, first as a slave, then as a freedman whose maritime skills had elevated him to the rank of captain. He was loyal and honest to a fault, and he had been the best friend of Aristarchus’s youngest son, Philip, since they worked together one summer fifteen years ago.

Each time Hector had visited this shipping season, Aristarchus saw the dark shadow enveloping him. He was worried about his captain, who was more son than employee. Hector’s wife and daughter had died just before he reached home last fall. The deep grief had a grip on him that he could not shake. His smiles were sad, and his eyes seemed weary. He was barely forty, but sorrow made him seem much older this visit.

Helena, Aristarchus’s wife of over forty years, wrapped her arm around Hector’s as they walked him to the horse he had rented for the ride from the coast.

“I’m so glad you came up to see us. We love having you here.” She stood on tiptoes and kissed his bearded cheek. “You’re my sixth son. I’ll be praying for you until I see you again.”

Hector smiled in response, but there was no joy in his eyes. “God truly blessed me with both of you.”

Aristarchus wrapped his arms around Hector in a crushing hug and slapped his arm when he let go. “May God be with you on your voyage and bring you happiness again.”

“And may He continue to bless you both with a long life together.”

The tightness at the corners of Hector’s smile and the two hard blinks that stopped any tears betrayed his captain’s longing for the years with Damara that would never be.

Hector mounted and waved before kicking the horse into a trot and heading down the street. Helena wrapped her arm around Aristarchus’s and leaned her head against his shoulder as she watched Hector ride away.

“It breaks my heart to see him suffering so. I don’t know if it’s Damara or Charissa he’s missing more. To lose them both at once...” She sighed. “He has so much love to give, and he needs someone to give it to. He needs another woman who’ll love him with her whole heart and a child he can give the love he would have given Charissa. A dead child can never be replaced, but another child can begin to fill the void. He needs to remarry and have more children.”

Aristarchus shook his head as his mouth turned down. “That is not so easy for a man who has known the joy of having the perfect wife. I am not sure I could remarry if you died.”

She slapped his arm before she hugged it. “Don’t say that. I would want you to remarry and find happiness again, God willing. I’m going to be praying for that for Hector. I’m going to ask God to bring a woman to heal his heart before we see him again next spring.”

Aristarchus smiled down at the sweet, godly woman who had graced his life for so long. She might think a man can just remarry to replace a lost love, but some women were irreplaceable. He would know. He was married to one.

 
Chapter 3: The Perfect Ally

The Drusus estate east of Rome

Early the next morning, Malleolus rode up to the stable at the eastern estate. It wasn’t so easy to ride anymore. These days, his knees told him how far the ride from the town house was. It might not be long before he would need to take a sedan chair in the daytime or drive the two-wheeled cisium when the ban on wheeled vehicles on the streets of Rome ended two hours before dark. That would be a sad day. He was still a man of thirty from the inside looking out, but riding reminded him that the wrinkled old man in the mirror with the fringe of silver hair was him and not his father.

Although he came every week, he never found much needing his attention. Cornelia ran the estate herself better than the overseers at the other Drusus estates. The main reason he came was to visit Cornelia and Drusilla. Cornelia had become a dear friend in the eight years since Publius’s murder, and Drusilla loved him like a grandfather. It felt good to spend a few hours with people who were like family. He had none of his own.

After he dismounted, he placed his hands on his knees and bent forward to limber up for walking. He flexed his rein fingers a few times. Too bad there wasn’t axle grease for the joints of a man nearing seventy.

The stable slave bowed as he took the reins. “Mistress Cornelia said you were to come to her in the garden the moment you arrived.”

Malleolus’s face remained impassive when he heard the command, but those words triggered unease. He’d never been met with such a message before. He arched his back to loosen a few more muscles and walked as fast as was almost comfortable to find his mistress and friend.

When she saw him walk through the archway, Cornelia rose and held both hands out to him. “I’m glad you came early today. I have something important to ask of you, and it’s vital that you start on it as soon as possible.”

Malleolus’s gaze swept the garden near them to see if any ears were listening.

Cornelia followed his gaze. “I’ve already given orders that no one is to come into this part of the garden until I say. I’ve been watching, and no one is here. Our conversation needs to be totally private. Drusilla’s life depends on it.”

Malleolus was a difficult man to upset, and he’d mastered the art of concealing his thoughts even when he was. Her words broke through his unflappable demeanor, and his eyebrows rose.

“Drusilla’s life? What’s going on?”

“That loathsome husband of mine is planning to betroth her to Gnaeus Corvinus. I’m sure you’ve heard all the rumors about the boy. I know at least some of the worst are true. We can’t let that betrothal happen.”

His brows dipped downward as he tightened his lips. “No, we can’t.”

She sat down and patted the bench so he would sit beside her.

“I’ve decided to divorce Lucius and take Drusilla away from Rome before he commits her to that marriage. I need my dowry money as soon as possible, and I need your help in getting it without him knowing I’m preparing to leave.”

Malleolus rubbed the underside of his jaw. “Normally it would take some time to get you that much money, but as luck would have it, I can do it as soon as this afternoon. I was about to buy two estates ten miles up the Via Aurelia to make one large one. I’ve already arranged to have more than enough gold at my disposal to make the purchases. I only need to have most of it delivered here instead.” One corner of his mouth rose in a wry smile. “Lucius is required by law to return your entire dowry immediately when you divorce him. I guess he’ll have to wait to get his new estate northwest of Rome.”

She leaned over and embraced him. “I knew you’d be able to help.” The smile that had appeared at the news of the gold dimmed. “The next part might be harder, and I’m not sure how to do it.” Her gaze swept the garden from the arched entrance to the farthest wall. “I plan to go to Thracia, where Titus and Claudia are living. I’m sure they’ll be glad to let me stay with them for a short time while I find an estate of my own to buy where no one will recognize us.”

Her brow furrowed. “I want to go by sea, but I’m not sure how to arrange everything. You’ve shipped things all over the Empire. Can you find a good ship for us without Lucius suspecting anything before we sail?”

He rubbed the bottom of his chin. “If he’s still living in Rome, I know the perfect man to ask to help with this.” The corner of his mouth lifted. “The same man helped me sneak Claudia out from under Lucius’s nose eight years ago. Actually, help isn’t the right word. He did everything. Publius called him a good friend, and he couldn’t have been a better one. I think he’ll be willing to help save Publius’s granddaughter as well.”

He rose. “I’ll go now to see if he can help. When I return, we can make final plans.”

Order Now!

<< Go Back