they met Caius’s stare unflinchingly.
Julanna tried to hide the tears that filled her eyes.
‘Your wife is not well, Master Caius. Surely she means more to you than a mere feast?’
Gallia knew she had gone too far, but the young master was insufferable in his arrogance, and some devil in her nature encouraged her to tweak his unbearable superiority.
Caius flushed unbecomingly and his mouth drew down in a scowl of contempt.
‘It is obvious to me that your father has not schooled you to know when to speak, young woman, and when to be silent.’
By now, Caius was having difficulty controlling his anger, as his twitching fingers attested.
Gallia lifted her determined chin to show that she was not intimidated.
‘If I have caused any offence, then I beg your forgiveness, Master Caius. But Julanna is not well and she pines for your attention.’
‘Well, she will have to pine alone,’ Caius snarled, and swept out of the room to take his bad temper out on any hapless servant who crossed his path.
‘Oh, Gallia, how do you dare to upset him?’ Julanna breathed, quite amazed by her friend’s composure.
‘Him? I will not say anything against your husband, dearest, but I would dearly love to box his ears. He behaves like a spoiled child.’
‘But he’s the master’s only son and he’ll be the paterfamilias when Ector is dead.’ Julanna appeared quite terrified at the prospect.
‘He’s a bully, and I won’t permit him to frighten you - and that’s the end of it!’
‘I’m so glad you have come to stay, Gallia.’
‘Hummph!’ was Gallia’s only response.
That afternoon, when Julanna had retired to her bed to rest, Gallia decided to explore the Villa Poppinidii in earnest. Followed by her manservant, and completely oblivious to the stares of the field workers, she trudged through the acres of grain to the open paddocks where flowers grew in profusion near the edge of the forest. As she plucked a posy for her friend, her quest drew her closer to the deeper shadows surrounding the great oaks.
‘You would do well to stay clear of the woods, Lady Gallia,’ a curt voice intruded into her thoughts.
Gallia barely suppressed a flinch of surprise.
Turning, with the skirts of her peplum full of wild blooms, she was forced to look up at the smiling face of the steward mounted on a large black stallion.
‘You startled me, Master Steward. My mind was elsewhere, I’m afraid. Are these woods so dangerous?’
‘Very,’ Artorex replied. ‘You will find yourself lost before you have taken twenty paces into the trees. And there are many dangers for unwary fools.’
Gallia smiled as engagingly as she knew how, for she was an accomplished flirt and the steward brought out the very worst in her nature.
‘You own a fine horse, Artorex. He’s quite large.’
‘Yes. He’s big. But he’s still smaller than his dam,’ Artorex responded uneasily.
He was discovering that this frank young woman possessed the ability to make him feel awkward and uncomfortable simply by gazing intently at him with her neat head tilted sideways, as if in surprise.
‘Surely not,’ she replied limpidly.
‘Oh, yes. Aphrodite is his dam, but his sire was a wild horse who mated with her in the forest.’
‘Aphrodite?’ Gallia invested the name with a coo of surprise that showed her small, red lips to advantage.
Artorex mutely pointed towards a very large workhorse contentedly dragging a wagon loaded with harvested hay through a nearby field.
‘Well, he’s much prettier than his mother, I’ll grant you that.’ She laughed, and affectation fell away with her mirth.
Then her expression changed entirely, leaving Artorex even more confused.
She turned to her manservant and gestured to him to move out of earshot. Well used to the moods of his mistress, the burly man obeyed.
‘Would you walk a little way with me, please, Artorex? I have wanted to speak with you all day but I would not willingly trouble you.’
Artorex
Julanna tried to hide the tears that filled her eyes.
‘Your wife is not well, Master Caius. Surely she means more to you than a mere feast?’
Gallia knew she had gone too far, but the young master was insufferable in his arrogance, and some devil in her nature encouraged her to tweak his unbearable superiority.
Caius flushed unbecomingly and his mouth drew down in a scowl of contempt.
‘It is obvious to me that your father has not schooled you to know when to speak, young woman, and when to be silent.’
By now, Caius was having difficulty controlling his anger, as his twitching fingers attested.
Gallia lifted her determined chin to show that she was not intimidated.
‘If I have caused any offence, then I beg your forgiveness, Master Caius. But Julanna is not well and she pines for your attention.’
‘Well, she will have to pine alone,’ Caius snarled, and swept out of the room to take his bad temper out on any hapless servant who crossed his path.
‘Oh, Gallia, how do you dare to upset him?’ Julanna breathed, quite amazed by her friend’s composure.
‘Him? I will not say anything against your husband, dearest, but I would dearly love to box his ears. He behaves like a spoiled child.’
‘But he’s the master’s only son and he’ll be the paterfamilias when Ector is dead.’ Julanna appeared quite terrified at the prospect.
‘He’s a bully, and I won’t permit him to frighten you - and that’s the end of it!’
‘I’m so glad you have come to stay, Gallia.’
‘Hummph!’ was Gallia’s only response.
That afternoon, when Julanna had retired to her bed to rest, Gallia decided to explore the Villa Poppinidii in earnest. Followed by her manservant, and completely oblivious to the stares of the field workers, she trudged through the acres of grain to the open paddocks where flowers grew in profusion near the edge of the forest. As she plucked a posy for her friend, her quest drew her closer to the deeper shadows surrounding the great oaks.
‘You would do well to stay clear of the woods, Lady Gallia,’ a curt voice intruded into her thoughts.
Gallia barely suppressed a flinch of surprise.
Turning, with the skirts of her peplum full of wild blooms, she was forced to look up at the smiling face of the steward mounted on a large black stallion.
‘You startled me, Master Steward. My mind was elsewhere, I’m afraid. Are these woods so dangerous?’
‘Very,’ Artorex replied. ‘You will find yourself lost before you have taken twenty paces into the trees. And there are many dangers for unwary fools.’
Gallia smiled as engagingly as she knew how, for she was an accomplished flirt and the steward brought out the very worst in her nature.
‘You own a fine horse, Artorex. He’s quite large.’
‘Yes. He’s big. But he’s still smaller than his dam,’ Artorex responded uneasily.
He was discovering that this frank young woman possessed the ability to make him feel awkward and uncomfortable simply by gazing intently at him with her neat head tilted sideways, as if in surprise.
‘Surely not,’ she replied limpidly.
‘Oh, yes. Aphrodite is his dam, but his sire was a wild horse who mated with her in the forest.’
‘Aphrodite?’ Gallia invested the name with a coo of surprise that showed her small, red lips to advantage.
Artorex mutely pointed towards a very large workhorse contentedly dragging a wagon loaded with harvested hay through a nearby field.
‘Well, he’s much prettier than his mother, I’ll grant you that.’ She laughed, and affectation fell away with her mirth.
Then her expression changed entirely, leaving Artorex even more confused.
She turned to her manservant and gestured to him to move out of earshot. Well used to the moods of his mistress, the burly man obeyed.
‘Would you walk a little way with me, please, Artorex? I have wanted to speak with you all day but I would not willingly trouble you.’
Artorex
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