Nobilissima by Carrie Bedford Page A

Alaric politely and treated him with deference in spite of their rough dress and rude manners. They talked together in German.
    “Some of the ransoms have been paid,” Alaric explained when the men had left the room. “And we are making arrangements for those hostages to be accompanied back to Rome. This is good news for them and for us and I hope to be able to release you two ladies as well, very soon.”
    “You need more than ransom money, or even food, to look after your people,” said Aurelia, speaking for the first time. “You need a place to settle. You can’t continue this nomadic existence forever.”
    “As you know, I’ve made demands for such a place,” he said bitterly. “If the Empire won’t grant me one, then I’ll take it for myself. Perhaps Africa will be to my liking.”
    “Will you continue to negotiate with the Emperor for your settlement?” I asked.
    Alaric laughed humorlessly. “Your brother won’t negotiate now that we’ve attacked Rome,” he said. “I knew I was taking an irrevocable step when we entered the gates, but I had no choice. I had been alternately ignored and insulted by the Emperor and his council to the point where it had become insupportable. And now, I fear, there is nothing to do but continue my battle against him. Unless you are able to persuade him to see my point of view?”
    “Honorius is not inclined to be persuaded,” I answered. “And I certainly can’t see why he will change his mind now that, as you say, you’ve sacked Rome.”
    Alaric looked pensive. “Commander Stilicho was a great man. Everything would have been different had he lived. His death was a tragedy for us all.”
    “He respected you,” I said. “He would have paid your settlement and assigned the lands of Aquitaine to you. Which is why Olympius had him killed.”
    I paused and could not help asking. “Is it true that Serena was working with you to enable you to take Rome?”
    My stomach lurched as I asked the question. Aurelia looked at me sharply and I was reminded of the bitter quarrel we’d had over Serena’s death warrant.
    “No,” said Alaric. “I haven’t spoken with her since Stilicho died. I knew that she supported the settlement plan but I was in no position to make contact with her.”
    I felt sick and couldn’t look at Aurelia.
    “I see,” was all I managed to say.
    I was saved from further contemplation by the arrival of a group of people. One was Attalus, the pretender to the throne. He looked embarrassed when he saw me and bowed so low that his hair swept the floor.
    “Nobilissima,” he stammered. I was puzzled. I hadn’t heard what had become of him after that meeting in Alaric’s tent, but hardly expected him to be traveling with Alaric.
    “King Alaric has kindly taken me into his household,” Attalus explained. “I had nowhere else to go when, well, when I was no longer Emperor.”
    I found myself smiling. Being Emperor for a week must have been a heady experience. Reduced now to being a retainer to the Goth king was quite a fall from grace.
    “Alaric is very kind,” I said.
    Alaric stood and presented the others. One was Ataulf, who had led us from the palace to the small room in Gardius’s villa. Holding his arm was a beautiful, fair-haired woman, dressed in a long blue linen tunic with an engraved gold pendant around her neck. Alaric took her hand and introduced her as his wife, Taiga. I didn’t catch the names of the various commanders and tribal chiefs who made up the rest of the party.
    Ataulf and Taiga sat next to Alaric and began to talk in low voices, while the other men gathered around the table and poured themselves goblets of wine. After a few minutes, Taiga looked over at me. “Will you stay and eat with us? There is not much food, but we’re doing the best we can and there’ll be fresh-baked bread tonight. Our men have the oven fired already.”
    “I think we should leave,” I began, but Aurelia interrupted me.
    “We’d be