“That’s quite enough.” Crispina took firm hold of Max’s elbow and steered him from the room. He craned his head back for one last glimpse of Volusia, who was standing with slumped shoulders and tearstained cheeks, before they left.
Outside, Max climbed into the waiting litter with heavy limbs. Aelius and Crispina followed.
“Really, Max, what were you thinking?” Crispina demanded as the litter lurched into motion. “You can’t go around kissing girls at dinner parties.”
“I don’t kiss girls at dinner parties,” Max muttered. “I kissed one girl. And, if you must know, she kissedme. I lied.”
Crispina’s eyes widened. “You lied to Rufus?”
He nodded, staring glumly at his knees. “I figured if he hates me that much, he’d be even angrier at Volusia if he thought she’d kissed me. Things would be easier for her if I just said it was my fault.”
“Oh, Max,” Crispina whispered. She pulled him into a tight sideways hug, awkward in the confines of the litter. “That was so gallant of you.”
Aelius laid an approving hand on his shoulder. “Very well done.”
Usually, his parents were chiding him for being late or not trying hard enough at his studies or spending too much of his allowance at dice, so the fact that he’d actually done something right should have filled him with bliss. But even their praise couldn’t lessen the heavy feeling in his gut, couldn’t erase the sight of Volusia’s distraught face.
“I’m very sorry,” Crispina murmured, almost as if reading his mind.
“Why?”
She gazed at him, her eyes dark and serious. “Because to act as you did—to bring displeasure and wrath upon yourself to spare Volusia from discord with her parents—well, I fear that means you love her.”
Chapter 5
AfterseeingMaxforthe first time in ten years, Volusia was scattered for the rest of the day. She endured a quiet dinner with Avitus and Silvanus, then went to bed early on her own. Lying in bed, she replayed her conversation with Max over and over again. It had been mundane, but every word they exchanged was like a spark to tinder, rekindling feelings she’d thought long extinguished.
The past ten years had been good to him. He’d always had a carefree handsomeness about him, but ten years’ service in the army had filled out his boyish lankiness. Now, he was all broad shoulders and muscled limbs, though his untidy bronze hair and lively brown eyes were just as she remembered.
It was improper for her to think of him this way, but she let the prick of guilt pass. Her husband, after all, was sharing a bed with Silvanus at this very moment. Avitus had made her aware of his preferences very early in their marriage.“I have every intention of conceiving a son with you, Volusia,”he’d said,“but once that is achieved, you need not worry that I’ll bother you further.”
Bother. There were moments she longed to bebothered, but she’d had ten years of practice in resigning herself to a decidedly unbothered existence. Avitus was kind, respectful, and unflinchingly honest with her. He didn’t try to hide his affairs, and Volusia repaid his candor by tolerating them. Nevertheless, it had been a shock when he’d suggested that Silvanus, his most talented secretary and latest lover, move in with them once they arrived in Narbo. But, like everything else, she had accepted it.
Max’s reappearance seemed an answer to a prayer she hadn’t known she was making. She’d been homesick, lonely, regretting her decision to leave Rome and travel to Narbo. Max was a friend from a simpler time. In the dark, a smile curled her lips as she remembered the mischief they used to get up to—surreptitiously tossing nuts into someone’s wine goblet at dinner, spelling dirty words with the food on their plates, and the like. It was all childish nonsense, but it warmed her to remember how things used to be.
She fell asleep thinking of Max, and woke with the realization that he could be helpful to her in making Narbo feel like home. She knew him, and he knew the city. At dinner last night, Avitus had encouraged her to see the town once she was settled at home, and Max would make the perfect escort.
After Avitus and Silvanus left for the day, Volusia found Max in his post by the door. He was leaning against the wall, arms crossed over his chest and a bored look on his face—hardly the picture of military discipline. As soon as he saw her, he snapped into a straighter position.
“Good morning,” she said.
“Morning,” he replied with an uncertain half-smile.
“I was hoping you could help me with something. I wanted to see a little of the town, and I need an escort. Would you accompany me?”
His face brightened. “Of course. I’ll just need to find a replacement for my duties.”
She waved a hand. “Hermes can keep an eye on the door for an hour or so. I’ll get a cloak and find him.”
She went briefly to her room to fetch a small purse and don a light linen cloak to protect her dress from any dirt they might encounter outside, then asked Iris to have Hermes, one of the household slaves, man the front door.
Then, she returned to Max. He opened the front door, and escorted her out of the house. She blinked in the bright sunlight. It was the first time she’d been outside since arriving here.
“What do you want to see?” he asked.
She hesitated, glancing around the quiet street. “I don’t know. What is there to see?”
“Not as much as you’re used to, probably. There’s no amphitheater, no circus, or anything like that. We could go to the market square, if you like?”
