most corrupt official in all of Rome, known for ruthlessness, vicious to anyone who stands in his way.’
Severina began to fear. ‘But we can defeat him, can’t we, Lucan? You have the documentation to prove your legal claim to the inn, don’t you?’
She breathed again when he nodded.
‘It’s back at my apartment.’ Lucan glanced towards the men working behind him. ‘Let me tell these others to break for lunch while we walk there together.’
Severina was afraid. Lucan knew it.
He studied her now as she walked between him and Orthrus, worry evident in her eyes and in the tight, anxious line of her body.
He’d long made a study of her. It was habitual, once his favoured pastime. Since his religious beliefs had denied him the intimacy of her body until marriage, he’d focused instead on knowing every other thing about her. He had memorised the lilt and cadence of her speech, the way sunlight brought fire to her chestnut hair, the sultry lowering of her dark eyelashes when desire coursed through her cool grey eyes.
Such intimacy with a woman had been a new experience for one who’d made a careless sport of sex in his pre-Christian days. Chastity had been the most demanding challenge of his lifetime, but with Severina, he’d deliberately chosen it. She would not be like the others.
Slowly he’d come to understand the reasons why the God of his faith demanded it. Sexual intimacy was fairly easy, but often deceptive. It was in the waiting that one began to truly know a lover, without the interference of carnal desire. It fostered deep emotional intimacy, the only foundation strong enough for the mating bond of a lifetime.
To his great sorrow, Lucan hadn’t achieved that lifetime bond. But he’d learned Severina and knew her. Walking at her side now and feeling her tension, he was keenly aware of her fear and desperate to ease it.
‘Thank you for your help,’ she said quietly. ‘I was worried you wouldn’t be willing.’
He stopped in the street. He lifted his hand to cradle her jaw, holding her in place with a gentle, familiar touch. Surprise came into her eyes. Her lips parted; she struggled to breathe. She tried to look away, but Lucan held her gaze. He wondered if she could see in his expression how much he wanted to kiss her.
‘Of course I’ll help you,’ he said in a low voice. ‘The inn is our joint responsibility, one I willingly agreed to shoulder with you. I’ll always be here if you need me.’
My love.
He almost added the words by habit. Were they still true? He wasn’t sure. Pain and hurt had confused him. He was pleased that he’d caught the words in time, but he couldn’t halt the surge of emotion that accompanied them.
There was a long moment of silence.
‘Trust me,’ he said, dropping the hand that ached to caress her skin. ‘No matter what’s passed between us, I’ll never let that censor take the inn from you.’
She swallowed hard. ‘Thank you. I do trust you, Lucan.’
‘Do you?’ His eyes searched her face. They both knew he spoke of more than the inn and the urgency of the moment. Confusion came into her eyes and in that confusion, Lucan understood how little their relationship had changed. There was still something deep within her that he didn’t understand, something holding her back. Maybe Severina had come to him, but she hadn’t come for him.
Angry at his own eager dreams, Lucan stepped away, putting distance between them before he made a fool of himself.
‘Come,’ he said. ‘The sooner we find those documents, the sooner the censor’s plans are overturned.’
They reached his apartment and went inside. Severina sat quietly beside Orthrus while Lucan searched through every record he owned. He was methodical to a fault; in his business dealings, he was unfailingly careful and organised, with everything catalogued neatly and in strict chronological order. The documentation for every other piece of property he owned, all were in their proper places, everything except for the one vital piece of documentation Severina needed. Only that one thing was missing.
Chapter Three
By the time Donatus and Lucan left the censor’s office the following day, the sun was high and blazed hot. They talked little as they headed to a nearby popina for a cool drink and food.
‘You want wine?’ Donatus asked as they made their way towards the counter where delicious smells wafted from clay jars set into the stone surface. ‘They have good wine here, laced with honey and herbs for a flavour different from most.’
Lucan rubbed tension from the back of his neck. ‘No, not wine. Ask if they have beer. I need something more robust.’
Donatus nodded and Lucan moved away to find a table. It was well past mid-day so the place wasn’t crowded. Even so, he hardly noticed the few people who came and went. His mind was restless and disturbed after the interview they’d just had with the censor.
Donatus returned with food and drink. He set it before Lucan and watched as his friend bit into his bread.
‘What’s this?’ he asked. ‘Not going to thank your god before you eat it?’
‘No.’
‘But you always do that.’
‘I don’t do it now.’
Donatus shrugged, hearing the low growl of warning in his friend’s voice. ‘All right. Whatever you say.’
He took up his own small circular loaf, pinched off a generous portion and dipped it into warm broth. ‘That censor made you angry, didn’t he?’
‘Furious.’
‘I thought for a moment there you might slam your fist into his face.’
‘I considered that. Among other things.’
‘Yes. As did I.’
‘He’s after her, Donatus. And we can’t prove anything, not with both our copies of the transaction completely gone—stolen, no doubt. But why Severina? Why her inn of all those in this city?’
‘He’s a predator. He goes after properties owned by poor Romans who can’t afford a legal defence, or foreigners, or women. But I thought he’d give up once we took up for her and he realised he’d have a fight on his hands.’
‘I’d hoped so, too.’
‘That part doesn’t make sense. I know he’s in good with the Emperor because he contributes much to Trajan’s coffers. But I’m a senator with powerful friends, and I’m also privy to the Emperor. Trajan was the one who gave me the inn to begin with, and I can call witnesses who’ll swear that I sold it to you. So why is Terentius pursuing Severina? I have a hard time believing he hates the thought of a successful woman so much.’
‘Maybe it was the amount of the sale that made him suspicious. Two sesterces? Maybe you shouldn’t have sold it to me for so little.’
‘It
