wish to have.'
'You are not to speak to me that way!' Eugenia ordered him.
'I will speak to you as I wish,' said Simones with contemptuous calm. 'And you will listen to me and thank me for what I tell you.'
'What nonsense are you—' Eugenia was angry and she spat out the words quickly, her face ugly.
'And you will be rewarded for what you do.' He was unperturbed by her outburst.
'By you?' she scoffed.
'By the officers of the Court Censor,' said Simones, and waited while Eugenia considered his statement.
Eugenia started toward the door and then stopped. 'The Court Censor?'
'Yes.'
'What would a slave like you be doing to aid the Court Censor?' She had intended this to be sarcastic, but instead the tone was speculative. Her soft vixen's face grew crafty, almost predatory.
'Think of who I am, great lady, not what I am.' He gave her time again. 'There are many who want to know what transpires in the house of Belisarius, and there is no direct way they can find out. A man in my position knows many things and the officers of the Censor know this.'
'But a slave—' she said with less certainty.
'Who better? You do not think that the Censor finds his servants only among those who are free. I might not be able to testify before magistrates, but what I learn can make investigations possible, and there are others to swear to the accuracy of what I say.' He came closer to her, standing less than an arm's length from her. This was a serious breach of correct behavior and was reason enough for Eugenia to have him whipped. 'Listen to me, great lady. You and I, working together, can do much. And we will be rewarded.'
'If you think I would conspire with a slave, Simones,' she warned him, her breath coming faster, 'then you have a poor opinion of my character.'
Simones laughed outright. 'Be as indignant as you want; you will aid me or I will see that the shadow that falls over Antonina falls over you as well.'
'You're threatening me?' Her head came up and her gentleness disappeared.
'No, great lady. A slave would never threaten one such as you. I am telling you what will happen, keeping you informed as an honorable slave ought to do.' He made a malicious reverence to her. 'Do not suppose that I won't, or that I will not be believed.'
'You're ridiculous. If this weren't so absurd, I would have you thrashed for offending me.' She moved away from him, pulling the folds of her paenula more closely about her.
'Go ahead, if you are willing to throw my assistance away,' he offered her with mock generosity. 'But you might reconsider, great lady. Who else is there who can aid you now? You are a widow and your means are limited. You have only your sponsor, and he cares little for what happens to you as long as your husband's estate is protected. You have no lover just now—ever since you dismissed Chrysanthos you have not had a lover for more than a few days. Your means are straitened and your prospects are not good.' He revealed these unpleasant truths in a conversational way, strolling toward her as he spoke. 'You could make good use of the Censor's gratitude. There would be money, undoubtedly. There would also be introductions and endorsements. You do not need me to tell you the advantages that would bring you. You are not going to be lovely forever, and you should keep that in mind when you deal with me.'
Eugenia had turned slightly pale at Simones' recitation, but she rallied. 'You talk as if I were about to become a pauper and a hag at once.'
'Not at once,' he said, speaking with great care. 'But suppose you were implicated in the conspiracy that my master is suspected of leading? What then? Do you think you could find anyone but an ambitious merchant to marry you? And do you think your sponsor would continue to pay for your support if he thought you had dishonored your husband's memory?' He let his hand trail down Eugenia's arm. 'What would you do then, great lady?'
'There is no conspiracy,' Eugenia said, pulling away from his touch.
'If the Censor and the Emperor say there is a conspiracy, then, great lady, there is one.' He reached out for her again.
'Don't,' she snapped.
He sank his fingers into her upper arm. 'You can earn the good opinion of the Emperor or you can lose all favor. It is up to you.'
'And presumably to you,' she added. 'Let go of me.'
'All in good time, great lady,' said Simones, and he smiled at her. 'They did not make a girl of me, Eugenia. There is still enough man left of me that you and I could both derive benefit from it.' He held her firmly as she tried to rake his face with her nails. 'That is foolish.'
'Release me!' She struggled in his grip.
'Not just yet, Eugenia.' His hands tightened painfully. 'You will have bruises if you persist. Stand still and listen to me.'
She tried to kick him, but in the long, trailing folds of her garments the impact made little impression. 'You cur! You offal!'
'Eugenia,' he said as he dragged her close against him. 'You will be my ally or you will be nothing.'
Whatever additional insults she had been about to speak were silenced. She closed her eyes. 'You are humiliating me.'
'Good,' said Simones. 'That is a start.' He bent his head and kissed her. 'You can do it better than that.'
'Please,' she begged.
'You will be my ally,' he repeated. 'You will do what I require of you when I require it, and in the end you will be rewarded. Think of it, Eugenia. You will have a comparatively short time of this—perhaps a year at most—and then you will be free to find yourself another husband, and to enjoy the favor and approval of the Emperor. You will not need a friend like Antonina used to be to obtain introductions and other favor.' This time he kissed her with calculated fervor; he opened her mouth with his tongue and he pressed her against him. Only when he felt her respond did he stop.
'You disgust me,' Eugenia said.
'You'll get over it,' he informed her. 'Wait and see; you may even come to like me.' He slid his hand down her arm and grasped her hand, drawing it between them. 'There; is that enough for you?'
She tried to pull her hand away. 'You're very large.'
'When they docked me, they left the best part.' His expression was smug. 'There are great ladies who prefer eunuchs like me. We are the safest lovers. You will never get a child off of me, and I will outlast any whole man, who eventually spurts and withers.' He smiled. 'Do not try to hurt me, Eugenia. If you do, I will hurt you.'
Her eyes were bright with fear and another unnamed and unadmitted emotion. 'Why are you doing this to me?'
'I need your help. And I have wanted you a long time.' At last he let her go. 'You had better consider everything I have said. Everything.'
'But… what…' She rubbed her arms where his hands had been.
'Think of the advantages I offer you. Or do you think that a mere eunuch slave cannot do the things I have said?' His face darkened. 'Well?'
'You are being unkind to me, Simones.' She said this wistfully, a little of her languishing sensuality coming back into her manner.
'I will be worse than unkind if you refuse to work with me. I will make you regret your refusal more than you can imagine.'
'Threats are not very lover-like,' she said, her smile more a rictus of fear than the tantalization she intended. 'If you want my aid, you might ask for it differently.'
'I do not want it; I need it.' He looked down at her. 'You are hoping you will enthrall me as you have other men, but I am not like them. I am a slave, and I do not find captivity enjoyable. Such things are only attractive to those who are free to walk away from them.'
Eugenia looked away from him. 'And you will make a slave of me.'
'If you care to think of it that way,' he agreed. He approached her. When she flinched, he deliberately took her face in his hands. 'It will not go well if you show me your repugnance so plainly, Eugenia. Take a lesson from me and learn to appear complacent.' He bent and kissed her again, this time harshly, so that she felt his teeth
