'The duke thinks it insane, but commanders in the south have more influence to hold their troops. The difference is being made up from the Sixth Victrix. Marcus contributed by claiming his raid on the grove suppressed chances of a northern uprising. He even cites the hostage of his wife as evidence of truce! As a reward, the Petriana is being depleted and given twice the length of wall to patrol.'
'They think that little of us?'
'You know better than I that the tribes and clans have never acted in concert. The Romans think they can bluff you until the succession is settled. They regard you as a fool, Arden Caratacus.'
Arden smiled grimly. 'I hope you encourage them to continue that view, tribune.'
'Continental transfer be damned! I'm too old, and I've worked too hard, to give up Britannia. By the gods, I gave my life to Britannia, my blood and my sweat, and they've rewarded me with second-place spit. I tried working with that plodding praefectus and buttering his little bitch, and they both disdained me. So I'm half tempted to take their transfer to Gaul and leave Marcus Flavius to roast in one of your wicker cages, screaming as he recognizes his own stupidity.'
'We don't roast anybody anymore, Galba.'
'Pity. I've persuaded him that you do. But while such a fire would satisfy my emotions, it won't fulfill my goals. So listen. The empire is weak and divided. You've a once-in-a-lifetime chance to wrest Britannia away from Rome. Rally the tribes, advance on the Wall, and you'll cut like a knife through cheese. You can loot your way to Londinium and crown yourself king.'
'He's a traitor!' Savia hissed in the hay. Valeria pinched her maid's shoulder. The men didn't hear.
'You'll help us do that?' Arden asked.
'I'll make sure the Petriana doesn't oppose you too strongly.'
Arden added charcoal to the fire. 'What do you want in return?'
'My own little kingdom, of course.'
'The Wall?'
'South of it, among the Brigante tribe. I know those people and can keep them from turning on you Attacotti. I can tell you how to beat the legions. What I want is northern Britannia and a quarter share of the gold you'll loot in Londinium.'
'You don't care about your fellow soldiers?'
'The ones I care about will stick to me.'
There was silence then, the men regarding each other. Bound by necessity, mistrustful by experience. 'How do I know you're telling the truth?'
'The news about the emperor is no secret, and the transfer of troops not much more of one,' Galba said. 'Ask your allies. Query your spies. They'll confirm what I've told you. Believe me, Caratacus, at one time I'd have opposed you with all my might. But I've learned that the empire is a place where the best men are passed over and the least rewarded. I despise Marcus Flavius, and I despise the Roman bitch who allowed herself to be used by him for advancement. I want to build a-'
'Stop calling her that.' It was flat warning.
'What?'
'Don't call Valeria a bitch.'
Galba paused in surprise. Then he grinned. 'Ah. I see. That little beauty has gotten to you, too. Why am I surprised? Too bad that initial ambush we arranged on the way to the wedding didn't work as intended. If you'd ambushed them before we were near, you wouldn't have vows in your way.'
Valeria sucked in her breath. Galba had intended her abduction all along? He'd conspired with the brigands in the forest from the beginning? Of course! That was how the Celts had known when and where she'd be. That she could ride a horse. He'd maneuvered Clodius into being her lone escort. Had Titus known?
'The gods work in their own strange way,' Arden said. 'If I'd captured her then, Marcus would have likely lost his posting, and I'd be preparing to fight you, Galba.'
'True enough. Still, the wedding-'
'Empty vows are no vows at all. She lives here now.'
The tribune snorted. 'Until she gets a chance to betray you. Wake up, man! Rut her if you wish, but never forget she's Roman. The purebloods live for intrigue.'
'I don't think she's Roman anymore.'
'Then you're naive.'
'Look. She gave me this.' Arden took from a pouch something small and bright. Valeria stiffened and felt Savia do the same.
It was her ring, the one given to her on her wedding night by Marcus. She'd forgotten she'd let him slip it off at Samhain and put it in the golden cup.
Galba recognized it. 'By the gods, you've bedded her, haven't you? And she's driven you crazy as a result! Does she taste as good as she looks?'
'Shut up, Thracian pig, or you'll not leave my fort alive.' This time the low warning was unmistakable and deadly.
Galba held his hands up in mock apology. 'I'm just saying she's an eyeful.'
'She has more courage than most men.'
'And how many men have courage?' The tribune looked at the ring with interest. 'I don't care what you do with her. I wish I had that bauble, though. I'm missing one from my chain of trophies.' Valeria heard the clink of his waist belt.
'You're a bastard, Brassidias.'
'I'm a survivor. And you'll learn her nature soon enough. Don't be a fool.'
'It's you who are the fool, Galba. You who have never loved.'
'And how do you know I've never loved?' There was a silence of surprise at the tribune's hurt expression. Indeed, who knew anything about Galba's past?
'I don't,' the chieftain conceded. 'I just know I love this woman.'
Galba burst out laughing. Any tenderness had been a pretense. 'Love, love! Fair enough. It's all the Christians talk about, you know, this love they claim.'
'It's a powerful thing.'
'Yes.' He laughed again. 'And now you'll go to kill her husband!'
Savia tugged on Valeria to pull her away, taking advantage of the noise of Galba's laughter. The women crept away to leave the conspirators to talk into the night.
'The men in your life have all betrayed and abandoned you, lady,' her slave whispered angrily. 'You've been married off for money and position by your father, abandoned by your husband, seduced, mocked, and now plotted against.'
'Where's the Arden I knew last night?' Valeria mourned. 'He's nothing but a conspirator with Galba! Men use love like a cheap coin!'
Savia sighed. 'Who knows what he really wants or thinks? Did you really give him your ring?'
'Just in a cup, for a moment. Was last night false, Savia?'
'Fleeting.'
'I thought my life had changed forever.'
'Don't you think every young heart believes that?'
She groaned. 'I don't know what I believe.'
'Believe in law and duty, mistress. Because when men fail you, as they eventually must, order is all that's left.'
They crept back to their chamber, Valeria tortured. What just the night before had seemed impossibly distant-Rome! — had come crashing back into her life with Galba's arrival. The man was a traitor! An enemy of her husband! An ally of her lover! And that made Arden…
She threw herself down on her bed. Where did her emotions lie?
Where did her loyalty lie?
Beware the one you trust, the seer had said in Londinium. Trust the one you beware. What did that mean? Who was who, which side was which?
She was sleepless, in an agony of indecision. Finally she slipped on her cloak and went back outside. It was
