Curling my knees up against my chest, I stare out at the wall and wonder when the pain will ease inside of me. Then, I think about Marcellus and that Savonaian woman together. Will he take her to celebration the way he did me? Will he kiss her? Will he create life with her?
The answer is simple.
Yes.
He will do all those things with whatever woman he chooses. Marcellus enjoys the physical pleasures of being with a man just as much as he does a woman. His mulier will need to enjoy that as well.
It wasn’t hard for me, as a famulus, though there were many things that were foreign to me before I moved to Savona. Now they are just part of life, pleasures of the flesh are one of them, and I have discovered that there is a lot of pleasure to be found in this world. There can be a lot of pain and heartache too.
Chapter Four
ONE WEEK LATER
LAURENTIA
I watch as the domum around me is in a buzz. Confused, I hurry to where my mistress is. She’s in the garden as usual, her favorite place to spend her days.
It is cool and covered with lush greenery, out of the elements, but also outside so that she can have fresh air. I don’t blame her at all for spending her days out here, I would do the same.
Once I am outside, I see Drucilla sitting on the bench, hurrying over to her, I open my mouth to ask her what is happening and she turns to me, her eyes finding mine.
“Have you something to say to me?” she asks.
I blink, pressing my lips together. “What do you mean?” I ask.
She doesn’t look angry, but she is very serious as she watches me. Slowly she rises to her feet, reaching out she takes my hands in hers.
“You have something to say to me, do you not?”
Opening my mouth, I have nothing to say, nothing comes out. But behind me, someone clears their throat. Turning my head, I look to see Marcellus and Tiberius standing just a few feet away, their eyes on us.
Shifting my gaze back to Drucilla, I shake my head, unsure of what to say.
“Marcellus has requested, but I have not approved as it is not my place to do so since you are a free woman,” she murmurs.
“Requested?” I ask.
She hums. “He has asked me for your hand in marriage on this day.”
I gasp.
The sound does not sound real, it is loud and comes from me, but my head spins so quickly that I am unsure it even came from me. Then before I can speak, Marcellus’ arms are around me and I’m turned to face him.
My entire body trembles.
Looking up at him, I blink a few times, completely frozen.
“Become my mulier,” Marcellus whispers.
MARCELLUS
I cannot know what her response is going to be. Laurentia watches me, her eyes wide and her lips parted. She doesn’t answer me immediately, licking her lips a few times, but no words escape.
Lifting my hand, I cup her cheek. “I love you, Laurentia. You are free and I would like to have you as my true mulier.”
“Marcellus, you cannot. What about children?” she whispers.
“Can you not produce them?” I ask, worried that possibly she cannot have them. It would be difficult if that were the case, but I would still marry her. She is who I choose.
She shakes her head, gasping for air before she continues. “I can have them, I think. But I am not Savonaian blood, I was a famulus.”
“I know exactly who you are and your past. It matters not. All that matters is that you are at my side. Nothing else.”
I think that she is going to deny me the mulier that I desire, but then she rises to her toes and touches her mouth to mine. “Yes,” she breathes against my lips.
I do not delay. Without another word, I take a step back from her and guide her toward the officiant who is already waiting. There will be celebrations and food to come as well. Days of celebrating. Even games that Tiberius has already scheduled.
“I apologize for disappearing for a week. I needed to prepare,” I murmur.
She laughs and shifts her gaze to meet mine. “I thought that we were going to move on, I didn’t know.”
I snort. “There is no moving on from you, Laurentia, not for me at least.”
Epilogue
ONE YEAR LATER
LAURENTIA
Biting the corner of my lip, I watch him from across the room. I did not think that this would happen. It has been so long, a year, and we had both just assumed that it was not possible for us.
And yet.
The barley seeds grow.
“You’ve requested my presence?” Marcellus asks, his voice low and husky.
Turning my head, I look over my shoulder at him. He is smiling down at me and my heart skips a beat. “Come here,” I whisper.
He closes the short distance between us, sinking down, and lifts his hand, touching my shoulder.
“What is it, dulcissima?”
“We’re to have a child,” I breathe, afraid to say the words too loud, afraid that they may not come true if I do.
His eyes widen, and he doesn’t speak. Instead, he slips his arms beneath me, carrying me like a child through the garden, then the domum until we reach our room. Without a word he deposits me on the bed, his gaze looking down and connecting with my own.
“A child? I did not think…”
“Me either,” I breathe.
His lips curve up into a grin. “I did not realize I could ever be so happy, Laurentia.”
“I did not think it was possible, not after this long,” I say.
His lips curve into a huge smile and he takes a step toward me, gripping my dress in his hands before he pulls it up and off of my body, throwing it onto the floor. Spreading my thighs, I inhale a
