Bertrice Small - The Twilight Lord

“I have had Shifra to comfort me,” he answered her.

“It was kind of you to free her from her slavery in Anora’s honor. The people very much liked such a generous gesture on the part of their beloved emperor,” Vilia remarked with a small smile.

He drank half his goblet down and she quickly refilled it. “I have come, my dear Vilia, to speak with you on a most sensitive and serious matter,” the emperor began. Tiny beads of moisture were beginning to dot his smooth forehead. “Over the past months we have barely seen one another and it is long since we took pleasures together. Your life seems to be spent more and more at your villa in the Outlands province, Vilia, while mine must of necessity be spent here in The City.”

“You wish to divorce me,” Vilia said and she almost laughed when he paled at her words. But then she reached out and put a comforting hand on his arm.

“I have not said it!” he cried.

“But it is what you wish,” she answered. “If you wanted me to spend more time with you, Gaius, you would have asked me directly. You have found love, I am told, with the young Shifra. You have not loved me as a husband should for a long time. I think I realized it when you asked to marry Anora.”

“Do you love me as a wife loves a husband, Vilia?”

“No longer, Gaius, but you know that without asking. We have grown apart and while that is sad there is no help for it,” Vilia told him frankly. “We can remain friends.”

He could feel the waves of relief rolling over him at her words. “I think of you as I would a dear friend,” he told her. “I want us always to be friends, Vilia. We have children in common.”

“Indeed, Gaius, we do,” she said with a small smile. “But as long as I am your wife you cannot wed Shifra without my approval and knowing you as I do, you want her for more than a wife. You want her for your empress, Gaius.”

“I have not said that!” he protested but she waved his denial aside.

“Gaius, Gaius, I am not a fool. If you wanted Shifra only for a wife I would give you my permission and you would wed her. But you want to make her your empress and you cannot do that while you are still married to me. The people would not stand for it. You are clever enough to know that. You must rid yourself of me first. And you cannot have another wife conveniently die, can you?” She laughed at the look of shock and surprise and yes, even a little fear upon his fat face.

“I…I don’t know what you mean,” he said nervously.

“I mean what I say, Gaius, but do not distress yourself. I am perfectly willing to give you the divorce you desire and to make certain that the people know we are both of a single mind in this matter. And because of your great generosity to me I shall sing your praises to the skies and publicly pledge my loyalty to both you and your new empress wife. But as a good merchant, my dear husband, you realize that there will be a steep price to pay for this unique gift I am prepared to give you.” She smiled at him but he saw no warmth in her amber eyes.

“What do you want?” He finally gained the courage to ask her.

“Half of all you own, Gaius. That is my price for your happiness and for the privilege of allowing your beautiful Shifra to have what should have rightfully been mine several years ago-had you not been such a fat coward,” Vilia said in an icy voice.

The emperor grew red in the face. “You are mad!” he shouted. “Totally and completely mad to believe that I would give you half of what is mine!”

Vilia shrugged. “Then enjoy your Pleasure Woman, Gaius, for unless you give me what I desire, I will not give you what you desire and Shifra will remain nothing more than that.” She smiled at him again. “I thought you were enjoying your wine, Husband. ”

“You play a dangerous game, you bitch!” he snarled.

“Had I not stood by your side all these years, had I not curried favor with the magnates’ wives and given the lavish parties and entertainments that brought you to prominence, Gaius. Had I not given you children and an air of respectability. Had my respected family not allowed you to marry me, the daughter of a prestigious Hetarian house when you were not truly worthy enough of my bloodlines, where would you be today? My support and my wisdom guided you, Gaius. And now you wish to cast me off as if I was an old slipper? Well, you shall not. You shall give me half of all you possess and in return you will gain all I have previously promised to you. Is your Shifra not deserving enough of half your wealth, Gaius? Does the gold mean more to you than the woman you claim to love?”

“I must think on it,” he said putting the goblet down, for his hand was shaking.

“I have sent faerie posts to our children telling them you seek to divorce me,” Vilia said. “They will, of course, be extremely upset.”

“You would turn them against me!” he shouted at her.

Vilia smiled. “If you treat me properly and with respect,” she said, “that will not happen. Have you considered that Shifra might give you a child? You are not too old to sire another child and Shifra will do naught to prevent it if she believes it will please you. And if you would put this girl in my rightful place, Gaius, what is to prevent you from disinheriting my children in favor of hers? No, this is not just for me, it is for our children, too. I must protect them and see to their inheritance.”

The emperor stumbled to his feet. “I need to think,” he said and he headed for the door to her apartments on visibly unsteady feet.

“Think well, my lord,” she warned him. “Shifra might even now be breeding.”

Gaius Prospero fled his wife and hurried to his own quarters. Once there he sent a servant for Jonah who quickly answered his master’s call. Stammering and stuttering, Gaius Prospero told his good right hand of his visit to Vilia and what had transpired between them. “She will beggar me!” the emperor complained, gasping for breath.

For a brief moment Jonah almost felt sympathy for Gaius Prospero. Vilia at her coldest was a formidable opponent. He put a comforting hand upon the emperor’s arm. “You will not like what I have to say, my lord, but the lady Vilia is indeed entitled to what sheasks. You are clever, my lord. Your enterprises will quickly make back the half of your wealth that you give her. And even with the loss of that wealth you are surely the richest man in Hetar. She has not dissembled with you but has been honest and open in her wishes. Accept her terms and within the month the deed will be done and the lady Vilia will be gone from The City. You need never again set eyes upon her if that is your wish. And then when summer ends you may wed the lovely lady Shifra with a happy heart and a clear conscience. This matter might have taken many months to negotiate but the lady Vilia is a reasonable and wise woman.”

“But what if my Shifra gives me a son, Jonah? I already have a son,” Gaius Prospero said. “Is not Aubin my rightful heir?”

“Indeed my lord, he is, but I am certain that if his mother reasons with him he will step aside. But if you ask that of the lady Vilia then you must accede to her demands in return,” Jonah advised. He would not have thought to push Gaius Prospero so hard and so fast but Vilia obviously knew her husband better than any. Vilia was going to be a magnificent empress, Jonah thought admiringly. She had incredible instincts.

The emperor’s eyes narrowed as he considered Jonah’s words. Then he said, “Do you really think she can convince Aubin to relinquish his place in the succession, Jonah?”

“I think she is the only person who can,” Jonah replied. “Half your wealth, my lord, will buy you the woman you love for your wife and your empress and a clear line of descent. Isn’t it worth it?” Following Vilia’s lead he pushed the emperor, but gently.