Bertrice Small - Beloved

She glared at him furiously. "You are hurting me," she said.

He ignored her complaint, continuing to hold onto her wrists. "My father has chosen this moment to die, Carissa, and he wishes his entire family about him. You are going to come with me now, and you are going to behave like a good Roman wife would behave. Modestly, quietly, and reverently."

"No I'm not! I shall tell your father that I carry Aurelian's son, and that my bastard will bear his proud patrician name! Let that be his last thought in the mortal world, and let him know he is powerless, even as you are powerless to do anything about it!" Her beauty was suddenly marred by her hatred, which made her look quite common.

Marcus's voice was low, but Aulus could hear that it held a dangerous note. "No, Carissa. You will behave as I have said. Modestly, quietly, and reverently. If you do not I swear to you that I shall throw you from the roof of this house, and tell the world that you committed suicide when I attempted to claim my conjugal rights." He smiled, but his eyes were pitiless. "I almost hope," he said, "that you give me the chance to kill you."

Looking into that hard and ruthless face, Carissa knew that Marcus meant exactly what he said, and she shivered, suddenly afraid. She didn't want to die, nor did she want her unborn child killed. "I will do what you want," she said.

"And remember," Aulus said, "that I, too, shall be by your side."

Carissa brushed her hair into a smooth coil, and affixed it with silver pins. Then she quickly shed her torn tunic and replaced it with a fresh one. They walked down the hallway to Lucius Alexander's death chamber, where Dagian and her daughters clustered about the old man's bed. "Here are your sons and Carissa to see you, my dearest," Dagian said as they reached the bedside.

Lucius Alexander opened his dark eyes, but for a moment he could not focus clearly. Then as the fog cleared from his eyes he struggled to speak. "You have both been sons to be proud of, and I know you will keep the family and its traditions alive in the hearts of your own children. Kneel, my sons," and both men knelt by Lucius's bedside. The old man struggled to raise his hand to Aulus's head. "My blessing, Aulus. May only good fortune smile upon you and your family throughout your lifetime." Aulus felt the sob rising in his throat, but quickly forced it back. "Marcus, my son, my heir, upon you falls me responsibility for mis family. Will you honor mis responsibility?"

"Yes, Father, I will." Marcus felt his father's bony hand upon his own head.

"I am pleased with you. Pray that tonight you will plant the seed of life within this sweet child's womb."

"It will be as the gods will, Father."

"Carissa, my newest daughter, I know you will be to Marcus as my faithful Dagian has been to me."

"Yes, Father Lucius," came the demure reply. "I promise to follow her example."

"You are a good child," Lucius whispered. "I was right to pursue this match. Marcus will see I was right." The dying man fell back upon his pillows, his breaming a harsh rasp. Soon he slid into a half-conscious state. As the minutes turned to an hour, and then two, and three, Lucius Alexander seemed to shrink before their very eyes. Each bream he drew was a tortured struggle, and it seemed as if his chest would split with the effort. In the loneliest part of the night, those hours just before the dawn, Lucius Alexander opened his eyes a final time, and stared at the woman who sat patiently by his side. "Farewell, my heart," he said distinctly in the voice of his youth, and then he died.

For Dagian it was as if a spear had pierced her heart. One minute he was there, and then as quickly he was gone. As she sat frozen with shock and grief her eldest son reached over and closed his father's eyes. " Conclamat um est," he said as he closed them.

"It is over, Mother," Marcus said quietly, helping her to rise from her place by the bedside. She looked helplessly at him, unable to speak. "Lucia, Eusebia, take our mother to her room to rest, and stay with her. Aulus, return Carissa to her place of confinement."

"You cannot mean to lock me up again?" Carissa protested.

"Do as you are told else I take a stick to you!" he thundered.

Had Lucius Alexander Britainus died but several days later, his eldest son, Marcus, would have been safely on his way back to Palmyra. As it was, the old man's death and the settling of his estate took longer than Marcus had anticipated.

Lucius was buried the same day he died. In the confusion the two young slaves appointed to carry the lifeless body of their master to the atrium mistakenly placed him upon the wedding couch that had been set up for Marcus and Carissa. Marcus laughed at the irony of it. "The marriage was dead before it was even celebrated," he said bitterly.

At the hour appointed for the funeral the public crier gave notice according to ancient custom, going about the city and saying, "The citizen, Lucius Alexander Britainus, has been surrendered to death. For those who find it convenient, it is now time to attend the funeral. He is being brought from his house."

Lucius Alexander's funeral was well attended, for he had been a respected man. He was escorted by many to the Alexander family tomb, which stood along the Appian Way on the road to Tivoli. Afterward the family hosted the funeral dinner, and their nine days of sorrow began. The emperor and his wife had come, of course, and Marcus had seen Carissa deep in conversation with her uncle.

"I can only hope," he warned her later, "that you have done nothing foolish."

The nine days passed slowly. Within the house Dagian and her daughters carefully packed up all of Lucius's belongings until very little trace of the man remained except within their minds and hearts. Carissa, no longer confined to her room, spent most of her time lying about, eating outrageous delicacies that she had ordered the kitchen to prepare for her alone, and having her golden hair brushed, did not bother to help.

Marcus and Aulus spent the time preparing their father's trading house for sale. The younger Alexander son knew a man who would be more than delighted to have the business, and would cooperate with the two brothers in marketing their goods from Britain and from Palmyra. Since they could not leave the house or conduct business during this time, however, they could do nothing concrete. Finally the nine days were over, and Julius Rabirius was contacted. As expected, he wanted the Alexander business interests; offered a generous amount for them; and agreed to deal with Aulus Alexander Britainus exclusively in Britain and Marcus Alexander Britainus in Palmyra.

Eusebia and Lucia, assured that their mother would be well taken care of by her sons, returned to their homes. They had both been gone several months, and their own families needed them. Lucia, the sister nearest to Marcus in age, spoke the thoughts that had occurred to both sisters before they departed.

"Will we ever see you or Aulus again in this life, Marcus?"

"I do not know," he replied honestly. "I have given Aulus permission to form his own family, independent of mine. You and Eusebia belong now to your husband's families. Mother has decided to return to Britain with Aulus, and will be a part of his family. Zenobia and I will found our own family in Palmyra. I think it unlikely that we will meet easily again."

Lucia began to weep softly, and Marcus comforted her. "It is not easy for a family to part, dear sister, but it is the way of the world. Nothing ever remains the same. The seasons change; the years change; often too quickly to suit me, but none of us can hold back time any more than we can hold back a sunset or a dawn. One moment we are carefree children, the next we are grown, and as suddenly we are old. There is nothing for it, my sister, but to enjoy that which we have, and not waste time bemoaning what we do not have. Give thanks to the gods that we are all happy and taken care of, my sister. So many are less fortunate than we of the Alexander family."