Jenni Fletcher - The Warrior's Bride Prize

Lucius gave an angry snort, his handsome features contorting with malice as he turned and almost walked into Marius. ‘As for you, Centurion, you had no right interrupting me earlier.’

‘You’re absolutely right, sir.’ Marius folded his arms pointedly. ‘I didn’t.’

‘Insolent dog! I ought to have you whipped.’

‘If there’s any whipping to be done then it will be on my authority, not yours!’ The last vestiges of Nerva’s self-control seemed to snap. ‘You deserved to be interrupted. Don’t ever insult a lady in my presence again, do you understand?’

‘Yes, sir.’

‘Now get out. I’m sick of the sight of you.’

Marius lifted his chin, meeting Scaevola’s glare with a hard look of his own as the latter stormed out of the room.

‘I apologise, sir.’ He unfolded his arms again as he turned to face his commander.

‘For which part?’ Nerva gave him a barbed look. ‘The interruption or the insolence afterwards? He’s right—you ought to be disciplined.’

‘Yes, sir.’

‘I ought to have you whipped.’

‘Whatever you think best, sir.’

The Legate held his gaze for a long moment before waving a hand dismissively. ‘Don’t be ridiculous. I’d rather have Scaevola whipped, no matter what his father might say, but what on earth possessed you? I’ve never seen you behave that way to a senior officer before.’

Marius shrugged his shoulders non-committally. He’d never concealed anything from Nerva before, but he could hardly tell him the truth, that he’d resented the other man’s treatment of Livia. Or that, even now, he could hardly stop thinking about her. Even though she’d left, he could still picture every detail of her face: her patchwork of freckles, her sharply curved brows and, most of all, those luminous eyes fringed with dark lashes so long they seemed to caress her rounded cheeks.

When she’d pulled her palla back, proudly unveiling the mass of her burnished red curls, he’d found himself half-wanting to cheer, half to bury his face in them. The way she’d stood up to Scaevola had made him want to bury himself in other places, too, not that he ought to think about that. He ought not to think about those places at all. Even if he couldn’t seem to help himself. The way that she’d looked and acted had been nothing short of spectacular. He’d never desired a woman more in his life.

He cleared his throat at the thought. ‘Scaevola just seems to bring out the worst in me, sir.’

‘He does in all of us. We’ll be lucky if the fool doesn’t start a mutiny. Half the legionaries already want to stab him in the back, or so I’ve heard.’

‘I couldn’t comment, sir.’

‘No, of course not.’ Nerva gave him a penetrating look. ‘Although I do expect you to inform me if the situation deteriorates any further.’

‘I will, sir.’

‘Good. Now tell me about the woman.’ Nerva gestured for Marius to follow him into the villa, leading the way past the colonnaded courtyard to his office. ‘Not exactly a blushing young bride, is she?’

‘No, sir.’ The words made him strangely defensive. ‘I suppose not.’

‘You’ve had a chance to speak with her. What do you think?’

‘I don’t dislike her, sir.’

He didn’t trust himself to say any more. None of his thoughts were exactly appropriate for sharing. Admittedly, she wasn’t young, in marital terms anyway, and she certainly hadn’t been blushing that evening. She’d looked more like a ghost when Lucius had insulted her. And he definitely didn’t dislike her.

‘And there’s a child...’ Nerva closed his office door behind them. ‘Well, Scaevola’s right about one thing. His father will be furious when he finds out.’

‘Couldn’t you lend Scaevola the money, sir?’ It was an indelicate question, but one Marius felt compelled to ask for her sake.

‘I’ve thought about it.’ Nerva threw a quick glance at the doorway. ‘But it’s a considerable amount and, between you and me, his father’s a hard enough man to get money out of in person. From this distance, I’d be lucky to see so much as a denarius again. No, the boy’s made his own bed. He’ll just have to lie in it.’

‘What about her, sir?’ The mention of bed made Marius’s temper rise again.

‘What do you mean?’ Nerva’s brow furrowed. ‘She’s here willingly, isn’t she?’

‘I don’t think she had much choice in the matter. And even if she did, she might have changed her mind after meeting him.’

‘Who could blame her? But she’s come too far to change her mind now and the last thing I need is her brother turning up with a grievance.’

‘What if—?’

‘No.’ The Legate put up a hand to forestall him. ‘This is Scaevola’s problem, not ours. We’re supposed to be soldiers, not marriage brokers.’

‘Yes, sir.’

Marius straightened his spine at the reminder. That was true. He’d been about to suggest that he escort her back to Lindum and speak with her brother himself, but Nerva was right. It was none of his business. Just as the way Scaevola spoke to her was none of his business. Now that he’d delivered her safely to Coria, she had nothing to do with him, no matter how attractive he found her or how much he didn’t dislike her. He was a soldier first and foremost and he had more important concerns than one woman.

‘Have there been any signs of activity over the wall, sir?’

Nerva arched an eyebrow. ‘Still worrying?’

‘The local tribes are certain that trouble’s brewing. I spoke to some Carvetti farmers on the march this morning. They said they haven’t had sight or sound of anyone from north of the wall for weeks. It’s too quiet.’

‘Quiet is good.’

‘With respect, sir, not if it’s the calm before the storm. With your permission, I’d like to take a patrol north tomorrow.’

‘No.’ Nerva shook his head firmly. ‘Give your men a chance to rest. They work harder than any other century in the legion.’

‘Then let me go, sir.’

‘On your own? It’s far too dangerous.’

‘I could ride to some of the other forts to see if they’ve noticed anything suspicious.’

That was a reasonable request surely. Then he’d be doing his duty and putting some distance between him and Livia at the same time—something which seemed of vital importance suddenly. If he couldn’t keep her out of his mind, then he could keep her out of sight instead.

‘All right.’ Nerva sounded exasperated. ‘I don’t suppose you’ll let the matter drop otherwise, though I very much doubt that the northern tribes will rebel again now we’re back up to fighting strength.’

Marius sighed inwardly. For all his many good points, Nerva was still a Roman through and through. That anyone would dare to challenge Rome’s authority was still a mystery to him. Now that the Legion was back to full force, albeit with half of it still based in Eboracum, he simply assumed that the rebellions of the past few years were over.

‘Believe me, sir, nothing would make me happier than being proved wrong, but I still think we need to investigate.’

‘As long as you’re not looking for problems that don’t exist.’ Nerva gave him a meaningful look. ‘I know you still feel the need to prove yourself.’

He tensed immediately. ‘That has nothing to do with it, sir.’

‘I’m glad to hear it. Now go and get some rest.’

‘Yes, sir.’ He paused. ‘What about my punishment, sir?’

‘I think a reprimand ought to be sufficient for now, but don’t let it happen again. Scaevola’s a fool, but he has powerful connections. They might not lend him any money, but they have influence and they enjoy using it.’