Chapter Eleven: Waiting and Smiling

"Let go of me!" Brutus struggled furiously in the grip of his friend Cassius. The Senate was in turmoil, as the emergency late-night meeting erupted once more into violent clamor. All Gaul was in rebellion, a Roman army had been crushed, a great Roman lady had been captured, and no-one knew what to do. The brilliant orator Cicero had just wound up a furious denunciation of the dead tyrant Caesar and his illegal conquests in Gaul.

"Don't you see what he's doing?" Cassius hissed. "Cicero is clearly aligning himself with young Octavian and his bitch of a mother Atia. They want him to provoke you by hinting that Gaul was never legally a Roman province and that therefore Rome has no moral obligation to punish the rebellious Gauls - or to rescue your mother Servilia from the fierce barbarian queen Valatara."

"I'll lead an army into Gaul myself!" Brutus cried. "I'll go alone if I have to!"

"Don't you see that's what they want?" Cassius got his face right up in Brutus' so that the two young men were eyeball to eyeball. "The moment you are out of Rome, young Octavian will move against you, and all of us who stand with you. He'll begin legal procedures to accuse us of Caesar's murder. All of us will be branded as outlaws!"

"But what of mother?" Brutus hesitated, looking doubtful for the first time.

Meanwhile, far to the north . . .

A fire blazed in the tent of Valatara, Queen of the Gauls. Servilia of the Junii appreciated the warmth, for she was naked and soaking in a large copper tub that had once belonged to a Greek trader in Marsellia. The glow of the firelight played in her hair, bringing out the golden glints normally hidden by daylight. The beautiful Roman matron sponged her long limbs and sensuously let the water drip over her glowing skin, seemingly unaware that she was being observed.

"You enjoy your bath, yes?" Valatara strode into the opulently furnished tent, her leather boots making no noise on the thickly rugs that covered the bare earth. The warrior woman wore black leather breeches, a metal breastplate, and a cloak of rich furs that fell to her ankles. Her studded metal belt glittered with rubies and silver skulls. Her bracelets were spiked and she wore a battle-ax over one shoulder.

"Yes, very much. I'm very grateful to Your Majesty, and I will report your behavior to the Roman Senate." Any other woman would have shrieked and covered herself, or at least shown some sort of confusion. Dark-eyed Servilia merely reached out her arm as though expecting the Queen of the Gauls to fetch her a towel and dry her off like a servant.

"You should be grateful," Valatara grumbled, feeling the need to put the beautiful Roman lady back in her place. "You will never see Rome again unless you tell them what I want. You write down everything I say!"

"Well, I can hardly do that without a towel to dry myself, and some proper clothes."

The barbarian queen had no choice but to wait on Servilia, pressing a towel around her as she climbed dripping from the bath. "You will not have clothes or . . . or anything else until you tell them in Rome that Gaul is free!"

"Am I free?" Servilia asked, her voice a low purr as she looked up into the eyes of the warrior woman. "Or am I now your slave? If you expect me to help you rule wisely you should bring me some clothes and something to eat. On the other hand, if you expect me to betray Rome you really should kill me at once. Because you'll soon find I can't be forced to do anything dishonorable."

"Roman bitch!" Valatara was more than a head taller than the Roman lady, and fully dressed in armor, leather and furs. Servilia was naked except for the towel wrapped around her, and in the firelight that concealed almost nothing. Even the dark cleft between her legs and the stiffness of her nipples was plainly visible. Valatara wanted to shake her, strike her, even kill her. And perhaps she would have if she had seen any fear in the Roman woman's face. But cunning, dark-eyed Servilia merely looked up at her calmly, waiting and smiling.

Daring Valatara to kiss her instead of killing her.