Excerpt:

Lucius saw that his wife was looking particularly lovely as they sat together at lunch; he had noticed that she had been spending rather a lot of time in her personal quarters with Brenia and assumed that her appearance was due to some experimentation with style that the young women were working on. But despite this, he couldn’t help feeling a sense of coldness from Litoria and was reluctant to further the conversation.

But Litoria didn’t give him the chance to shy away. “Have you had any news on any further opportunities?” she asked, one eyebrow carefully raised.

“Aside from an opening in Massillia . . .” he started, taking a deep breath.

“No,” she butted in.

“. . . that I have declined, there is a fantastic position that has been offered to me in Judea . . .”

“Judea? But it is completely lawless over there! No.”

“But you would be safe, and just think, we wouldn’t have to be there long before we could move again, and should things all go well the Emperor may well forget his decree against your father and we can return to Rome . . .”

“Lucius,” she fixed him with a hard stare and he felt himself go cold inside, “I am not raising a family in Judea.”

“But Litoria, darling,” he started, “I am starting to feel like I am trapped! You won’t move to Massillia, there are no positions in Norbo, nor anywhere else in the region, and you won’t move to the colonies or to the East. Where else can we go? I can’t just create the perfect opening for us, can I?”

“Can’t you?” she said.

Lucius was caught off-guard; it frightened him a little as he had never seen her so hard. “No, Litoria, I can’t.”

“And here’s me thinking you were the canny military strategist, hero of the town!” she hissed, “Why can you not see the golden opportunity in front of your face?”

“I’m not sure what you are talking about,” he said, confused.

“Did the Augustus Caesar just sit around, waiting for opportunities to arise? Did he sit there, thinking to himself, “No, I can’t make the perfect opening to further my career. I’ll just sit here in the Balkans, training, waiting for Fate to hand me something.” Is that how he raised himself to the highest station? No!” she sneered. “Look around you! The perfect position is in front of your eyes!” she snapped, her voice still cold and level. “And you wouldn’t even have to leave Glanum . . .”

“Litoria,” he said, “I am still not sure what you mean. There is nowhere higher to go here, and I haven’t the money left to invest in . . .”

“Who said that we would need money?” Litoria said. “Think, Lucius. You say there is nowhere to go, but you are not in the highest position in the town . . .”

He paused, waiting to see if he fully understood what she was implying. “But your father occupies the only higher position . . .”

She smiled, but gone was the warm, tender glow in her eyes to which he had become so accustomed. “Very good, you are catching on, soldier.”

“But Litoria, there is nowhere for him to go! He loves his position, and unless the Caesar allows him to be readmitted to the Senate and Rome – how we’d be able to arrange that, I do not know . . .”

“But you are not thinking, Lucius . . .” she said and he caught her eyes again.

“Wait, you are not suggesting that . . .” he spluttered, but she held his gaze. “No, Litoria! You cannot be seriously suggesting that I . . . I . . . “

“Lucius! Listen to me! You have tried the traditional ways. Yet for all the favours you have called upon, all the money my father has sent out on your behalf, and for all your skill and talent and experience and friendship, you are going nowhere! It’s time to stop thinking that Fate will look after you as you – we - have been waiting too long!” she snapped.

“But Litoria, he’s your father! And not only is he mine by extension, he has become a close friend and mentor! He has done me so many favours I shall forever be in his debt. How can you even think about it?” Lucius cried.

“Oh, Lucius,” she murmured, “to think, I had so much faith in you! To think that you lied to me when you said you would do anything for me . . . Oh, to think of the beautiful children we could have had together, the wonderful life we could have led in this very house . . .”

“Litoria, what do you mean . . . ?”

“If you do not do this, Lucius, I’m afraid I shall have to leave you. How much do you think your little town will love you when I tell them you’ve been “Greeking it up” with other noblemen on our trips to Massillia?” she smiled. “That in itself is grounds for divorce, and we’ve hardly produced any offspring that might help dispute that claim. I’ve been a neglected wife for too long, Lucius!”

Lucius jumped up from his seat, pacing around the little area dining room. “No! Litoria! Please!” he cried. “Don’t do this to me! What you are asking me to do . . . it’s . . . it’s inhuman! Ungodly!”

“Oh, come on! The Gods are hardly a shining example to cite!” she scoffed. “Now sit down, calm down, and stop overreacting and start thinking.”

“You say the townsfolk will turn on me if you tell them I’ve been neglecting you for the embraces of men, but how will they react if I . . . if I . . . kill your father? They love him now! And our security forces are hardly bigger than his! Any action against him would be lunacy – he commands more money, strength and despite his exile, he certainly commands more favour!”

Litoria sat quietly, watching her husband bluster about the room; he froze when he realise she hadn’t spoken, caught like a deer. “Who said we would have to move against him by force?” she said quietly.

“What do you mean . . . ?” he asked slowly, dreading the answer.

“You bathe regularly with my father,” she started, “how often do you see him in the caldarium?”

“Well, not often. He usually skips the caldarium, he says it irritates his skin . . .”

“It’s not his skin that it irritates,” she said coldly. “You know my father gets headaches in the heat, don’t you?”

“No . . .” he backed away, shaking his head. “No, I will not . . .”

She stood up and started to follow him. “All it would take is a few minutes. Make sure no one else is in there; go early. Convince him, especially now the weather is getting cooler, that it would be good for him. He trusts you, Lucius,” she purred, moving closer as his back hit the wall behind him. “Only a few minutes and he will pass out and once he is down, just hold his nose and mouth shut,” stroking his face gently, she moved her hand up and pinched his nose with her thumb and forefinger, pressing her ring and little finger up under his chin, sealing his mouth and nose. “It will only take a few minutes. And when you call for help, people will see you trying to help him and they will be forever in your debt . . .”

Lucius shook his head, tears catching in his eyes and the words catching in his throat as he softly moved her hand from his face. He felt sick to his stomach but he couldn’t help but to look deep into his wife’s eyes, so big and beautiful and filled with such determination and pleading and even love he felt dizzy and on the verge of collapse. “Please,” he choked, “Litoria, I would do anything for you but please, please! Do not ask me to do that . . . I cannot do that . . . I cannot . . . ”

The swimming world of emotion in her eyes suddenly crystallised and he flinched as she yelled, “Lucius! Do not deny me this! Do not think I will not destroy you if you do not do this for me! I will destroy your reputation; I will file for divorce! I will kill the child of yours inside me – oh yes, Lucius! It is true! – but I would sooner watch this child die than to live with a man who hasn’t the guts to fulfil his destiny!” She grabbed his hand, placing it on her belly.

Tears sprung up in his eyes and he shook his head. “Oh, Litoria . . .” he begged. “Please . . .”

“I was going to tell you, but I also thought you were a man I could be proud of, a man that was worthy to be the father of my children,” she said, holding his hand fast as he tried to pull it back, “but oh, how wrong I was . . .!” She locked her gaze on his, and he squirmed, trying to get away, his strength all but gone. “Lucius!” she said, her voice quiet again. “Think about it. Would you rather save the life of an old man, an old man who is prone to making rash decisions and disgraced himself in front of the Caesar at the cost of your own child? Because that is the decision you are making, Lucius,” she hissed and spun on her heals, striding out of the room.

He slid to the floor, watching her form disappear past the colonnades towards her own quarters. He felt paralysed, unable to move, and he sat, silently sobbing in the dining room as the slaves hung back, shocked into silence and frightened by the atmosphere that hung in the air and the sight of their beloved master reduced to such a pitiful state.