“As I told you before our wedding, Saul is not just a slave to me; he is the most valuable tool for my job. He has always been a trusted friend.”
“…And the person you prefer to spend your nights with,” she snapped.
“Why do you take it so seriously? I am not the only one who has sex with a slave. I bet you are no stranger to this practice either.”
“Flavius, I am not talking about a Master having sex with his slaves; I am talking about a man ignoring his wife to give attention to his slave. Can’t you understand?” her voice trembled as her hands reached the mid-air.
Flavius remained for a moment to consider her words, That’s true, but if it’s not love and respect that bounds us, what can I do? Should I just pretend? Can I pretend for the rest of our lives?
A slave arrived to bring more food and drink to them. “Disappear!” Claudia snapped as the slave remained waiting for orders at the side of a room.
“Why do you need to be so sour toward them? if you would treat your slaves in a fairer way, they will be loyal to you.”
“They are nothing but animals. They don’t deserve anything; even your Saul would slaughter you given a chance.”
Thoughts of time away with Saul lightened his mood. “Well, he will have the opportunity next month. I am going on a business trip, and he is coming with me.”
“Then I will need to arrange your funeral.” Bitterness and sarcasm marred her voice.
“Not so fast, my beloved wife. I will be back home, safe and sound.” He hugged her, then nuzzled her neck. “If you were less negative, we could have a peaceful life. Think about it.”
He left the house to go to the Forum, where he attended to his working duties, while Claudia remained leaned on the couch at the breakfast table, thinking about what he said.
Claudia still felt sour about Flavius’ behavior and decided to spend some time at the Thermae, and maybe visit Flaminia.
Standing, she called a slave to accompany her, then left the house.
Not paying attention to where she was walking, she startled when a male voice called, “Claudia.”
She turned in its direction and recognized Caius, Flavius’ old friend. “Caius, this is a surprise.”
“Enjoying the nice weather?” he asked casually.
“I am not enjoying anything recently,” she replied melancholically.
“A beautiful woman like you should never frown. What is it that makes you so sad?”
She blushed at the compliment and scrutinized him from beneath lowered eyelids. He was a handsome man. If she wasn’t in love with Flavius and Caius wasn’t already married, she would have considered flirting with him.
She shook her head. “Thank you, Caius, you are always very kind. I wish Flavius were as kind as you.”
He smiled sorely. “I am sorry to know that he cannot see your beauty. I would have never set aside a woman like you.”
“You are flattering me. Aren’t you happy with your wife?”
“She died one year ago…” His voice trembled, recalling the illness that took her away from him.
Claudia lowered her gaze. She almost felt ashamed for having reminded him about her death. “I didn’t know. I am so sorry,” she whispered.
“Never mind, I am slowly going through it. We didn’t get married because of political or economic advantage. Our engagement wasn’t set up by our families, and I really loved her.”
“Why don’t you visit us one of these days? Flavius would be pleased to have you as a guest.”
“What about you?”
“What do you mean?” she asked, unsure of what he meant.
He took her hand. “Would you be pleased if I visited you?”
She retracted her hand and shifted her gaze away from him. It was the first time a man showed interest in her since her marriage.
“I… I would,” she blushed, then turned around and rushed her steps away, followed by the slave who accompanied her.
“I don’t feel like I want to go to the Thermae anymore; we’re going home.”
She walked faster toward her house, her heart thumping, and she could not shake the memory of his hand holding hers. What am I thinking? I should not allow this to happen; I am already married, and I love Flavius. Although, if only Flavius…No, I cannot think about Caius.
Upon reaching home, she went to her bedroom, asking to be disturbed only in case of an emergency. She remained on the bed all day trying to make sense of the confusion in her mind.
When Saul entered the kitchen seeking something to eat, he met Nara, held by Julius, who was taking care of the young slave’s bleeding nose.
“What happened to you?” Saul asked.
“It seems like our mistress didn’t appreciate Nara disturbing her in the bedroom,” replied Julius. He didn’t even look at Saul, he just kept Nara’s face upwards, cleaning the nose with a wet tissue.
“There you go. This evening, you won’t even remember she hit you. I'll take a look at you before going to sleep.”
“Thank you, Julius, I already feel better,” Nara replied as Julius left the room.
“I am sorry for what happened. I feel like somehow it is my fault,” Saul said.
“But it isn’t. You are just one of the many excuses for her to hit the girls who take care of her hair and beauty, and me. Besides, I feel good to have proven to you that being the lover of your Master is a privileged position.”
Saul chuckled. “Yes, you were correct on many issues. I don’t think he loves me, and I don’t know whether I love him. For me, it is mostly gratitude for taking care of me. Maybe Claudia is right when she associates a slave to an animal. Eventually, we do feel the same gratitude a pet would feel for the Master that feeds and cares for it.”
“I never felt like an animal with my previous Master. I loved him with all my heart. Possibly, I felt like he was a father, or as the person without whom I would have been nothing at all,” Nara replied.
“That is even worse than being compared to an animal. Here in Rome, we are nothing, and thinking about it doesn’t help at all. We should continue our life, serving our Master loyally, hoping never to raise their anger.
“Let’s not talk about it anymore. Maybe we can just talk about other issues, like how not to get punished in a more severe way than a bleeding nose by our mistress,” Nara grimaced.
Rather than foolish feelings, they’d best focus on how to avoid painful punishments, which was probable any time Master Flavius wasn’t the house. He thought how lucky he should have felt for being chosen to travel with his Master, away from Claudia’s bad temper.
It was almost the sixth hour of the day when a slave arrived in Claudia’s presence in the garden.
“Mistress, you have a visitor,” she announced, hesitating.
Claudia wasn’t expecting any visitors. “Who is it?”
“He said his name is Caius…”
Claudia’s heart beat faster. “Welcome him in the exedra, and bring us wine,” she interrupted.
When the slave escorted Caius to the exedra, Claudia was already seated, waiting for him.
“I see you came, at last, but unfortunately Flavius is not here. He won’t be back before the eleventh hour of the day.” Claudia gestured to take a seat on the bench.
“I came to see you,” he said, moving closer to her. “I wanted to know if you were serious when you said that my visit would please you.”
“I am always serious when I invite people to my house, and you are one of the most welcome guests.” Her low voice was soft and gentle.
“I wasn’t sure it would be a good idea to come for a visit, but I could not stop thinking about you, Claudia.” He clasped her hand from her lap.