“I shall have the baths heated ready for you, master. The evening meal is not prepared yet, but if you will allow a few minutes, I will arrange something to tide you over, sir.”
Fronto grinned.
“The drink will do in the meantime. I haven’t had a local wine in a very long time.”
Another slave appeared and took Bucephalus’ reins, leading the magnificent beast to the stable as Posco accompanied his master through the garden toward the villa’s door.
As they approached, the figure of Lucilia appeared in the archway, her deep blue chiton emphasising her pale skin and ebony hair, the simple gold earrings and necklace glittering in the afternoon sunlight. She was, simply, breathtaking.
Posco, busy chattering away, realised suddenly that he was alone and turned to find that his master had stopped a dozen paces back. He smiled.
“I’d best get to the baths.”
Grinning cheekily, he scuttled off toward the bath house, mentally cataloguing the tasks he would have to complete before dinner. On the way, he found young Pegaleius watering the garden and, grasping him by the arm, took him along to help.
Lucilia smiled at the weary traveller.
“You rode alone?”
Fronto nodded and started to walk forward again slowly, unable to take his eyes from her.
“Was that wise?” she asked. “With so many troubles, I mean?”
He grinned.
“I think the troubles are largely past. Clodius will no longer be any trouble. Pompey the great is sweeping Rome clear of all its mess and I have hired workers and artisans to repair the house and left a few men to look after it.”
“So you are here for the winter?”
“I am here for the winter” he smiled. “At least until spring. I see no desperate reason to return to the city.”
He eyed her questioningly.
“Though you may have one?”
She frowned in incomprehension.
“The Caecilii?” he said, an unspoken question in his eyes. “A young man who has probably been expecting you for some time?”
The smile that flooded her face warmed his heart.
“I expect he has already received a letter calling off the match” she said with a contented sigh. “I left mother working on father. She can be very persuasive.”
Fronto laughed.
“You are as expert a manipulator as any politician in Rome, Lucilia.”
She smiled as he finally approached her and reached out, taking her in his arms and enfolding her in them tightly.
There was silence for a long moment until finally she loosened her own grip and pushed her head back, looking up into his eyes.
Fronto smiled and leaned down to meet her kiss.
This was going to be a winter to remember.
Full Glossary of Terms
Actuarius: Clerks, both civil and military. In the legions, Actuarii existed from the very top command levels, down to century levels, where excused duty soldiers served in the role.
Ad aciem: military command essentially equivalent to ‘Battle stations!’
Amphora (pl. Amphorae): A large pottery storage container, generally used for wine or olive oil.
Aquilifer: a specialised standard bearer that carried a legion’s eagle standard.
Armilustrium: Festival of Mars in October, traditionally the date the Roman military campaigning season ends and weapons are purified and stored for winter.
Aurora: Roman Goddess of the dawn, sister of Sol and Luna.
Bacchanalia: the wild and often drunken festival of Bacchus.
Buccina: A curved horn-like musical instrument used primarily by the military for relaying signals, along with the cornu.
Burial Club: A fund looked after by the standard bearer that each legionary pays into to cover costs of funerals and monuments to fallen colleagues.
Caligae: the standard Roman military boot. A sandal-style of leather strips laced to above the ankle with a hard sole, driven through with hob-nails.
Capsarius: Legionary soldiers trained as combat medics, whose job was to patch men up in the field until they could reach a hospital.
Carnarium: a wooden frame covered in hooks for hanging sides of meat.
Celeusta: The naval officer who, with pipe or drum, times the oar strokes of a vessel.
Civitas: Latin name given to a certain class of civil settlement, often the capital of a tribal group or a former military base.
Cloaca Maxima: The great sewer of republican Rome that drained the forum into the Tiber.
Contubernium (pl. Contubernia): the smallest division of unit in the Roman legion, numbering eight men who shared a tent.
Cornu: A G-shaped horn-like musical instrument used primarily by the military for relaying signals, along with the buccina. A trumpeter was called a cornicen.
Corona: Lit: ‘Crowns’. Awards given to military officers. The Corona Muralis and Castrensis were awards for storming enemy walls, while the Aurea was for an outstanding single combat.
Curia: the meeting place of the senate in the forum of Rome.
Cursus Honorum: The ladder of political and military positions a noble Roman is expected to ascend.
Decimation: the worst (and fortunately rarest) form of Roman military punishment, saved generally for insurrection or cowardice of a whole unit. The entire unit would be lined up; the officer would walk down the line and mark every tenth man, who would then be beaten to death by his comrades.
Decurion: 1) The civil council of a Roman town. 2) Lesser cavalry officer, serving under a cavalry prefect, with command of 32 men.
Dolabra: entrenching tool, carried by a legionary, which served as a shovel, pick and axe combined.
Duplicarius: A soldier on double the basic pay.
Equestrian: The often wealthier, though less noble mercantile class, known as knights.
Equisio: A horse attendant or stable master.
Foederati: non-Roman states who held treaties with Rome and gained some rights under Roman law.
Forum Holitorium: The vegetable and flower market of Rome.
Fossa: Defensive ditches, such as those constructed round a Roman camp or fort.
Furca: T-shaped pole carried by legionaries which held all their standard travelling kit.
Gaesatus: a spearman, usually a mercenary of Gallic origin.
Galician: Breed of horse from the north of the Spanish peninsula, strong, hardy and short, bred from a mix of Roman and native Iberian horses.
Gladius: the Roman army’s standard short, stabbing sword, originally based on a Spanish sword design.
Groma: the chief surveying instrument of a Roman military engineer, used for marking out straight lines and calculating angles.
Haruspex (pl. Haruspices): A religious official who confirms the will of the Gods through signs and by inspecting the entrails of animals.
Honesta Missio: A soldier’s honourable discharge from the legions, with grants of land and money, after a term of service of varied length but rarely less than 5 years.
Immunes: Soldiers excused from routine legionary duties as they possessed specialised skills which qualified them for other duties.
Kalends: the first day of the Roman month, based on the new moon with the ‘nones’ being the half moon around the 5th-7th of the month and the ‘ides’ being the full moon around the 13th-15th.