It was starting to make sense to Lucius now, though he still did not quite understand the full scope of it. The secret message carried on Marcellus’s dying lips had never been intended to reach anyone. It had been a lure, nothing more. The Raven – presumably Senator Postumus – had taken the bait, and now that Calpurnia had identified him…what would she do? Expose him to the exiled Senate? What purpose could that serve? Certainly, Postumus had enough allies there to disparage any of her accusations. Moreover, what proof did she have that any of it was true? It was all hearsay. Would she have gone to such means if she simply planned on disgracing the Raven? If not, then what was her plan? The answer dawned on him just as she started to speak again, as did the purpose of her summons.
“You must kill Postumus tomorrow!” she said abruptly. “Not Antony. Antony is nothing. Postumus is the real threat.”
So this had been her plan all along, Lucius concluded, to discover who the Raven was simply to have him killed. The sole purpose of this elaborate plot was to settle the score in a blood feud – to kill the man responsible for her brothers’ murders.
“My family is wealthy, Centurion,” she went on. “If you do this, I will see to it that your needs are provided for. You will never want for money. You may retire any place you like. Go back to Spain, if you wish. My family owns villas in many provinces. Choose whichever one you like, and live out your days as an equite.” When Lucius did not answer immediately, she added, “Would the promise of such a reward entice you, Centurion?”
“The reward, yes,” Lucius replied indifferently. “But not the promise, my lady. A man needs something he can taste and feel.”
This reply incensed Marjanita, who stepped forward and said hotly, "Lady Calpurnia has made you an offer, Spanish dog! You dare haggle with her like some common merchant? You will do her bidding or see your entrails on this very floor." Her hand went to the hilt of a small sheathed blade. The sheath was tucked into a wide sash that conformed tightly around her slim waist, allowing Lucius to see the sinister outline of the hand-length, needle-like blade.
Calpurnia raised her hand to motion her back. "No, Marjanita. Put your weapon away. This centurion has come here in friendship. He is a loyal soldier of Rome, and I was wrong to insult his honor so. Perhaps he is one of those soldiers whose reward comes simply in the execution of his duties."
"I've seldom come across one of those, my lady," Lucius said grinning. "Most ended up on the end of a Gallic spear. A soldier’s got to have a reason to fight, just as a man must have a reason to live."
"Then if gold and land will not lure you, perhaps payment of another sort might?" Calpurnia cut her eyes to the two female slaves brushing her hair in long strokes, then looked back at Lucius. "The oar is wearisome, I am sure, and like the sea stirs the fires of desire in most men. Perhaps something could be arranged?"
Lucius smiled sportingly. "Perhaps, my lady."
"I am glad we have come to an understanding. Do what I ask, and when we return to port, you shall have the most expensive lady of the night in all Corcyra."
Lucius frowned overtly. "Life is so uncertain, my lady. Only the gods can make promises of things yet to come."
"I see." Calpurnia seemed to consider for a moment before her eyes wandered to the two slaves beside her. "Lila and Cora are both skilled in many arts. They are striking, wouldn’t you say?" She then turned abruptly to the two women and commanded, "Both of you, disrobe before this man."
Neither woman moved. Their faces stared at Lucius in horror, both at the command and the prospect of where it would lead.
"Please, no, my lady," the one called Cora began to plead.
Calpurnia’s face turned red at the show of disobedience. In an instant, Marjanita was there and struck Cora across the face with her open palm. "Stop your sniveling!” she demanded. “Your mistress has given you an order!"
But when, still, neither woman complied, the exasperated handmaid took hold of the silk sashes at their waists and roughly towed them over to face Lucius. Marjanita was lithe in form, but the lean, muscled body Lucius had seen glistening in the moonlight that night concealed great strength. The two slaves were slightly taller and had larger hips than she, but she handled them both with little effort. In several quick jerking motions, she loosened the sashes and the ties of their gowns and let the unrestrained dresses fall into heaps around their feet. She then gruffly unfurled their tightly wound hair, letting the tresses fall twirling beyond their pale shoulders to brush past their quivering breasts.
"There, Spaniard!" Marjanita said brusquely. "Choose and be done with it!"
Both slaves averted their eyes and would not look at him as their naked bodies stood hardly an arm's length away. The one called Cora, who had been so brutally handled by the handmaid, had tears in her eyes. The sight of her instantly stirred painful memories within Lucius – memories of his own mother and sister, who had been raped and murdered by a band of ravaging men. Had they, too, looked this way before their captors?
"I await your decision, Centurion," Calpurnia said. "Are they not lovely? Would not one or both of them quench the unfulfilled desires that burn within a man? You may satisfy your lust in any way you wish."
At the mention of that, Cora seemed to nearly faint on her feet. But Marjanita quickly scolded her and took up her chin in her hand, forcing her to face forward.
"Look at him, girl!" she demanded.
"Well?" Calpurnia said to Lucius, her tone laced with the first tinge of impatience.
"Both are indeed beautiful. I'll give you that, my lady," Lucius finally replied. "But I'm afraid neither one interests me."
Calpurnia pressed her lips together in frustration for a moment, and then her eyes grew suddenly wide. "You will not have me, Centurion!"
"No, my lady, with respect, not you either." Lucius smiled slyly and then looked away from Calpurnia, his eyes resting squarely on Marjanita.
It took a moment before the handmaid appeared to realize that she had now become the focus of her mistress and the amused gaze of the centurion. For the space of a heartbeat her stern face lost all complexion.
"Me?" she exclaimed, aghast.
"It appears the centurion desires you, Marjanita," Calpurnia said evenly.
"Never, my lady!" She replied hotly. "I would sooner slice his balls off!"
Lucius laughed out loud. "That might affect my aim tomorrow. I'll need to be in fine form, my lady, if I'm to be sure of my shot."
Marjanita was fixed upon her mistress, her face set in disbelief. "My lady, pray tell me you are not considering this!"
But Calpurnia seemed unfazed by the centurion's proposition, and little concerned for the price that her handmaid would have to pay. "Come now," she said impassively. "We have little time for this. You will see to the centurion’s needs, and then he will do what I have asked of him." She gestured for the two slaves to put their clothes back on. When they had finished dressing under the incredulous eyes of Marjanita, Calpurnia rose from the chair. “Cora and Lila, I cannot sleep tonight. I wish to take a stroll on deck in the moonlight. The fresh air may calm my nerves. Both of you will accompany me.”
The slave women nodded, one of them placing a heavy cloak around Calpurnia’s shoulders while the other gathered their own cloaks.
While Marjanita gaped at her mistress in dumbfounded astonishment, Calpurnia turned to Lucius. “We shall return at the changing of the watch. That should give you both – ample time.”
Lucius looked at the wide-eyed Marjanita and then back at Calpurnia. “I suppose so, ma’am.”
“Entertain him as he wishes,” Calpurnia directed Marjanita. “That is an order.”
“But, my lady, this thing…I do not know how to…” her voice trailed off and the venom left her face, as if her mistress had betrayed her.