Maximus rode into Paraetonium one afternoon over two weeks after he had left. He had bought three horses, two which were loaded with purchases, and looked a very different man from the one who had left. It would have been impossible for him anymore to try and cross incognito through the empire. He no longer even wished to. Something had changed in him since his encounter with Rubinus. He had metaphorically crouched down and rolled the earth beneath his palms again. No more would he run from the inevitable accounting.

He dismounted in the grounds of the inn, causing quite a flurry amongst the regulars and the children who knew him. Maximus was dressed as a nobleman in a fine tunic of pale blue. His hair was cut short, patrician style, and he had grown a beard that was closely trimmed and groomed. The horses alone marked him out as a man of substance; they were fine animals of good stock, bright eyed and spirited. Throwing a few coins to the young boys who had gathered round to admire them, he asked them to carry up his packages to the rooms above.

"Hey, you're back, handsome...! Looks like you lost your girl though...too bad..." Yanitra was lounging in a doorway. Maximus looked at her, unsure what she meant.

"Your girl...she's with the Numidian...you shouldn't have left them alone...he never leaves her side..."

Maximus smiled. "Thank you for your concern..."And turned to run up the stairs eager now to see Aurelia, surprised that she hadn't come out to greet him after all the commotion his arrival had made.

"She's not there. Your girl. She's out with Juba..." Yanitra shouted after him. He stopped on the stair and came back down.

"Where?"

Yanitra shrugged and played seductively with a strand of her dark, thick hair. "Maybe you'd like to spend some time with me instead?"

He gave her a look that left her in no doubt about his desires. She tutted and leant off the door post. "At the beach. They go there every day..."

Maximus called for his horse and mounted it easily; as an afterthought, he called Yanitra over. She walked slowly to him, her hips swinging sensuously in her loose dress. "Changed your mind?"

He reached down and swung her up to sit before him. "Show me where they are. Then go and keep Juba busy. I think you both deserve some time alone..."

She clicked her tongue and made as if to wriggle away from him. "He can't afford me..."

Maximus dangled a small pouch of coin before her eyes. "This should buy him enough of your honey..." he grinned. She snatched. He pulled the bag away and shook his head. "Take me to them first..."

A short time later, they came out onto the wide sandy beach. Reining in the horse at the edge of the incline that went down to the shore, he sat awhile and watched. There in the shade of a tree a short distance away were Aurelia and Juba. She was wearing just a flimsy shift, pulled up and tucked into her belt, baring her legs well above the knees. Her hair was tied back in a rough knot with strands of gold snaking out around her shoulders. Juba was facing her and waiting, ready for her to move.

For they were fighting. Or so it appeared from there. Maximus began to smile - and his smile soon broke into laughter. The little vixen had somehow inveigled gentle Juba to teach her to use a knife! And here they were with wooden replicas, stalking each other like gladiators in the arena. The girl was just incredible. It was impossible to stop her once she had an idea in her head.

Jumping off, he lifted Yanitra down and they began to walk across the sand together. Juba noticed him first and eased his guard. Aurelia, still deep in her concentration on the combat, saw her chance and moved. Tripping his foot from under him, she knocked him to the ground - more by the force of surprise than power. He hit the sand with a heavy thud, Aurelia jumped across him placing the knife at his throat. "Got you!" she cried out in glee.

"Juba...Show her what you can do..." Maximus shouted back in encouragement. Aurelia turned her head in shock at the sound of his voice; Juba upended her, covering her with his own body in a lightening move. She banged her hand on the sand in frustration. "Damn!"

Juba stood up and pulled her to her feet, laughing. "Never let anything distract you...not even the man himself..."

Aurelia, dusted herself down and then remembered Maximus. Taking to her heels she crossed the sand between them and launched herself into his arms. He swung her round, laughing with joy at the sight of her. "You tricked Juba...! What lies did you tell the poor devil to win him round?"

"I did not! I thought you were going to teach me eventually. But you just hadn't got round to it yet...!"she replied with a giggle. "I am so good at it, though! I can throw a knife a distance and hit a target dead on. And I am getting better at hand to hand fighting. Juba says I have excellent reflexes and that I am surprisingly strong..."

"I have no doubt. I, too, have wrestled with you...in carnal combat..." he had lowered his voice as he said this. She flashed him her sensuous look. "And so you think it seemly to be cavorting with a man in broad daylight on a beach half naked?" he asked with feigned disapproval as he set her down and smoothed back her hair. Her face was freckled and tanned, her nose peeling. She had, naturally, refused to wear any covering in her usual headstrong fashion. Much more of this and she would ruin her delicate complexion.

"Oh, don't start all that nonsense...you know it was quite innocent...!" Aurelia merely ignored his comment and continued to dance about. "You look so handsome! You bought new clothes! And why the beard? It's rather nice though...very manly...I prefer your hair longer though...you look too much like a Roman now. I prefer you a little bit more barbarian..."

She said such absurd things. Maximus tried to remember if his wife had made personal comments about him of this nature but he could not remember any. It would not have arisen any way. He was always well groomed and attired as befitted his status and she had known him no other way. A passing thought of what she would have thought had she seen him in the arena that first time, dirt engrained in every pore, a wild savage vision of the man he had once been. It would have wounded her deeply. She did not have Aurelia's capacity for adapting.

"Come...let me show you...give me your knife...I will hit the target... come... come...!" Aurelia was already dragging him by the hand to where Juba had set up a row of wood blocks wedged into the sand and secured with piles of stones. He pulled back against her playfully but she was determined and he let her lead him over. And there she showed him her new found prowess. He shook his head and marvelled at her.

Juba came over; he had stood back all this time to give them some privacy but he had realized that her story of Maximus' intention to teach her some rudiments of combat had been fabricated. He was concerned that he had overstepped his authority in what he had done. "Maximus, I am sorry...she told me..." But then he stopped, unwilling to lay the blame on Aurelia. Maximus was amused. So his girl had made another conquest, had she?

"There is no fault. Your action was understandable and no doubt will stand her in good stead. It is not generally our custom to encourage our women to such activities but perhaps that is naïve in the circumstances. Aurelia needs to be confident in her own skills in case of danger...but would you have taught your own wife as much?" Maximus did not exactly reprove Juba, but nor was he entirely happy at the turn of events.

"My wife could hunt and shoot and use a knife. Why would we waste the skills of another breadwinner? It was never our way to bind our women's hands..."

His answer surprised Maximus, but that was not unusual. He had always found much to admire in this man's culture already. With a nod and a slap to his back, he told his friend it was no matter and held out the bag of coin. "Yanitra there is feeling ignored and slighted. Take this and give her a good time. Give yourself one while you're at it too...your services with the lady Aurelia are no longer required. I have her body safely under guard now...."

The two men chuckled at his innuendo. Juba helped himself to the purse and took his leave of Maximus. Picking Yanitra up, Juba slung her over his shoulder, paddling her buttocks lightly as she screamed with glee at his behaviour, her earlier bad humour forgotten. Maximus and Aurelia watched them go, standing hand in hand in the sand until they were out of sight and the beach was empty again. There was not another soul for miles.

Tugging on her hand, he drew her to him and into his arms. "You want to go back? I have a horse and we can ride in style. I can't wait for night fall. I want you now, Aurelia..."he muttered huskily against her ear as his hands traced her womanly curves through the soft fabric of her skimpy garment.

"And I can't even wait to ride home. Ride me here. Take me on the sand under the sun. I want to hear the sea lapping and watch the clouds scudding as you love me..." she whispered. Pulling away, she dropped her robe and loosened and discarded the binding cloth around her loins to stand before him naked as goddess.

Every time he saw her uncovered, she seemed to have grown more desirable. She carried herself upright, her breasts high and proud, her hips with more curve, her waist nipped in more tightly than before. Was she developing before his eyes, growing into a woman, ripe for childbirth and motherhood? Did congress with a man hasten that or was it because of the confidence love brought to a woman that she shed her girlish cloak of innocence and found the inner temptress inside herself? Women would always fascinate him in their complexities - this woman most of all. Next to them, men were simple and predictable creatures, of basic needs and even baser drives.

She loosened her hair and ran like a sea nymph for the wave, turning round and shouting: "I dare you. Strip and join me!"

He did not need to be asked twice. His clothes soon joined hers and they plunged into the swirling foam as the large breakers hit the rocky shoreline. It was not an entirely safe coastline so he stayed close to her, swimming strongly to a reasonable depth but keeping her from the wilder currents. There they treaded water and let the powerful waves smash around them while they held each other and kissed, naked flesh pressed close.

He swam back into the shallows with Aurelia clinging to his back, her hair trailing like golden foliage in their wake. There he stood and entwined round him, her legs wrapped high on his waist as they kissed and embraced. "Love me," she murmured. "Here...in the water...!"

He shook his head. "Not in public. Never."

"But there's no one here!" She looked about them.

"There is always someone. I will not take the chance. What we do is for no eyes but our own - besides...the position is uncomfortable and the water will create friction. Let's go back. Come..." He waded back to shore with her still limpet-like, clutching him and searching for his lips at every moment.

"I missed you so! I tried not to worry but I kept imagining terrible things...The nights were long and lonely without you by my side..." Aurelia told him dramatically.

"How did you fare with Juba?"

Aurelia smiled, playing with the thong around his neck. "He was so good to me. I like him very much. He taught me so many things. Like how to go to the market and buy food, how to choose fruit and how to cook simple things. I can even bargain now! It is such fun. We did lots of things together and we shocked many people...the black man and the fair haired girl...!"

She chattered on as they crossed the hot sand and dressed. Sitting her on the horse, he walked beside it as they talked, suddenly in no hurry to reach their room. The anticipation of the love they would soon share was made sharper and more tantalizing by this sweet delay.

And they both needed to talk. Maximus was not yet quite ready to unveil his real plans for the future but he did wish to share with her the experience of the great city. And she was agog to listen to the details, wishing she could have been there with him.

Arriving back at the inn, he swiftly had the young boys take care of his horse and grabbing Aurelia by the hand, ran up the stairs to their room. Neither of them could bear to wait a moment longer. He hung the curtain and closed the shutters, turning round to her and found her standing there completely naked, her dress at her feet. She advanced on him, slowly, her cool deft hands loosening the belt of his tunic, helping him out of it and then kneeling to unbind his loin cloth. She took her time, until his desire was so urgent that he thought his skin would burst in its need to possess her. The image of her naked on her knees, the golden halo of her hair surrounding her face as she cast aside the last remaining item of his clothing, gently took hold of his erect penis and lovingly kissed and caressed it, made him hiss with pleasure.

For long silent moments he let her love him, his fingers wrapped in the curls of her hair, the hot airless atmosphere of the tiny chamber jewelling both their bodies with sweat. It was shady within, dark and humid, only the soft moans of their desire escaping to break the heavy silence. Neither spoke. Words were not necessary. How could they explain the fears and trepidations of the days apart in any but trite sentiment? But here, with their bodies, they were able eloquently to convey their longings, hopes and dreams in a finer language than any poet ever set down in verse.

After the lull, the calm before his storm, there was a sudden onslaught as he gently lifted her to her feet, picked her up in his arms and carried her to the bed, wrapped about him, lost in his kiss. Laying her on the bed before him, he knelt, worshipped at the shrine of her womanhood, buried his lips in the sweet heady aroma of her essence. For this a man would kill all the world if it should dare to threaten her safety!

But he soon moved on - they were both too eager to be joined to need idle love-play. Rising above her, glorious now in his restored state, every inch the leader of men and warrior of a noble line, she gazed up at him as he plunged deep within her. Her beautiful body arched, her fingers reached out to find his - and they came together. This was how gods love. Some hand seemed to have reached down and showered them both in a new aura.

Aurelia felt it, even before she knew his intention. Some tide in him had changed. His spirit was refocused on a goal that would risk all - but aim high, for they were no more the rejected and downtrodden. He was once again the hero who would rise and take back all that had been stripped from them.

"Where to next, Maxime?" she whispered in the afterglow of his passion. He lay staring at the ceiling, already far away, already dreaming of the trials ahead.

"To Rome. We take back what they owe us. It is the only way..."

Aurelia did not question him. It was not the time or place. But she knew instinctively what he meant, if not his master plan. Maximus had shaken off the past and the rejection of his world that had possessed him for so long. He would go forward and prove that it was not Rome that was at fault but those who governed her and abused the precepts of the dream that had founded her. He dared to take the throne. And she dared to stand there at his side.

They seemed to have almost disappeared from the face of the earth. The more men and resources that were put into discovering them, the less evidence anyone could turn up as to where they had vanished since their flight from Leptis. Alexandria had seemed the obvious choice but, despite having holed up there for almost two months, Cinna had not had any success.

There had been plenty of false trails and dead ends, countless reports of sightings - but all had proved fruitless. Either they were dead or they had gone to ground in some remote place beyond the remit of the imperial administration. Quintus Metella had written instructing him to return to Italy. It was enough that they were gone and unable to exert any influence on affairs. Cinna doubted that he had forgiven either of them but he had more pressing problems. For now he was satisfied that Maximus was not in the service of his enemies and his name had been suppressed. There would continue to be surveillance - Maximus Meridius was a wanted man and enemy of the state - but it was to be low level.

Cinna, however, had failed to deliver. He was being recalled with precious little to show for his endeavours. And failure was rarely tolerated, even if it was hardly his own fault. He knew from now he would be sidelined - unless he found a way to turn his fortune.

In a sudden burst of impotent rage, he swiped away the documents littered across his desk. A silver goblet overturned, emptied its contents and rolled towards the edge. He picked it up and threw it with force against the wall facing him. He would not let Maximus get away with this! He did not believe that this man would simply retreat  from sight with the girl. He had to have a plan. And Cinna would not rest until he had tracked him down and made him pay for all he had done to him.

Pacing around the large airy room, he gave it deep thought. Maximus must have had help from the inside. It was the only explanation. But who? Who close enough to the Prefect would have had reason to extend aid to the fugitives from behind the scenes?

It was obvious. Lucilla. She had once been the lover of Maximus. She was the aunt of Aurelia. Her son was a possible heir to the throne. The lady was more cunning and manipulative than any of them had anticipated - and they had been fools not to realise it.  While she might have appeared to have secured her safety in her recent marriage to Metella, the lady would still want an escape route. She had been playing her games throughout the reigns of two emperors already. Her game was always the imperial throne - if not as the empress, then as the mother of an emperor. Annia Lucilla was probably playing several complex strategies at once, storing up potential future allies if Metella should fail. Wherever Maximus was hiding out, Cinna suspected that she would know sooner or later - and if he watched her carefully, then she would eventually relax her guard. The Domina would engineer her own downfall - and lead them all to Maximus.

The next morning, dressed in her new clothes, one of the several gowns that he had brought back from Alexandria, Aurelia went with Maximus into the town on a few errands before they began their return journey.

The first call took them to the back streets, along dusty narrow alleyways to an address that Yanitra had supplied to Maximus. It had been an uncomfortable conversation for him. He had pulled the whore aside early that morning as she was leaving Juba's quarters, tying back her hair, and asked her tersely where women like she went to avoid conception. Yanitra had thrown her hair back and laughed loudly at his question- then made him suffer before she gave him the information he needed.

There was apparently an old lady - a midwife essentially - who had a lucrative sideline in selling various concoctions of this nature. This was the address to which they were heading that morning.

Maximus opened the door and ushered in a nervous Aurelia, standing back in the shadows and observing her. The place made him nervous, its very function distasteful to his sensibilities. It seemed to him a travesty of all that he believed in that he was bringing the woman he loved, the woman on whose body he wished more than anything to create life, to be rendered barren. The final irony in a long line of ironies, he thought to himself.

A further worry to him was what these substances might do to her over time. He wished he could ask a doctor he respected, a man like Galen, and not have to rely on these self-appointed old witches who were as much likely to be dabbling in the black arts of Hecate as any recognisable medical treatment.

He glanced across at Aurelia. She was curiously peering into bottles and jars, trailing her fingers across the counter. He wondered what she thought about all of this. Mostly she was remarkably compliant to anything he suggested. But he knew she didn't really want it. Nor did he. It was sordid and low, a place frequented by whores and adulterers.

But then what else were they to the rest of the world? He had stolen away a woman promised to another. She had given her virtue away to a man who was not her husband. Whatever they thought of themselves, to others their relationship belonged in the twilight world of illicit lovers. And any child of such an alliance would not be spared the opprobrium of society.

An old woman shuffled out of the back, her sharp black eyes appraising her customers. It was not difficult to work out what they were here for, a beautiful young woman and a handsome virile man. The girl was of good birth. The man was someone of status. They did not belong here. No doubt they had run away and someone somewhere would pay for information on their whereabouts.

"What do you want?" she announced brusquely.

Aurelia looked back at Maximus, who nodded for her to speak. "I believe you have medicines to prevent conception..."

"I wouldn't call them medicines...but I have many things that will interfere with nature...is he your man?" She indicated Maximus who returned her mocking glance with a cold stare.

Aurelia nodded. 

"You pregnant?"

She shrugged. "I don't think so..."

That made the old woman cackle. "You don't think so? Has he stuck it up you yet or not?"

At that Maximus stepped forward. "Hold your damn tongue, you foul mouthed witch..."

"...Be careful how you talk to me. I'm not afraid of your kind..." The old woman faced him up.

"...Then perhaps you should be..." he muttered menacingly. The force of his anger made Aurelia stare at him. She put out her hand and rested it on his arm.

"Hold, my love...Don't be angry..." Then she turned to the old woman. "Tell me what you can do for me. That is all I ask. I would appreciate it if you did not make personal comments. I am not a virgin. I do not believe I am pregnant but it is possible, I suppose. There has been congress..." Her poise surprised him. It wasn't the first time that she had found this serene manner inside herself when she had required it.

Somehow the old woman responded to Aurelia's matter-of-fact style. She pulled up a few stools, gathered together some boxes and unveiled her wares. First, she gave her a bottle of what looked like linctus. Opening it, she held it to Aurelia's nose. The girl pulled a face. It was foul smelling.

 "Cyrenaic juice, laced with laserpicium. Take it three times a day, morning, noon and night, mixed with one to three parts of water. Its efficacy is accumulative and the longer you use it the stronger it will be..."  

The next item was a pot of thick cedar resin combined with oil. This was to be applied on a tampon of fine lamb's wool and inserted hours before the act. "Remove it before he comes to you; it will form a barrier hostile to his seed." She demonstrated the amount to use and then mimed how to insert it. Maximus looked away. It was all beginning to make him oddly queasy.

"Lastly, sweet..." the old lady added, "Clean yourself thoroughly within an hour of climax. Use wine vinegar and a syringe. That will ensure any hardy semen is evacuated..." She lowered her voice. "...and by the looks of him, his semen will be particularly hardy...!"She winked and Aurelia repressed a bashful grin.

As they paid, the midwife offered them a final piece of advice. "If you think you might be with child, do not use any of these. They are abortifacients and will most likely kill the foetus...unless, of course, that is what you wish..."

Maximus snatched up the parcel and pulled on Aurelia's hand, drawing her towards the door. "I thank you for your time, mother..."

Outside he strode along at such a pace that Aurelia had to trot along beside him to keep up. "Maximus...slow down! What's the matter?"

He did not reply. Aurelia could see that he was annoyed by the set of his shoulders. It hadn't been a pleasant experience for her either but she had gritted her teeth and got through it. It seemed to have done more than upset him, though; it was as if this process attacked an integral part of his self-esteem. For a moment she felt rather angry with him. Why was everything about how he felt?

But that quickly passed. She let him have his head and wandered along in his wake, idly looking at stalls. No doubt he would cool down when he had been given time to think it out. In the meantime they needed food and drink for the journey - and so she stopped to buy. Maximus carried on walking but soon realized that she was not following him and came back, further annoyed that she had wandered off.

He found her deep in conversation wit a jovial rotund fruit seller. Aurelia was driving a hard bargain and after some back and forth, she got her purchases at a price Maximus realized he would never have secured. He tended to be rather generous with such people, rarely pushing for the lowest price as if it was somehow beneath his dignity to try and make profit from these humble folk. But like any good housewife, Aurelia had no such qualms. The morose mood he had found himself sinking into vanished in seconds at the sight of her walking along with a basket of fruit on her hip, smiling and chatting to vendors as she went. What a girl!

Sliding his arms around her waist, he helped himself to a pomegranate and split it open, prising out a handful of seeds and popping them into her mouth playfully. "You drive a hard bargain, lady..."

"So you are talking to me again, are you?" she replied teasing. He kissed her mouth; she tasted sweeter than ever.

"I am not happy with what transpired back there..." he muttered darkly.

"Nor I. But if we must not conceive then we have no choice. Just like all the things you have had to do for the sake of Rome. Many were not of your choosing. Why baulk at this?" She challenged him with her acute logic. He was again struck by her ability to synthesise and strike at the heart of any matter. He had rarely seen this before in a woman - save only her aunt.

They had begun to stroll long under the portico that flanked the forum; he led her to a tavern and they took seats in the shade ordering an herbal infusion. 

"You do not understand. My greatest desire would be to father a child in your womb. It is what a man and woman should do with their love. It is what love is for. To bring children into the world and to raise them together.  This is what the gods want for us. And yet, by an irony of fate, I meet the woman whom I never believed would exist again for me - and we are denied that joy. What we are contemplating is unnatural. It is against the will of the gods..."

"...the gods whom you spurned when you dug the tattoo out?"

Maximus frowned. "How do you know that?"

"Juba told me" she replied with a dismissive wave of her hand. "...Who can know the will of the gods? Perhaps it is their will for us to be childless? When you strap on armour to go to war, are you not thwarting the will of the gods who might send an arrow to pierce your chest only to fall away harmlessly off the metal? We spend our whole lives trying to thwart the will of the gods and live against all the odds. You and I most of all. Why is this different?"

She had a point. He raised his cup - and gave the score to her. "It is a sordid business all the same..." he answered as he took a drink.

Aurelia sat in thought a moment before she answered. "There is a simpler solution, of course. One that would ensure no child was born and yet did not involve such intrusive methods..."

Maximus tilted his head, wondering where she was taking this. "What do you mean?"

"That you do not penetrate me. It is the most fool proof way. No congress..." Aurelia added, but he could see the telltale dance in her eyes. She was goading him.

"And this is your wish, madam? That I forsake your bed?" he asked her, his own eyes sparkling with amusement at the unlikely idea of them drawing away now.

Aurelia laughed brightly. "Of course not! I would die without your body! But I merely point out that this option never seemed to occur to you..."

He grinned. "I'm a man. It never does." His hand reached out to pick up hers; he turned it round and placed a kiss on her wrist where the pulse beat steadily. "The time will come when we must forsake each other again, my sweet Lia. Once we are back amongst our own kind then we will not be able to associate as freely as we have. There is your reputation to consider and your father's name..."

Aurelia snorted. "They all know we are lovers! Even if we had not been, they would have accused us..."

"Compromises can always be found. Virginity can even be restored. Children born when a father has been away two years can be claimed legitimate...it is all a matter of playing society's game. If those surrounding you wish to be able to state such and such is the case to clear their consciences, then so it will be, unless we give them evidence to the contrary...."

"I hate that! Is everything ultimately a lie? Is everyone actually living a falsehood and merely promoting a false image of propriety to children and the common people?"

Maximus gave it some thought. "Life is never this or that. It is all the many ambiguities in between. Few people are what they seem. Some are more, most are less. Men and women are weak creatures and in the end it is probably enough that they aspired to be something other than what they are. If I was really the man I wish to be, I would never have taken your virginity and your reputation would still be intact. I am weak and so in love with you that my nature acted beyond my reason. But there is still a way for us to present ourselves as what we are not. So we must take it."

"Is this not really because you fear that they will paint me with the same brush as my mother? Is this why you seek to protect my good name?" The old apprehension that Aurelia had always had as long as he had known her was emerging again. She was the daughter of the most scandalous lady in current memory. Did that also taint her in some way?

He took both her hands in his. "That has nothing to do with anything. What I want for us is that when all this is over I can go to your father and ask for your hand. That we then can be married under the old rites and share a traditional first night with all its bawdy preludes - and that there will be blood on the sheet, even if it has to come from my own hand. And that you will bear my son and he shall carry my name...No one shall ever mention that we were once illicit lovers again. I never wanted that for us, Lia...that was never my intention..."

His words moved her. It was the first time had had actually mentioned marriage or a possible future. Before, he had never dared look ahead to a time when they might be free. She wondered what had changed in him to make the dream seem like a possibility now. Or did he need this hope, no matter how remote it was, to sustain him in the weeks and months ahead? "I know. I will do whatever you say when the time comes. Even if I will burn for you each night we are apart..."

"...And I for you. You are the reason for it all, Lia. Without you, I would not be here."

"Then you might have had a safer life..." Aurelia said with a rueful grin.

"...but a lonely empty desert of a life, all the same..." he added. With a shrug, he stood up and took the basket. "Come, we must finish our shopping and ready ourselves for the journey. We leave first thing. At dawn.  The matter of the ...methods the old witch instructed, I will leave to you. Do what you must..."

Aurelia walked at his side and they fell into casual conversation, speaking of what they must buy for the journey and other inconsequential things. But one thought was pressing on her mind. The old woman had warned her not to use these preparations if she might be with child. There was a chance, even if it was slim. How long did it take a man's seed to be implanted? How long after copulation could a baby be conceived? They had made love several times since he arrived home. Each time increased the chance that she might already be impregnated.

And these medicines would likely cause her to lose the child. The old lady had warned her of that. That was something she could not face - to lose Maximus' son and perhaps be rendered infertile by the damage?

 So Aurelia made a decision. He had told her to take care of it herself. So she would.

But not until the next time she bled. None of these preparations would she use until that time.  Only then could she be sure.

"He has been sighted. The girl with him.  Neapolis..." Gracchus lost no time in revealing his latest intelligence to Lucilla. She had already heard the news that morning from Pnyxus. It appeared Maximus was not even trying to conceal his tracks. It could mean only one thing.

"He has changed his mind. This is his Rubicon!" Lucilla felt her heart lurch at the realisation. This changed everything. It was all or nothing now.

Gracchus frowned, pacing back and forth, deep in contemplation. "Where will he go? He's vulnerable. He can't simply turn up in Ostia and expect to walk in the front gate and take back his legions. Why didn't he ally with one of the others? Severus? He's an old comrade. Even Pertinax..."

Lucilla laughed scornfully. "Severus would have him killed on sight. I doubt Pertinax would do any different either. Maximus is more dangerous as a friend than an enemy. Hear his name and the armies and the people will flock to him. They all know that. They also know that he is the one man they cannot buy or manipulate..."

"Then what is his aim? Or is this just another one of his reckless acts of revenge?" Gracchus demanded of her.

Lucilla shrugged. "I do not know. All I can say for certain is that if he has returned then he is prepared to see this through to the end. He will have Metella in his sights. Maximus is a man of honour above all. If he seeks to remove Quintus then it can only be with one aim in mind. To take up the sword in the defence of Rome again. He would not leave Rome unprotected for the dogs like Severus and Pertinax to carve up..."

"So he is in the game to win? Is that what you believe?" Gracchus asked her. If anyone alive understood this man, it was she.

Lucilla walked to the window and looked out upon the city below, vibrant and pulsing. For this, men would give away all they possessed. But not Maximus. He would not be bidding for the ultimate prize for its own ephemeral sake. She empathised with his reasoning. It was akin to her own. Lust for power had never driven her actions, whatever people thought of her. It has always been for Lucius. He could only be safeguarded if she had influence. No doubt Maximus had come to the same belief. Aurelia was the key for him, undoubtedly.

"I believe he will not back away from the task this time. His reasons, however, I leave up to him. Does it matter why he acts as he does? As long as the ends align with ours?"

They looked at each other starkly. So much did not need to be said. Gracchus knew that Maximus had to be the one - for all their sakes. As leader of the armies he would triumph against all comers. As protector of Rome, he would act in its best interests, not his own - now, there's a concept! And then when he was sure that it was appropriate to do so, he would step down and return to private life, leaving a rejuvenated Senate supreme. The return of the Republic! The dream of every right thinking man since the travesty of the Julians.

"I think I know his destination." Gracchus offered her the information he had been concealing since the interview began.

"Where? How do you know this?" Lucilla gasped.

"I once told him that if he should ever need refuge, then my estates at Beneventum would always be open to him... I believe he will go there. I intend to make the trip just in case. The harvest is in...it would seem a good time to sample the new wine..." Gracchus smiled and gave her a slight bow.

"But are you sure? It is a popular route. He could be just as easily heading for Latium..."

Gracchus shook his head. "To be seen there is to announce his arrival. Word will soon be out. He would not take a chance unless his destination was in that vicinity and he knew he could disappear again quickly. He is no fool. The fear of his reappearance, like Nemesis on Quintus' back, will be as effective as his actual emergence. But he is not ready. He knows that. No...he is playing cat and mouse but he is not yet about to pounce. It is Beneventum. I would stake my life on it..."

Lucilla clapped her hands. Could it be as simple as that?

"Invite me there!  Quintus will not be back from Cremona for a few weeks He won't give a damn where I go for a short break...." He was fortifying the Transpadana against possible invasion from the north. She doubted he would be interested in whether she took a short trip in the early autumn. They saw little of each other these days. She had not shown signs of pregnancy and he seemed to be losing interest. Or perhaps the news from overseas was preoccupying his mind? Quintus did not cope well with stress, becoming dark and morose, going deep within himself. She believed he was not the man for this responsibility. Some men simply did not have the strength within themselves to trust their own judgement. Doubt and fear assailed him night and day, the twin demons of self destruction.  He was  a man born to follow orders not to give them.

Gracchus raised an eyebrow at that.  "You do realise that would make you guilty of betraying your own husband? Most likely even treason. It is not merely Maximus who is at his Rubicon, it seems..."

Lucilla returned Gracchus stare with a steady gaze of her own. "I am fully well aware of the consequences of all my actions, Gracchus. And I have no hesitation in throwing my lot in with Maximus Meridius. Even were he to fail, he is owed my support..."

"I hope you do not still harbour any hopes in a certain direction. I must warn you that I will encourage Lentulus to formally hand over the daughter to him. Even epic heroes can do with a little bit of help from wisely selected brides..." Gracchus told her bluntly. "The people respected Aurelius and they love Maximus. Winning the hearts and minds of the mob was always the key to Rome. No less now than ever. Maximus has the trust of the armies already..."

"Do not patronise me, Gracchus! There is only one thing more important to me in life than Maximus - and that is my son. But I am a realist. I do what I can for both. My private feelings are none of your damn business...!"

Her answer was a little less composed than her usual style. Gracchus was not fooled by her. Annia Lucilla would drive a wedge between the general and her niece if she but could. Unless she felt that by encouraging the liaison she was protecting them all, that is. But things could change. He would keep an eye on that. Yet he could only be grateful for her support. It was not a good idea ever to plan such endeavours without the support of this particular lady; the tentacles of her influence were always deep and sound.

"Then we are decided. We reconvene at Beneventum two days' hence. And may the gods look kindly on us. For, if this man of yours does not prevail - this time we are all dead men!"

It was late at night when they drew close to the vast estates that belong to the head of the Gracchan clan. His was a family that was redolent of the late Republic and had spawned generations of leaders with one thing in common - their tendency to buck the current trend. The earlier Gracchans had been representatives of the people and fierce opponents of the demagoguery of men like Clodius  Anthony and Julius Caesar, but they had toned down their rebellious tendencies by now. The current paterfamilias, Gaius Antonius Gracchus, was a staunch Republican, a man of old style values who disdained the pomp and excess of the imperial family, despised the raising high of low born men and ex-slaves, was a vehement critic of the arena and the circus, disapproved of the new millionaires and their flamboyant and crass building projects - and believed in a return to the Republic and an end to the politics of personality and military might.

He was a man of vast wealth, but personally lived simply. His ancestral estates at Beneventum, however, were nothing if not opulent; his villa there rivalling any imperial palace in Italy. It was a latefundia with large farm lands attached, much as Aurelia's home, but the villa itself was grander by far than anything she had ever known and was set in beautiful parklands which even contained a man made lake.

As the party approached the grounds, Aurelia remembered another time when riders had entered her home in the middle of the night - and wondered at how far she had come since that occasion, around six short months ago. Apprehension gripped her now that they were so close to the reins of power again. There was no turning back from this. The end of their story was approaching and she knew that it could as likely end in crushing failure as the success they hoped for. It was by no means sure that they could rely on Gracchus. After their scandalous behaviour and the developments of the time they had been away (of which they had scant knowledge), it was more likely that Gracchus had thrown his lot in with Quintus and that they could be arrested on the spot and tried for treason, licentiousness and murder. Aurelia refused to allow herself to be naïve about their situation. It was desperate - and she was afraid.

She glanced across at Maximus who was riding at her side. He noticed the expression on her face as they entered the long road lined with umbrella pines that led up to the main house, seeing the apprehension there. Reaching over, he grasped her hand. "How do you feel?"

"Scared. It is like stepping back into a nightmare! So strange! This is my world and yet I feel so alien from it. No matter how little we had back then nor how dangerous our plight was, it felt real and honest. Now we must re-enter this sham of intrigue and falseness, where even our friends and family could be our enemies..."

They had spent the previous night in a humble wayside inn and slept little. Both knew it would be the last time they would share a bed for a long time,  were allowed to be together alone or even associate in each other's presence. Maximus, if they were sheltered, would be involved in negotiations of great delicacy and complexity; Aurelia would disappear into the inner female world of the house and be seen rarely except by family members.

They would have to conduct themselves with absolute discretion once they found themselves back in society again, there was no question about that. The story they would insist upon was that Maximus had taken her only to safeguard her from being forced into a marriage which Quintus had always intended to use to his advantage, while secretly working to destroy the Aurelian clan.

There was little indeed in the story that was not essentially true. Although Maximus would offer himself as a future husband for the noble lady, Auelia had to be presented as inviolate, a chaste maiden whose virginity and reputation were not in any doubt. There were conventions to which they must adhere, even if few people privately believed the propaganda. The hypocrisy of their world would deem it unseemly for the general, if he should prevail, to marry a woman whose honour was besmirched by loose living - even if he was the very architect of her fall.

"We cannot succeed unless we risk failure. The two go hand in hand..." Maximus remarked. "Aurelia...we must be strong! Never believe in defeat. Always expect success. Plan for defeat but do not ever allow it to distract you from the only outcome you will allow - victory! Hesitation in the moment is the sure recipe to disaster. From now on, we must act as if we are invincible. And we will become so..."

She nodded, feeling all at once very small and very young. She had not mentioned it to him but it was her birthday in a few days' time. She would be seventeen. Who could have imagined that a girl so young would find herself in such a place? There were times when she wished she could find a secret place in which to hide away from the world, leaving them all behind. But then she looked at him and knew it was impossible to go back. She loved him too deeply. His life was her life now. His fate was her fate too. In her heart she didn't really wish for anything else. Who would forego the chance she had had to love such a man for a life of dull security?

But even she could sense a change in him the nearer they came to their destination. Maximus was still her lover and her friend, but there was another man emerging who was remote from her, intimidating and autocratic. He was a leader of men and a maker of decisions, who would not allow sentiment or emotion to cloud his judgement. Aurelia wondered if Maximus needed the distance to enable him to take the actions that he knew lay ahead.

Not for a single moment did she doubt her place in his life - and his heart - but she still found him formidable at times and he made her feel like a child. She knew he didn't mean to and was unaware of how she felt. But nonetheless, he was returning to the world of men and politics and war - and she was just a naïve and foolish girl who had no real understanding or experience of any of them.

They were a party of four. Maximus had offered Juba the option of bringing Yanitra with him. His decision was not entirely altruistic; the two had clearly formed a bond. Maximus was also conscious that Aurelia needed a companion, a woman to attend her and someone unconnected to the people upon whose beneficence they would have to rely. The slaves they provided for her would no doubt also be spies. Yanitra, for all her rough and ready ways, could be trusted.

Maximus had no idea how Juba regarded the woman or if he had any emotional feelings for her. They spent a lot of time together and seemed to be relaxed and happy in each other's company, that was as much as he knew.. He was glad to see Juba with someone to care for him. But he was unsure how his request would be received.

Juba had merely answered that he was grateful for the offer and would like the woman to accompany them. Yanitra would do as she was told, he assured him of that. He would make sure of it.

Maximus was not entirely convinced - the woman was outspoken and headstrong. Drawing her aside later that day, he had been blunt. "I want you to be a companion for Aurelia. She needs an experienced woman with her. You are not a slave and will be there freely  - and be remunerated well for your services. I expect you to dress modestly, speak in a fitting manner and ensure that Aurelia is safe at all times. There is to be no whoring or mouthing off...nothing that could embarrass her. I warn you, there will be plenty of young bucks around with enough money to turn your head, but if I find you have done any business on the side, you will be back in Paraetonium turning tricks so fast your feet will not make contact with the ground...!"

Yanitra tossed her hair and flashed her eyes at him. "I know how to behave! I am not ashamed to have been a whore - but I have not desire to remain one. You think I like opening my legs day and night for men? Most of them are foul and make me sick...with a few exceptions..." she rolled her eyes at him.

"You are Juba's woman now...so act like it..." Maximus reminded her.

"Don't tell me who I am! Juba is very important to me...I care a lot for him...I would never harm him..."

"See to it that you don't. You're a lucky girl to get a man of his calibre...make no mistake about that..." But his stern rebukes were tinged with kindness. He gave her money to buy herself some decent clothes and ensured all along the way that she was treated like a lady, not a slave.

The party of four rode into the wide courtyard the lay in the shelter of the large house, a double storeyed structure with gardens without and within. Guards rushed out followed by slaves but they were not accosted; it was almost as if they had been expected.

"General Maximus?" A steward called. Maximus' hand went to the hilt of his sword. He looked across at Juba who was also frowning with uncertainty. "The master is waiting for you. Please dismount, sir, and we will show you to your quarters..."

"You know who I am?" Maximus asked, looking about him suspiciously for answers.

"Indeed we do..." And Gracchus himself came out of the house still in his night shirt with a hastily donned cloak around his shoulders. "Maximus...it is good to see you!"

There was no doubting the genuine friendship in the Consul's manner. Maximus nodded slightly to Juba  allowing him to relax as he slid from the horse. "Gracchus...how did you know?"

The man smiled. "Clever deduction. You were seen boarding a ship bound for Neapolis....I took an educated guess that you had changed your mind..."

Maximus shook his head with admiration for the wily old man. "I wouldn't like to be your enemy...!" he muttered as they clasped each other in greeting.

"Nor I yours...! So we had best stay partners, wouldn't you say?" They both laughed at that. "Lucilla is here too..."

"Lucilla? But surely she is the Prefect's wife now, or so we heard...". Maximus could not keep the surprise from his voice

"Loyalties change...she will never forsake your cause for his... For who else could protect her boy as well as you?" Gracchus added, although his other meaning was implicit. Lucilla was still in love with Maximus. That was one aspect of all this that would never change.

"Good...Aurelia will have need of her aunt...!" Maximus exclaimed  as he helped her dismount. "The Lady Annia Aurelia Lentula..."  He set her on the ground.

Gracchus bowed his head."It is with great joy I welcome you safe to my home. Your father has received word of your safety..."

"My father?" Aurelia gasped. She was suddenly afraid of what he would say to her should they meet - and also a little unsure where his allegiances lay.

Gracchus reached out and patted her hand with avuncular concern. "Do not worry. He is only interested in your welfare. These months he has been out of his mind with worry! Your father is a good man, Aurelia. He loves you."

"I shamed him..." she murmured, blushing and trying not to instinctively look to Maximus for support. She was aware of him on the fringes of her vision standing quietly by, listening.

"He will live. Some things are more important than misplaced morality. Your father is with us in spirit. Reluctantly - but nevertheless you have forced his hand. He is no rebel - but he will never risk you..."

It shocked Aurelia to hear this somehow. She had never quite known how her father felt about her. He was such a serious and unemotional man who only ever seemed to be critical of her. As a young girl growing up she had believed he thought her too like her mother and wondered if this both worried and hurt him. From time to time she had also imagined that he might even doubt she was his legitimate child. It was possible one of the many lovers her mother had taken could have been her real father.

But to know that he loved her regardless gave her a sudden sense of belonging . She was no longer quite all alone in the world. She realised all at once that she would love to see him again and that she had missed him. He would come to admire Maximus, she was sure. Her father must already have trusted him for he had asked him to escort her to Rome for her marriage that time. The time they had truly fallen in love.

How could any father not want a man like Maximus for his daughter?

Gracchus led them into the lofty atrium where Lucilla was waiting for them. She was dressed as elegantly as usual, never less than perfect in public. Aurelia idly wondered how Lucilla managed it and felt untidy and poorly attired herself in comparison, grubby from travelling and lacking in the older woman's poise and sophistication. She wondered what Maximus saw in a gauche leggy girl such as herself compared with this worldly wise beauty. Nervously Aurelia stepped forward, unsure of the reception she could hope for from her aunt.

But she need not have worried. Lucilla came forward, all tender concern and warm smiles, clutching her to her bosom and telling her over and over again how delighted she was to have her back safely. There was no recriminations or discussions of the outrageous act of elopement. Aurelia said little, overwhelmed by events and longing simply to run to Maximus and shelter in his arms. But he was deep in conversation with Gracchus and apparently ignoring both of the women - or at least appearing to do so.

Aurelia caught sight of Juba and Yanitra standing back, obviously feeling out of place amongst the grandeur of this astonishingly beautiful atrium. Aurelia tried to see it all through their eyes. The vast open airy space, set around the beautiful tiled fountained pool with its cool verdant greenery, was classically decorated with marble statues set in niches, carefully placed ornately carved benches and walls vibrant with colourful reliefs telling tales from famous legends. It was both fabulously opulent and richly understated, as befitted the ancestral home of this illustrious man. To Aurelia it meant nothing: it was the familiar setting for countless visits she had made in her past. But to her two new friends it represented Roman wealth and power at its most overwhelming, reducing them to cringing subservience. She hated it all the more that mere stones and marble could render fine people in such awe and deference. Why should any man feel less than he was just because of his birth?

"It is good to be home..." she replied evasively. "But better still to find you here...oh, aunt Lucilla, forgive me...I am so sorry for what I did...!"

Lucilla pulled back and tilted up her face, smiling. "No crying! Or am I to assume your time with the general was not to your taste?" 

Aurelia blushed. "No. Maximus has been...very kind to me..." she finished awkwardly, aware that her words were trite and unconvincing. Lucilla did not seem to think so, merely pinching her cheek as an adult would to a bonny child. It made her annoyed. She was not a child and did not enjoy being patronised by this woman who - however kindly she acted - was her rival in love, of that Aurelia had no doubt. Her own feelings towards her aunt were equally ambivalent. Aurelia was grateful for Lucilla's attention and support - but she wished quite strongly that she had not been there that night, nor did she wish  Lucilla to spend time alone with Maximus - although already she suspected Lucilla would get to see him more of him than she herself would in the days to follow. Lucilla was a politician; she herself was just a pawn in their games.

They parted and Aurelia introduced Juba and Yanitra; Lucilla remembered the handsome African gladiator and was charmed again by his quiet nobility - not to mention his impressive masculinity. The girl she dismissed as a cheap hussy and gave her nothing but a supercilious nod. Lucilla had no intention of treating this woman as anything other than a slave. The arrogance of her class was deep seated in her.

Just then, a door opened and into the atrium came a young man. The noise of the late night guests had disturbed him from his reading in the tablinum. The entire group stopped and turned to look at the interloper, Maximus most of all.

Gracchus advanced forward. "Antoninus! Still up? Meet my guests...Maximus Meridius and the Lady Annia Aurelia..." he introduced them one by one.

Maximus took a step towards Gracchus and hissed.. "Who is he? Can he be trusted?"

"This is my son, Antoninus! Or to be exact, my adopted son. My sister's boy. She was widowed early and later remarried. I had no children so offered to see to the upbringing of her fatherless boy. He is my pride and joy - have no fear -  he is with us! There is nothing to fear from this boy..." Maximus gave the lad an appraisal. Not exactly a boy in truth. Antoninus was a young man, very early twenties, he would guess. He had an intelligent eye and the body of an athlete.

"Antoninus...it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance! Your father is a great man. I hope we shall be brothers..."

Maximus clasped the younger man's hand and made a mental note to get to know him better in the days to come. He needed officers who were his men. Antoninus could be such a man.

"Sir..." Antoninus replied, without any apparent sign of recognition of his famous name. Or interest. His eyes quickly returned to the young beauty standing with the lady Lucilla. "I believe you are related to the Domina?"

Aurelia smiled and bowed her head, a little shy to be addressed directly by this young man. "Indeed. Her niece..." she added softly.

"As beautiful as her aunt then! Welcome to our home...!" Antoninus moved away from the men and bowed  to the women with a flourish. Aurelia blushed, dropping her eyes in an instinctive act of seduction which even she did not recognise as such.

But Lucilla did. And in that instant she saw the future mapped out so clearly that she wondered why the stern men with their worthy conversation and their high intellects did not grasp the facts as quickly as she did. Antoninus was already bitten. And he would be an ideal husband for the lovely young heiress.

Lucilla gave Antoninus the benefit of her shrewd appraisal. She had seen him about the house the past day or so since her arrival but young men rarely caught her attention. So this time she looked more carefully.

He was a very handsome young man, there was no denying it, tall and lean with broad shoulders. He appeared perfectly formed with a sculpted physique that was visible even beneath the short tunic he had somewhat vainly chosen to wear. His hair was thick and black, glossy and curly, hair through which a woman dreams of running her fingers. His features were even: he had deep velvet brown eyes, heavy browed, thick lashed. His mouth was full and sensuous, his nose high and prominent. There was already the dark shadow of stubble on his handsome cheeks. This was a young man that girls would adore.

And by all accounts, that was not the end of the gifts the gods had bestowed on him. Antoninus was highly educated, a legal student of some note who had trained in Athens with some of the finest philosophers of the day. Recently he had distinguished himself with the legions. He wrote poetry and was a deeply contemplative young man with high ideals imparted to him assiduously down the years by his esteemed adoptive father - and he was also a charming and confident young fellow. What an eligible young man he was!

"It is late, Aurelia...Let me show you and your maid to your chambers..." Lucilla suggested. Aurelia obeyed her aunt but cast a last longing look back at Maximus. He had already turned away and was entering the tablinum with Gracchus. It pained her that he had not even said goodnight. 

Lucilla saw the young girl's face fall at the sight of his retreating back. But Antoninus had mistaken Aurelia's glance, presuming, with the arrogance of youth, that she had been looking back at him, no doubt as most girls did. Antoninus smiled back broadly at her; Aurelia saw this and was touched by his warmth. She blushed again and returned with a shy smile of her own.

So simple, thought Lucilla, as she guided her charge from the atrium to her designated chambers. Nature will out. What more does a young girl want than a fine young fellow of promise? Aurelia was still a child. She had  had little exposure to the temptations of society. Perhaps all she needed was the opportunity to meet a few young men of her own age - and  she would soon get over her infatuation with an older man.

For the first time in many months, Lucilla felt that there might be some hope for her at last...