The events of the early dawn were enough to convince Maximus and Drago that time was not on their side. Every hour that Bella remained with her captors made her more and more liable to assaults of the worst kind. So, after a detailed discussion of tactics, Maximus withdrew, slipping through the early morning mist like a wraith back to the lower camp where he had left his horses.

Drago took his position and waited, his eyes never leaving the clearing, watching intently the interplay of the men below, his attention always focussed on Bella, who was tearful but calm, sitting on the dusty ground, her head buried in her knees as if she was trying to will herself to invisibility. His heart pounded fast but he endeavoured to channel the tension he felt into the task ahead. Nothing in his life so far had even meant as much to him as this moment. Any skill or knowledge he had ever acquired seemed only to have led him to this place. If the gods had a reason for his miserable life, this was it. For if Bella died or was harmed in any way, he knew that it would be the end of his own life. He had been able to contemplate a world without her, even seeing her married to another more suitable man - but a world without her presence in it did not seem to him to be a place he wished to be.

Over and over again, he checked his weapons, the arrows by his side and those piled up in the other vantages he had selected to enable him to reach any part of the target area. He flexed his fingers repeatedly and worked his legs so that stiffness would not slow him when the time came. He forced himself to eat a lump of cheese and a hunk of dry bread, washing it down with well watered wine even though it all tasted to him like sand and his nervous belly heaved at the very notion of sustenance. But he had to be alert and a body needed food.

The interminable wait was actually not so very long. By midmorning when the sky was already burning blue, another perfect summer day, Drago heard the distant birdcall that was the prearranged signal and rose up immediately vigilant, to skirt the rocks and wait until Maximus had entered the narrow valley.

As his horse picked its way upwards along the scree of the path, Maximus breathed calmly and let his eyes wander down to the verdant plain below sparkling with the ribbon-like meandering of rivers and streams. What a day to be alive, he thought and smiled despite himself at the notion. A man can die on any day, be it fair or foul and it is all the same thing to him. Or maybe not. This was his homeland, not the icy frost of a German forest and a sword to the jugular. If he should die here today, his blood would be shed on his native soil, in defence of the family that were his only duty now. It would be a good death. The way a man should die.

A fluttering sound disturbed his reverie and he shot a glance to the left from where the sound originated. A little bird was cooling itself in a dry dusty hollow, throwing up a fine sheen of powdery umber earth with each flapping of its tiny wings. Then it hopped away, shook off the excess and rose in flight to hover from there to a nearby bush and then off again into the blue, winging our across the valley. Maximus watched it and his eyes crinkled with the simple pleasure of this tiny creature soaring free on a summer's day. He willed it to fly free and evade the marauding of eagle or other bird of prey. In his minds eye, he imagined it settling down on a tree somewhere on his land trilling its song in the sunshine.

And then he turned his eyes to the path ahead, muttered an imprecation to his gods and his whole demeanour changed in an instant. The gentle farmer disappeared behind the armour of the man of iron.

Shortly afterwards, he made his call to alert Drago and then steered the horse and the following mounts towards his nemesis. Sensing the presence of watchers even before he saw them, he rode steadily on as if he was unaware of the imminent danger. When he had passed into the defile and the high walls of rock that surrounded him momentarily brought him into shadow, he heard the call: 'HALT!'

Bringing his horses up slowly, he narrowed his eyes and squinted against the sunlight above. He saw two men and suspected others whom he could not see. "Who hails me?"

"State your name and business, traveller...!"

"Maximus Meridius. I farm my land down at Trujillo. I seek my daughter who is lost. Let me pass!"

A mocking laugh broke out amongst his challengers. "You've come to the right place then, farmer. We've got your little bitch here. She's been opening her legs for us so sweetly..."

Maximus merely focussed them in his gaze but it was enough to still their swagger. Calling him on, they stared at him, muttering to each other as he passed them by. Then they turned and followed in his wake as he made his way to their camp.

Behind them, Drago waited and then began his first task to seal up the escape route. Maximus was now trapped - but so were they all. The more control they assumed themselves, the more chance they would have of directing the proceeding events, or so Maximus had explained to him. But Drago knew that Maximus was taking a risk of epic proportions - he could be seized or cut down at any moment and now was left with no way out nor did the terrain afford him any cover.

The reception awaiting Maximus was a silent and brooding one, full of menace. The captors lined his path, most above him standing on rocky outcrops. They were a gruesome bunch. To his eyes, seasoned at judging men, he read their origin clearly: fugitive slaves, some with the mark of the mines with gnarled nailess fingers and the scars of the lash. Among them would be some deserters from the legions, desperate men who were now as ostracised as the fugitivi - and had equally as little to lose. But among them were men who Maximus judged to be gladiators from both their arrogant bearing and their lupine scrutiny assessing him even before he dismounted. One thing was eminently sure to him. He would be unwise to underestimate any of these men. They were warriors and amongst them might well be the man he had always expected one day to meet - the one who could beat him.

At first he did not see Bella - she was not where she had been sleeping earlier. Maximus suspected that as soon as they had been alerted of his approach they had removed her from sight-  but he knew she was near. So he took a chance. "BELLA!"

His deep and commanding voice rang out around the hills - she would have heard him. She would at least know he was there. His child could take some comfort in knowing that her ordeal would soon be over one way or another. But there was no reply to his shout; Maximus pictured her held fast, a filthy hand clamped over her mouth to prevent her responding. But she had heard. That was all that mattered.

"Is that her name? We call her whore-bitch..." a gruff voice broke out. From the cover of trees stepped a giant of a man, his face a mass of jagged scars, his body a gnarled oak, swarthy with matted hair. The man towered over all the others and Maximus knew instantly that this was his enemy.

"Then I call you Whore master," Maximus replied. "I have done what you asked. Let my daughter go. Take me. For what I am worth..."

"Worth? You are worth much. Don't try to pretend to me you do not understand the lie of the land. Severus is an old acquaintance of yours - rumour has it you were never friends even as generals. Now he is emperor, you are one of his greatest threats: Aurelius' heir, the proven leader, the Saviour of Rome who saved us from the evil Commodus? Not to mention the father of the last of the Antonines...with you gone, your little bastard son won't be long to follow..."

"I have no desire for public office. I am no threat to Severus. He knows that."

"He knows no such thing. You say you have no hunger for power - but where is the proof? You are clever, Maximus, Severus knows that, but he believes you are biding your time until you are sure and then you will launch your campaign. Who knows? Maybe you are still clinging to that naïve hope of the return of the Republic? You still correspond with that Senate lackey, Gracchus, and the bitch princess. She lost her chance when Verus died, didn't she...? She would like nothing more than wrapping her legs wrapped round your waist when you win the purple - and riding you like a whore to the Capitol."

Maximus sighed. "What fool has been romancing you with such tales? Severus does not even know I am alive..."

"Oh yes, he does. For I told him so myself..."

Maximus raised a sardonic eye, showing his disdain for the crude and lowborn gladiator. "You? You presume to tell me that you know Severus? That he keeps you in his counsel?"

The man pulled himself to his full and impressive height. "I am Thraxus Pontus. The greatest living gladiator, freed by Severus himself and taken as his personal bodyguard. Times have changed, Spaniard. A Thracian ruled the Flavian amphitheatre when you made your unfortunate exit..."

"...And I am supposed to be impressed? I have eaten men like you and spat out their bones, Pontus. So, what is the plan? Free my daughter and then escort me to where Severus can have the pleasure of handing me a knife and watching me open my veins? Is that the deal? If so, then let us hurry. I am in no mood to exchange any conversation with a man like you." Maximus slipped from his horse and stood on the ground facing his opponent. The height difference was immediately apparent. Until that moment the others had had the impression that Maximus was a bigger man than he was, overcome as most men were by the aura of invincibility and the overawing effect of his physical presence. But a titter of laughter ran through the crowd as they realised that this ex-gladiator was of average height and dwarfed by several of them.

They failed to see the flicker of a smile ghost on Maximus' face as his dismount achieved its goal. From a distance Drago smiled broadly. Always make them feel they are in the ascendancy - they will never be as sharp if they are convinced of their invincibility. Maximus had said that to him before he had left when he had shown him the thinking behind his plan. It was hard for the younger man not to feel a warm sense of comradeship with this unusual man. He was every kind of man that Drago wished he himself could be.

There was a momentary lull and then Pontus gave a curt nod. Bella was dragged forward, held roughly by two other men. She saw her father and screamed his name. He made no more than a slight tilt of his head in acknowledgement. At almost the same moment, he was seized accepting the holding hands without any demur.

"Let her go. You have had your fun."

Pontus sneered malevolently. "Oh, my fun has not even begun yet...Severus wants you dead. He is little interested how, as long as he gets your head. That I can oblige. You see, Severus is not the only man with a reason to hate you. I intend to be your doom. I intend to make you pay for what you have done. And your winsome daughter is just the first part of my revenge..."

"What have I done to you, Pontus? I can understand if you are acting on the emperor's orders, but I have never seen you before. Why the personal grievance?" This was something different. Maximus had presumed a reward was what these men were after. But private vendetta? This was an entirely different matter.

"You killed my only son. For that I will take your world. For even when you and this little slut are long dead, we will go for the rest - and this time the line of Maximus will be gone forever."

A muscle twitched in Maximus' cheek but it was the only sign of his concern at this terrible threat. Instead he squared his shoulders and raised his chin, his eyes scanning the surrounding area discreetly. "I was a general. I have the blood of many men's sons on my hands. It has always weighed on my conscience. But war is war. Who was your son?"

Pontus only laughed. "I owe you know explanations. Nor do I care to listen to you wriggling now your end is near. Bring the girl forward...!"

"Papa!" Bella shouted as she was dragged struggling into the foreground. Maximus's lips parted as if to speak but he closed them in a tight line. "Papa!" But he did not react, giving her a direct stare that hoped to say so much.

"She is a child. Let her go."

"She is a female. And you shall watch what we do to women in this camp...Strip her!" Hands reached out and wrenched her cloak from her, ripping her dress from neck to hem and then a knife flashed out and cut the white fabric covering her loins. Bella screamed and threw herself about trying to shake them off, but it was to no avail. She was left exposed, naked before the assembled men.

And Maximus still remained still and expressionless, observing his beautiful child humiliated before this band of vicious killers. 

"Good looking girl and what a body...I want her maidenhead. Hold her fast..." Pontus loosened the breeches he wore and reached for his cock; the other men gathered about jeering and making crude comments. Bella was raised and her legs forced apart; she bucked and shouted but it was impossible to stop them and her dreadful shame was there for all to see. Maximus looked up and nodded but no one but Drago saw the sign. As Pontus advanced jerking on himself, Drago whispered a prayer to Apollo to guide his hand and then let fly his volley. The men holding Bella fell, arrows through their throat and heart. Within seconds those holding Maximus were similarly felled and he himself had moved, retrieved a dagger from the nearest body, slit the throat of another.

Bella had dropped to the ground but she did not waste time. Picking up her discarded cloak she scrambled away as more arrows thudded around, either finding their mark or preventing anyone from reaching her. Maximus breathed a sigh of relief as she hit the trees and he turned to the men still standing.

There were six men down; four were dead or dying, the other two badly incapacitated. He could see, apart from Pontus three more men scanning the rocks above. It was always possible others might be hidden or had gone to smoke out his bowmen.

He held his hand up and shouted: "Cease!"

Snatching a short sword from one body and then another from a second corpse, Maximus paced the ground rotating his wrists and flexing both swords ominously. "My men are surrounding you. If you make a move, the next volley will take you all down. It is time for you to listen to me, Thracian."

"How did you get them past? It is not possible...this is a trick..." Pontus had recovered his equilibrium and was beginning to question the apparent trap he had been caught in.

"It is no trick. You forget, I am not just a gladiator, Pontus. I am Maximus Decimus Meridius, the former general of the armies of the north. Battles are won here...!" And he touched his forehead. "Not with the right arm..." and he clenched his fist and raised it. "I have out thought you. There is more to war than your show of brutish strength. Remember, barbarian why your people bow their heads to Rome."

Pontus spat on the ground but eyed the hills warily. "So...there are four of us and who knows how many of you? I believe we have a stand off. Even if your forces strike, all it will take is for one of my men to take you down. And I have such a man, placed behind you...you think I would be fool enough not to keep something in reserve, just in case?"

Maximus turned slowly and saw an archer in the cover of the trees with a bow trained on him. He was a Haemian by his style and Maximus knew his aim would be true. Drago could not reach his position. He turned back to face Pontus. "So you win? I must draw my men off? You think my life means that much to me?" Maximus answered. There was a tense silence while Pontus weighed up his odds. It was interrupted by a clear strong female voice and accompanied by the thud of knife hitting flesh. "It means enough to me!" The hidden bowman fell forward with the hilt of a blade embedded deep between his eyes. All the men, Maximus included seem stunned. Bella stepped forward, wrapped in her cloak. "I told you I was an expert with a dagger, Father...you have one more to add to your forces now..."

It was impossible for Maximus to hold back the smile that her action and the spirited courage of her response. She had saved his life. She had proved her mettle, keeping her head when any one, man or woman, might have been expected to give way to sheer panic. Bella was his daughter. The steely determination in her eyes showed him that this young girl had in her amazing reserves of courage and stubbornness. No wonder she was such handful. And in that moment he learned a vital lesson about the sexes, one he knew instinctively he should have learned years ago.

"Take the rest of your clothes and climb up. My men are waiting there." Maximus instructed her impassively. Bella ran forward, grabbed her clothes and did his bidding with barely a backward glance. If she understood the danger he was still in, she gave no sign of it. Bella knew that her father alone could direct the way this turned out.

"So...the odds are levelled again, Pontus. I have what I came for. By rights I should order my men to finish this. It would be a kinder ending than you promised me and mine. But, I am not a man known for my forbearance when attacked. Forgive me my brutal arrogance but I want to know the answer to the same question that I believe you have posed yourself. You or me? Who would be the victor?"

Pontus sneered. "You would fight me? And if I win? I take your daughter? Is that the offer?"

Maximus smiled coldly. "You win and you live. That is all. My daughter is not part of this pact. I promise you safe conduct for yourself and your men in the unlikely event of my death."

"I will kill you and then come for your family..." Pontus vowed.

"Then...I had better make sure I win..." Maximus added with a knowing grin. "Tell your men to drop their weapons. We fight here, in this circle. To the death."

Pontus, ripped off his tunic and stood there in his breeches, his scarred and hairy torso displayed; his men handed him a sword, the heavy longer sword of the Thracian cavalry that he favoured. Maximus crouched in the dirt and picked up a handful of earth, rubbing it into his left palm and then inhaling the aroma of his native land. He remembered a comment from long ago. "Is it a good home? A home worth dying for?" He shook the memory from him. It was a good home. A home worth living for.

Bella struggled into her tunic and then ran pell-mell for the higher ground. It was not long before she found herself tumbling into the arms of her lover, Drago who had run down to greet her. "Drago!" she sobbed.

He put his finger to her lips and took her hand, dragging her to a vantage point. This was no time for fond reunions. "Stay here. Whatever happens, stay here. He's going to fight Pontus. It will be close and bloody. You must be alert and watch the other men. They cannot be allowed to intervene and attack your father.  When it is over we have to be ready. Here's a bow. I know you can shoot straight, but can you shoot to kill under pressure? In the knowledge that your father is dead or dying? Bella, this is what you must do - or we will all die today."

"I will do what I must. I am Maximus' daughter. I will not let him down!" Bella exclaimed. She caught Drago's arm. "But he will win, won't he? My father cannot be beaten!"

Drago smiled softly and touched her cheek. "He will win. But, Bella, all men can be beaten. Only the gods are immortal..."

And with that he left her and crept to another refuge to watch and await the outcome. 

Down below the two gladiators were circling each other, the campfire between them. Pontus kicked up a flaming brand, Maximus ducked and the two men attacked. Drago watched as the fierce clashing of blade on blade rang out in the quiet glade. He had never seen such a combat. Once or twice he had witnessed gladiators in small local arenas but nothing like this battle of the giants. The force of their blows would have shattered the bones of lesser men and the strength alone would have knocked most men off their feet. Pontus was faster than his size would have suggested, strong as an ox, a master swordsman and he had the height advantage. His reach was half again as long as Maximus and his sword was of greater length. Maximus was agile, athletic, light on his feet and wily. At times he made Pontus look lumbering as he expertly took the impetus of Pontus' heavy assault and turned it back on him. But the most impressive was the speed of Maximus's sword thrusts, which were so rapid that any error on the other man's part was quickly rewarded.

On and on they fought, stumbling, rolling, falling and jumping up to fight again. Damage was done to both and in a short time they were sweating profusely, blood coursing from numerous minor slashes and knocks and breathing heavily. It seemed that neither would gain the ascendancy. It was possible they might kill each other.

One of Pontus' men made a sly move to reach a spear that was stuck in the ground nearby but Drago, despite his attention to the combat, was alert and he let fire an arrow, piercing through the man's hand. The anguished cry made no impact on the gladiators who continued to hack and parry. Bella gasped as she saw what Drago had done and held her own bow tighter, determined to be as observant as he in future. But it was hard for her as she watched the hypnotic violence of the brutal contest. She was beginning to understand what Drago had been trying to tell her. Maximus was a great warrior but there is never any certainty in matters of this kind. A man must face his destiny every time he steps into an arena or takes his place in the line.

Each blow her father weathered made her heart almost stop. Every time he retaliated and made his own hit count, she wanted to stand up and cheer. This was elemental, primal, even beastlike, in its savage simplicity. Kill or be killed. Life pared down to its essential battle to exist. As the two men tired, she could see that in the final analysis only one thing would count: who had the greater will?

When the end finally came, it was sudden and almost an anticlimax. Maximus had stumbled onto one knee and Pontus pressed his advantage opening his stance to take a wide swing and lop off his head. Maximus merely lunged and thrust up, thrusting his sword into his opponent's belly taking the opportunity of the momentary removal of the guard. Twisting and pulling downwards, he disembowelled Pontus, who fell forwards onto the sword in screaming agony as his blood and entrails spilled onto the ground. Maximus leapt back. Grabbing Pontus's own blade, he raised his arms and slashed down, taking off his head in one fell swoop.

And then he stood, panting, grunting viscerally as he tried to control the red mist that was threatening to swamp him. The watching men backed away, terrified by the awful rage of this man who seemed to have transformed in the process of the fight into some formidable machine of death. This outcome had never been envisaged. The death of Pontus in combat seemed to be almost unthinkable.

So they ran, making for the exit through the narrow pass between the rocks. But Drago was already onto it, whispering for Bella to join him and the pair stood on opposite walls and fired randomly at the men who had found their exit blocked. They did not stop until everyone was dead.

Sinking to his knees, Drago realised with relief that it was over. They had won. Bella was safe, the enemy was dead and the nightmare was finally over. A wave of shock passed through him, his guts turned to water - only now could he give way to the fear and horror of what he had witnessed and done that day. Bella ran up and wrapped her arms around him; he clung on as they both cried with relief.

Then suddenly Bella remembered. "Papa!"

Pulling Drago to his feet, the stumbled down the shaley path to the clearing and the scene of death and destruction there. But only one thing caught their attention. Maximus, slumped on the ground, curled up awkwardly and lying in a pool of blood. Bella screamed and ran to him, Drago not far behind. Together they turned him over, hardly daring to imagine what they would find.

He was alive, breathing heavily, bleeding profusely but his eyes were clear. Bella removed the lorica and the tunic, hearing the hiss he made as she moved him from side to side. She bared his upper torso and steeled herself to deal with the injury that now pumped out blood freely unfettered by the tight lorica. It was a deep flesh wound below his left ribs. "I am hit but it is clean... Stop the bleeding... Bind me tight," Maximus spoke tersely before breaking off in to a fit of coughing. Bella searched around and found water, cleaned up the wound, poured in wine.

To Bella's surprise, Drago gathered some mosses and packed it round. "It is an old remedy. It works." He then took the soft cloth of her loin-covering that had still been lying on the ground to bind him. The injury sickened Bella to the stomach and she had no idea if it was mortal or not. But her father was still conscious and in control enough to give orders. She took heart from that.

"Get the horses. I need attention. Drago...get me some wine...I need a drink..."

Drago handed him the wine skin and helped him take a swig. He drank deep, grimaced and then drank some more. Drago observed his condition. "You'll live. At least your balls are intact...which is more than I can say for mine..." he sniggered.

Maximus looked up at him wryly. "...Only just. But a man must look to the future. Pontus was fearsome enough - but you do not know the wrath of my wife if I come home lacking in that quarter..." he laughed despite his obvious discomfort. Bella frowned at the conversation. It did not seem like her father to be talking in this crude fashion. Maximus saw her expression.

"...And you shouldn't have heard that. That was not suitable for young maidens..."

"Maiden?" she exclaimed. "After what I have just been through!"

Maximus held out his arms to her as he sat up propped against a tree. "Come here!" He held her tight and she rested against him, careful not to hurt him further. "I do not know what to say to you. What they did to you was the worst thing I have ever endured in my life, save the day I thought I buried my family. How can I explain to you that men are not all like that? For I fear that perhaps they are..." He stroked her hair and touched her face both streaked with dirt, blood and the unmistakeable stink and glisten of dried semen. He closed his eyes and tried to shut out the terrible images that haunted him at what she had gone through. "But while there is breath in my body, I will not let any harm come to you. You were wrong, Bella. I do not play favourites with my flesh and blood. There is no one alive dearer to me that you. But men do not always show their true hearts to those they love. And more's the pity."

He eased her away and picked up a rag in an attempt to clean up her face as she had cleaned him up. But Drago intervened and took the cloth from him. "I will do that. No father should have to do that task for his child..."

Sitting the weeping girl down nearby, Drado wet the cloth and wiped away the dirt and foul remains of the man who had abused her, using his fingers to comb through the matted and sticky tresses of her hair.

Bella pulled away from him. "Do not do that...you must not touch me! I am soiled by another man's filth!" She hid her face and shrank from his hands.

But Drago gently held her by the upper arms and tilted her face to look at him. "Hush, my sweet girl, what they did to you, they also did to me." With each stroke he stopped and kissed the place that had been so befouled. First her hair, then her cheek and lastly her mouth, as if to remove the touch of evil from his beautiful girl. "I had to do it!" she whispered. "I could not stop him!"

"There is nothing any man can do to you to take away your purity, Bella. This changed nothing nor ever will it, save to make me love you more..."

Maximus lay back and watched the poignant moment between the young lovers. Tears pricked his eyes as he saw how the young man not only removed the stains of rape but also restored to his daughter her pride and self respect. Nothing that life brings, no matter how bad, ever comes without some benefits. He had learnt some valuable lessons today and they were ones he was not too proud to acknowledge. His daughter had a worthy champion, a man of simple integrity and courage. In battle he had proved himself. In love he had shown himself a true man. And if any man alive could temper his daughter's fiery reckless spirit, it was he. But that was another matter for another day. If he wished to dandle his grandchildren on his knee one day then he had better get back home quick and hope a doctor could patch up yet another wound on his scarred and weathered hide.

"If you two have quite finished making eyes at each other, perhaps you could help me to my feet and onto my horse before I bleed to death here?"

Drago and Bella broke their eye lock and both burst into laughter. "Not much wrong with you, sir. You seem to have your pleasant temper back..."

They left the bodies where they lay and set off down the mountain. Tomorrow, a detail could be dispatched to search the remains and look for evidence of their identities and more information about who had sent them. Maximus was not hopeful of finding much. It was unlikely many of them could read or write and Severus would not have committed orders like these to manuscript. It would take weeks or even months before the failure of this expedition was discovered but Maximus knew that the writing was now on the wall. Severus would not leave him alone whilst he believed he lived. And Pontus had let slip that Lucius was a target, too. Once he was back to strength, he would have to make stock and changes would have to be made. His idyll in the countryside, the simple farmer on his lands, was over. His life and that of the state were inextricably linked and fate would not accord him the private status that his heart desired. But that was a problem for another day. And with his usual iron determination, he set that niggling worry aside and followed the young people as they led him back homewards in the waning light of that warm evening.

It was late night when they rode back in; by then Maximus was slumped in a feverish delirium, no longer able to think clearly as infection took hold. Drago shouted orders to house servants to go ride for the doctor - but Marcus ran out and informed them that the doctor was already here; Serena had insisted on him remaining on the estate to await the return.

Gentle hands lowered the master to the ground and he was carried to his room. Serena stood by calm and stoic, the only sign of her distress being the wringing of her hands. She let her son and the other men take charge of Maximus and went straight over to Bella. "How are you? Did they harm you?" she asked, her anxiety evident.

Bella shook her head. "Not really. Only my pride. Go to him, mother! Time enough for me later. He needs you now." Serena nodded and then put her arms around the girl, holding her close. "I love you, Bella. Please believe that I do."

Bella hugged her close. "I know you do. I always did really. I have so much to make amends for. I will spend my whole life showing you..."

Serena smiled. "It will not take so long as that! I will send the girls to bathe you. You must then eat and sleep and tomorrow we will talk. How bad is his wound?"

"Deep. I don't know. But he rode all the way..."

"He would. He would keep going on his will alone. You have no idea..."

Bella smiled at her mother. "I think I do now. He will not die, Mama...he has too much to live for. He would not leave you..." They hugged once more and then Serena handed her over to her maids and ran quickly up towards her room. Passing through the atrium, she saw Drago sitting there, his head in his hands, clearly exhausted, hardly recovered from his own injuries. "Drago...you must go and eat...I will get you a place to sleep. You have served this family well."

He looked up and the dark circles around his eyes betrayed his poor state. "I am fine. Look after your husband. He is feverish. We did all we could."

"I thank you. You have given them both back to us. And what do you have for your pains?" Serena asked sadly.

Drago managed a smile. "I know she is safe. And that she is well loved. That is all the reward I shall ever need."

Serena touched his handsome face tenderly as she passed on to attend to her husband.

Upstairs, slipping into the bedroom, she found Maximus lying naked on the bed, the doctor peeling away the mossy wadding as Sulvia washed his body down with a damp cloth. Maximus was asleep, muttering occasionally, incomprehensible snatches of words and phrases. Serena picked up a length of cloth from a cupboard and laid it over his genitals. She would not have him shamed before other people, even if they were only tending to his injuries. Dismissing Sulvia and instructing her to see to Bella, she took over and carried on washing and drying him gently. Her eyes did not stray from the deep inflamed wound that the doctor was expertly cleaning. "How is he?"

Maronius, the doctor, gave her a searching look. She was strong enough for the truth, he estimated. "Most men would be dead. But he is better than he might appear. The blade missed his bowels and for that he is fortunate for if he had been even nicked there the poison would have escaped and it would be impossible to kill the infection. He has lost a lot of blood. But this moss has done its work. It is an old cure but effective. His fever is mild and he is as stubborn as a mule. He isn't out of danger but I think we dare hope. But, madam, his body has been put through enough already...when we he ever learn?"

Serena had to smile even at this desperate moment. "Only his death will teach him that he is mortal, sir."

The wound was stitched and dressed. He was fed a draught to bring down the fever and infection. And then the vigil began

All night long, apart from when she left to feed her baby girl, Serena sat upright in a chair by his bed and tended him, wiping his fevered brow and cleaning him up. Not much of what he said was understandable but here and there he muttered phrases that shed some light onto what had happened. He had witnessed an attempted rape on Bella. He spoke of his horror as they had stripped and manhandled her, his shame for her and for men in general. He rambled on about Drago but Serena could recognise he was grateful to the boy and believed him worthy of his daughter.

In the cool dawn, Maximus' fever broke and he opened his eyes weakly, muttering Serena's name as she lay slumped across him half on the chair and half on the bed. Her head shot up as he called out to her.

"Maxime!"

He smiled softly. "I gave you a fright?"

She lay by his side and he placed an arm about her, kissing her hair. "I never thought you could be injured. I thought you were invincible...!"

"I am a man. Cut me and I bleed. He was an animal, Serena. I did not think I would survive..."

She said nothing, just snuggled closer to him.

"I cut his head off.  It was not pretty. I am not much more than an animal myself. But he was about to rape Bella. Before my eyes. He made me watch. They held her legs splayed and made me watch...my own daughter..."his voice cracked with emotion.

Serena sat up and placed her finger on his lips. "It is what men do to women when they wish to humiliate them. Women always know that is their fate if they lose their champions."

"...But how will she ever trust a man again? How can I expect her to marry and give herself willingly? And yet she was so brave. She killed the man who tried to kill me. And others, I imagine. She fought like a lioness. I was so proud of her."

"Then tell her so. She needs to know how you feel. This is not the time for Stoicism, Maxime. It is the time for truth. This boy...I believe he is good for her...."

Maximus grunted his assent. "He loves her. She loves him. He is a remarkable youth, unschooled but with an innate nobility that comes from character, not birth. I like him. I like him a lot. When this is over we will talk. I may let him visit as a suitor. We shall give him a chance."

Serena smiled to herself and decided not to venture her opinion. Men were men and were invariably best left to imagine that they had come up with something themselves. She had already made her mind up that Drago would one day be her son-in-law.

The worse was over with the breaking of the fever. Maximus' injury was uncomfortable but not life-threatening and time and rest would do its work. Serena settled him and watched until he drifted back to sleep and then left the room to attend to her other responsibilities. So many people needed her: Lavinia was fretful in the nursery, Aulus was being difficult downstairs, Marcus was anxious for some news of what had taken place and then there was Bella. Serena knew instinctively that when she had had time to think, the true horror of her experience would dawn on her. No woman goes through such an ordeal unscarred.

Bella's room was cool and shady, at the back of the house and its windows draped with a dark hanging. She was lying apparently asleep, her dark hair spilling out along the pillow but as Serena approached, she turned her head, startled and gasped.

"Hush...it is only I..." Serena sat on the edge of the bed and stroked her forehead. Bella caught her hand.

"How is Papa?"

"He is sleeping. The fever broke. Do not worry. He will live..."

The girl let out a sigh of relief. "I was so worried...if anything had happened to him because of me and my stupidity!"

"You and the rest of his family are the only things he would consider worth dying for these days..."

"But if I had not run away this would not have happened!"

"It would have happened - all you did was give them a perfect opportunity to capture you. But make no mistake, they would have found another time. This is not your fault. Nor would your father ever blame you. But enough of that! I am more concerned about your welfare. How do you fare?"

Bella averted her face. "I am fine."

"Tell me what happened. Or tell me what you need to say. I would not be offended. I understand the nature of the things that took place..."

A single tear ran down Bella's cheek. "He made me do it. It was the foulest thing I have ever known. But I did it. I would have done anything to stay alive. Is that very wrong? Do I shame my family?"

Serena sighed and held the girl to her breast. "What else can a woman do? We cannot fight them. What good is dying? Bella, you must not blame yourself. No one else ever would..."

"Men would not take a woman like me to wife. They would say I have been spoiled...but I am still a virgin...he did not take that...although he intended to..."

"Any man who would turn from you for this, is no man worth having! You would count yourself lucky that you had learned his true nature in time. Yes, many men feel like that - but that is on account of their frailty. They fear competition. They want a woman who knows nothing so that she will never look at them and think them lesser men. But real men know what they are. They do not use women to build up their own fragile self-esteem. Your father would never judge a woman in that way...nor would Drago..."

"Drago..." Bella whispered his name. "He saw my shame. He saw me like that. How can he ever forget?"

"He will never forget. That is the point. It will make him guard you even closer..."

"I killed a man. I may have killed others...we shot anyone who made a move, Drago and I, while father fought that beast. But I know I killed at least one man. With my dagger. I don't feel anything, mother. I feel numb. I killed a man and I don't care. I would have killed all the world to save my father..."

Serena rocked her back and forwards. "You do care - or you would not even think on it. But in us all is that beast that will not be stilled if one of our own is at risk. That is natural - we are all very simple creatures at heart. You love your father. You will protect him. Just as he does you. I tell you now. I have never used a weapon in any way, but I would cut the heart out of any person who laid hostile hands on you, Marcus, Aulus, Lavinia - or Maximus. I know I would. I would find the strength. As you did when it was demanded of you. Your father is so proud of you. He told me so before he slept. And he will tell you himself when the time is right. Try to rest and not dwell on the bad things. Think of the good. Of home and family and long summer days and your beautiful Drago who waits below for news of you. Would you like me to send him up?"

"To my room? It is not seemly!" Bella exclaimed.

Serena grinned. "Well, if you are suddenly so chaste and pure then of course I shall not inflict him upon you...but if I were you, I would jump at the chance to get that young Apollo in my chamber..."

"Mother! Shame on you! So you allowed father to sneak into yours before you were married, did you?"

"I did no such thing - more fool me...!" The two women giggled. "Wash your face and don a decent robe...He will be with you soon...and behave yourselves! That young man is in no condition for erotic play..."

Serena felt relieved as she left her daughter's room. Bella was strong and would weather this with bravery. There would be scars but they were minimal and together the family would work together to heal her. And that young man would play a central role in it all.

"Where's Drago, Rubrius?" Serena asked after she had made a cursory check of the house for him. Her steward was at his accounts in the study.  "Bella wishes to see him..."

Rubrius looked up. "He has gone. Left early. Had a few hours' sleep, asked for a bit of food and went."

"What?" Serena gasped. "Left? Why?"

"I don't know. Did what he had to. Probably wanted to get out before the master recovered. A few of us thought we ought to stop him but Marcus said leave him be. It was better all round if he disappeared..."

Serena sank down onto a stool and buried her head in her hands. She should have listened more carefully to his words last night. They had had the ring of finality about them. I know she is safe. And that she is well loved. That is all the reward I shall ever need. And he had waited until the dawn and quietly taken himself off to leave her free. It was the saddest end, just as Maximus was coming round to the idea that Bella may after all have chosen wisely. But Drago thought himself unworthy, had paid his debt as he saw it to Bella's family - and gave her up. Would any other man love a woman enough to set her free?

She sent Marcus and a few men on fast horses to scour the countryside and bring him back - but Drago knew how to hide his tracks. They came back empty handed. It was unlikely he would hang about the district in the circumstances. He could be anywhere. It was futile to search any further. So, with regrets, Serena abandoned their efforts, aware that this would be a serious blow to Bella's recovery.

The summer was a bountiful one. Maximus recovered quickly, fed by his loving wife, sleeping the days in the sun on his veranda, watching his children and the fruits of his lands. Serena seemed to grow more beautiful to him each passing day as her body, now restored to its slender perfection, returned to its healthy state. Her hair was its deep glossy black and her dark eyes flashed at him whenever she looked in his direction. How could a man not recuperate with such pleasures and promises to anticipate?

But there were clouds on his horizon. He knew the emperor was sure to hound him when he learnt of his survival. Lucius, far away in Antioch, was in constant danger. And Bella was pining away for love of her lost Drago. When she had discovered what he had done, she had gone into a deep decline and all the latent terrors of the time of her captivity seemed to rise up like ghosts to haunt her. She hardly slept at night unless administered a strong draught, she ate almost nothing, and she seemed to be fading away like Echo on the mountain, a thin pale shadow of her former ravishing beauty.

He would not have it. His daughter would not waste her life for love of a man who deemed himself unworthy. If the man loved her, why had he not been prepared to fight for her? Maximus was angered by Drago's passive acceptance of defeat until one day Serena had spoken to him as they lay naked in their bed, the first time he had been strong enough to love her since his return.

"Why did you not fight for Lucilla then? You accepted Aurelius' demands and removed yourself. You even took a wife you did not love to satisfy his wishes. Was that not passive acceptance too?"

"He was the emperor of Rome!" Maximus stroked her hair sensually, raising it to his face to inhale the scent. "What else could I do? And anyway, I respected him. What I had done to his daughter was wrong. If I had any honour, then it lay in obedience to his will..."

Serena rolled over and sat astride him, her hair cascading in waves down her nakedness. "Listen to yourself! To a lowly abandoned youth like Drago, you might as well be the emperor of the world! He respects you. He believes he did wrong by seeing Bella. He did what he could to ensure her safety and then fell on his sword as a man of honour. Can't you see, he is a man like you, but without the benefits you have enjoyed? You once told me that you had witnessed more integrity and nobility in that African slave, Djuba, than in any senator of Rome you had ever met. Surely that taught you that some men are born great and no lack of social status can ever take away their dignity..."

Maximus rubbed his hand thoughtfully over his beard. "I will find him. Bring him back. I will not let her fade away or let that boy waste his life living rough and poaching until someone strings him up. He has too much potential for that. A spot in the army might serve him well...don't give me that look! But I shall do what I can. Sometimes, the gods need a little help..."

"...But where will you go? By now he will be far away...must you leave us again? The harvest is approaching..." Serena was torn between her desire to help Bella find her man but also her unwillingness to lose Maximus so soon after he was returned to her. He ran a hand over her full breast and caressed it tenderly as he talked.

"That is not your concern. I will find a way - and if you are afraid of missing me then I had better leave you a few more memories." His mood was turning erotic again. He was ever a man for excess when he finally indulged his senses. "...I want you...I want to bury myself deep within you... I want to hear you cry out my name in the night..." As he muttered his love talk into her ear, he rolled her over and rested his body on hers, parting her legs and rubbing against her slick softness, already thick and oozing with the remnants of his earlier seeding. Serena moaned as he held her body helpless in his powerful grip. She might have the measure of him as his wife - but there was only one master in this house. In bed or out Serena bowed to his will and simply adored him; there was no man as virile as he to her in all the world. As she clung to his strong shoulders, he writhing above her deep in his pleasure, she threw back her head and lewdly gripped him tight. Maximus grunted in appreciation and plunged more forcefully down into her silken cavern. She was his woman. This was his prize. He would give her joy and bask in her bountiful gifts. Her impassioned pleas and entreaties were swallowed by his deep tongue-searching kiss...    

Bella lay listlessly on her couch with a volume in her hand that was not holding her attention. Today she had started her courses and that had somehow plunged her even deeper into her despair. She had observed the bright red blood trickling down her legs and staining the soft wool of her loin covering and it had seemed to her a waste. This was the blood of life, not the dark lifeblood that had seeped from the men she had seen killed. She had the power to bring life forth and this was the symbol of her fertility. But she would never do so. Her womanhood was for naught. She was a virgin and would stay as one, never to know the comfort and pleasure of a man's arms.

Drago had saved her from rape and death. He had refused to take her innocence. But what had his honour left her with? Nothingness. She might as well have died on that mountain if all she had stretching before her year after empty year was time without him. Had no one ever understood the truth of her emotion? She had loved him. Not just a silly girl's infatuation -although that had been the start of it - but the deep and sure love that could have taken them together through life.

Mother and father had been so good to her since then. It was clear both of them had come to see that Drago was a man worthy of her. But what could they do? He had decided that he was not good enough and his pride had made him deny them both what they had wanted. What would happen to him on that dangerous path he knew as life? There was little to recommend it. Loneliness, poverty, cold nights on hard ground, the constant threat of being arrested for his crimes, the hazards of robbers and thugs on the road, the possibility of illness and disease. Drago had not wanted that for her. She did not want that for him. She imagined all manner of ill-fated ends for him and that image of blood reared up before her again. Waste. The end of life. Nothingness.

He wasn't easy to find. By the time Maximus and Marcus set out the trail was long since cold. It was no use tracking him. So Maximus took a chance. The boy was from southern Gaul from over the Pyrenees so he took a chance that this was where he might have taken himself. Why did he think that? His own experience had taught him that when a man runs from life, he invariably runs home. And so they crossed the mountains and began the trail for a man who wanted to be lost.

He visited acquaintances and relatives, asking them about the presence of poachers on their lands. His enquiries drew a blank. They wandered for weeks in the mountainous hinterlands searching for signs of traps or a basic camp. But Maximus knew it was like looking for a needle in a haystack; only his stubborn will kept him from returning to Trujillo and giving up. Marcus never questioned his father's decisions but Maximus knew the boy was feeling that this hopeless quest should be abandoned. They had been away from home for six weeks and the autumn was not far away. It was time to re-cross the mountains and resume normal life before the harvest and then the arrival of winter.

So they decided to spend a night in a small town on the Via Augusta between Nemausensis and the mountains, prior to beginning the homeward journey. A good warm meal, a few jugs of wine and a soft bed awaited them after sleeping mostly rough for the time they had been away. Sitting amidst the remains of dinner, loosened by wine, the father and son talked.

"Lucius wants you to join him in Antioch. He thinks it would be a good experience for you to see some of the world."

Marcus looked down into the dregs of his cup. "What would you have me do, father?"

"Your life is not mine. I would have you make your own mind up, cognisant of all the facts...Lucius is well placed. He will introduce you to important men and your army commission will be all the better for it. You won't have to work your way up from the stables..."

"It might be better for me if I did. Your example suggests that it makes a man a better soldier..."

Maximus grimaced. "My example is not what I wish for you. What would you do, Marcus...if the choice was solely yours?"

The boy shrugged. "I would go. I too wish to serve the state and see the world out there. But Mother..."

"Never mind your mother! She knows the day will come. You are a man...men must leave. It is the order of things. But, Lucius is a marked man. He has enemies. For now, he is safe. But that will not always be so. Those around him may be tested. Or brought down with him. Is this the world you wish to inhabit?"

Marcus thought carefully. "He is my brother. Where else would I stand to be counted? He is your son, as I am. We of the Meridius clan do not forsake our family merely on the pretext that it is not safe to be around them..." Maximus recognised himself in his son's reply. It was a moment tinged with both pride and regret.

Maximus smiled sadly. It was what he had expected his son to say. In one sense it was what he had hoped he would say. But it was also the answer he feared the most.

"I will not oppose this. But first we need to talk at length about the nature of many men of politics. It is a murky world and one where men like you and I flounder. We might be ready for the spear or the dagger, but not the poison cup or the snake in the night. I am proud of you, son. I would not have you any other way..." He ruffled up his hair affectionately.

"Father...I have long meant to tell you something. It may sound trite and childish...but...I wanted to say that the love I bear you is not just my duty as a son. It is deeper than that. I am blessed to have such a parent..."

"I didn't make you alone...you have your mother to thank for most of it. My heart swells with pride at your words. And you do not know how blessed I feel to have you..."

"...You boys looking for a bit of fun?" A husky female voice broke into their conversation. They both looked up and found themselves staring at a buxom, blonde beauty with pale blue eyes and golden locks tumbling round her pale shoulders. Maximus cleared his throat but couldn't keep the twinkle from his eye.

"I think I'm ready for an early night, honey,...alone...but my friend here...he's a free man. He can make his own mind up. That's another decision, I'm leaving with you, Marce..." Maximus grinned and threw some coins onto the table to cover the meal.

Marcus stared, blushed and opened his mouth to say something but stopped. His father leaned over and whispered. "If I were you at your age, I'd say yes. But...I wouldn't presume to put words in your mouth...but let me tell you...there's a lot to be said for yellow hair..." He raised his eyebrows suggestively and then stood up to take his leave. Marcus looked down at the table in embarrassment.

"Give him the works..." Maximus muttered as he thrust a small pouch of coins into the girl's hand.

"Do you both for that..." she teased.

Maximus just laughed heartily and moved on through the tavern to the room upstairs that he had taken for the night.

He lay awake for some time, aware that the woman had aroused his ardour. It had been a long time. There was no question of him taking advantage of her body but a man can still think, even if he has vowed himself to one woman. So he indulged in a little erotic dreaming as he let sleep wash over him.

The next thing he knew, Marcus was shaking him and he shot up with his usual speedy return to wakefulness, his dagger already in his hand. "What the fuck..." he muttered tetchily.

"I found him! He's here! In the brothel...he's been there for a few days..."

"Who? Drago?" Maximus was immediately alert and already donning his clothes. "Tell me!"

"Well, I went with...her name is Flaxa....we...er...went to her room...and...well, you know...?"

"For Jupiter's sake, spare me...! I wasn't referring to what you and the lady were up to...what do you know of Drago?"

"Oh...right...well, when we'd...er... finished..." Marcus cleared his throat. "...She asked me if I wanted to...well...there are other girls there...it was a bit wild, you know? She suggested we go and join the others for a bit of..."

Maximus grunted. "Drago...!"

"Yeah...Drago...she led me through this room to another and I saw him. He was lying on a heap of women...he was asleep...drunk, I think. I took a look at him and it's definitely him. Flaxa said he'd been there a few days....they hadn't the heart to throw him out and he was so cute..."

"I'm sure he is. Well, let's go and save the bastard from himself, shall we...?

Marcus led Maximus through the dimly lit brothel. Women of all shapes and sizes, colours and races watched him curiously from doorways, offers were made and arms reached out to encircle his head or waist - a few even made a lewder lunge and squeezed his groin in invitation as he passed. He politely extricated himself from them and made his way inside to the area where it appeared the girls danced and then engaged in multiple sex acts with and for the watching clients. It was hard not to glance pruriently at the naked couplings writhing on rugs about the place.

In a dark corner lying prone on the bodies of two sleeping women lay a naked Drago, his finely shaped buttocks displayed for any passer by to see. His blonde hair was loose and lay about his pretty face; for a moment Maximus thought he almost looked like one of the women, apart from the etched square jaw. But he was one beautiful young man - it was a wonder he hadn't attracted the attention of some of the men in the place. His arse must have offered a temptation for some.

Hauling him onto his back and nudging the women awake, Maximus shook him roughly. There was no mistaking his manhood from the front. The youth was broad shouldered, leaned but muscular and well hung. Now wonder the girls had been doing him for free.

"Get up..." Drago opened his eyes blearily but without much signs of recognition. Then he groaned and rolled back again. "Not so fast..."

Dragging him to his feet, Maximus put the youth's arm around his shoulder and pulled him upright. "Someone get me a cloth for his loins..." One of the girls ran forward and bound a loose covering; Marcus took his other arm and they steered him out, Drago's head hanging and his feet slipping and sliding as they went.

Outside in the street, Maximus indicated a nearby water fountain. They hustled Drago over and dropped him in it. The pool was not deep but wide enough for him to lie on his back and get a good dousing before they pulled him upright spluttering and coughing. Drago retched, leaned over the marble parapet and vomited noisily all over the ground. Then he sat up and shook the excess water of his hair. "You fucking bastards..." he muttered hoarsely and tried to rise, but did not have the strength to do so, merely falling back into the water and hitting the surface in temper.

"You quite finished?" Maximus asked with a grin. "How many days have you been drinking?"

Drago shrugged.

"How many women have you been through?"

Another shrug.

"Does it ease the pain?"

Drago gave him a stare. "What do you think?"

"I think it's time you came home. My daughter is pining for your worthless hide. She's been through enough. Let's put you both out of your misery, shall we? Now, go and bathe. Shave. Get some clean clothes. And then we are going to give you another riding lesson. Trujillo is a long way over those mountains...And perhaps a visit to an apothecary might not go amiss... the gods alone know what sores your sorry prick is carrying by now...and Marcus...maybe you ought to consider a dose while we're at it..."

The men rode through the gates to Maximus' lands one bright September day with the wheat waving in the fields, the harvest half gathered. They had ridden hard and were dirty and mud-streaked, tired and more than ready for the comforts of home. As the hooves of their horses raised a cloud of dust, servants ran into the house to inform the mistress and she ran out, her daughter on her hip and her infant son hanging onto her dress as she shielded her eyes from the glare of the sun and saw the welcome sight of the three men galloping the final distance to the house.

Drago was with them, the sun glinting from his golden hair. Serena smiled and handed the baby to a servant girl, extricating herself from Aulus and hitching her skirts to go running back into the house. "Bella! Bella! Look who's home - and they have a visitor! Oh, look who it is! Look who it is!"

Bella came running from the upper story, curious as to what could excite her mother so. She looked different from the wild-eyed girl of a few months before. Her dress was demurer, her hair neatly bound and she had been sewing some clothes for the baby in a manner that befitted an elder sister.  But a spark of her old fire rose in her as she ran down to the atrium, delighted for the return of her father and brother whose long absence on some business or other had puzzled her.

Serena met her and began to play with her hair, smoothing it down and even pinching her cheeks to put colour back. "Who is it?" The girl asked. "Why are you so excited?"

"Come...let's greet the men..." Serena took her hand and dragged her out into the sunshine. The men were dismounting and attending to their weary horses.

Maximus turned and saw his wife, a broad smile breaking over his face, his light eyes glistening in the weathered brown of his face. His hair and beard were long and unkempt; Serena felt a surge of lust for him and wished for a moment that it was just the two of them and they could escape awhile to welcome each other in a more intimate fashion. But then her son ran up and picked her up, whirling her round and kissing her. Maximus could wait. She had other matters to attend to first.

Bella had smiled as she stepped forward to greet her brother and father but then she had stopped dead. Drago was there, standing back and looking embarrassed in such a gathering. Her eyelids flickered as her brain tried to work out what was happening. His name escaped from her lips in a shocked exclamation and then he took a step forward. They looked at each other. They smiled, a heartbreaking smile of recognition and the long weeks of loneliness.

And then Bella hooted and ran, jumping into his arms and screaming his name for joy as he swung her up and kissed her. There was a wave of amusement that spread among the onlookers as they watched the young couple shamelessly kiss and mutter their greetings.

"Inside...!" Maximus ordered and the two lovers broke apart fingers entwined and blushing. "You are both a long, long way from even a betrothal, so control yourselves. It's been a long hard ride and we want baths and feeding. Fire up the water...the three of us need to wash first...and get a decent meal on. Bella, stop jumping up and down...leave the boy alone..." But his smile made a mockery of his stern tone and his own arm snaked around his wife's waist suggested he would have liked very much to have indulged in much the same behaviour. But decorum was restored and they entered the villa in a calmer frame of mind, although Bella and Drago were exchanging languid looks throughout.

Serena rested her head on Maximus' shoulder and whispered a grateful "Thank you!" before pulling her daughter away to help prepare the meal. Bella was so animated it appeared that she had suddenly come to life again after the melancholy mood she had worn for so long. She babbled and laughed and couldn't believe that this wonderful thing has happened. Her father had brought him back? There was a chance for them to be together? How had this taken place without her realising?

"I didn't dare tell you in case he never managed to find him. It was almost a hopeless quest - but I knew if any man would find Drago, it would be Maximus. But from now on we do this properly. You are a young lady and must approach this in the correct fashion. Drago and your father will speak. Terms will be granted. The two of you will only be allowed to meet with chaperones. There will be a formal betrothal if Maximus is satisfied. Perhaps then there will be some relaxation of the rules...but you will be a virgin the day you are married. Do you hear me? Your father will not accept anything else. And he thinks you are too young for childbirth yet. He will insist on waiting a year. Perhaps your sixteenth birthday..."

Bella hoped from one foot to the other in excitement. "Anything! Anything! I will agree to anything if he gives me to Drago! Anything!"

Serena rolled her eyes. "He's giving you to no one. He wants you to freely choose. He always did. All he ever wanted was for you to be happy..."

The girl was too happy even to contain herself anymore. She began to cry and simply put her head against her mother's breast and wept like a baby. The other women smiled as they carried on with the dinner. Such dramatics! "Wait until he gets her a baby in her belly...can't imagine it will take him long...she'll soon wonder what was so wonderful about love..." observed Sulvia with the smug world weariness of the older matron. "Mind you - you never seem to have lost your maiden glow where the master's concerned..." she added and Serena pinched her.

"Keep your miserable tongue to yourself, you old goat...you're only jealous..."

The three men lounged naked in the steam room, their aching bodies revelling in the heat and the fragrant oils that had been rubbed on their skin. Servants brought cold wine, with snow brought from the mountains to chill it further. They all drank it back gratefully.

"So...let's start talking, son..." Maximus began.

Drago looked over at him and stretched back, his long naked limbs leonine, sweat glistening on his golden body. "I'm listening, sir..."

"I will expect you to work for me...no favouritism. You fall in with the farm life and do your share. But I want more from a son-in-law than a crude hunter. You learn to read and write. Get some education. Smarten yourself up - the hair has to go. She marries a Roman citizen not some barbarian stud. Learn how to conduct yourself in society- I will not have you embarrass her in public."

"What's wrong with me?" Drago bridled. "Either I am good enough or not! She does not want me to change into some copy of all the other wet-behind-the-ears young officers back from the legions..."

Maximus snorted. "You would do well to have their discipline. I don't seek to change you but raise you high. We have all had to temper our original selves. Do you think I knew how to disport myself with emperors when I joined the army? Better yourself - or the local noblemen will eat you alive if you do not know how to conduct yourself -and Bella would be a laughing stock. Is that what you would prefer? I shall adopt you. Give you a decent name - and the Gods help you if you besmirch it...Remember you will now be related to the imperial family by marriage...or perhaps that is another story you do not yet know...?"

Drago bowed his head but there was still a touch of insolence in his manner. "I know what I know...more than you think. Adopt me? You are too kind, sir. In my part I promise to be a good and faithful husband and give you plenty of handsome grandchildren..."

"Not so fast...no wedding until at least next spring! You can tie your loincloth tighter for a few more months - because, if I find you are anywhere near where you shouldn't be, the deal's off...You will court her like any suitor. And you will suffer and wait for her gifts like any other prospective bridegroom. We go by the book, my friend...make no mistake about that...and keep away from the other servant girls - and no visits into town either...you can try celibacy for awhile..."

"...As you did? With Bella's mother while awaiting your marriage?" Drago retorted with a smirk. Maximus' head shot up. Marcus paled. "...Bella had worked out the time scale..."

Maximus laughed. "You little bastard... I should wring your sorry neck! But, you know, I like your style. Use that smart tongue properly as well as the brains that must lie there largely untapped and we might yet make a man of you...if my daughter doesn't do that first..."

Marcus shook his head. There was still so much he needed to learn about his father - and men in general.

Later that day, Maximus sent for Bella to attend him in his tablinum. She put on a pale blue stola and bound her hair neatly, the very image of a pure and dutiful daughter. As she entered on soft slippers, Maximus glanced up and found it hard to repress a smile; his daughter was always able to play the part of respectful maiden when it suited her.

"Yes, father?"

He lay down the stylus and pushed back his chair. "Come, stand near me in the light." She stepped forward to his side of the desk; the sunlight from the open door to the garden fell upon her. "Much better. This rogue seems to bring the spark back to your eyes. You look so well. Perhaps I will entertain his request after all...!"

"Request? What do you mean? Has he asked for me...oh don't tease, papa...tell me! Did Drago ask for my hand?" She was bursting with excitement and her spirited manner was in danger of blowing away the serious demeanour with which she had entered.

"Not exactly," Maximus retorted. "I would say he presumed rather than asked...the fellow has no social graces and is an arrogant young pup. He has much to learn. And you can help in the instruction. But an understanding was reached. It might have helped had you approached me in the first instance, you know, and given me a chance to assess him for myself but, we will not belabour that one..."

"You mean you said yes! We can marry?" Bella merely heard what she wanted to hear.

"I said perhaps. If he manages to fulfil a series of tasks that I have set him. And certainly, not until at least next summer. You are too young and he must prove himself first. In that time, you will both conduct yourself with restraint and propriety - and you know what I mean by that. I have no desire to be a grandfather quite yet..."

"You better talk to Marcus then..." Bella snapped back. Maximus gave her a warning look.

"Your brother has nothing to do with this. Men and woman have different roles in life, like it or not, young lady. But, I want to tell you something. I am very proud of you. You have many qualities as a woman but you also have those not usually associated with the female of the species..." Maximus smiled. "...I wish half my tiros had had your aim and self possession in battle but I should know by now that women are just as capable of courage as men. Serena...the princess Lucilla...your own poor mother...you come in a long line of brave and noble women whose lives have touched mine..." he reached out and drew his daughter onto his lap. "The relationship I had with your mother was not one of lovers. But I cared for her and if I used her in any way, I am heartily sorry. I tried to make amends. I was a young confused man when I met her and wish I had my time again - but we did one great thing together. We made you. And for that, I thank the gods daily. Even if you are the bane of my life!" Bella giggled and ran her arms around his neck.

"I love you, Papa!"

"I love you too...and so does your mother - who has put up with a terrible amount of bad behaviour from you! You owe her so much more than an apology, Bella. Put it right! I want no more of your temper tantrums..."

"I know...Drago already told me the same...he says Serena is a beautiful lady and I should be proud to have her as my mother...I think he fancies her actually..." Bella teased playfully

"Who could blame him...he is a healthy male as any other?" Maximus grinned. "...But he only gets one of the women of this family...if he values his skinny neck...and while I'm on that subject. We expect a virgin bride, Bella Meridia...do whatever you have to do to make it so....?"

Bella kissed him, jumped up and curtseyed primly. "As you wish, father...I will be the most virgin bride you ever saw...I'll even pretend that I don't know what a..."

"ENOUGH!!! One more word and I shall change my mind and send you to a temple as a chaste maiden..."

Bella ran for the door and turned back... "Hmmm...I'm not sure I have the right qualifications..."

With that she ran off laughing gaily and Maximus put his head in his hands. It would be a miracle if he was not a grandfather by the spring...