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“Get spanked and fucked?” Rufus saved her the embarrassment. “I cannot speak for Felix. If he wishes to spank you, then I will not stand in his way, nor would I interfere if he wished to bed you alone.”
“Oh, no, I wouldn’t expect you to…” she hurried to add.
“But, what troubles me, Bethan, is that you do not think I might take issue with your behaviour and have you over my knee.” He turned to face her. “Am I not to be obeyed?”
“Of course! I didn’t mean I would ignore your wishes. I assumed you would defer your displeasure to Felix.”
“Did I not spank you when you ran away? I can assure you, Bethan, you will be spanked regularly if you need it. Felix might seek an excuse, but I won’t.” Rufus grasped the reins and whip handle in one hand and with the other bundled her hair into his fist. He closed the gap between their lips with a swift tug and kissed her mouth hard. Her scalp tingled, as did her pussy. Rufus released her and she exhaled breathlessly.
He returned his attention to the horse.
Bethan smoothed down her crumpled stola and tried to pretend the conversation hadn’t happened. She had her question answered, she needn’t worry; both men understood her perfectly.
Felix came trotting back toward the wagon. She nearly stood up in her eagerness to hear any news. Rufus pressed his hand on her knee to prevent her from toppling off the wagon.
Felix held out his upturned helmet. “I found duck eggs, by a pond.” He grinned.
Bethan hid her disappointment at his unexciting find. “Boiled eggs for lunch, then?”
Later, after they’d eaten, and the clouds in the sky cleared, they continued north. They avoided the major towns. There were fewer and fewer farms. Most of the small communities were mining ones. The Romans prized lead and also sought coal for ironworking.
The home of Varius was built on pasture land not far from one such mine. As they passed the gates and chased the chickens out of their path, the house rose up from behind a hill. Bethan gasped with surprise. Unlike Felix’s modest farm, the villa of Varius was grand and two storeys high in places.
“Varius is a Roman who came to Britannia to further his wealth,” Rufus explained.
Bethan’s shoulders sagged. “He will not sell Ceadda cheaply. Felix does not have the coin.”
“Hush,” Rufus soothed. “He has the jewellery he hasn’t sold.”
Felix, who’d gone on ahead, had dismounted. The major domo for the household hurried to greet him.
Rufus joined Felix as they were ushered into the house.
“Wait here,” Felix called out to Bethan.
She paced the cobbled path that circled the house, anxiously waiting for news.
“Bethan?” said a familiar voice from behind her.
Standing in the doorway in the garb of a household servant, his hair combed back and his cheeks flushed, was Ceadda.
They embraced and Bethan cried. “I’m sorry. I thought you’d been killed.” She wiped away the tears of joy with her sleeve.
“I thought you were dead, too,” he exclaimed. “I struggled, tried to escape. They sold me to this brute of a man, who beat me, then he sold me to the Roman at Lagentium. They wanted me to row for them.” He spat the words out in disgust.
“Have they bought you? Did Felix have enough coin?” She searched over his shoulder for the others.
“Bought me? Why, no!” he chuckled.
She stared at him aghast. “No! Did your master set too high a price… or would he not sell you?”
“You don’t understand. I asked not to be sold.”
“You don’t trust Felix? He’s a good master. And would treat you well. It’s only a small farm and the work can be hard, but—”
Ceadda pressed a finger to her lips. “I’m sure he is a good master if you like him. But, Varius is a fair master, too. He saw me in the forum, chained to a wall, miserable and frightened; the galley master had rejected me and so I was to be sent to work in the mines, and Varius asked me could I count. Father taught us numbers and so I told him yes. He asked me did I want to learn to read. I scratched a few letters I know on the ground. He bought me. He’s teaching me to read, to be his scribe.”
“Scribe?”
