For a Roman's Heart by Denise A. Agnew Read Free Book Online Page A

grey brows tilted in amusement. “That line always breaks the silence. We don’t have orgies here. My wife wouldn’t allow it, and I can’t say I’d want my daughter exposed to such a thing.”
    “What a shame,” Victor said.
    Terentius flinched, and Cordus’s eyes widened.
    “I mean,” Victor rushed to say, “what a shame that you can’t have an orgy without your wife or daughter finding out about it.”
    Cordus’s booming laugh eased Terentius’s muscles, which had tightened like lute strings. Damn Victor. The man never knew when to shut up.
    “That’s what I like in a soldier. A man who says what he’s thinking without regret.” Cordus leaned forward and pinned them both with an amused look. “I haven’t been out of the army so long I can’t remember what it’s like.”
    “You have a big family?” Terentius asked after taking a sip of wine. It tasted of quality better than what his status as a centurion of the Primi Ordines could expect to drink when billeted with his own legion.
    Cordus sighed. “Alas, I do not. I married as soon as I became a centurion and my wife and I didn’t conceive for quite some time. We only have Decima Prima Cordia. Or Cordia, as we call her.”
    Victor ate his food with relish, stopping only long enough to say, “We heard that the tenant living in the long house is your freedman.”
    Cordus nodded. “Indeed, he is. I bought him when he was fourteen years old, but freed him as a young man.” Cordus clapped his hands and this time a slave woman of about sixteen entered. “Bring us more wine.” The girl scampered to do his bidding.
    Terentius relaxed, but then two women walked in and changed the tone. Both Terentius and Victor stood as the women came to the center of the room.
    Cordus stood and took the older woman’s hand. “My dear Nerva, let me introduce Centurion Terentius Marius Atellus and his optio Domitius Quintus Victor.” Cordus gestured to the younger woman. “Gentlemen, this is my daughter, Cordia.”
    Terentius and Victor saluted the women. Terentius hadn’t seen such refined, pretty women in a long time. The wife looked about fifty and had long, elaborately designed blond hair piled atop her head. Her features were regular, her jaw narrow, and her eyes a bright blue. Her lithe body appeared toned and slim beneath her flowing white and blue tunica . Cordia’s finely crafted features were gamin and sweet. Wheat blond hair like her mother’s twisted atop her head and tendrils fell about her ears and to her shoulders in a design obviously made to capture a man’s fancy. Her pale blue eyes shined at Terentius with an impish, delightful quality. She couldn’t be more than sixteen. Tall like her mother, she had grace and delicate tone of voice as seductive as the wine he consumed. Now this is the type of woman Terentius knew he should find attractive.
    Not Adrenia, the daughter of a former slave.
    He knew that Cordia, at such a young age, would be manageable. A woman at twenty or so, like the pale-faced Adrenia, would have her own mind.
    Adrenia’s face superimposed over Cordia’s, and Terentius realized that Cordia’s beauty stirred mild interest and appreciation. That was all.
    Adrenia, on the other hand…
    “Please my dear Nerva, Cordia, join us. I’m sure the gentlemen don’t mind,” Cordus said.
    Nerva and Cordia settled on the long couch next to Cordus.
    Nerva accepted a goblet of wine from a slave. “Perhaps we should leave you men to your war talk?”
    “We are wise enough to change topics when there are ladies about, aren’t we?” Cordus said as he looked at the other men.
    Nerva’s soft laugh floated on air. “Nonsense. We’re glad to express our thanks that more brave, strong Roman soldiers are coming to protect our small city.”
    Terentius didn’t gloat over the flattery. He recognized conversational bullshit when he heard it. “Thank you.”
    Cordus gestured around the room. “Our livelihood depends on safety and