The Saint's Mistress by Kathryn Bashaar Read Free Book Online

much wisdom as to determine whether
    you would be right to hand over your mother’s Christian Bible to be burned.”
    It was Aurelius’ turn to smile wickedly. I saw that he finally realized Urbanus was playing a
    game. “No, sir, your patronage wouldn’t be wasted at all. I might still make wrong judgments,
    but, with an education, they would be less wrong and less frequent. And, I would learn the skills
    of rhetoric, grammar and declamation that would allow me to defend any position, even my
    patron’s and even if – not that this would ever happen, of course – he himself were wrong.”
    I had trouble following that, but Urbanus barked out a loud laugh and took a swallow of his
    wine. “Excellent answer. I’m sure my investment will not be wasted.” He turned to me. “Your
    young teacher shows great promise. His family’s finances will not allow him to continue his
    education in Carthage, but I have agreed to finance his studies and in return he will come back to
    Thagaste and teach, and to make arguments on my behalf in the courts when I need him.”
    Aurelius flushed and looked down at the mention of his family’s finances. I realized he had
    been telling the truth when he insisted he wasn’t as rich as I thought he was, and I saw that it
    embarrassed him. I was surprised, too, that Urbanus knew about our reading lessons in his
    garden. I wondered whether he disapproved, but was too shy to ask.
    He saved me the trouble. Urbanus leaned towards me. “It interests me that you want to learn
    to read Latin.”
    “Yes,” was all I could think of to say, but I held his eyes.
    He nodded and took another sip of wine. “Tell me why.”
    I was having trouble continuing to hold his gaze. I looked down at my lap for a second, then
    lifted my head again. “Well, sir, I guess if I find an opportunity to have something the rich and
    noble have, I should take it.”
    He turned to one of his slaves and said, “Count the gold-plate after she leaves, Saul.” But he
    was smiling. He frowned again, toying with the stem of his wine goblet. “You’re pretty. You
    have other ways of getting more than just book learning.”
    “Then I’d be just a whore, wouldn’t I?” I responded. “I’d rather be a poor man’s honest wife
    than a rich man’s whore.”
    21

    Urbanus raised his eyebrows at Aurelius. “Well. How refreshing. Some poor goat herder will
    be very lucky indeed to have a wife who is both beautiful and extraordinarily well-educated.” He
    raised his goblet to us and took another drink.
    Seeing he had no objection to the teaching arrangement, I began to relax. It had also become
    clear that no other guests were expected, that the whole array of food on the table was meant for
    the three of us. On the principle of taking good things when they were offered, I ate myself into a
    near-stupor.

    When Aurelius found his way to my chamber after dark, while the crickets whistled and the
    fountain outside trickled under a silver moon, I was not surprised and not afraid. The terrors and
    alarms of the day had awakened my blood, and the heavy food and wine left me feeling languid
    and not myself. My determination not to be a rich man’s whore seemed like words spoken by
    someone else, many years ago.
    I was a virgin and had never even been kissed, except in play by village boys when I was a
    little flat-chested girl. Aurelius’ eyes were hard and demanding, but his mouth was soft and
    tender. He leaned over and kissed me gently at first, questioningly, and when I responded, he
    gathered me up and kissed me harder. I was barely awake and determined to stay that way. If I
    could convince myself I was dreaming, I couldn’t be blamed for not resisting. And so it was in
    complete silence that we first became lovers.

    22

CHAPTER SIX
    By the next day, order was restored in Thagaste, though rocks, sandals, and scraps of clothing
    littered the center of town, and here and there in the back alleys an unclaimed body remained