……………..“There now, Diana, are you feeling better?” Longinus encouraged. “Domitia Pomonia, I present to you Tatia Diana. This is Corbulo’s aunt, Diana. She will take charge of you now.” “Welcome, young lady,” Pomonia said……… …………Daneh raised her azure eyes to the woman’s probing stare. She was a woman of perhaps fifty years, small, yet exuding so much presence that she seemed to fill the room. Her hazel eyes revealed a shrewd, calculating intelligence. She was dressed in a blue gown with a purple mantle draped over it. Her hair was drawn back from her fine-boned face and covered with a pale yellow veil. Cosmetics heightened her natural beauty and hid the encroachments of age. Her hair was dyed to a dark shade of brown. Golden jewelry winked everywhere. Daneh found her magnificent. Pomonia, for her part, found a lovely creature of tremendous potential. She didn’t know what Corbulo planned to do with the girl, but there could be nothing wrong with training her in Roman womanly virtues. Everything the girl might become was at Pomonia’s whim. She could make of her a sought-after lady of grace and accomplishment, or merely a scullery-maid, palatable only to jaded knights and promiscuous freedmen. “Corbulo is not known for this sort of thing,” she murmured reflectively. “What do you know about him and her, Longinus?” “She bewitched him. You would have to have been there to understand it. I cannot account for the change that came over him. All the blame rests with her.” Again those sharp eyes bored into Daneh’s. “Well, you can tell my nephew that she is in capable hands,” she said briskly. “I hope this infatuation survives his tour of Britain. If not, he can turn her over to me completely…………..”
…………The murmur of conversation flowed around Daneh without disturbing her as she pored over the assignment Eristius had left with her.. She bit pensively on her stylus, puzzling over the exact placement of verbs and their qualifiers. She recited them over and over again, trying to make some sense of the Greek. Upstairs, little Gaius screeched joyously in his bath. Servants chatted and laughed. “’Those whom the gods destroy they first make mad,’” a man’s voice supplied helpfully. “Oh!” she gasped, seeing now how everything fell into place. “How sly of him! Why didn’t I guess? Of course, he is making fun of me!” She flung the stylus away wrathfully. Then she suddenly remembered that a stranger had addressed her. “Forgive me,” she apologized. “I have been toiling over these words for a very long time!” Now she turned her gaze upon the stranger, seeing before her an elegant man of about forty years. His dark hair had receded somewhat. His dark, liquid eyes were appraising her thoughtfully, as if he found her a bit of mosaic that didn’t fit smoothly into the pattern of this household. “Thank you for the answer, Sir,” Daneh offered graciously, turning back to her work. “It was nothing,” he replied negligently, dismissing the child from his notice and turning to go inside. Pomonia swept into the atrium and brought him into the garden. Eventually he departed, their business concluded, and Pomonia joined Daneh. “Who was that very kind man?” Daneh asked. “A business associate. Lucius Catonius Merullus. A knight.” “Will you make a marriage for him?” “This time I will unmake a marriage for him,” Pomonia chuckled. “The poor man has no luck with women! Perhaps he is not exciting enough for them; or perhaps they are not suited to his demanding standards. This is his fourth divorce, and probably his last.” “Four wives!” “Each marriage was of less than a year’s duration!” Pomonia gossiped with zest. “The man is utterly unreasonable! Perhaps his brother’s death unhinged him. But whatever the reason, he wants me to relieve him of his latest wife. I shall have to cast about for a suitably wealthy lover and then convince the two wretches that they love each other enough to marry. That will leave Merullus free once again. If he’s smart, he’ll stay that way!” Daneh wondered at this. Pomonia chatted on, indulging in the gossip she so loved. Daneh heard snatches of it, but for the most part she thought of the quiet gentleman with the mournful eyes who had helped her with her lessons. She felt very sorry for him……..
…………………Pomonia …….. grew alarmed. “But Corbulo!” “I said no!” “Well then, I shall have to place her somewhere for the day,” she snapped back. “I can’t have it said that Corbulo’s own mistress did not attend his triumphal march! People will talk. They will wonder.” “Handle it as you see fit,” he shrugged. “Well then, if it does not offend your tender sensitivities, I will offer the girl to Merullus for the day. He is divorcing his present wife; I owe him many favors. He caught sight of the girl this morning and offered her the use of his library. He was most impressed with her diligence over her lessons.” “What will that accomplish?” he frowned. “A great deal for you,” she retorted coolly. “Pause to remember that without me, you could not have brought her into Rome! What does it matter to you? She owes you something, after all. You have lifted her from savagery and elevated her to a Citizen! Now let her give you something in return. Let her keep a lonely, very powerful gentleman company for an afternoon! What harm can come of it?” “We are at your whim, Aunt,” he replied. “Excellent!” she pronounced. “We needn’t throw the girl at Merullus; but perhaps she can help to mend the breach between his family and ours. After all, it was your brother-in-law who executed Merullus’ brother! We need him, Corbulo. He is very influential with Claudius, and you will need another appointment, perhaps a Governorship, if you are to advance your career! Merullus can accomplish that for you………….”
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