The Champion. Carla Capshaw

throat, but she swallowed the pain.

      “You think Caros and Pelonia will protect you.” It wasn’t a question. His mood had not lightened. If anything he’d grown more intent, more furious beneath his inscrutable veneer.

      “Yes…no.” Her head throbbed with tension. She began to pace the tiles again. Why was Alexius angry? Did he think she’d implicated him in her scheme by coming here? “I don’t know what I thought exactly, just that I had nowhere else to go. My friends will never defy my father. My sister agrees with him as well.”

      “I’d expect no less from her,” he scoffed under his breath.

      She paused. It was no secret that Tiberia disliked the lower classes, especially gladiators and their trade, but as far as Tibi knew no one ever found fault with her sister. Tiberia was the epitome of what a Roman woman should be—beautiful, graceful and well-connected in her happy marriage. For the first time she noticed Alexius was aware of her sister’s prejudice and that he bore Tiberia no fondness, either. “I suppose I hoped Pelonia and Caros might have a way to hide me or suggest a safe place for me to go outside of Rome until my father forgives me. I realize now that I was—”

      “Desperate?”

      “Imprudent.”

      A half smile curved his lips, but failed to hide the flintiness of his gaze. “I’ll keep you until they return. Then the three of you can decide what to do.”

      “No. My father might make trouble for you if he learns you’ve helped me thwart him.”

      “You don’t worry he’ll cause problems for Caros and Pelonia if they do the same? They’re Christians—easy targets for anyone who knows their secret and wishes to take aim at them.”

      “I’m certain they’re safe or I’d never have come here. Father wants to punish me. He has no wish to shame anyone else in the family—or his good name by association.”

      “Good. I’d hate to have to kill your father for harming my friends.” Alexius sat on the edge of his desk and gripped the carved edge on either side of his narrow hips.

      “You wouldn’t really murder him, would you?” she asked, frightened by the depth of his calm, yet aware that he was entirely capable of killing and with great ease.

      “I’m very protective of my loved ones.”

      She thought she saw a flash of pain in his eyes, but it might have been a flicker of the candlelight. “I didn’t intend to cause trouble for you by coming here. I think it’s best that I go.”

      “No. Stay until Caros and Pelonia arrive. They’d never forgive me if I allowed you to leave and harm came to you.”

      “My family knows they’re on the way. What if my father or sister suspects that I’ve sought them out and comes to search for me here?”

      “I won’t let them find you.”

      She bit her lower lip, confused by his willingness to help her. The sound of servants performing their morning chores filtered in from the hallway. She was running out of time. If her circumstances were any less dire, she’d never contemplate his offer. As it was… “My family can be very adamant.”

      “I’m very convincing.”

      She caught her breath, momentarily stunned by his smile, yet encouraged by his confidence. “They may insist on searching the ludus for me.”

      He shrugged. “Let them. I’ll enjoy holding them off. I’m in need of a challenge.”

      She frowned. “You don’t find battling for your life in the arena enough of a challenge?”

      His silver eyes glittered with dangerous amusement. “It’s adequate, but not half as much fun as toying with your unreasonable relatives.”

       Chapter Two

      Alexius woke to a fist pounding on his chamber door. “Who is it?” He rubbed his eyes and swung his legs over the edge of his sleeping couch. Usually up before first light, he noted the angle of the sun outside his window and judged it to be midmorning. He and his men were expected at the amphitheater within hours.

      “Velus, master.”

      “Come in,” he said, pulling a fresh tunic over his head.

      The steward entered carrying a tray of food that filled the large room with the aroma of fresh bread and roasted pork. The dwarf kicked the door shut behind him with more force than necessary.

      “What ails you, Velus? You look as though you’ve downed a bucket of vinegar.”

      “Tiberia the Elder is downstairs.”

      Alexius frowned. “The shrew has arrived already?”

      “She asked to see master Caros’s wife. When I told her Pelonia wasn’t here, she demanded to speak with you.”

      “Demanded?” Few people rubbed his skin raw the way Tibi’s self-important sister did. “Have her wait in the entryway.”

      “She won’t like that, dominus.”

      “I don’t like her,” he said simply.

      Velus grunted and set the tray on a side table. “The lady wishes to see her sister.”

      “How should I know where Tibi is?” he asked, filling a basin with hot water from an amphora. “I haven’t seen her for—”

      “Hours?”

      He grinned. “I don’t remember when.”

      Velus’s weathered features pinched with confusion. “She’s down the hall—”

      “Even if I did know where to find Tibi, I wouldn’t tell Tiberia—or anyone else for that matter. I promised the girl I’d keep her hidden until Caros and Pelonia arrive later today.”

      “I understand,” Velus said. “But if you lie to his wife, senator Tacitus might take offense on her behalf and strive to make trouble for you.”

      “I’ll take my chances,” he replied, unconcerned. Conditioning his face with a mixture of oils and herbs, he picked up a small, straight-edged razor and began to scrape the bristles from his cheeks.

      The Ludus Maximus supplied the games with the best gladiators and the senator’s popularity was down. Tacitus was too canny to risk his reelection by tampering with the mob’s favorite source of entertainment. “It’s not as though he can force me to close my doors because his wife is in a snit.”

      “Yes, but if someone took Tibi away without your knowledge you’d be telling the truth when you said you didn’t know her whereabouts.”

      “True.” Alexius finished shaving and rinsed the razor in the basin. A slow smile spread across his face as he dried his throat with a square of linen. “Tibi seems to think her sister will insist on searching the ludus for her. If she’s not here, I’ll have no trouble allowing the shrew to look until her heart’s content. When Tibi’s nowhere to be found, Tiberia will look elsewhere and we’ll have bought some time and peace for a while.”

      “I’ll find a safe place to take her and report to you once the sister is gone,” Velus assured him.

      Alexius laced up his sandals and slid on a pair of silver wristbands before heading toward the door. “Wherever you take Tibi, make certain she’s well-guarded and dressed to go unnoticed. I imagine all that blond hair and creamy skin attracts admirers by the score.”

      Velus nodded and followed Alexius into the corridor. The shutters had been folded back from the row of arched windows to allow a bird’s-eye view of the peach orchard. Clear morning light filled the vaulted path to the stairwell. On the first floor, the two men parted company.

      Alexius took his time walking to the reception hall. In order