To Love Again - Bertrice Small [153]
“Spare her,” Casia said, “and I will personally entertain your guests in any fashion you desire! Just release Cailin, I beg you, my lord Gabras! Jovian, have you no say in any of this?”
“I cannot help you,” Jovian said, and his eyes filled with tears. “He would kill me if I tried, would you not, my lord? Even if I dared to send for help, by the time Aspar got here, it would be too late. You should not have come here tonight, Casia, and you most assuredly should not have brought Cailin.”
“Michael!” Justin Gabras called to the servant, who came quickly to his side. “Help me take our guests and lock them up until we are ready for them.” He dragged Cailin into the atrium while she struggled in vain to escape his strong fingers.
“Let us go!” Casia cried as Michael pulled her along in their wake.
“And lock up the whore’s litter bearers until we are of a mind to release her,” Justin Gabras called out to Jovian.
“Lady, I apologize for this,” Michael told Cailin as he pushed her into a sparsely furnished, windowless room behind Casia. He shut the door behind them, and they heard the lock turning noisily.
“Forgive me!” Casia said, flinging herself into Cailin’s arms. “I am a fool to have ever suggested coming here! The gods help us both!”
“It is as much my fault as yours,” Cailin said generously. “If I had let the matter of the Saxon rest instead of pursuing it, we would not be in this predicament. What do you think they mean to do?”
“It is obvious,” Casia replied. “Gabras will give us to his gladiators. It matters not to me. I am a whore and used to taking a variety of men between my thighs, but you, my poor friend!” She began to cry, much to Cailin’s astonishment, for Casia was not a woman given to tears.
“Do not cry,” Cailin comforted her friend. Strangely, she felt nothing right now. Not even fear.
“Gabras will spread word of this incident all over Constantinople,” Casia said, still sobbing. “Basilicus will never forgive me!”
“You love him!” Cailin was again surprised.
Casia nodded. “Aye, the gods help me, I do! He doesn’t know, of course. He is not the kind of man one can confide such an emotion in, sadly. He will never accept being embarrassed by me. I will never see him again after tonight, I fear! I have ruined not just your life, but my own as well!”
“Perhaps we can escape,” Cailin said hopefully.
Casia, her tears finished, looked at her friend and shook her head. “How? This room has no windows, and but one door, which is locked. They will come for us, and that will be the end of it. There is no escape, Cailin. Make up your mind to that right now.”
Chapter 14
The two women did not have long to wait. Four male slaves arrived to escort them to the baths, where they were thoroughly washed and their bodies rubbed with fragrant oils. The bath attendants rubbed Cailin’s auburn ringlets and Casia’s thick, long blue-black hair until they were dry. Their hair was perfumed, Casia’s first being braided into a single plait, and then floral wreaths were set atop their heads. No fresh garments were offered them, and the women realized it would be useless to even ask.
They were then escorted into a large airy room that opened onto the villa’s beautiful gardens. Justin Gabras sat, now garbed in a short white tunic, upon a black marble chair. The gladiators were assembled before him. There were no other women in the room. At their entry, the men turned, their eyes avid with interest. The guards forced Casia and Cailin forward, and reaching out, Justin Gabras