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Atrice

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Charis snorted in amusement, interjected as he paused after his question. "No. I told you, I'm a barbarian. From Britannia." The very farthest reaches of the Empire - a beautiful place, rich in heritage and history and love and life...but to Rome it was a rainy, mud-flattened wasteland of barbarians and savages.

But he continued and her eyes flashed. He'd hit a sore point. She bristled, her back straightening although with her diminutive height it wasn't as if she was particularly threatening. All the same she took a step closer to him, her gold jewellery glinting in the light of the sconces in the garden. "You should watch your tongue, Marcus Junius Silanus. You have no idea what you are talking about, and just quite how disrespectful I find you. Would you like to face the consequences of that disrespect?" 

 

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He wrinkled his nose when she reminded him what she said earlier. And then she revealed she was from Britannia. His eyes widened for a moment - he was born there, after all - but he quickly collected himself again. A simple barbarian from Rome. Who was the pretense-wife of her former master. A concubine. A whore, really, that's what she was. But only to her husband. It was a pity that she wouldn't have Marcus, he was sure he could show her a better time than her husband, who was probably as old and dull as he assumed earlier. Why else would he want a freedwoman like her? 

He noticed the way her eyes flashed when he spoke of how good a lay she must be for her husband. She straightened her back, which didn't improve her height much compared to his, and then she even stepped closer and... then she threatened him.

"I hit a sore spot there, didn't I?" He said with a grin, not moving, so he looked down upon her instead, when she was this close. It really was such a pity with her! Yet he spoke and he wasn't really helping his own case, certainly not if he hoped to seduce her. But he couldn't help himself. She was not better than he was.

"I wonder why. And what will you do? Run and tell your husband, your master, like a good and loyal slave? I did honestly think you could fend for yourself." He tilted his head.

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Yes, he had hit a sore spot and Charis' teeth ground together to stop herself from lashing out. She should have told him to fuck off - but for all the power she held over him now, she still understood some basics of propriety. Equally, to be so crude would only play into his impression of her that she was just a piece of dirt to be trodden in. She was Tertia Charis. No, she was Erea, a free woman. She would not be spoken to like this. 

She practically hissed the words up at him. "I can fend for myself. But you see Marcus, now I don't have to. Just like I'm sure you run to your father or brother or whoever you want when you need more money for your whores or your parties, or the next promotion on your cursus, now I have somebody looking out for me." She gave him a feline smirk and stepped back, turning on her heel to leave. "I shall tell my husband, Tertius Quinctilius Varus, Praetor of Rome, what you've said." 

 

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Now she hit a sore spot. Marcus could not run to his father or brother when he wanted anything. His father was dead, his brother distant. And he had little money to really call his own, although Tiberius was looking into that. But until then... he had nothing. Charis had more than he had, it seemed. And there she was, smirking and turning to leave. Her husband was a Praetor? And he'd heard the name before. The man didn't make a big name of himself in the Senate. But he'd been around long enough for everyone to know him. And such a highly esteemed man kept a freedwoman as his wife? What the fuck? But that must be exactly why he got away with it too... fuck... 

He would just have to... lower himself, wouldn't he? Even though he hated it. And he would get back at her somehow. But for now, he had to stop her... so Marcus reached out for her arm, his grin gone, "Please don't tell him? We were just talking... and... I don't want to cause any trouble..." 

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She blinked as he took her arm and she flicked those big blue eyes up to his. His face was grim and stony and his words belied the reason. She stilled for a moment and then sighed, watching him carefully. But she snatched her arm out of his grip and folded it across her waist. 

"Perhaps this should be a lesson to you Marcus," she arched a brow at him. "I may just be a freedwoman but I am still your equal. I am still worthy of respect." her look hardened and she straightened her back, stepping further away from him. "And another lesson, perhaps, for your political career. You never know who might be of importance when you dismiss them, thinking they are nothing." She turned on her heel, determined to head back in the house. "I will consider whether to tell my husband or not." 

 

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Marcus clenched his jaw when she said she was his equal, although she was a freedom. She was worthy of respect only because of the man who called her his wife, and for no other reason than that. But he realized his mistake and he did not want her to tell on him to her husband! A Praetor of Rome! A wealthy and experienced man, who'd held that office for more than a decade. Everyone knew him. Marcus didn't know what he was like, never met him, but he felt it was good to be cautious, suddenly. What if she did tell? He was in trouble, wasn't he? And all because she started by lying to him, letting him think she was more than what she was. 

She snapped her arm back and stepped further away, saying it should be a lesson to him and she'd consider whether or not to tell her husband.

"Please don't." Marcus begged again, while she'd already turned on her heel and was walking away, "I... I'll owe you a favor if you don't. I promise!" He added, but he didn't know if she heard him. He wouldn't run after her and he wasn't sure if that would do any good anyway. Fuck. He ran a hand through his hair and cursed the fact that he'd emptied his wine. He needed more. And then he needed to leave. And hope for the best.

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Charis did hear him but chose not to respond as she made her way back into the party. Mercifully few seemed to pay her much attention, and none questioned where she'd been. But she looked flushed, and anger was clear on her face as she snatched up a cup of wine from a passing slave as she leaned against a pillar, trying to cool down her blood. The nerve of the man! She should tell Tertius. It would serve him right. But the other half of her was too soft - too obedient after years living under the thumb of her dominus as a slave to outright do it. The Charis of old would have put him in place but she wasn't that young woman anymore. 

It was only when Tertius joined her in the shadows did she exhale and offer him a wan smile. "I'm sorry I couldn't come back to join your conversation, I got sidetracked in another. You're well?" She bluffed. 

 

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Tertius had been talking to some of his fellow Senators about the current state of Rome and the current Caesar and had barely noticed Charis disappeared. He assumed she found some other women to talk to. But he began growing tired and thought about where she was, so he excused himself and found her leaning against a pillar with a cup of wine. She excused why she'd been gone.

"I am well, yes... but growing a little tired. I feel I've said my piece for tonight." Tertius said with a smile, "What about you, did you enjoy yourself? If you prefer to stay longer, we can." He added with a smile, her standing half in shadow and with a cup of wine was hiding her flushed skin well. He didn't sense yet that something wasn't right.

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She nodded, relieved he wanted to leave. She did too. The party had felt hostile since she'd walked in, but in ways Tertius was possibly immune to seeing. She felt it though - the lingering stares of the husbands as if mentally undressing her, the glares in the eyes of their wives and then Marcus...she sighed - setting down her cup on a small table and pushing herself up from the pillar and into the light. 

"I am ready to leave." She nodded and then studied his face carefully. "I..." She shouldn't tell him but...another part of her chimed in that if she didn't, perhaps Marcus would do it again. Perhaps he'd spread his evident disdain to people - women - that didn't have the power she now did to fight back. She flicked her eyes up to Tertius. "I had a conversation with a man who did not seem pleased I'm here...he made me feel unwelcome. Shall we discuss it in the litter?" She offered, keeping her voice low. It served Marcus right. Fuck him.

 

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Tertius hadn't felt the party hostile at all, he was a highly esteemed Praetor and Charis his wife. That was how he presented her and no one dared to tell him otherwise. Even though some of them probably knew the story, they said nothing, which sat well with him. At least he took a wife after all these years. At least he had a son with her, his heir. But Charis nodded and said she was ready to leave. She suddenly looked tired to him, as she sighed and pushed herself from the pillar. Tertius reached gently for her arm and she had something on the tip of her tongue. There was also something with her skin. He adored her smooth and fair skin, but right now, it wasn't. He waited and then she told him about some conversation she had and Tertius arched a brow.

"It seems we shall." He then said, already concerned. A man was not pleased she was here and made her feel unwelcome. Had he done anything to her? Hurt her?

"You go wait by the litter, I'll join you... I should excuse myself formally." Tertius said and kissed her cheek, "I won't be long." And certainly not now that he was worried about her. What happened? And how did anyone make her feel unwelcomed? Had she been alone with this man? There were so many questions. So he found the host of the party and informed him that he had an early day tomorrow and his wife felt tired too. It really did not take long before he left the house and found Charis waiting for him. He gestured that she could climb in first and he soon followed, leaning back in the faint light in there, waiting for her story.

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She swallowed the lump in her throat - guilt - that she knew she shouldn't feel. Marcus deserved it and the consequences, she was confident, would be minor. Maybe he'd be shunned from gatherings that Tertius had influence over for a few weeks, maybe he'd be looked over for a promotion at first but that was fine. He needed to learn the lesson, she reassured herself and then at Tertius' bidding she nodded and moved to leave the party, waiting by the litter. The air felt colder out here and she felt, perhaps, more alone than ever.

And then she saw him and despite herself, she felt relief. She moved into the litter first and seated herself backwards, watching as he climbed in facing her. He didn't say anything so she presumed he wanted more details. She sighed and shook her head. "It was nothing really. I was conversing with a young man - he was amusing, and then he said he had some gossip - that a guest at the party had married a freedwoman." she sighed. "He was mortified at the...scandal of it. And then when I grew angry and explained who my husband was, and that I was a freedwoman he insinuated that...well..." She huffed and rolled her eyes. "That you had only married me because I pleasured you in bed." She threw her hands up. "It was ridiculous that I let it rile me but it did and...the look on his face...as if I was nothing." She ground her teeth and glanced to Tertius. "Marcus Junius Silanus. Do you know the name?" 

 

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Charis had climbed in so they could face each other, and once the litter lifted off the ground, she began talking. About meeting a young man, who had amused her at first, but then shared gossip. About her. Tertius sighed, he knew people thought it scandalous, but honestly... he cared for her, how could he take another wife but her? Have another wife adopt his son, treat Peregrinus like his own, when Charis was the caring mother he'd known so far? No, Tertius did not have it in him to treat his child's mother like that. He was not his father. He was determined to do better this time to both mother and child, than what had happened with Teutus and Varinia.

But Charis said more. She'd grown angry and told him who her husband was. And then the young man had offended her. And Tertius, through her. He inhaled a sharp breath, shifting a bit in his end of the litter. He would get riled up too. He did get riled up. How dare anyone suggest Charis was nothing more but a whore he married? And not just anyone. She even shared a name. Tertius should feel glad that she was so honest with him. But how could he be glad... when the news were like this? 

"I've heard of him, I think. His father I knew. He was a highly esteemed man. Consul and Proconsul of Rome, even." Tertius said thoughtfully, he'd have to look it, but he was quite sure that Marcus must be the youngest son of Decimus Junius Silanus. Wasn't he murdered in Britannia? Not that he knew if that would interest Charis... 

"Why would he say such things to you? He didn't... touch you, did he?" Tertius then asked her in a worried tone. Gods, if that boy touched or hurt his wife... 

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Her eyes widened. Her father was a Proconsul? Charis knew more now about how their society was structured, who was important and who was not. Proconsul was the very highest one could go. She exhaled and shook her head. No wonder Marcus was as arrogant as he was. Stupid, foolish boy. 

But her eyes flicked back to Tertius at his words - the tone of his voice, full of anxiety. Her brows rose and she shook her head quickly. "No." She reached a hand out, stretching to hold his firmly. "He didn't touch me." Granted, he'd evidently wanted to but she wasn't going to tell Tertius that. "And...and I think he said it because he felt like he could...because he felt like I couldn't do anything in response." Her lips quirked a little. "He looked horrified when I told him how powerful my husband was." 

 

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She seemed surprised to hear that Marcus' father had been such an important man in Rome. Well if that was the case, then it would seem that the apple had fallen very far from the tree. What a disappointment the son was. But Tertius needed more information on what happened. For if that boy had touched Charis...

But he hadn't. Charis reached out for his hand and assured Tertius that wasn't the case. Apparently though, Marcus had felt superior to Charis and just said it because he could. Boys! Well Tertius would have to do something. Make sure it didn't happen again. Maybe then the gossip would lessen, if people knew Tertius didn't tolerate it.

He squeezed her hand, "And he should be horrified. Just because his late father was highly esteemed, it doesn't mean he should just get away with it. With treating you like that. He's not his father. Clearly." Tertius said firmly, looking at Charis, "I won't stand it." 

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Charis met his hard gaze at his words; I won't stand it. Good, a small part of her thought and she was horrified by the vitriol in that part of her body. Clearly she had been in Rome, surrounded by ambitious men for far too long. She breathed and nodded at him, gripping his fingers with her smaller ones. 

"What will you do?" She asked him, making no move to dissuade him from retaliating. It would serve Marcus right if he was looked over for promotion or shunned by his peers for a few weeks. She sighed and squeezed his fingers again. "I hope this hasn't ruined your evening." She gave him a weak smile and a little chuckle. "The party was beautiful besides that...incident." 

 

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Their eyes met in the faint light of the litter, as they sat there, facing each other, holding hands. He heard her breath and then she wondered what he'd do, "I don't know yet. But you don't need to worry. I'll deal with it." Tertius promised her. His wife had been offended and thus he had been offended too, through her. He'd been a Praetor for more than a decade, possibly since Decimus Junius Silanus was still alive and this Marcus was nothing more but a toddler staggering around. And such a boy would not get away with treating his wife like that. 

He felt her squeeze his fingers again and she almost apologized for the incident, "It hasn't, it was nice. And I'm glad you enjoyed it, despite the incident with young Silanus." Tertius said and sighed, as his thoughts moved on from the idiocy of youth and towards the gossip, "I'm sorry there's gossip about us. I hope you don't blame me. I just wanted to do what was right for... well, for all of us. For Peregrinus and for you." 

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She blinked and then a small frown fell onto her features. He wouldn't tell her what he'd do to Marcus that...unnerved her. She swallowed. She knew better by now than to cross Tertius when he had his mind set on something but it still sat uncomfortably on her shoulders. "But...you'll tell me if you need my help?" She offered as a compromise. She wanted to know, but she wasn't going to ask directly.

But he continued on the conversation and she saw the heavy sigh. "Bl...blame you?" She frowned, confused and then she let out a little genuine laugh, shaking her head. "Tertius..." She soothed and then pushed herself up to move up next to him in the litter. She heard the bearers groan even at her slight weight as she shifted. "I would rather be your wife, be a family with our son and be gossiped about every time I leave the domus than live as a slave...you know that. I wanted to be a family." She raised his hand and kissed his knuckles. "Fuck them." She said with a small, devilish glint in her eyes.

 

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He nodded at her words, "I'll let you know." He just said to her, but he highly doubted he'd need her help for what he had in mind. Young Marcus needed to be taught a lesson. And one he'd remember. One that he wouldn't soon forget. Tertius would make sure of it. But enough of that, he was also concerned about Charis, because she was suddenly the source of gossip and someone people apparently talked about. Of course he knew there was gossip, but he didn't think of it. Until now. And he feared it might have a negative impact on her somehow and he didn't want that.

Charis however laughed, as if it was amusing that he thought she'd blame him for it. Then she shifted and came closer to him. Tertius wrapped an arm around her to let her nestle against him and he said she was fine with the gossip as long as they were a family. She kissed his knuckles and used words he never thought she would. But he chuckled at it, she was sweet, despite it all.

"You're right... I wanted us to be a family too. It shouldn't matter what they think." He said and brought her hand to his lips too to kiss her back, "I'm glad  you think about it like that. Very glad." 

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