"It is the first time I have felt relaxed since we arrived in Britain," she answered him. "Please, Marcus, do not leave me when you go to our island. I should prefer to live roughly than to be without you."
"I don't want to leave you, beloved, but how can I take you when I do not know what I am going to find?"
"Then go tomorrow! Go tomorrow, and return quickly to me, for I cannot even bear the thought of being separated from you!"
They rose from their bed of sweet grass amid the lavender spikes and quickly redressed.
Together they rode back toward the villa of Aulus Alexander. They were almost there when a Dobunni tribesman stepped from behind a tree along the path. "Marcus Alexander Britainus," he called. "Do not go back to the villa! The Romans are there, and they seek you and your wife! You are to come with me to a place of safety."
"Mavia!" Zenobia's face paled. "I cannot leave her!"
"The little one will be safe," the tribesman replied, but Zenobia was adamant.
"I must get my child," she said. "I will not leave her!"
Marcus reached out, and put a steadying hand on his wife. "Who are these Romans?" he asked the tribesman. "Are they from Rome, or are they from Corinium?"
"Corinium," came the prompt reply.
"Listen to me, Zenobia. I think you can get safely into the villa to Mavia. If the soldiers leave, then we will leave almost as quickly. If they stay, then we will have to get you both out of the villa; but I know that you will not rest easy without Mavia, and I can trust the woman who led Palmyra's legions not to get caught."
She nodded, dismounted her horse, and began to walk toward the village. She turned once, blowing him a kiss, then continued on her way.
"What if they catch her?" asked the tribesman.
"They won't."
Using a garden gate, Zenobia slipped into the grounds and entered the house. "Are you mad?" Aulus's voice hissed in her ear.
"Are there any among them who know me?" she demanded of him.
"No, but you risk everything by coming back!"
"Did you think I would leave my child?" Zenobia's voice was fierce.
"Who is this, Aulus Alexander Britainus? You said that all of your household were present." The speaker was a plump young man, obviously new to Britain.
"I do apologize, Centurion, but I had forgotten this serving wench. She is but newly acquired. I bought her at the last captive's market." Aulus cuffed Zenobia about the head. "And where have you been this time, dog? Not at your duties, I'll wager!"
The centurion was less interested now, but still sought answers. "Where is she from? She does not look British."
"She is from Ierne, the island nation to the west of Britain. She was brought back from a raid," Aulus answered. "I think she is a bit simple-minded, for she has a tendency to wander. Go to your mistress, wench, and don't let me catch you out again! Probably in the stables humping the men," he grumbled, and the centurion laughed, his interest in Zenobia completely gone.
"She's a bit too long in the tooth for me," he said. "I like 'em young, around eleven or twelve."
Zenobia hurried to stand beside Dagian, her head lowered in a servile attitude. "What has happened?" she whispered.
"They arrived about an hour ago," Dagian whispered back. "Wait, and I will tell you."
The family was finally dismissed and permitted to go about its business. Zenobia hurried upstairs with Dagian, and almost at once the older woman began to speak. "They came without warning. It seems a trireme returning from Massilia reported seeing Sea Nymph docked there, and it was quickly ascertained that you had fled to Britain, although they did send to Cyprus and Capri both in case you were being clever with them. Finding Sea Nymph at Portus Adurni confirmed the trireme's sighting. The ship was seized." Dagian caught her breath. "Why did you come back? Where is Marcus?"
"I could not leave Mavia, and he is with the Dobunni. I am safe. They have no idea what Zenobia, the Queen of Palmyra, looks like. Are they going to stay?"
"I am not certain, but I do know that this centurion is not very bright. All he knows is that he is looking for Marcus and you. He has no idea that I just arrived here several weeks ago."
"They are not staying." Eada came through the door and into Dagian's room. "Oh, Zenobia, how you frightened me! When I saw you come into the room, my heart went into my mouth. Why did you not stay away? You might have been caught!"
"I was in no danger of being caught," Zenobia soothed her sister-in-law. "I could not leave my child to seek safety. Mavia is our most precious possession."
"They are coming back," Eada said. "They feel sure that you are in this area, although Aulus has denied seeing you. They are returning to Corinium for more soldiers, and then they are coming back to search the whole area around Salinae."
"How long will that give us?" Zenobia asked Eada.
"They cannot return to Corinium until tomorrow, and it will take them all day to get back. Then they must come back with more soldiers. I think you will probably have three days."
A mischievous smile lit Zenobia's face. "We shall leave before them," she said, "and since we will be riding, we shall be through the town of Corinium before them. While they are retracing their steps to seek us, we shall be going in the opposite direction!"
Eada began to laugh softly. "What a marvelous strategist you are, sister! Is it true that in your own land you were a great general?"
"I led my armies," Zenobia admitted modestly.
"Marcus says she was indeed a great general," Dagian said.
"I well believe it," Eada replied, and then she asked Zenobia anxiously, "You will forgive Aulus for cuffing you, won't you?"
Now Zenobia laughed. "I think my brother has missed his calling," she said. "He would make a marvelous actor! Humping the men in the stables, indeed!"
"There was really no need for Aulus to be quite so crude," Dagian chided.
"No, no," Zenobia defended Aulus. "It was that marvelous touch that convinced the centurion that I was naught but a blowsy and stupid slave woman. It was quite clever of him."
That night, Aulus was forced to offer the hospitality of his table to the centurion and to the legionnaires in his courtyard. Zenobia and Mavia kept to their bedroom, safe and out of sight. Mavia was nervous as she had not been since Palmyra, and at one point she began to cry. Zenobia soothed her child, making a game out of what they would do later. "We are going to sneak out of Uncle Aulus's villa just the way Mama snuck out of Palmyra to seek help from the Persians," Zenobia said.
"But the Romans caught you!" Mavia wailed.
"Only because Papa wasn't with us, Mavia," her mother said.
"Where is Papa?" the child demanded.
"With the Dobunni. They will help us to reach our island."
"The Romans will not catch us?" Mavia sniffed. "We will not have to live with the emperor again?"
"No, my darling, the Romans will not catch us, and we will never again see the emperor. I promise you, Mavia!" and Zenobia hugged her small daughter tightly.
"Always on the run, always fleeing," Bab muttered as she packed their things. "I hope that eventually before I die we will be given some measure of peace again!"
Adria bowed her head, smiling at the old woman's grumbling. They all knew that Bab, now in her late seventies, thrived on the excitement that seemed constantly to surround her mistress.
"Be patient with me, old woman," Zenobia said. "Surely this must be the last time I am forced to flee. Once we have gained the safety of our island home, then they will never find me again."
"I certainly hope so! If your dear mother were alive it would have broken her heart to see how those Romans have hounded you."
The clothing and personal effects necessary for a journey were packed carefully by Adria in a small trunk. Everything else was packed by Bab in the trunks for shipping later.