The Conqueror by Salem Fitzgerald

Author:Salem Fitzgerald [Fitzgerald, Salem]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-03-08T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter 8

Britannia’s chilly, damp spring gave way to summer. The days became warmer than Marcus would ever have imagined possible for this northern island—and longer than any of the Romans could believe. The sky remained light far into the summer evenings, and the sun seemed hardly to have left the sky before it returned with another dawn. The Britons spent long hours in the fields, more accustomed to the lengthy days spent farming than their new Roman overseers. Marcus had the task of ensuring that the conquered barbarians would have food for themselves that winter, as well as food to sustain the Roman forces, most of which were assigned to military occupation or to the reconstruction of Segontium.

Fortifying Segontium was the highest priority, followed by building more spacious, civilized housing. The first building completed was a large central hall to serve as a proper seat of command, with several apartments attached and more and more houses springing up nearby for the highest-ranked Romans. Marcus moved his small household into the legate’s apartment once it was completed, and his little collection of servants had their own tiny closet for sleeping quarters, separate from the kitchens, which were dedicated to cooking for large gatherings, not only Marcus’ private meals. The accommodations were meager compared to the houses in Rome, but the barbarians were awed by the first sight of their new home. The idea of having rooms dedicated to different purposes like sleeping and cooking seemed to be difficult for them to take in, at first.

Marcus’ new chambers were equipped with an alcove suitable for a valet to sleep in. He longed to install Gwen there immediately, yet Marcus had begun to fear arousing suspicion. Garnoc had been his personal servant for far longer, and he spoke Latin. So, reluctantly, when they moved to the apartment in the new building, Marcus sent Gwen to stay in the servants’ room with Anwen and made Garnoc his official valet. He consoled himself that at least Anwen was progressing well in Latin, and perhaps he could soon feel justified in sending Garnoc home and elevating Gwen to his station. Marcus missed having him near, but then again, he slept more soundly now that it was only Garnoc in his bedchamber with him.

For a long time, nothing out of the ordinary passed between them. Gwen acted the part of silent servant, and now even their rare times alone in the evening were gone. There were no more Latin lessons after dark, so Marcus had to endure many days at a time without hearing Gwen’s voice at all. Gwen did speak in front of Anwen, but only when no one else was present, and usually it was nothing more than asking for a word in Latin.

Anwen’s Latin progressed quickly through the summer, although she had a tendency to mix up words, and her grasp of verb tense was terrible, so speaking to her could be quite confusing. Gwen’s progress was slower, but more precise—as far as Marcus could tell from the few times he was able to hear Gwen speak.

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