Nobilissima (15 page)

Chapter 15

We needed help to escape, as there was no way we could outrun the Goth soldiers. We would have to steal away unseen and make our way to the port, where we could find a ship heading north to Ostia. I paced the garden paths, trying to think of the best way to get us out of the villa without being caught. Our guards had become lax in their duties since the death of Alaric, distracted, I thought, by the loss of their king and the uncertainty of their own destiny.

I looked around, peering over the walls of the garden. There was no one in sight, and the road that led to the town was deserted. We would need horses; to reach the port on foot would take too long. I took another turn around the garden and was startled by a figure emerging from the mist. It was Septimus. His tunic was showing the same signs of wear and dirt as my robe and he was in need of a haircut, but he was smiling.

“Nobilissima. I’m glad to have found you. I want to tell you that my ransom was received today,” he said. “I’m free to go.”

“I’m so happy for you,” I said sincerely. “Will you return to Rome?”

He nodded. “There are commercial ships leaving daily and I have enough money to pay my passage. I’ll leave for the port this evening and board the first one available. My brother was able to arrange the ransom money.”

I knew he had been concerned for his relatives and how they were faring in the plundered city.

“I’ll take news of your plight to the Senate and do all I can to obtain your release, Nobilissima. It pains me to leave you alone here.”

“I won’t be a hostage for long,” I said. “I also intend to return to Rome soon. But I’ll need your help.”

He looked surprised and glanced around to be certain that we were alone.

“I have to escape,” I continued. “It’s clear my ransom isn’t forthcoming and now the Goths are about to move again. If you will help me, I’ll repay you handsomely when we return to Rome. Come, walk with me for a while and I can tell you my idea.”

He fell into step with me, bending his head to hear me whisper.

“Listen, Septimus. We need to buy passage on a boat heading north. When you reach the port, you can purchase three places for my ladies and myself on a vessel leaving in two days. That will give us time to get there. I have jewels that you can take to make the payment and you can leave a message with the harbormaster to tell us which vessel to board.”

“But how will you reach the port?” Septimus asked. “You are under watch. And I’ve heard that it is a hard ride down these mountains to the coast. Nobilissima, I beg you to think again. Help will come from Rome soon. Be patient and wait here.”

I stopped walking and put my hand on his arm. “I have no choice. I would rather face death than live this life as a captive. I’m sure the Goths will soon start heading further south, and I can’t bear to put more distance between myself and Rome. It has to be done now.”

Septimus didn’t reply immediately. He appeared lost in thought. Finally he spoke.

“I know one of the stable boys well. He helped me care for my mare when she was sick with the colic. I can talk to him about preparing three horses for you. But why don’t you come with me tonight? We can ride together.”

I shook my head. “I won’t do anything to jeopardize your departure, Septimus. You’re a free man but if we are caught, they won’t hesitate to take you captive again, or worse. I want you to go ahead of us. And you will be doing me a great service by finding passage for us in advance of our arrival. The less time we spend at the docks, where there are certain to be Goth soldiers, the better.”

“Then I’ll wait for you at the port,” he replied. “The crews on these ships are rough brutes, and you wouldn’t be safe. I’ll find some men at the docks who can be paid to provide an armed escort for us. If you leave here tomorrow morning, you can reach the port before nightfall. I’ll find a safe place to stay for one night and we can embark at dawn the next day.”

We walked the gravel paths in silence for a few moments, weighing the risks of the enterprise we were about to undertake. When we reached the gate that led to the road, Septimus turned to look at me. “You will be in danger until you reach the port. You must ride fast and stop for no one.”

I managed a smile. “We’ll be careful. Come to my rooms before you leave and I’ll give you enough jewels to procure the horses and the places on board a ship. Thank you, Septimus, from the bottom of my heart.”

With a quick salute, Septimus melted away into the mist, and I hurried back to my room, where Aurelia and Sylvia watched in surprise as I dug into the pile of clothes to find the pouch of jewelry we had brought with us.

“We’re leaving,” I told them as I chose some stones and put them on one side. “Ataulf is very preoccupied, and he’s angry with me and ignoring us. This is a good time for an escape.”

Aurelia just nodded as though she had been expecting this and listened quietly while I described the plan.

When I’d finished, Sylvia was trembling. “I can’t come with you,” she said. “I am mortally afraid of the sea and I won’t go on a boat, not for anything.”

“But you must, Sylvia. You can’t stay here. You have to come with us,” I insisted. Aurelia and I spent the next hour trying to persuade Sylvia to accompany us and finally I lost patience. “I command you to come with me. I won’t leave you here.”

Sylvia burst into tears.

“Sssh,” Aurelia told her. “We must do nothing to attract attention to ourselves. Be quiet, Sylvia. Please.”

We all jumped when there was a light knock on the door. It was Septimus. He stepped inside the room, looking anxious.

“I’m afraid I have bad news,” he said. “The stable boy can only give you two horses. He dare not release more for fear of being found out.”

“That’s settled then,” said Sylvia. “I’ll stay here. I’ll be safe, Placidia. I’ve made friends among the Goth women and Taiga likes me. I’ll remain until you send for me. You can pay my ransom as you soon you get back and they’ll have to let me go.”

“No, Sylvia,” I began, but Septimus held up his hand to attract my attention. “We must act quickly. If I don’t leave this evening, they’ll question my reasons for delaying. Tell me what you wish to do.”

Reluctantly, I agreed that Aurelia and I would take the two horses. Hiding the jewels in a pouch, Septimus took his leave. “Until tomorrow evening, Nobilissima,” he said.

We rose, groggy with lack of sleep, in the pale light of early dawn. While we dressed, Sylvia hid coins and jewels at the bottom of a leather bag and packed some food left from dinner the night before. I was having second thoughts about leaving my beloved companion behind but it was too late to change our plans and tears burned my eyes when I gave her a final embrace.

We waited until we heard the heavy tread of the night guard fading as he went in search of breakfast, and then Aurelia and I tiptoed through the silent hallways, carrying our bags and shoes until we reached the small side door that led to the gardens. A few birds sang to keep us company on our short traverse over the damp and soggy lawns to the stables on the other side. The young stable boy was waiting for us, already holding two horses tightly by their reins. They were saddled and ready to depart, their hooves wrapped in sackcloth to deaden the noise of their steps on the paved road that led from the villa. He looked nervous and was glad to hand over the reins.

“Here, please take this money,” I said, pressing some coins into his hand. “And, remember, you know nothing. You were sleeping and did not see us take the horses. I don’t want you to be in trouble for your part in this.”

Septimus had given us directions; we were to leave the paved main road after a mile or two and take a smaller trail that wound through the forest down to the coast. Although it would take longer, it was better than the risk of meeting a Goth patrol on the highway.

We rode the horses at a walk, resisting the urge to gallop until we could take the cloths from their hooves. I found myself thinking about Ataulf and wondering what his fate would be. I felt guilty about running away without speaking to him one more time. And there was Taiga, alone in her room, grieving. Taking a breath, I tried to push the thoughts away. Why should I care about them, when they had no concern for me? 

I was so immersed in my thoughts that it was Aurelia who saw the trail. She led the way off the main road and into the forest. The path was narrow, winding between the dripping trees, but it was soft underfoot.

I stopped and slid down from the saddle to untie the cloths from the horses’ feet, my hands clumsy in the early morning chill. As I undid the last knot, I heard a rustle in the trees close by and my body tingled from head to toe with fear. Aurelia’s eyes met mine in alarm. Suddenly a rabbit ran across the path, scampering from one bush to another and causing the horses to start and roll their eyes.

Laughing with relief at the sight of the rabbit, we calmed the horses and mounted them again. But my nerves were still jangling and I dug my heels into my horse’s flanks, anxious to get further away from the camp. We ducked under low hanging branches and jumped over fallen trees that littered the path. I rode through a spider’s web glistening with drops of water and pulled the sticky threads from my face and hair.

It was hard to judge how long we’d been riding. There was no sun and I saw glimpses only of an iron-grey sky above the thick canopy of the forest. The branches protected us from the worst of the rain but we were soon drenched to the skin from the constant dripping and from brushing up against water-laden leaves. The woods were quiet. No birds sang. But the steady pounding of the hooves on the path filled my ears and I had no warning of what faced us when we rounded a bend in the path.  A band of men stood in the middle of the trail. We pulled up our horses to avoid running into them.

“Bandits?” Aurelia asked quietly.

“I don’t know,” I answered. They were Goths, judging from their dress and hair, but I didn’t recognize any of them. Their horses were tied to a tree not far away.

“Who are you?” I said, wishing my voice sounded stronger.

They didn’t respond and, in the silence, I heard a saddle creak behind me. Seconds later, a noose dropped over my shoulders and was pulled tight. Struggling with the noose and mounting panic, I was pulled from my horse and fell, winded, to the ground. As I struggled to catch my breath, someone put a hand over my mouth. The fingers were huge and calloused.

“If you swear not to scream, I’ll take my hand away,” said a voice I recognized. I moved my head in assent, the blood singing in my ears and temples, my lungs desperate for air.

“Well, Nobilissima,” said Sigeric, his face so close I could feel his breath on my cheek. “Trying to escape. That will make Ataulf very angry.”

He took his hand from my mouth and stood, pulling me up with him. Pinning my hands behind my back, he shoved me towards the group of men. Two of them had pulled Aurelia from her horse and held her by the arms. At a sign from Sigeric another soldier slapped the flanks of our two horses and I watched in despair as both galloped out of sight through the trees.

“Let’s think,” Sigeric said, playing to his audience of soldiers. “Placidia escapes and she can’t be found. She must have fallen into the hands of bandits and been robbed and killed. She’s never seen again.”

The soldiers grinned and whispered to each other.

Sigeric dropped his voice and spoke to me. “Alone, unprotected, and no one knows where you are. You have been very foolish, Nobilissima.”

“Leave us alone, “ I cried out, “or you’ll have the Emperor and the Senate to answer to.”

Sigeric laughed, a coarse, loud laugh that rang through the woods. The sound echoed and a flock of crows flew up from the trees in a black cloud, cawing angrily at the disturbance. One of Sigeric’s men quickly took a slingshot from his belt and aimed a stone at the birds. His missile found its target and a crow fell to the forest floor with a faint whisper of sound.

For a moment I closed my eyes in terror at the thought of death in this dismal wood. I felt the blood draining from my face and my knees began to tremble.

“You wouldn’t dare to harm me, “ I said, summoning every shred of strength into my voice. The crows settled back into their branches, dew dripped from the leaves of the trees, and the silence was heavy and threatening.

“You won’t live to tell any tales,” said Sigeric, first unstrapping his sword and then unbuckling his belt, handing them to the nearest soldier. He spoke to the men who held Aurelia.

“Get her out of sight away from the trail but don’t touch her,” he growled, his voice heavy with menace. “I want the double pleasure of these young ladies to myself today.”

Aurelia’s knees buckled and she remained standing only because she was held so tightly by her captors. He turned to look at me again, his face a mask of lust and malice, and wrenched my arm behind my back so hard I thought he had broken it. Then he shoved me away from the road into the bushes. I started to scream and twisted around, trying to hit him. I kicked my booted heels at his shins but he seemed to feel no pain. Branches tore at my cheeks as he pushed me further into the rough undergrowth. Suddenly he stopped and threw me down to the ground, crouching over me like a wild animal.

Looking up at that scarred and malign face, I stopped screaming and began to think about how to get away from him, even as he pressed his foul mouth against mine. He kept my arm pinned to the ground but his other hand moved over my body, and he tore at my gown, ripping it from my shoulder. He was fumbling under his tunic and then pushed himself up against me, using one knee to force my legs apart. I wanted to scream but couldn’t. Sheer terror overcame my instincts to fight back. All function had gone from my limbs and throat.