gave him complete satisfaction, and that it would not matter in the least to him if Aspar walked in and found them in such a compromising attitude. Justin Gabras was the most perverse man she had ever known, and even though she was sometimes frightened of him, she could not resist him. “Ahhhhhh!” she moaned as he forced her to completion.
He laughed, releasing her, and watched as Flacilla quickly straightened her garments and attempted to regain her composure. “He was probably on the stairs even as I made you obey me,” he mocked her. “Did you think of him coming toward us as I played with you, my pet?”
“You are a wicked man,” she said, now angry that he had frightened her so greatly. “You love danger, but you involved me in it then.”
“And you loved it, Flacilla,” he mocked her. “You are the perfect woman for me. You have breeding, and you are a very skilled whore. As your husband is leaving us today, I will have another little surprise in store for you, my pet. Does it excite you to think on it?”
Before she could answer, however, Aspar came out onto the terrace. Flacilla arose and came forward to greet him. “My lord, why did you not tell me you were coming? Patricius will be so delighted to see you. He has been doing very well at his studies lately, his tutors say.”
“I apologize for interrupting you, and your guest, Flacilla,” Aspar said with a hint of censure in his voice.
She heard it, and quickly replied, “This is Justin Gabras, a gentleman from Trebizond, my lord. He is now making his home in the city. The patriarch has asked him to help me in a project to aid the poor. We were just discussing it when you arrived. Will you join us?”
A small amused smile touched Aspar’s lips, but it was quickly gone. “I have come for Patricius,” he said. “I have decided to send him to live with Ardiburius and Zoe. You have been a good mother to him, Flacilla, but he is at an age now where he needs the company of other children. My grandson David is just slightly younger than Patricius, and will benefit as well from their shared companionship. Since both my elder son and daughter-in-law follow the Orthodox faith, Patricius will, of course, continue in that instruction. Will you send for him?”
Flacilla was astounded, and frankly curious as to his apparently sudden decision, but she nodded. Calling a servant, she gave instructions that the boy be brought to them. “May I see Patricius on occasion, my lord?” she asked her husband. “I have grown fond of the child.”
“Of course,” he said, smiling. “You are always welcome at my elder son’s home to visit Patricius. He is fond of you also, I know.”
Justin Gabras was fascinated. He had never seen two more poorly matched people. He would be sorry to see the boy go, too. Only recently he had begun to consider what an appetizing little tidbit the child would be. As Patricius was sweet-natured, and eager to please, seducing him would have been a simple matter. And afterward he would have taught him how to please his lusty stepmother as well. Bad luck, he thought, an opportunity lost, but another will appear.
The general and his wife had grown silent, for they had little if nothing to say to each other. Aspar looked like a dull fellow, Justin Gabras thought. Brilliant in the field, but boring in the bedchamber. Flacilla politely offered wine, and then mercifully the boy came.
“Father!” Aspar’s youngest child ran into the room, his face joyful at the sight of the general. “What a grand surprise, Father!”
Aspar caught the boy in an embrace, and then stepping back, said, “You have grown again, lad! And the lady Flacilla says your tutors give good reports of your studies. You make me proud, and I have come with a surprise for you. You are to go and live with your brother and his wife. Your cousin David is most eager for your arrival.”
“Ohh, Father! That is splendid news!” Patricius cried. “When am I to go?” Then his face fell, and turning toward Flacilla, he said almost apologetically, “I will miss you, lady. You have been good to me.”
Flacilla smiled, but there was no warmth in it. “I think your father has made an excellent decision, Patricius. You should be with other children, and my household is long past children.”