“How horrible,” Cailin said, shuddering. “I do not think I would like these gladiatorial combats, knowing that one of the two men has to die.”
“It adds spice to the match knowing it,” Arcadius said. “The combatants are always magnificent fighters under such circumstances.”
“I am surprised that any free man would agree to fight under such conditions,” Cailin noted. “To know that you might be killed is such a frightening prospect.” She shuddered.
“But there is always the chance you will not be killed,” he answered. “Besides, the fee for a death match is far better than for just the ordinary combat. The little gossip that reaches me here tells me that the current, unbeaten champion, a man known as the Saxon, is to fight in Gabras’s games.”
“I feel sorry for him,” Cailin said. “If he is the unbeaten champion, then all the others will strive harder to bring him down. He faces the most danger.”
“True,” Arcadius agreed, “but it will make for a far more exciting match. You may step down, Cailin, and clothe yourself. I am finished.” He stepped back to admire his handiwork. “It is done, and it is one of my greatest masterpieces, I think,” he said, feigning understatement. “Aspar should be well-pleased, and inclined to pay me on time for my efforts.”
“What of the base?” she demanded. “I want it set in the garden facing the sea before Aspar returns from Adrianople.”
“I have an apprentice in the city working on the pedestal, my dear,” he told her. “The marble is most unique, a pink and white mixture. I have no idea where it came from. We found it lying about beneath some old clothes in the rear of my studio, but when I saw it, I knew it was the perfect piece of stone for our Venus. Come and look now.”
Cailin had slipped her tunica back on. She came around to view her statue. The young Venus, as Arcadius liked to call it, stood, her body slightly curved, one arm at her side, the other raised, the hand palm outward as if shielding her eyes from the sun. Her hair was piled atop her head, but here and there errant ringlets had escaped and curled about her slender neck and delicate ears. There was just the faintest hint of a smile upon her face. She was both pristine and serene in face and form. “It is beautiful,” Cailin finally said. She was frankly awed by the sculptor’s skill. She could almost see the pulse at the base of the young Venus’ throat. Each fingernail and toenail was perfect in its detail; and there was so much more.
“Your simple homage is more than enough praise,” he said quietly. He could see the admiration in her eyes, not for how he had portrayed her, but for his talent, and his art. Her lack of sophistication was refreshing, Arcadius thought. Had this been a woman of the court, she would have complained that he had not really caught her essence, and then tried to cheat him of his fee. Well, it had been a most pleasant interlude. Tomorrow he would return to the city and begin a set of six figures for the altar of a new church being built in Constantinople. “When the pedestal is done, dear girl,” he said, “I shall come myself to see the statue installed upon it. I think Flavius Aspar will be most pleased with what we have accomplished together.”
After he departed the following day, Cailin found that she missed the sculptor’s company. He had been a charming and most amusing companion. Nellwyn was a sweet girl, but a simple one. Cailin could not speak on complicated matters with her. She just did not understand. Still, she was pleasant company, and Cailin was glad for her presence.
The harvest was a good one on Flavius Aspar’s estates, and as Cailin walked across the fields with Nellwyn, greeting the workers, she again considered the possibility of Aspar’s raising horses for the chariot races. The estate’s tenants already raised hay and grain for their cattle and other stock. Much of the pasturage was as suitable for horses as for cattle. If Aspar needed even more land, perhaps he could obtain it from overtaxed landowners whose properties bordered his own. She would bring it up with him again when he returned.
Casia came to visit for a few days’ duration, and brought news of the city. “Basilicus swears to me that Leo