“He will leave all the quicker if he is uncomfortable.”
“He will not leave,” Gaius Drusus said, recovering his equilibrium, and his dignity as head of this household. “I have promised his father that Quintus will have a future in Britain. There is nothing for him in Rome. My cousin, Manius, begged me to find a place for the boy. I have given my word, Kyna.”
“You did not approach him first with this silly scheme to marry Cailin off?” she demanded. She was beginning to see the issue in a different light now.
“No. Manius Drusus wrote to me two years ago,” said Gaius. “Quintus is the youngest of his children. If he had been a girl it would have been easier, for they could have married off a girl with a modest dowry; but he is not a girl. There is simply no place for Quintus in Rome. The sons of Manius’s first marriage are all grown with children of their own. Manius parceled off his lands to them as each married. His daughters were well dowered, and wed as well.
“Then, after having been widowed for several years, he suddenly fell in love. His new wife, Livia, bore him first a daughter, and Manius was rich enough that there was enough for her dowry. Then Livia bore Manius a son. My cousin determined that the boy would inherit their house in Rome. His wife agreed that there must be no more children, but …”
Kyna laughed. “Cousin Manius dipped his wick one final time, and Quintus was born of their indiscretion,” she finished for her husband.
He nodded. “Aye. My cousin hoped to make another small fortune for this last child, but you know, Kyna, how bad Rome’s economy has been over these past years. The government is constantly spending more than it has to spend. The legions must be paid. Taxes have risen threefold. The coinage is so debased now as to be worth nothing. My cousin could but support his family. There was nothing to give young Quintus. So, Manius Drusus appealed to me to help him. He offered Quintus as a husband for our daughter. It seemed to me a good idea at the time.”
“It was not,” his wife said dryly, “and you really should have discussed it with me first.”
“I will not marry this Quintus Drusus,” Cailin said again.
“You have already told us that several times, my daughter,” Kyna said soothingly. “I am certain that your father accepts your decision in this matter, even as I do. The problem remains, however, of what we must do. Quintus Drusus has traveled hundreds of leagues from Rome to come to a new and better life. We cannot send him back to his old one. Your father’s honor—indeed, the honor of the whole family—is involved.” She furrowed her brow for a moment, and then she brightened. “Gaius, I believe I may have the answer. How old is Quintus Drusus?”
“Twenty-one,” he told her.
“We will tell him that we have decided Cailin is too young to marry at this time,” Kyna said. “We will imply his father misunderstood you. That all you offered was to give Quintus a start in Britain. If Cailin eventually fell in love with him, then a marriage could certainly take place. You did not actually make a marriage contract with Manius Drusus, Gaius, did you?” She looked anxiously at her husband.
“Nay, I did not.”
“Then we will have no problems,” Kyna said, relieved. “We will give young Quintus that little villa with its lands by the river, the one you purchased several years ago from the estate of Septimus Agricola. It’s fertile and has a fine apple orchard. We’ll supply him with slaves, and with hard work he can make it quite prosperous.”
Gaius Drusus smiled for the first time that day. “It is the perfect solution,” he agreed with her. “I could not manage without you, my dear, I fear.”
“Indeed, Gaius, I am most certainly of the same opinion,” Kyna replied.
The rest of the family laughed.
When they had recovered from their mirth, Cailin said, “But do not make a new mattress, Mother. We want Quintus Drusus gone from this house as quickly as possible, remember.”
There was more laughter. This time Gaius Drusus joined in, relieved that a potentially difficult situation had been resolved by his beautiful, clever wife. He had not made a mistake all those years ago when he had married Kyna, the daughter of Berikos.
Two days later, exactly as predicted, Quintus Drusus arrived at the villa of his