tight black curls. The creature pursed his pink lips thoughtfully, and then said in a clear, sweet voice, “I will give you two folles for her.”
“Two folles?” The slave merchant pretended outrage, although he was relieved to be offered anything for the wretched creature. He was just about to accept the gentleman’s offer when the elegant spoke again.
“Oh, very well, I shall give you four folles. I’ll not have you whining afterward that I cheated you. You slave merchants are all alike when a man snatches a bargain from under your very noses. You cannot see the value in what you have—but if someone else does, you howl and cry to the gods—er, God,” the gentleman amended.
“Jovian,” the plainly dressed gentleman who accompanied the elegant said irritably, “the girl isn’t worth five nummi, let alone four folles.”
“She is worth a dozen solidi, brother, even if you cannot see it right now. Trust me. You know I have an eye for such things,” the curly-haired man murmured, extracting the coins from his purse and handing them to the slave merchant. “Here, fellow, is your coin. Will you accept it?” He pierced the merchant with a direct look.
The man snatched the money from the elegant’s fingers and shoved Cailin toward him. “Go with your master now, girl,” he growled.
Jovian’s nose wrinkled with distaste as Cailin approached him. “The gods, girl! When was the last time you bathed?”
“What is today’s date?” she asked bluntly. “One loses track of time in the hold of a slave galley, sir.”
“It is the ides of April,” he answered her, curious. She was not at all a subservient creature. Indeed, she gave every indication of being strong-willed. It was all to the good, he thought, pleased.
“Then it has been almost eight months since I last bathed,” she told him. “Will I be able to bathe wherever it is you are now taking me, sir? I would be grateful to know that I could bathe properly again.”
“Eight months!” both men chorused in unison, looking horrified by Cailin’s revelation. Then the more somber of the two said darkly, “You have made a dreadful error, I fear, Jovian.”
The plump gentleman chuckled. “Nay, Phocas, I have made no error. Wait and see! Wait and see!” He turned to Cailin. “Follow us, girl, but be mindful not to become lost in the crowds. With us, you will suffer no ill treatment, but if you try to flee, you could find yourself in far greater difficulties. This is a cruel place.”
Cailin needed no warning. Nothing could be worse than the last few months she had spent in captivity. She had come close to losing track of her own identity. Whoever these two men were, they were certainly not threatening, and at this point she would have followed anyone who promised her a bath. She wondered, in fact, whether she would ever be able to really get clean again. Before her captivity she would not have believed that anyone could become so filthy as she now was. Mindful of his warning, she hurried along after the elegant and his companion.
They walked swiftly through the noisy city, and everywhere she turned there was something to catch Cailin’s eye. She wished she were not as she now was, that she might ask questions of the two men. It was all very overwhelming, and not just a little frightening. She was not at all used to the idea that she was a slave. As she followed the two men off the wide avenue and into a narrow, quiet street, she saw them turn through the wide gates of a large house. Well, at least they were wealthy and could afford to replace her worn tunic, which was practically falling off her as she walked.
A majordomo hurried forward to greet the two gentlemen, his eyes widening with shock at the sight of the girl following them. “My lord?” he questioned faintly. “Is this person with you?”
“Jovian has bought her in the public market, Paulus,” the sterner man replied. “You will have to ask him what he wants done with her.”
The majordomo looked to Jovian, and the plump man laughed at the servant’s distress. “I shall take her to the baths myself, Paulus,” he said. “Make certain the bath attendants are on duty. They certainly have their work cut out for them, don’t they, but wait until we have finished. This filthy piglet I have purchased will turn into a peacock, I promise you. And I only paid four folles