Chapter Six

We discussed nothing during the hours I was finishing the house accounts from last night. A silent agreement passed between Brixtius and me to not discuss the passionate kiss we shared. Or the attraction we have for each other.

If I told him he is my dead husband's twin, I think he would no longer be attracted to me. Most men do have their pride. I'm in a time when men rule the world; women are second class citizens.

A light tapping at Brixtius's office door makes me stop what I am doing. "Go," he commands. I already balanced the accounts from yesterday and started on today's reports.

I stand, the pins and needles from sitting too long-running hot up and down my legs. Opening the door, little Eurydice is standing at the entrance.

"I'm done with today's studies! Ready to play Hide and Seek, Jessa?" I can only smile at the little girl's energy.

"I'll start counting when we reach the courtyard, little mistress," I tell her with a big smile. I reach out my hand, and Eurydice grabs it without hesitation. We walk in companionable silence towards the courtyard. I am passing murals of the underworld on the way.

"What made you so upset during breakfast, Jessa?" Eurydice inquires.

After a few seconds of thinking, I respond. "My husband was a big fan of the Trojan War," I lie. I'm feeling a tiny shred of guilt for lying to the little girl. Well, technically it is not a full lie.

"Where is he now?"

"In Elysium," I answer.

"With my mother," the little girl answers in understanding.

"Exactly," is all I can say.

We reach the courtyard, "Ready, little mistress?" I cover my eyes, and I start loudly counting to twenty. I listen to Eurydice beating feet on the stone floors, echoing away from me. From the direction of the sound, she was heading towards the kitchens. Vesuvius decides to grumble. The earth starts to shake harder than all the previous times.

I stop counting, trying to keep my balance. Then something crashes, and there is a painful wail of a child.

"Eurydice!" I scream, bolting towards the direction of the still screaming child. The earth's swaying slows me down, but the sound of walls cracking and dust falling from the ceilings have me moving.

"Where's Eurydice?!" Brixtius demand from behind me.

"This way!" I shout as I keep moving. Cries are coming from one of the rooms. The grumbling earth and shaking subside when I reach the closed door the crying is emanating from.

I pull the lever, and I try moving the door. It is stuck! Brixtius is a second behind me and seeing I couldn't open the door, throws all his weight into helping me push it. The door moves inch by agonizing inch, but hearing the painful cries of Eurydice got my adrenaline pumping. An innate maternal instinct, the one where a parent's become superhuman to save a child, makes the door move faster. The same ability and fear have Brixtius in a frenzy as well. He has to get to his child.

We can push the door open far enough for me to slip into the opening. It is handy to be small sometimes. I enter the room, seeing the cause of the obstruction is a bookshelf. It must have tipped and lodged itself against the door during the earthquake.

I tip the bookshelf back against the wall, letting Brixtius have access to the room. A room with furniture strewn all over the place. "Eurydice!" I yell out, hearing her cries from under a fallen dresser. Brixtius moves with speed and lifts the wooden furniture like it weighs nothing.

The little girl tumbles out of the bottom cabinet, which was stuck shut from the dresser falling on its front. Eurydice rolls over on the floor. She's still crying but softly, clutching her wrist. Brixtius immediately picks her up into his arms and swiftly carries her out of the room.

I follow them back to Eurydice's room, where Brixtius tenderly lays his child on her bed.

"What hurts, baby?" His voice is calm, although I can tell from his body language, he needs to do something--anything to help his child.

"My wrist hurts, papa," Eurydice answers with a sob.

From where I was standing in the room, I observe her wrist starting to swell. Likely a fracture.

"Master?" I interrupt. "I have seen injuries like these. Ice will help with the swelling," I add. Brixtius nods his head and gets up and leaves the room. If I didn't know any better, I would say the man was in shock. Hopefully he remembers the ice once his shock wears off.

"Where's papa going?" the little girl whimpers.

"He's going to bring ice to help make your wrist feel better," I tell her as I sit next to her on the bed. "May I examine your wrist, little mistress?" Eurydice nods her head and hisses a small protest of pain when I gently take the wrist. Fractured.

I hold on to her arm; I ask, "Can you rotate your hand?"

The little girl is struggling, and she's grunting in pain when she makes the slightest movement. "It hurts too much, Jessa," she moans.

"Okay, little mistress. I just wanted to see what you could do." I place her arm on the bed, and there is a movement behind me. I turn my head, Brixtius arrived with a cup of ice in his hands.

I stand and walk over to a trunk depicting clothing on the lid. I open the top; I find a small linen towel. "Perfect," I whisper. I get up with the cloth in my hand, and I approach Brixtius, who's looking lost and helpless.

"My lord?" I put a commanding tone into my voice to help snap him out of the daze he's still in. "May I have the ice cup, please?" Brixtius automatically gives me the cup. "My lord, may I have two sticks and bandages? I need to splint her wrist. I also need tea seeped with willow bark? To help with the pain," I finish. Brixtius stares at me, probably wondering about my understanding of how to deal with breaks and pain.

When I was in my own time, I enjoyed learning about ancient remedies for everyday things like headaches and injuries. I attempted to make my facial creams from all-natural ingredients. Yeah, I failed miserably. Although, I'm glad I learned some stuff to help me with my current situation.

"Go," I command Brixtius. I realize I forget my place, but there is no time to argue when his daughter is moaning in pain behind me. That snaps him into action. I sigh with relief when he leaves us alone again.

I sit back down on the bed, and I start putting the ice into the linen towel. Once I have a healthy amount of ice, I wrap the towel around the ice, twisting it on top. "This is going to help with wrist, little mistress," cautiously placing the ice on her wrist.

She groans a little. "Shh," I soothe. "The pain will not last long," I keep my voice soft and calm.

"Tell me a story, Jessa?" I can't help but grin because the little girl is smart enough to realize she needs something to distract her from her pain. Such a little smarty-pants.

I start telling her the tale of "Goldie Locks and Three Bears." Of course, she questioned every aspect of the story from how the bears could build and own a house in the woods. To how are they can cook. I barely get to the part where Goldie Locks is discovered sleeping by the bears when Brixtius returns with items I requested.

Brixtius hands the hot cup of tea to Eurydice, cautioning her to sip the drink since it is hot. He then gives me the two pieces of wood and bandages I need to splint her wrist with. As the little girl is sipping her tea, I place the wood on either side of her wrist, and I slowly and carefully bind the wood to the wrist. It takes me a few minutes, but when I finish, I place the ice on the now splintered wrist.

The little girl is getting sleepy by trying to keep her eyes open. "Naptime, little mistress," putting her blankets on top of her. Eurydice passes out in a few seconds.

"The excitement from the day plus the medicine will knock her out for a while," I calmly explain to Brixtius, his look full of concern. "She'll be fine, my lord. I promise," I add. Eurydice's chest is falling up and down in a steady rhythm.

"Supper is ready," Brixtius informs me without ceremony as he leaves his daughter's room. I sigh, following him.

We reach the dining room; there are cracks in the wall, created by the earthquake. The cracks are ruining the brilliant painting showing a colorful depiction of the god Jupiter giving the Cornucopia to beautiful, naked nymphs. Yeah. There is a huge crack running across Jupiter's penis. Ouch!

"Sit next to me," Brixtius commands.

"Yes, my lord," I answer while looking down, so he can't see me rolling my eyes. Now, I wish I was back in my own time, so I could tell 'My Lord' to go sit on it and rotate. But nope. Stuck in the proverbial misogynistic hellhole! Fucking fairies!

I take my place next to Brixtius; I realize I'm sitting in Lady Corina's old seat. I quickly think of something else because I'm not going to play the whore to this man. Even though he looks like Braxius at every angle!

"So," Brixtius starts. "Thank you. With Eurydice," he stammers out. I would think the guy never said the words, "Thank you," to anyone.

"My pleasure, my lord," I answer. "I like Eurydice. She's a very bright and strong little girl."

"She's the most precious thing to me in this otherwise sad world," he adds. Wow! I didn't realize life was so depressing for him! He continues as if it is time to bear his soul to me. "After her mother died, life was bleak. When I brought Corina home, life got bleaker," he says with a smile. Man's got jokes!

I can't help but snort and giggle at the comment. "But since you've been here," Brixtius continues, "It is like a breath of fresh air has come into this villa. Something I haven't felt since my wife, Eurydice, was on this earth," and with that, there are strong hands on my thigh. Oh! Fuck no!

"My lord," I forcefully remove his hand from my thigh, and I stand. "I appreciate the offer, but the last man I was with was my husband. Who was a prince," I add with pride while like looking down at my husband's doppelgänger? A look I would love to take a picture of because it is priceless. Brixtius is looking shocked, but now the shock is turning into, I don't know? Pissed off?

He gets up and starts stalking towards me. Oh shit! I just angered a sleeping giant! Remembering one of my favorite historical quotes. Hitler said it to Japan when he wanted the United States to stay out of the war he made with Europe. Braxius never gave me a look that Brixtius is now giving me. A glimpse of death.

I walk backward, trying to retreat from the stalking Roman Senator. I don't care what the guys during my time think of the toga. Brixtius is bad-ass in it! Yet somehow, I'm turned on! What the fuck is wrong with me?!

My back hits the wall, but that doesn't stop Brixtius. Until his body is almost right on top of mine, if he were any closer, we would be one person.

"A prince, huh?" Brixtius mocks, not believing my husband was a prince. Dead husband. The thought that this man has the balls to mock me makes my anger rise to the surface again.

"Yes, a prince!" I spit out.

"Not a Roman? Or a Roman Senator?" I know where he's going with this. I forgot about the Romans' pride was in their citizen status. Which is the one percent of the Roman world. FUUUUUUCK!

"No," I say, deflated. I keep staring into those blue-green eyes. A smirk forms on Brixtius's lips. He thinks he is superior because my dead husband had no Roman status. That's fucked up!

I shake my head at the thought, and I start to smirk in return. "Does it make you bigger and better than my dead, prince husband. The only man I've ever been with, by the way, who was not a Roman citizen? Wow, you're pathetic!" I spit out. I always put my foot in my mouth at the worst times!

My little speech did wipe the smirk off his face. His lips crash into mine. Damn the man! He somehow realizes that he affects me sexually! I respond as I did before in the courtyard. Hotly and passionately. I wanted nothing more than to be one with him.

"Papa? What's going on?" Eurydice's voice from behind Brixtius all-consuming body. Shit!