Page 54 of Ensnaring the Dove
Her father sighed before shaking his head. “Livia is nothing like your mother … it always amazed me they were from the same family.”
“You missmaterstill … don’t you?” It was a direct question, yet since they were having a frank conversation, Colombia felt emboldened to ask it.
Their gazes held for a few moments before Severus huffed a sigh of his own. “I do … it was hard losing her … no one could replace Antonia.” He looked down then, a finger tracing the decorated edge of the dining table. “I blamed myself, you know?”
Colombia stiffened. She hadn’t realized that. “Why?”
“When she started having stomach pains, I should have called for a physician sooner.” He was avoiding her eye now. “I thought she was just having digestion problems.”
“Weallthought that,” Colombia reminded him. “Includingmater… it wasn’t your fault.”
He shook his head, his jaw tightening. “I was dismissive, taken up with work as usual. I regret that now.” His throat bobbed then. “That was why I took that posting shortly after her death. I couldn’t bear to stay in Asculum, surrounded by memories.”
Or to be near me. Colombia swallowed too, as she realized how much it would have pained him initially, every time he looked at her. Everyone said she was the image of her mother—no wonder he’d departed so swiftly.
Silence fell between them once more before Colombia eventually broke it. “You could marry again,pater… you could have more children.”
Severus snorted, his chin kicking up. “The frontier isn’t right for a gently bred woman … or for a family … or for you, Colombia. Come spring, I shall send you back to Italia.”
Colombia’s shoulders slumped, although she nodded. She hadn’t expected to stay here forever, yet the reminder disappointed her, nonetheless. “I know I can’t remain with you,” she admitted. “But I’m grateful for the time we’ve had together.”
His mouth lifted at the corners. “So am I.”
Moira entered the triclinium then, wine ewer in hand. Approaching the table, she dipped her head to Severus. “More wine,dominus?”
Severus nodded, holding out his calix.
Moira refilled it and Colombia’s cup. “Claudia has prepared baked custards,” she told them. “Shall I bring them in now?”
“Yes, thank you, Moira,” Severus replied.
Moira departed the triclinium to fetch the custards, and Colombia flashed her father a wry smile. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard you thank a slave before,” she observed.
Severus’s mouth pursed at her teasing. “Moira serves me better when I show a little gratitude,” he rumbled, flashing Colombia a rueful look. “You might have noted that the Brigantes aren’t particularly deferential.”
“Do you often have problems with them?” she asked, curious now.
Severus took a gulp of wine. “At times, yes. That recent attack on our supply convoy wasn’t the first one we’ve weathered … although it hit us the hardest. It was ill fortune that they struck our pay wagons.” He pulled a face then. “We haven’t been able to recover anything they took … or catch the filth responsible.”
Colombia’s pulse quickened at this news, for his words reminded her of Aedan, and the fact he’d run with the ‘filth’ he spoke of.
She hoped Aedan had chosen another path—one that wouldn’t put his life in danger.
Over the past weeks, she’d also marked the hardness that had crept into her father’s voice when he’d spoken of the outlaws who’d escaped justice.
“Do you hate them,pater?”
It was another blunt question, yet since her father was in a chatty mood today, she seized her chance.
Severus glanced up. “Who?”
“The Britons … those you rule.”
Their gazes held for a few moments, and surprise rippled over her father’s face. Once again, her directness had caught him off-guard.
Colombia wondered if he’d answer, or merely brush her question aside as he often did if she overstepped.
But, to her surprise, he replied. “Hateis a strong word, daughter. Nonetheless, ever since we set foot in Britannia, the people of this land have fought us … every damn step of the way. It gets tiring … not being able to take them at their word.” His expression darkened then. “You can’t trust any of the bastards. They’ll shake your hand one moment and stab you in the back the next.”