In the Arms of a King (My Warrior Lover) Read Free

you?’
    Blaine took her hands in his and calmed her down. ‘Please sit down with me and let me explain. It’s a story worth telling. I’m only sorry I couldn’t tell you before.’
    Blaine took off his coat and laid it on the grass. Sabina sat down and he sat beside her.
    ‘Is your name really Blaine?’ she demanded. Nothing seemed certain anymore. She had no idea what was real and what was not.
    ‘Yes, it is. I am a Scot from an ancient Pictish clan, and very proud of my heritage. My family have been in this glen for generations – hundreds, or maybe even thousands, of years. We belong here. This is our homeland and our heritage.’
    ‘Then how did you come to speak like a son of Rome?’
    ‘My native tongue is Scottish, of course. But remember, the Romans have been in Britain for over a hundred years. They have been forging into this part of Scotland for over thirty years – my whole life and more. When I was a child, my people made a treaty with the Romans to avoid a bloody and useless war. We agreed to a peace in which we could trade and prosper together.’
    ‘My father always says the treaty is more powerful than the sword.’
    ‘Then he is a wise man. That is the Roman way – to expand the Empire through negotiation, not through battle. And my people were tired of fighting. We have been defending our land against invaders for many, many years. An equitable peace seemed like the best solution for everyone.’
    ‘OK, but how do you fit into this?’
    ‘I was the child of an influential family in the clan. At the age of seven, I was sent to your fort to be educated, together with my brother and some others. It was in the interest of both parties to have people who understood the languages and the cultures of both peoples. We were raised almost as Roman children. We learned to speak Latin; we studied Homer and the classics.’
    ‘You were raised there…in my fort?’
    ‘Yes, it was my fort long before it was your fort. I know every inch of that place, although it has been considerably extended and fortified since then. I would even have been sent to Rome to study, if it wasn’t for the tax decree.’
    ‘Tax decree? I don’t understand. What happened?’
    ‘Rome got a new Emperor. And to impress his people, he put on one of the most lavish gladiatorial spectacles ever held – one hundred days of entertainment to show his power and his status. Except that he couldn’t afford it, so he taxed his Empire to find the money. Our people were asked to pay heavy taxes for an extravagance we neither wanted nor needed. The Scots revolted…and that was the end of my integration with Rome. I was taken back to my people, and then sent away to a distant island for safety. I was still a child, remember. Everyone knew a battle was inevitable.’
    ‘Your people fought the Romans?’
    ‘Yes, but they were no match for the might of the Roman army. The rebellion was crushed and most of my people fled for the hills. My father was killed in the battle, and I will never forgive the Romans for that. Ever since then, I have dreamed of coming back to reclaim my homeland…and finally I am here.’
    Sabina was still trying to sort this out in her mind. Now a lot of things made sense, but there were still some questions that needed to be answered.
    ‘But…why did you pretend that you could not communicate with me? We even made love, and you did not speak a word of Latin.’
    Blaine put his arm around her. ‘I wanted to, that’s for sure. But I didn’t know if I could trust you. I didn’t want word getting back to the Romans about my presence here. If they heard of a Latin-speaking Scot, they would soon work out who I was.’
    ‘But why? Who are you?’
    Blaine hesitated. ‘I am a man with good reason to have grievances with the Romans. I have scores to settle, and I don’t want to put them on alert.’
    ‘And now you have chosen to trust me, even though I am one of the hated Romans?’
    Blaine kissed her on the