"By the gods," Marcus drawled, amused, "you're affecting a Briton's dress, little brother."

"No, Marcus, I was affecting Roman dress in order to have easy access to the waterfront in Portus Adurni. I dress like a Briton because I am a Briton. My wife is a Briton, my children are British, and I live in Britain. I have never been a perfumed Roman."

"Our father was Roman," Marcus said in a tense voice.

"Our mother was not," came the reply.

"You reject Rome, Aulus?"

"I do. We do not need the Romans here in Britain."

Zenobia sighed. She might have been in Palmyra, and it might have been she who spoke, not Aulus. The Romans seemed to bring nothing but dissension with them. "Nothing changes," she said quietly.

They turned to look at her, and Marcus realized what she was thinking. "It will not be like Palmyra," he reassured her. "This is my brother's way of being his own man."

"Your brother is very much his own man," Dagian said. "He did not want to tell you, Marcus, but we are so near to Salinae that now I must. Aulus is chief of the Salinae Dobunni. He was elected by the tribe when his uncles were killed in a fight with the Ordovices. It was just before he came to Rome at the time of your father's death. Your cousins had not the leadership ability, and in fact it was they who put him forth to be elected."

"So the elder brother, landless and now without power, must look to his younger sibling for succor," Marcus said. Suddenly he laughed, seeing humor in the situation. "You had best let me retire to the island, Aulus. If I decide to stay at Salinae I shall overcome you and rule the Dobunni myself. Can you see me, my hair long, twin mustaches drooping mournfully, my body painted blue, leading a screaming charge into a legion?"

Aulus laughed back, imagining the picture his elegant elder brother had painted. "I shall indeed give you the island, brother. You are far too civilized to be Britainized!"

"Briton or Roman, Aulus, I care not. All I wish now is to live in peace with Zenobia and our child. I have had enough of wars and intrigues!"

Aulus was sympathetic to his brother's wishes. His own life had been strangely easy, he realized now that he looked back with more objectivity than he had ever had. He had known from the moment he had met Eada that she was the woman for him, and they were today the proud parents of six sons and two daughters.

Aulus Alexander Britainus felt an enormous burst of love for his older brother and his sister-in-law. They deserved peace, and they deserved happiness. He was going to try to see that they got both.

They had long passed through Corinium and Glevum, and now the houses of the village of Salinae came into view. It was a pretty place, its white houses having red-tiled roofs, each building or group of buildings walled in from the street. There was a market in the center of the town, but it was a small place and there were no public baths or temples in evidence. As they entered the village Zenobia could hear the cry being taken up, "The master is home! The master comes!"

They rode beneath a tall, roofed gatehouse and into a pleasant courtyard. From the open portico of the house came a tall and lovely woman in a pale-blue tunic dress, her long yellow braids bound up at the back of her head, upon which rested a sheer white linen cloth held in place by a plain gold fillet. Aulus was off his horse in a minute to sweep the woman into his arms and place a resounding kiss upon her lips.

Laughingly she chided him, but her light-blue eyes were soft with love. "For shame, my lord, and before our guests!"

Marcus dismounted and carefully lifted Zenobia down from her horse. Drawing her forward, he said to the blond woman, "Eada, I am your brother-in-law, Marcus, and this is my wife, Zenobia."

"You are most welcome to Britain, brother and sister, and to our home!" was the cordial reply as Eada came shyly forward and kissed them both on the cheeks.

Dagian now stepped forward and stared at Eada. Eada stared back, and then the two women embraced. They had never before met, but they knew in an instant that they would be friends; and Dagian knew that her old age would be a safe and pleasant one in this young woman's house. "Where are the children?" Dagian begged.

From the portico eight youngsters came forth, and Eada. the love and pride shining from her eyes, proudly introduced her children to their grandmother. "My eldest son, Graf-ere. He has seventeen summers; and this is Leof-el, who is fifteen; and Aelf-raed, thirteen; and his next brother, Ban-brigge, eleven. They are the four eldest, Mother Dagian."

Dagian hugged each of the boys, admiring their healthy good looks. All were blue-eyed, but three were dark-haired like their father, while Leof-el was a blond like his mother.

Eada continued her introductions. "Here are my daughters." She drew forth two pretty blond girls, their long hair in two neat plaits on either side of their heads. "This is Erwina, who is nine, and her sister, Feam, seven."

Dagian knelt and, holding out her arms, embraced her two newly found granddaughters, who shyly kissed her in return. "Mavia? Where is my little Mavia?" Dagian asked.

Mavia stepped from her hiding place behind her father, and came before Dagian. "Yes, Grandmother?"

"Dearest child, these are your cousins, Erwina and Feam. I know you shall have good times together!"

The three little girls looked at one another, and finally Erwina spoke. "I have a pony," she said with the importance of the eldest.

"I have a kitten," little Fearn piped. Then the two sisters looked to their cousin.

"I am a princess," Mavia said, settling the matter.

The sisters' blue eyes grew round with wonder. "You are?" Erwina said. "A real princess?"

"Of course," Mavia replied. "There are no other kind. Take me to see your pony, cousin! My papa will give me a pony too, and we shall ride together."

Marcus chuckled indulgently, but Zenobia was mortified. "She must not do that, and you must not encourage her, Marcus! Palmyra is gone, and Mavia is just a child."

Eada laughed, and tucked her arm companionably through her new sister-in-law's. "She is clinging to the past because this is all so strange and new to her. It cannot have been easy for her, either. She will soon forget she was once a princess, and she will be running barefoot in the fields with her cousins. Come now and meet my two youngest."

A sturdy apple-cheeked nursemaid came forward holding by the hands two tow-headed little boys with mischievous and twinkling dark-blue eyes.

"These two scamps are Gal, who has managed to reach five, and his baby brother, Tam-tun, who is now three."

Dagian bent to kiss the littlest boys, but tears flooded Zenobia's eyes as she remembered her sons, now lost to her. Marcus put his arms about her, and she wept softly into his chest as he soothed her gently. "We will have our own sons," he said.

"I am past thirty," she sobbed. "Oh, why did I not wed with you years ago?!"

"Because you were stubborn, and proud, and Queen of Palmyra, beloved. You had so much responsibility, my darling. You could face nothing more, and how were we to know that it would end this way?"

"How old are you, Zenobia?" Eada asked, and when Zenobia told her Eada laughed. 'Tam-tun was born when I was only a year younger than you are now, and I suspect that I am breeding again with another child. It is not as if you have never had a child. Come on now," she said briskly, "and I will take you to your room."

The interior of the house was like nothing Zenobia had ever seen. They entered into a vast hall with three fireplaces, the floors of stone. On either side of the main fireplace were corridors, leading to a bath on one side, and the kitchen wing on the other. Off the entry of the house, which was located before the main hall, were staircases leading up to the sleeping quarters. Zenobia and Marcus were led to a large, airy, comfortable room, which was to be theirs during their stay with Aulus and his wife: Mavia was somewhere with her cousins, probably already running barefooted, thought her mother.

In the days to come Zenobia began to learn a way of life that was quite different from the life she had led as the Queen of Palmyra; nor was it like that of the proper Roman wife whom Marcus liked to tease her about. If it resembled anything it was somewhat similar to her childhood within her father's tribe. Aulus and his family were very close, and that closeness extended to the members of the Salinae Dobunni tribe of whom he was chieftain. He looked after those who could not look after themselves, settled their arguments, approved marriages between families, kept the peace, and administered the law. It was not always easy, although Aulus was a popular leader. His loyalty was clearly to Britain, for he had long ago cut his ties to Rome. Britain, however, was a large land peopled by many tribes, some more civilized than others, and it was necessary to be constantly vigilant.

Zenobia still felt pursued. She could not escape the feeling that the Roman authorities were not about to let an important imperial captive simply walk away. As much as she enjoyed being with Aulus's family, she was anxious to gain the safety of their island, for instinct told her that she would have no peace until they were there. One afternoon she and Marcus rode out across the vast estate owned by Aulus, stopping to dismount upon a little hill. About them spikes of purple lavender scented the air. They sat upon the ground, the sun warming their backs, and looked out over the valley below, the river winding its way across the green landscape.

"When will we go to the island?" she asked him.

"Soon, beloved. I want to go on ahead of you, and see what must be done to make it habitable."