Chapter 2

Rose reached Corvus's bedroom before the sun came up, slipping into the bedroom on quiet cat-feet, a necessary skill for any house slave and one she was glad to discover she still possessed. The young patrician lay flat on his back, sheets covering him to the waist and leaving his bare chest exposed. Clover lay with her head nestled against his shoulder, her hair fanned out on the pillow. She wore a thin white athletic tee and a pair of black silk panties.

Rose went down to knees and heels and watched them sleep. Corvus looked like a healthy young man and she was pretty sure she'd gotten his age right. His muscles weren't anywhere nearly as well-defined as Thom's. but he wasn't soft. He was clearly no stranger to physical labor.

And Clover - Rose wondered how many times she'd watched Clover sleep. Even though they'd been separated for almost a year, the girl hadn't changed at all. Rose longed to curl up behind her and sleep too or possibly wake her with gentle, feather-light kisses like she had so often before.

Kneeling in the darkened room, Rose allowed herself a faint smirk. There would be time enough for kisses later if everything went as expected. For now, she cleared her mind and closed her eyes, willing herself to doze. Waiting well was a skill and slaves took sleep when they could.

She woke to the sound of movement and opened her eyes to see Clover sliding out of bed against a sky tinged pink around the edges. As she slipped into a black silk robe, she indicated with a tilt of her head that Rose should follow her out of the room. Rose followed her into a small side room dedicated to storing clothing and toiletries. As soon as they were alone, she stepped in, drew Clover close, and kissed her deeply. Clover sighed and kissed her back, but giggled when the kiss broke. "All right - enough of that for now. Pleasure not granted is stolen and you weren't summoned here to serve me."

Rose nodded, unable to stop grinning once she started. "And would you summon me to serve you if you were mistress of the house?"

Clover smirked. "If my husband willed it, but naturally he would. He'd be a man of exquisite tastes."

Rose kissed her one more time, briefly out of necessity. "I think my husband would travel a lot and you'd need to keep me company for the long, cold nights."

Clover's eyes sparkled a bit at that. "Service is a gift." She glanced back into the bedroom. "You brought nothing?"

Rose nodded. "I have nothing. The hostess dresses stay in the garden for whoever serves the role."

Clover nodded. It wasn't uncommon for slaves to have no personal possessions. Everything they needed was provided by their owners. If Rose served in Corvus's bed for any amount of time, she might have a hundred outfits to wear, but she'd leave most of them behind for the next girl if her new job didn't require them.

"I have just the thing," Clover led Rose into a narrow room with a neatly-made futon and a few personal effects. It led to a much larger closet with dozens of outfits hanging neatly in rows and room for maybe a hundred more.

Rose spared a moment to look around the space outside the closet. "This must be your room. It hardly looks like anyone lives here." It was an old tease. Clover was a fifth-generation Vestal slave, bred over five generations by the temple of Vesta for house service. Even though they weren't bred for it specifically, many Vestals spent some part of their service in their master's beds.

"I hardly get to spend any time here," Clover said from deep inside the closet. She emerged holding a hanger with a simple tunic hanging from it. "Citizen Corvus has been very enthusiastic about keeping me in his bed."

She said it proudly. With some girls, that would be hubris, but Rose had heard that same note in her voice for having baked bread well. Rose took the hanger. "He's healthy, then?"

Clover understood the question. For most of their service to Denter Scribonius, the senator's declining health had interfered with his ability to perform sexually. "Corvus is robustly and enthusiastically healthy. I don't imagine he'll have any trouble keeping two girls busy - or a half-dozen if he sets his mind to it."

Rose tried to imagine the mechanics of six girls performing together for one man and decided she preferred two. Two was natural. More started to smack of theater. "I was ... concerned you might be calling me to his father's service."

"I'm sure the general is perfectly healthy as well," said Clover primly. "He's still in active service and has a new wife who was a free hetaera once, which is probably why I haven't heard many rumors about his health. How do you like it?" The tilt of her head indicated the garment she'd handed Rose.

Rose didn't mention the rumor that Gaius Gallicus was a little too fond of his steward than was proper for a man his age. It was well-known among the grounds staff that there was a cabin set aside for their use and that they often met there for hours, but Clover would only scold her for that sort of gossip and Rose had a new outfit to consider. She raised it to eye level and frowned. At first glance, it looked like a plain, linen slave tunic with the same natural tan color. The hemline was a little higher and the darker brown chasing a bit more elaborate, but...

She ran the material between her fingers and gave a happy, little squeal. "Silk? A silk slave tunic?"

Clover grinned. "I was wearing an ordinary linen one when I first caught Corvus's eye. I think he might really like you in this. Try it on."

Rose handed Clover the hanger and stripped out of her ordinary tunic. "Smell me first. I don't want to ruin it."

Clover leaned in close and drew in Rose's scent slowly and thoughtfully. Having Clover so close to her own bare skin made her shiver, but she forced herself to hold still as her friend repeated the process at several strategic points over her body.

"Spread your legs," said Clover.

Rose did. "Please tell me that doesn't smell like manure. I might have to kill Leo."

Clover knelt in front of her, leaned in close with one hand resting on her upper thigh, and drew in a long breath through her nose. Rose closed her eyes at the little frisson that went up her spine at the sight and the touch.

"No. You're clean." Clover looked up at her. "Except maybe for some of your hair. If you can lead with the left, you probably should."

Rose held up her hair to her nose and drew in its scent. There was a definite earthiness lingering there. She frowned. "Noted. Thanks."

Clover laid a hand on Rose's waist to help herself rise. "So, try it on."

She was so close, Rose could have kissed Clover by accident. She stepped back to clear her head. She wouldn't want to stop after just one kiss and there was no telling how long they had before Corvus woke up. Rose slid the tunic over her head and wriggled into it, marveling at the feel of silk against her skin after a year of rough-spun linen.

It was really more a teddy than a tunic. Now that Rose had it on, she noticed more of the details. Instead of sleeves, it had wide straps that left her arms bare and the hemline was a lot higher than what she'd worn while living in the gardening house. She'd had to be careful if she didn't want to flash and be carefully artful if she did want to. "Panties?"

Clover indicated the dresser. "Top drawer. The ones on the left are brand new if you like."

Rose selected a barely-there black thong and held it up for Clover's consideration. Clover tilted her head. "Maybe just a trifle more demure. He's still a little ... young and new to all this. What I'm wearing would be perfect. There should be more just like them."

One Rose had located and slid on a pair of black silk panties, Clover nodded. "You should be there when he wakes up. I'll get dressed and pick out his clothes for the day."

Rose nodded. "Any other notes?"

Clover bit her lower lip and thought. "Like I said, he's new around slaves. He may be a high patrician, but it wasn't that long ago that he was a plebeian. Your instincts are probably better than mine were. You can probably be a little coy and he'd like that. I might have been a little too forward at first. Oh ... and when I told him your tits were bigger than mine, he seemed to like that, so you might want to highlight them."

Rose's eyes widened. "He thinks your tits are too small? Is he..."

"Nothing of the kind." Clover gave a sly smile. "He's quite happy with my tits, but he might like yours even better."

Rose nodded, leaned in, and kissed Clover softly. "I'll see you in there. Don't dawdle."

Clover looked scandalized. "I would never."

Rose smirked and walked silently into Corvus's bedroom. He was just stirring from his sleep and opened his eyes as she approached... "You must be Rose."

A calm settled over Rose and a sense of rightness. This was where she belonged. Mid-step, she added a little sashay to her stride, walked around the end of the bed, and knelt at its side, close enough to touch. "I am, sir."

Corvus blinked a few times, watching her. Rose shifted to present more or a profile while favoring her left side and arched her back so the shift would fall more flattering on her chest. She drew in a breath slowly, waiting for what he would do next. Slaves weren't supposed to want things. Desire was suffering and masters took away that suffering by shouldering the burden of wanting. But right now, Rose wanted very badly for Corvus Gallicus to like and want her.

"You're very lovely," he said.

"Thank you, sir." Rose lowered her head in an appearance of shyness and to hide her grin at his approval. "How may I serve?"

Corvus raised himself up on his elbows and only glanced away briefly. "Where's Clover?"

"Only in the next room, selecting your clothes for day." Rose raised her head to let him see her smile. "Shall I fetch her?"

Corvus looked like he wanted to say yes, but he shook his head. "I imagine she'll be back shortly on her own. I need to get up and dressed and eat something before I head out for my day. I ... didn't mean to have Clover summon you so early. I should have been more specific."