Chapter 13

As they pulled up to the farm, they first went to the villa. It was a huge house that was mostly empty except for a cook and maid that stayed there in case someone came by. They were both excited to have guests and did everything to make them feel welcome. The girls were soon off to find Hans and start training.

Tom went to his private room and locked himself in. He went through his inventory to see if he could find something to help move his projects along. Some of the inventory they had bought together and some they had found individually. Tom remembered the hand tools and replicated a couple sets from the tags at the estate sale. He was looking at a bag that said, ‘toys’ on it and looked in to find one was a bag of marbles. Mary must have walked by a toy store and found some. He replicated the marbles and came out with a leather sack of marbles. They all looked like glass with interesting swirls. The size and shape were right. If he could make a mold, it would help speed up the process.

As he walked up to the forge, he saw that it was just finishing an addition almost quadrupling the size. Josh was there and introduced Tom to Amos and Daniel. Amos decorative metal and Daniel did amazing work with glass. The forge was in the center and Smith, Amos and Daniel would all have access to the heat source to do their work.

After the introductions, Tom called over Jeri and said, “Guys, I have backed myself into a corner and need all of us to get out. I bet on a chariot race that is going to take place in two weeks. I want to build the best chariot to give us the best chances of winning. The drivers are going to have to practice and train in the new chariot and trust the abilities before they get behind the horses in the race. We don’t have a lot of time.”

Jeri said, “Tell us what we need to do. We will do our best.”

Reaching for the bag of marbles, Tom pulled out a big one and it was solid marble and was white like a pearl. “I want something of this shape but made of steel.” He pulled out a drawing he made to show how two pieces would attach to the axle and the wheel and the only thing between them would be the bearings and grease. This would allow the wheel to spin with much less friction and independently of the other wheel.

As he tossed the marble to Smith, he and Amos stepped off to see how to best make them. Tom called them back and drew what he remembered as a musket ball mold. They both nodded and were off to their forge. Jeri was given the hand tools and when

Tom pulled out a brace and bits for drilling holes, Jeri was amazed. He took a board and Tom showed him how it worked.

Shaking his head, Jeri said, “It would take me an hour to make a hole that perfect. This is going to save a lot of time. Tom left the planes and files. He explained to Jeri his ideas on the best way to join the bearings to the wheel and Jeri was nodding at Tom’s ideaTom also talked about mounting the axle at an angle and making the outside wheel bigger to help it corner better. They couldn’t do too or it would hurt their speed on the straightaways.

“Tom, I will set up some jigs and get the right size wheels. We can use a standard size axle, so we can just swap the wheels and have the bearings fit so we won’t have to make so many sets.

“I think a common size will be beneficial as we work to build and test different configurations.”

“One more question. What is grease?”

“Grease is a type of lubricant. We will probably use fat. It makes things slippery and reduces the heat and friction when things rub together.”

Nodding. “We have that problem now. I will get with some of the cooks and have a good supply.”

“When you are done, I want you to be there for the testing so you can see what does and doesn’t work or help performance. I will also tell you that the two girls will be the ones doing the racing. They are lighter and have a lower center of gravity if that helps in the design. I can also tell you that because they are women, many or most will want to bet against them. I plan to bet on them heavily and already have started. If you or any others wants to place wagers, I am happy to loan you all money to cash in on your work.”

“I will let the others know.”

“Of all the craftsmen, all of the others are employees. You are the only slave. I told you that you would be set free when your work pays off the amount, I have invested in you and your wife. If you win enough you could be free very soon. If we lose then your time would be longer. I hope you are happy here and plan to stay even after you earn your

freedom. I think you do great work and are a good leader for the craftsmen here.”

“I will watch the women. I want to see how they and our chariots perform. If I believe we can win, I will borrow some money to bet.”

“Let the others know. I will be back soon to check on progress.” As he went by the forge, Amos and Smith were nodding and hammering away on some tools to make the balls. Amos asked a few questions about the tracks they would run in and Tom explained that they had to be tight, so they didn’t wobble and break. He told him to get with Jeri after they figured out the size of the ball bearings so they could figure out the size of the inner and outer tracks for connecting to the wheel and axle.

The girls were both out and racing each other around taking turns running the inside and outside lines. The two horses seemed to want to sling the light girls out so keeping the chariot upright was going to be hard to do.

By the end of the day. They had bearings and both Smith and Amos planned to work long into the night to polish them smooth. Jeri had figured out how many bearings they would need to go all the way around the axle and how big the hole in the wheel needed to be for a tight fit. He also wanted to make a decorative hub to fit over the wheel and keep others from seeing what they had done. He wanted to also make it look mean to keep other chariots from purposely bumping into them.

They were all committed to the project and even Daniel and Josh were helping. Josh was putting hand holds in the reins to help have a better grip and Daniel was helping with the molds and polishing the bearings. Tom also mentioned to Jeri that if the chariot was a little wider it would be less likely to flip.

Tom hadn’t done nearly the work of his team but was tired and slipped easily into the bath with both the drivers after a long, hot day. Adel wasn’t shy with her body but just preferred women in bed. Helena was on his lap but enjoying the massage he was giving her as much as the closeness. Tom slept by himself for the first time in a long time as the pet went to sleep with Adel.

As the week went on, it felt like watching a NASCAR race back home with Hans being the crew chief, trying different horses and Jeri engineering different configurations on the chariots. By the end of the week they had figured out what worked best. The girls were both training hard and getting set up mentally for the race.

Mary and Mara came out over the weekend and were impressed by the speed and daring of the girls. Theto get them rested for the big day, but the girls were given other horses and put up against different drivers to test their skills. Some even bumped or pushed the girls as they came alongside.

The day before the race, everyone was confident in both the drivers and equipment. Everyone it seemed was coming to the race though many would be watching far from the Emperor’s box. Tom didn’t drink but spent his time like he normally would. He tried to keep the girls from getting too nervous. The bookies that were set up around the coliseum had 10 to 1 odd against the girls. Tom had all his guards with him to protect all the gold he had brought with him. He had to have much of it carried to the box to show he was good for the bets. He then had to go around and bet at the 10-1 odds as much as he felt comfortable with. He bet for the others as they told him what they were willing to risk.

The day started with a few other events but finally the MC stood and announced. “As you know there are two owners that feel they have the best horses and drivers. One is from Florence and has some of his best soldiers to drive his teams. The other is from right here in Rome and has a couple ladies that he thinks can win. They will run head to head for 10 laps around the coliseum. Followed by a hand to hand fight with no weapons. I personally know that they were drinking a bit before they agreed to the races and fight but now, we will see if Rome or Florence wins the day.”

The horses and chariots were led to the starting line and then the soldier was introduced. He walked in all rough and tough with a scowl on his face. When Helena was introduced, she was almost skipping and waving to the crowd. Before they got in the chariots, the soldier made a show of checking his armor. Helena pulled back her toga and gave a little tug on her nipple ring to taunt him.

The race was almost anticlimactic as they were about even at the first turn the soldier slowed to take the turn. Helena almost leaned over the side of the chariot to give as much weight and stability to the cart. As they came out of the turn onto the straightaway, she was in the lead. The soldier almost caught up by the end of the straight and tried to carry more speed this time but ended up having to pull out of the turn to keep from flipping. Helena could have slowed and driven safer, but she was pulling further and further away almost lapping him at the end as she waved to the fans as she raced.

The other owner, Brutus was not happy and was ready to have his driver killed. Tom just said, “They are too heavy and tall. The lighter weight is easier for the horses to pull. It doesn’t take that much strength to pull on a rein. We can call it quits now or continue on your losing streak.”

“This driver is better. I have faith in him.”

“This one is the one that drives the carriage for when we go out.”

Brutus just shook his head. The second race was much closer if you want to call it that. Adel had a lot to win but a lot to lose so when she was clearly in the lead, she slowed just a bit to. She won and Rome won again.

Tom asked, “Would you like to quit now, or do you want to lose it all?”

“Double or nothing?”

“You are down two thousand, that would be four if you lose. Did you bring an extra thousand?”

He nodded. “I have it from my winnings a couple weeks ago.”

The Emperor said, “I have seen him fight a big man and he won. Some say it was skill and some say it was a fluke. I would never bet against him and have my wagers on him.”

“I am fine with double or nothing.”

The fight had the people laughing as Tom ducked, moved, ran a bit and then kept taunting the giant that was his opponent. He never left the circle that was the boundary but didn’t stay in one place long enough to get hit. The giant finally charged him with his arms out to tackle him. Tom did the same as he did with the other fight dropping to his back at the last second using his legs to launch the man high in the aid. This time he was up and punched him in the neck almost as soon as he landed which knocked him out for a minute. Tom stood with his arms raised in victory.

When he made it back to the royal box the man was upset. He was yelling at Tom about cheating. The Emperor stepped in and said, “Brutus calm down. You lost. You were warned multiple times and you disregarded every one of them. He didn’t cheat and your man lost.”

“I concede that we lost all three bouts. I had to watch my wife be treated like a whore since the second race. I do have more gold and would propose one more bet today. One more fight. I want my wife back and will put up an additional two thousand gold. If you win, I collect two thousand gold less. And your wife is out of her obligations. If I win, I get another two thousand gold. That doesn’t seem like an even bet.”

There were times that Tom could be a dick and rub salt in the wounds. Normally it was when the person he was dealing with was more of a dick or asshole. “I would hate to think your wife wasn’t worth anything so I guess we should try to decide how much she is worth. What do you think she is worth?”

With his wife standing there with Mary’s collar around her neck and a dildo up her pussy, her hands were on her hips waiting to see how he responded.”

“Um, she is worth a great deal to me. I have never thought of her as a whore and what her value would be in bed or in sexual service.”

That was a great answer, he must be a politician. The Emperor didn’t help when he laughingly said, “You could throw in one or two of your mistresses.”

Mary said, “If you win you can have her back. If you lose, we will keep her for two weeks but by then she may not want to come back to you. I bet we can train her to love her new role.”

A couple faces turned pale at that statement and the man didn’t want to lose face, but he was fading quickly. I have a stable of horses. You are a horse guy. What would it take?”

“Ten horses of my choice and we can start with the four you raced today even though they were losers. I or one of my people will come pick six more but if you are hiding even one then the bet is off, and you will pay an additional 2000 gold.”

The sweat on Brutus’ brow made it seem like he was the one that had been down in the ring fighting. He had backed himself into another corner.

The emperor said, “You should cut your losses and walk away Brutus. I think you will lose. For the city of Rome, I will take glory in the victory but as a brother and family it will hurt me to see you lose more.”

“I have to brother, to save some face in this crisis. Money isn’t as important as honor. I must try. It can’t get any worse.”