Party time - Ancient Roman style, surprises, cavorting and a shock for Hazel
That evening as they arrived at the party, Santi was still upset by the fact that he was escorting Hazel but Elizabeth’s threat that Nichasin would escort her and Santi would be alone was enough to keep him silent, if it could not prevent him sulking. The group approached the door along the walkway that was lit in extravagance by hundreds of torches. The heat was almost unbearable even though the walkway was broad enough to keep safely away from the flames.
Elizabeth turned her head to whisper to Hazel, “These torches are set in order to make the women hot and sweaty before they arrive. It also encourages the men to undo shirts for the titillation of Encresciuta and Belafanta.”
Anton was paying a lot of attention to Elizabeth and Santi was getting more tense beneath Hazel’s hand as he led her towards the house. Nichasin walked alongside of Hazel on the opposite side of her to Santi, he too was getting jealous. It looked very much like Elizabeth had made an error in choosing Anton instead of Santi to escort her and also in overlooking Nichasin to escort Hazel in favour of Santi.
A young and well-muscled young man, oiled to perfection, with golden bands around his wrists and upper arms, greeted them at the door. He wore a golden nose-ring, the same as had adorned the other young men Hazel saw at their last visit. All the attendants, Hazel noticed were wearing very little, the men were all muscled and glistening and the women – girls in reality – were slender, a complete contrast to the hosts who duly appeared to greet the new guests, costumed in togas.
“Good evening Elizabeth. We are so happy you could attend. Do you like the theme of the party? We know it is tried and tested, but it always goes down so well, Ancient Romans were so… passionate in their partying.” Encresciuta enthused.
“We hope you have ah warned your friends Elizabeth, dear. It would not do for them to be shocked. Ah Santi, you came too!” Belafanta noticed Santi who was trying to hide behind Anton and Elizabeth. “Come with me, I shall introduce you to my newest plaything.”
“Please madam, I would dearly love to attend you, but I am here in a capacity of escort rather than hedonist. My lady Hazel as you can clearly see is radiant and would need my full protection from your other equally passionate guests.” Santi laughed.
“Well then, who are these other two most handsome men? Elizabeth needs no such protection and this young man is without a lady to escort.” Encresciuta said, as she pulled Anton and Nichasin away from their group. Both women were simpering in a girlish manner, which was quite unbecoming of such large and old women.
Anton was not expecting this and he turned back towards Elizabeth with a pleading look in his eyes. Elizabeth waved her fingers at his departure, calling “Encresciuta, Belafanta, you remember Anton?”
The Hostesses squealed in delight as an answer.
“That was very cruel Elizabeth. Nichasin did not do anything to deserve that. Anton has, I grant you, but not poor Nichasin, it is like sending a lamb to the slaughter.” Hazel said with mock-sternness.
Elizabeth looked at Hazel in dismay, thinking Hazel was angry with her for sending her new lover to the mercy of those two lecherous women, but Hazel burst into fits of giggles at Elizabeth’s worried expression and Elizabeth was relieved.
Santi was in his element, escorting Elizabeth who was well known and respected and Hazel who was a stranger and very beautiful. They both had equal attention shown to them and with Santi in between both; he glowed with satisfaction.
As the trio walked around, Elizabeth would introduce Hazel as a family friend, come to visit from France. Santi also enjoyed introducing both of them to a number of his friends he saw talking to some of Encresciuta and Belafanta’s few female guests. Hazel was noticing there were fewer women guests here than there were men. The female attendants out-numbered the male attendants, but the partygoers were for the most part, male. Hazel realised that this was to ensure the women guests got as much attention from handsome men as they wished and the older and more affluent male guests, probably the husbands of the women, could leer and touch to their heart’s content.
At one point during the evening, Santi asked Elizabeth – who was deep in conversation with a group of people – if he may take Hazel to wander the house. Elizabeth gave her consent and Santi led Hazel into other rooms, continuing to point out prominent members of Ostia’s society. Hazel was impressed that Santi was to be taking good care of her.
They wandered without direction and were chattering to each other as though they had been friends for a much longer time. Then Santi paused at a doorway, opened it and Hazel heard sounds of splashing and squeals of delight. Santi then smiled and allowed Hazel entrance to the large room which had a pool deep enough in which to swim. Hazel was delighted at first, when she saw mainly women frolicking in the water, her smile broadened as she also spotted Anton. She did not see Nichasin until he looked up from the passionate kissing he was caught up in. He looked surprised, but Hazel could also tell that the couple were naked under the water. The woman took Nichasin’s face and steered his attention back to her.
Hazel looked to Anton but he was busy with three female attendants, attempting to persuade them into the pool with him. Then she looked to Santi who at least looked surprised that they had found Nichasin in flagrante delicto. Hazel inclined her head to one side in curiosity rather than anger, shrugged and withdrew. Santi followed her and Hazel turned on him and said, “If I thought that you knew what was happening in there…” She left the threat untold.
“Hazel, I swear, I admit I know that Encresciuta and Belafanta always take their new guests to that pool but I did not know that Nichasin would be involved so quickly. Does it trouble you so very much?” He asked with concerned tenderness.
“No, I suppose not. I hadn’t thought that Nichasin would be tempted so early, but I am married and in our Laws, marriage is until death.”
Santi stroked Hazel’s bare arm gently and then said, “So you are not in turn tempted for revenge on your lover? Giving him cause for jealousy in return?”
“No, I don’t think I will stoop to games.” Hazel smiled at Santi as though she had answered a question that had been asked in innocence. “Come escort me back to the crowds, introduce me to your friends, and let us make them jealous if you wish.” She laughed and Santi laughed too as he joined her, placing her hand upon his arm and leading her back to the party.
Hazel was enjoying herself with the attention of Santi’s friends flirting outrageously with her that she didn’t notice that Santi had left her to find Elizabeth. Soon however, her amusement was to be cut short. Anton appeared and beckoned her to come to him. She excused herself from her would-be suitors and went to Anton.
“Is Nichasin not with you?” Anton asked with a disturbing urgency.
“As you can plainly see, he is not.” Hazel replied.
“Yet he came to find you. Right after you saw us, he realised what he had been caught at and dismissed the woman, much to her anger, and he came looking for you.”
“We came right here. I have not been anywhere since.”
“Where can he be? The moon is now up and he will want to change soon, if he has not already.” Anton grew worried.
“Shall we search together or apart?” Hazel asked.
“I think it will be safer for all if we searched for him together. Come into the garden, I’ve searched the house.”
They looked around the gardens for a little while and were just about to go back into the house when Anton heard a mumbled argument. They followed the angry voices behind a thick hedge and then Anton stopped Hazel. Elizabeth was comforting Nichasin, or at least she looked to be comforting him; she was cradling his face to her bosom. The angry voice they heard was emanating from the mouth of the same woman that Hazel had seen Nichasin with in the pool. She was yelling at Elizabeth and Nichasin.
“You think to have the pleasure of me all evening and then to disappear into the arms of this slut? You make love to me and have the audacity to assume I will allow this treachery? Do you know who my husband is?” She screeched.
It was Elizabeth that replied, “Yes madam, I certainly do know who your husband is, but that is not to say that you may take this young man as your love-slave. He is not a gigolo for your pleasure. He is a guest such as you or me, but he is young and you seduced him. That is no fault of his; you are the more experienced in this coupling. You madam are the blame in this.” Elizabeth clutched Nichasin’s head and pressed his face closer to her bosom. He may have been suffocating, for Hazel noticed he was trying to struggle away from her grasp, and then Anton noticed what Hazel had not. Nichasin was partly changed to Wolf, which was why Elizabeth was hiding his face. Anton pointed this out to Hazel and she gasped in shock.
The angry woman heard her. “Who is that? Who is spying on me?”
“I am most definitely not spying on you madam. I have come looking for my chaperone, and other companions for we are about to leave.” Hazel stepped forward so the other woman could see her clearly.
“Ah have you come to find your lover? I saw the look you gave as you caught us in the pool. Are you surprised that your young man prefers the charms and experience of a more mature woman to satisfy him? I’m not.” She gloated.
“Madam, Nichasin is not my lover, he is a friend. We are travelling together with my lady Elizabeth, whom you slander so viciously. Yes I was surprised that he would take such an interest in a more –ah, as you said, mature – woman. I fully expected him to take advantage of the female form this evening, but not to be taken advantage of. You should perhaps do well to be ashamed of yourself; he is less than half your age. Still, the vigour of youth pays many compliments when it is so untested in the ways of love.”
“How dare you!” The woman blustered, but it was too late, Hazel was helping Elizabeth to take Nichasin out of the garden without anyone seeing his alteration. The woman followed Hazel in a rage, but Anton intercepted her, standing in her path and shaking his head.
“I will take Nichasin out over the wall when she has gone.” Anton said as he caught them up. “He needs to kill. Why did he begin to change?”
“He was being harangued by that harridan. Nichasin tried to find Hazel but it seems as though he was caught before he found her. But, if what the woman says is true, Nichasin should be ashamed of himself too.” Elizabeth said.
“It is true. Santi took me to the pool where he knew Anton and Nichasin had been taken but he seemed surprised that Nichasin was playing ‘the beast with two backs’ with that woman.”
“Did he indeed?” Elizabeth said.
Hazel glanced at her because of the tone of voice she used, but said nothing.
Anton took Nichasin over the wall and out into the town in order to compose himself. Elizabeth hid their clothes and then took Hazel inside and together; they looked for Santi. They found him cornered by Belafanta and Encresciuta; he looked very relieved to see them. However, Elizabeth had other ideas than to rescue him.
They approached the group and Encresciuta saw them. She altered her body language to that of defence, assuming Elizabeth and Hazel were here to take away the object of their sport. Elizabeth soon put their minds at rest however.
“Ah ladies, I have come to thank you both for a thrilling evening. Hazel and I are taking our leave; Anton and Nichasin have already gone. Did they manage to find you to thank you both? No matter, I am sure they will come to thank you properly at a later date. I think the excitement proved too much for Nichasin. The last I saw of him, he was outside…” Elizabeth leaned forward in a conspiratorial whisper said: “He was trying to resist the amorous advances of Clara de Castronovo and she did not take kindly to his rejection. I stepped in to rescue him and the lady has quite a sharp turn of phrase, may I say.”
“Oh she has, when infuriated, she reverts to her common extraction, that of a fish-wife.” Encresciuta giggled. “But what of the lovely Santi, he is not to go with you to escort you?”
“Oh no, he is not needed, we have our carriage waiting outside, the driver will see us safely home, but thank you for your concern.” Elizabeth answered, sweetness itself.
As they left, Hazel whispered: “The poor woman sounded desperate to keep him, do they get pleasure from this mental torture, for Santi was not such a good actor that he could keep his disgust and revulsion from them.”
“I think we shall ask him tomorrow.” Elizabeth laughed as they got into the carriage.
Part way home, on a lonely road, and the carriage started to slow and stop. Elizabeth asked what was wrong but the driver did not answer. Instead, the door was opened and a hand was held up to help them down. Neither were worried because they assumed it was Anton who had stopped them and Elizabeth disembarked but the gasp of surprise from her warned Hazel to be on her guard, so as she climbed down, she was ready, she did not know what for, but at any rate she was prepared.
She had thought she was prepared, but heard herself utter a gasp in much the same way as Elizabeth had. “Luke.” She whispered.
“Did you think for me to just forget you ever existed? I had hoped to find you before our first wedding anniversary, but it was not to be, mores the pity. Elizabeth, as ever, it is an honour.” He bowed and kissed Elizabeth’s hand. She looked back at Hazel bewildered.
“Luke is your husband?” She asked.
Hazel nodded her misery, much the same as a child would when caught in telling a lie to a tolerant parent.
“What, no kiss for your husband?” Luke said as he scooped Hazel into his arms, kissing her. “I have missed you so much Hazel, please, never leave me again.”
Hazel was confused, but she did not struggle away from Luke, for the sake of his pride, if nothing else. “You are not here alone?” She asked.
“No, Darius is here too. The war in England is over for Wolf-kind and we have fled those shores, but that is a tale for after, when we go back to Elizabeth’s villa. I presumed to leave our baggage there, if it is not convenient, we will move it in the morning.”
“Of course it is convenient. You may stay as long as we do, for we travel to Rome in the next few days, you have only just caught us.” Elizabeth said. “Come, let us find Anton, he is hunting with his protégé.” They all changed to Wolf and the driver took their clothes back in the carriage.
They did not find Anton and Nichasin, but they hunted well, Hazel was ferocious with anger and frustration, she made all the kills – which they shared - except one, which Luke made and offered to both females.
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