I glanced up from the Senate document and looked down at the woman kneeling at my feet. Her long dark hair fell lustrously around her delicate features. Her shoulders were bare except for the simple straps holding up her tunic. I smiled as her firm breasts pressed against the light material of the fabric. Her hips flared out beautifully from a narrow waist and her legs were firm and tanned from the warm Roman sun. She glowed with health making if clear that this slave was well treated.
I smiled and said, "Rebekah, please take a seat at my table. When Marcus returns from visiting Maya we will discuss your report. In the meantime please tell me how all are faring at your home. Are the children growing like weeds?" I chuckled when I thought of all the urchins running around Marcus's home. Lucilla had given birth to hers and Marcus's child, a beautiful baby boy, the future heir to both estates. And I gather the slave Alonia was pregnant again with her second. And Rebekah's child was now nearing one year. My son had clearly been busy with his nest of women.
I was intrigued by the fact that Lucilla and Marcus allowed the slave children to come in contact with Antonio, their boy, who was now toddling around the villa. In fact. they all played together in a noisy energetic horde. Lucilla even seemed to approve of Antonio consorting with the slave children. Times were changing indeed.
In fact, the item from the Senate agenda dealt with proposed changes regarding the treatment of slaves. Philosophies that some say originated in Rebekah's homeland were apparently seeping into Roman thought. I didn't quite know what to make of it. One change was to reduce the maximum lashes a slave could receive from twenty six to twenty two. Did four less lashes really make much of a difference when the slave was very likely to perish from the whipping anyway? I did find these whipping episodes distasteful, slave or not.
From a practical perspective, slave discontent was a fact of life in our society. Fear of slave revolts was not far from citizen's minds and was actually a frequent topic at gatherings and feasts. Would less harsh treatment really reduce the risk of rebellion?
Rebekah then answered my question, "Master Octavius, all are well in Marcus's household. Thank you for asking"
"And what of you Rebekah? Are you satisfied with your situation?" I wondered if she missed her homeland. Would she try to escape if she could?
"Yes, Master, I am."
"Good, good," I replied. And then a question I was always curious about came to mind. I asked, "And Rebekah, now that Marcus is married, does he still summon you to his bed. I mean other than the times he is attempting to impregnate you?" I smiled when her pale features turned a light shade of red. But she had really no choice but to answer my question truthfully.
"Master Marcus has me come to his bed.... often... for... mounting me," she replied looking away in embarrassment.
"Come, come my dear, your purpose as a slave has always been to satisfy my son with your body. That's why we purchased you. No need to be ashamed of that."
"Yes Master, I know my purpose." I believe I detected a small sigh escape her lips as she looked away.
"But my dear you are so much more to us now. You are my principle accountant. Your purpose is also to see to the financial affairs of the Estate. You should be proud of that." I looked intently at her, expecting an answer.
"Yes, Master Octavius, I enjoy working with numbers. Thank you for the opportunity to serve the Estate."
I gazed over this delightful creature. She was a treasure and for a time I had planned to discuss with Marcus having her in my bed occasionally. But I had never brought up the subject. He was very possessive of her. There was a bond between them that appeared to still exist even after his marriage.
Instead, I have focused my attention on my own slave girl. This development was much to my surprise and I believe Maya's encouragement to take a girl into my bed had a lot to do with it. After my wife's untimely death in the disaster at Pompeii I had suffered a severe depression that was only broken by the arrival of Aelfled into my life.
True, she was a barbarian girl from a recently defeated Germanic tribe. But once scrubbed clean, fed and freed from the backbreaking labour of a field slave she had blossomed into a very attractive specimen of young womanhood. Her own estimate of her age was around twenty years. She had probably been captured at seventeen or eighteen and arrived on our Estate after a trade with a laggard neighbour who had tried his best to kill her and her two older companions with overwork.
I had really only expected to keep her for several days or weeks until I tired of mounting her but slowly I came to see her as a semi permanent addition to my household. Truth be told, I became fixated on her body. Her beautiful long blond hair was a novelty in Rome at the time and after she had recovered from the ordeal with her previous master her deep blue eyes took on a sparkle that was mesmerizing. Her breasts were firm and high on her chest and her hips had a beautiful curve from her tight stomach to her toned legs. Maya groomed the girl carefully for me. Maya wanted her around to help out in the kitchen now that Rebekah had moved to Marcus's estate. She even removed the girl's sexual hair so I could enjoy her sweet lips and cunt unimpeded. I had never seen this done before but I decided I liked a woman bare around her sex.
I really had only expected to fuck this slave now and then but increasingly I looked forward to evenings with her. Her channel felt particularly pleasing around my cock and I delighted in the small noises and sighs she made when I stroked into her. Usually with slaves or whores I mounted them from behind. After all they were almost like animals from a citizen's perspective. But with Aelfled I developed the enjoyment of taking the young woman on her back. I had developed a taste for kissing this slave. Her mouth and tongue excited me and she seemed to kiss me back with enthusiasm. She now wrapped her arms around my back and pushed her breasts into my chest. Her body felt delightful against mine.
****
My reverie on my barbarian pet was broken by Marcus joining Rebekah and I at the table. I noted the warm smile he sent towards Rebekah.
"Father, Maya says the household is managing well. She thanks us for releasing the young slave girl from the fields. The girl is apparently a great help in the household garden and the kitchen. She also indicates you have had her in your bed many nights," Marcus said with a lift of his eyebrows at me.
Clearing my throat, I harrumphed, "Yes, well, I felt a girl I owned was safer than the alternative." Marcus knew my reservations about the whores in the city and the potential for the diseases they carried.
"Agreed father. I believe you have chosen a most delightful girl. Rebekah is also impressed with her intelligence and ability to learn accounting."