Well, the pot is boiling! Tilla thinks Ruso will sell her so she runs away. She is sheltered by Britons, then tries to return to her village. Romans capture her. Returned to (evil) Priscus who will probably kill her. I was right, he is the murderer. Ruso spends all his money to retrieve a boy who is being torn from his mother and sold into slavery. But wait . . . he now needs the money to keep Priscus from selling Trilla into slavery. And there's more. One of the other girls is giving birth -- and only Trilla can save her (she's a midwife.) But Trilla has a poison acorn in her mouth that she will chomp down on if anyone invades her territory. So, Ruso talks her into being a midwife. Baby born successfully, of course. Mom alive, of course. Now can Ruso talk her into being his wife. (Turns out she's the daughter of a centurion, so not really of slave stock.) I'll know tomorrow, but my guess is that all will work out well. Fun, but hardly historical fiction. Author uses phrases like "low-life" and "I worked my balls off." No attempt even to duplicate the language.
February 1895 (Alice died in 1892) Money problems, jealousy of Wilde; time spent with Lord Wolseley1; off to Ireland to lick his wounds; Irish unrest--Irish landlords boycott all social events; much time spent with manservant Hammond (homosexual attraction again); fancy dress ball, appalling to James, who is only happy in company of Hammond, though Hammond remains a servant and no more; little girl alone on the grounds--inspiration for Turn of the Screw?; conflict with Webster who alludes to Wilde's successful play and HJ's failure; Wolseley was an Anglo-Irish officer in the British Army . He became one of the most influential and admired British generals after a series of successes in Canada, West Africa, and Egypt, followed by a central role in modernizing the British Army in promoting efficiency. He served in Burma, the Crimean War , the Indian Mutiny , China, Canada and widely throughout Africa—including his Ashanti campaign (18...
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