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be in Thebes for several more weeks before I have to leave for Gaul,” he said, gently turning her toward him. “With your father’s permission, I would like to see you again … and again.” He smiled, and her heart jumped.
    “As would I … like to see you,” she said breathlessly, wondering even as she spoke how she could say such a thing to someone she had only just met. Then, before she could say or do anything more to further humiliate herself, she turned and hurried away. When she thought she was out of his range of vision, she abandoned her control and danced on the pathway, her skirt swirling about her ankles.
    “I shall see you soon, beautiful dancing lady,” he called out to her.
    And then she heard the servants’ laughter mingling with that of Mauritius’. Was this any way for an emperor’s daughter to behave?
    Fighting tears of humiliation, she vowed she should never see the handsome soldier again. He simply held too much power over her, and she could not risk disgracing her family.
    But she had to see him again, because at that moment she knew in her heart that she wanted to marry Mauritius—andshe would not wait long to see it happen. She would find her mother and persuade her to speak to her father about the matter. Unless the young man decided he did not want her for his wife, or her father objected to her marrying a Christian, Valeria knew that Mauritius would soon be hers. She hugged herself and imagined for a moment what it would be like for him to hold her in his strong arms.
    Valeria smiled. There were definitely advantages to being the emperor’s daughter. Besides, there was nothing to be ashamed of; her feelings for Mauritius were pure.
    She could feel his eyes following her as she ran into the palace to find her mother, but she no longer cared that he was watching. She spun around and waved at him one last time, and he threw his head back, curls tumbling, and laughed.
    A fine soldier like Mauritius! Father was going to love him; she was sure of it. Then life truly would be perfect.

6
    H er assessment of her father’s acceptance of Mauritius was more than a bit premature and overly optimistic, but her mother was at least receptive to the idea. With Diocletian gone, Prisca invited Mauritius and his family to dine with them the next evening. After dinner, Valeria asked Mauritius and Nanu to take a moonlight stroll in the garden. Valeria’s excitement waned when her mother insisted that Eugenia accompany them. Much to Valeria’s disappointment, there was no handholding, but she considered even walking beside Mauritius a gift.
    The next morning, after completing her studies, Valeria spent the afternoon in the arena with Nanu, watching Mauritius and Baraka, Nanu’s fiancé, compete in the athletic events. Afterward, the young people had dinner with Valeria at the palace. Eugenia was not feeling well, so after dinner Prisca gave them permission to walk alone in the garden if the young people stayed together. Almost immediately Baraka pulled Nanu behind the hedges, away from Valeria and Mauritius.
    “What are they doing?” Valeria asked.
    “The same thing I am about to do to you,” Mauritius replied, smiling as he bent to give Valeria a kiss, this time on the lips. He kissed her gently, and then stepped back.
    “Please do not stop,” Valeria begged, her head swimming with daydreams of utter delight. She pulled on his tunic to bring him back close to her, but he only pecked her forehead.
    “No more kisses,” he scolded her.
    “But I want to kiss you over and over again.”
    Mauritius touched her face with his hand, sending sparks throughout her body. “I love you, but …”
    “You love me!” Her heart skipped a beat. “I love you, too, Mauritius,” she declared … and then she did the unthinkable. She stood on her tiptoes, threw her arms around his neck, and kissed him.
    After a moment, he had to step back to extract his lips from hers. “We must wait until we are married to