Closing her eyes, Tibi breathed in deep to ward off an onslaught of total humiliation. In the face of her father's condemnation, she'd forgotten that Tiberia, her elder, more winsome sister, sat in an alcove near the inner courtyard. 'Why the gods cursed me with two daughters and took my adopted son is beyond my ken, but at least your sister over there had the decency to bring political connections to this house when she wed Senator Tacitus three years ago. She'd stopped defending herself years ago when she realized that her father always sided against her. Not even when her father is willing to pay a fortune to be rid of her.'

Little wonder he stormed from here with no wish to see you again. 'If he wanted to sample you before the wedding, who are you to object? Instead of welcoming his advances, as you should have done, you reaffirmed your willful reputation and denied him at every turn.

'Lepidus was the last man of good family willing to wed you,' Tiberius continued to rant. The night was still and silent as though it waited to learn Tibi's fate. Except for a few distant cook fires dotting the nearby hills, darkness covered Rome like a thick, heavy blanket. Numb to her father's constant condemnation, Tibi stared out the open window of her family's Palatine home.

You've been nothing but a disappointment since the day you were born.'

The Champion by Carla Capshaw