Page 77 of Historical Hotties
“Oh… Cassius,” she said in awe, plucking it from his fingers to get a good look at it. “It is the most beautiful ring I have ever seen.”
He watched her face as she inspected it. “Do you like it, then?”
She nodded eagerly. “I do, but it must be quite expensive,” she said, looking at the other rings that were on the table before them, each one sitting upon different colored pieces of silk. “The one with the amethyst is beautiful, too.”
She was indicating a much smaller, far less elaborate ring. He ignored her, took the ring from her hand, and slipped it onto her wedding finger. It was a little snug, but it fit well enough.
“Look,” he said. “The ring was made for you. It fits.”
Dacia looked at the enormous diamond ring on her finger. “But it is so big.”
He wouldn’t hear her argument. “It is a suitable ring for a future duchess,” he said. “And it is exactly what my wife deserves. I will have you in nothing less.”
“A diamond will represent your strength and loyalty to your husband, my lady,” the clerk said timidly. “It is a ring to be greatly admired.”
Dacia wasn’t sure she wanted a ring to be admired, but Cassius seemed so certain about it, so she simply nodded. In truth, it was a magnificent ring. He held her hand up, watching the ring catch the light.
“Are you sure?” she said to Cassius. “I am sure we can look at other rings. Smaller. Less expensive. I do not need a massive ring, Cassius.”
He looked at the clerk. “We shall take this one,” he said, completely ignoring her protests. “But I will look at other rings for her. She has ten fingers, after all. She should have a ring for each one.”
Dacia could only giggle at him. He was being thoughtful and excessive, a potentially dangerous combination for a man’s purse, but he didn’t seem to care in the least. He started pawing through the other rings presented, including the one with the amethyst, which he liked very much. Dacia watched him hold the rings up to the light and inspect them.
“I always thought it was a strange custom for the woman to wear a ring symbolizing her loyalty to one man, but a man does not wear a ring symbolizing his loyalty to one woman,” she said. “History abounds with male lovers giving their female lovers a ring, but you do not see men wearing any rings at all.”
Cassius was looking at a ring with a brown stone on it. “Would you like for me to wear one?”
“Of course not. I was simply making an observation.”
Cassius set the ring down and looked at the clerk. “Do you have any rings for men?”
The clerk looked surprised. “Elaborate and bejeweled, my lord,” he said. “They would not be suitable for a fighting man.”
“Why not?”
“Because they are enormous, my lord,” the clerk insisted. “Unless you wish to use them as another weapon.”
That brought a chuckle from Cassius. “Nay, I do not wish to do that,” he said. “But she is right. Women are expected to show their loyalty, but men are not. I should like for you to do something for me.”
“Anything you wish, my lord.”
Reaching out, he pulled the ring off of Dacia’s finger and handed it to the clerk. “You will put my name on this ring, on the inside, so all will know who she belongs to,” he said. “My name is Cassius, so make sure it is clear. As for me… measure the same finger on my hand that she is wearing the ring on and make me a gold circlet. Just a simple golden band, smooth and strong. You will inscribe her name on the inside, so all will know to whom I belong. Her name is Dacia.”
Dacia smiled at him, at his sweet and utterly romantic gesture as the clerk went to find something to measure his finger with. When he was gone, she spoke quietly.
“Are you certain you want to wear it?” she said. “Men do not wear such things.”
“My grandfather did, as I recall,” he said. “It suddenly occurred to me that I saw him wear a ring my grandmother had given him, years after they’d been married. She wore a very simple ring that he’d given her and years after the fact, she gave him one also. When my father asked her why, she said because she wanted him to wear her heart as she wore his. I am happy to wear your heart, Dacia.”
It was one of the most touching things Dacia had ever heard. “That is such a sweet gesture,” she said, leaning against him affectionately. “I have a book from the Far East, something that was left to me by my tutor, and it is all about the love between men and women. There is one passage in it that has always stayed with me.”
“What is that?”
She looked at the big diamond ring on the table before picking it up, inspecting it. “The world moves for love,” she murmured. “That is what it says– that the world moves for love. It does, doesn’t it?”
“My world does,” Cassius murmured. “It moves for your love. Tell me again that you love me.”
Immediately, her cheeks flushed red and he laughed softly, giving her hot cheek an affectionate stroke. But he did no more than that, not wanting to make a spectacle in public, even though he very much wanted to kiss her.
