A wise man, our young man is in good hands. Varus has set a loyalty binder…
Marcus felt an odd, unbidden pang at the resemblance. “I did not rise to where I sit by surrounding myself with men who tell me what I want to hear, Marcus. I would not have a ward who did either. Rome has enough of those already, and look how well it serves her.
Varus caught the shift in him, of course he did, his sharp eyes missing very little, and something almost like amusement flickered across his face before he turned toward the atrium himself. “Go on, then. I have kept you from more interesting company long enough.