To Deceive an Empire — Anne Garboczi Evans

Daughter of an elite patrician father and a Celtic woman, Gwen Paterculi chafes against the restrictions of Roman society. Her family thinks Caius Marcellus is a smuggler with the ruthless empire-wide smuggling ring, the Viri, as well as a violent lecher. But Gwen's been kissing Marcellus behind secluded hedges for two years now. Caius Marcellus isn't even his real name, and the part he plays contradicts everything he believes in. Now that she's turned eighteen, Gwen has decided it's past time for Marcellus to marry her and she's used to getting what she wants. Marcellus has much too dark a secret to ever marry. Then both sides of his double life conjoin, threatening Gwen's life. He could marry Gwen and thus save her life, but if she discovers his secret, she'll not only despise him, he'll hang on a cross. What choice will he make? Either way, can Gwen ever forgive him?