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“I thought it was funny, sir.”

He raised an eyebrow. “You have very liberal ideas, cousin. I wouldn’t think to bring a lady to this type of entertainment. Surely her father wouldn’t approve?”

Sebastianus cleared his throat. “Sadly, her father has passed away. But in his lifetime, he had rather liberal ideas as well. He wanted his daughter to be exposed to culture as well as scholarship.”

Georgios turned back to me. “You poor girl. And your mother? Is she well? Hierion, you said? Who are your people there? My wife knows many of the leading women of that city.”

Sebastianus cut in smoothly. “Cousin, let me host your family for dinner at my villa. It would give me great pleasure to see your lovely wife again and your daughters.”

Georgios beamed. “We’ll finally see the famous villa, eh? My wife will be thrilled. I accept. Name the day.”

“How about two days from now? The seventh hour after midday?”

“I’ll see you then, Cousin. Many thanks. And good evening, Anna the scholar.” With a last, quizzical look at me, he hurried away.

After the man was out of earshot, Sebastianus rubbed his temples. “By all the gods. I never see anyone I know here. What were the chances?”

I watched the retreating figure. “Now I have two days to figure out answers to all the questions they’re going to ask me. I hardly know a thing about Hierion.”

“I should have thought of a better way to turn the conversation. Now we have to endure dinner with him. And his wife and daughters.” He took my hand, pulling me gently into the aisle. “Let’s go home and have a drink, falcon, and forget about this until tomorrow.”

Perhaps it was the bawdy excitement of the theater, but when we climbed into the carriage, I didn’t want to break the physical connection between us. I sat beside him on the cushioned bench rather than taking my usual place on the opposite side. After a brief hesitation, he put a heavy arm around me. I rested my head tentatively on his shoulder. I heard a quiet grunt of satisfaction from somewhere deep in his throat. His solidity and warmth seemed to fill the carriage. From within his embrace I watched as Panpirion creaked by outside: stone and marble, candles and lanterns, shouts and laughter in the dark.

xiii

THE VILLA WAS IN AN UPROAR FOR TWO DAYS. AN ASSISTANT cook from the Imperial Palace had been hired to help Cornelia prepare and serve the dinner. The clay ovens and the long trough of coals in the kitchen blazed day and night. We avoided the heat and the shouting by staying as far away from that part of the house as possible.

By the afternoon, every room in the villa was sparkling clean. Klaudia, Don, Sebastianus, and I sat in the courtyard talking over the plan for dinner that evening. The delicious smell of roasting meat drifted into the garden. The Archidux had brought home another dress of silk and gauze—this time pale green with blue and gold embroidery.

Klaudia touched the soft fabric. “Seb, we’re trying to convince them that she’s a scholar. Something modest in a shade of brown would make that easier.”

“She’s not a sister of the temple,” he said. “She’s a young woman. What do I care about modesty?”

“You just can’t help stirring things up, can you,” Klaudia said, exasperated.

I fidgeted anxiously in my chair. “I think the problem is going to be what I say when they ask me about my family.”

“Seb,” Don said, “the simplest thing would be not to have Anna at the dinner at all. Just tell them she’s sick, or away. Out of sight, out of mind.”

“In fact, I feel a terrible headache coming on,” I said.

We all looked at Sebastianus expectantly.

He puffed on his pipe. “I can’t endure this dinner without Anna. I need her.”

I felt the now-familiar flush rise to my cheeks. For a brief moment it seemed as though he and I were partners in this dinner somehow—that the guests were our guests, instead of only his.

“All right,” Klaudia said after a slight pause. “My mother has an acquaintance in Hierion, Caprenia Silvana. She’s a simple noblewoman with a small country house, not a prominent enough citizen to be scrutinized. You could say that she’s your mother.”

“Caprenia Silvana is my mother,” I repeated. “Where do we live?”

“Just outside the city near the river,” Klaudia said.

I nodded.

“With that settled, I’ll see you all later.” Sebastianus thumped off to his study.

Don got up. “This is a bad idea. I’ll be in the stables. With any luck, I’ll be trampled by Capitan before the guests arrive.” He closed the door a little too firmly on his way outside.