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“And a great shining palace right beside it. All with the same name.”
Luca and the old woman laughed heartily. From behind the curtain, I heard a grunt and a moan.
“I’m sorry to have troubled you.” I turned to leave.
Luca lumbered over and blocked the door. “Wait just a minute. What’s the rush? Stay and have a chat.”
“I really must go.”
“Why don’t you talk things over with me? We could raise our prices ten times for a girl like you.”
The danger of the moment broke through the fog, and a sharp panic rose. “I have to go,” I repeated.
“No, you don’t,” he said.
The door creaked open again, and Luca moved aside with a scowl to let the newcomer enter.
It was Clemens Fabius.
He stood in the doorway smiling at me. I stared at him. Why would he be here? What was happening? I was failing to connect important pieces of something that were meant to fit together.
His grin widened, and his white teeth flashed. “Delightful. Back where you belong, Anna. Although, this is a far cry from the terraces of Casa Caligine, isn’t it? Of course, that’s just a difference in price and decoration.”
The pieces simply wouldn’t fit. “What—what are you doing here?”
“A scholar.” His smile widened. “What a notion. I had no idea the Archidux would actually bring you into his home, but the minute I heard a description of you from Georgios’s family, I knew just who you were. I’m going to find this very satisfying. The jewel of Corlivo discovered in a common brothel.”
“What in the name of the lightning-blasted gods is going on here?” Luca asked thickly.
The doorway behind Clemens Fabius filled with the blue cloaks of soldiers. One of them stepped forward. “By order of the Imperatrix Calpurnia, this establishment is being shut down. You’re all being taken into custody to face the Imperator’s justice.” He nodded to Clemens Fabius. “Not you, of course, my lord.”
Clemens Fabius inclined his head in return.
Luca began to yell. The old woman was shouting and dragging the toddler behind her as she tried to get into the back room. Two soldiers followed her, and after a minute there was a thump and a scream.
A soldier stepped up beside me and looked me over with some confusion. “You’ll have to come with me.”
I put a hand on his arm, and he seemed to really see me for the first time. He hesitated, blinked, and his face softened. “Don’t—don’t worry. If you cooperate, you’ll be all right.”
“Thank you, but there’s been a misunderstanding. I’ve just come to the wrong address.”
“Don’t let her charm you,” Clemens Fabius cut in sharply. “These girls do that. They manipulate and they lie. I saw this one accept a solidus from a patron moments ago.” He looked around theatrically. “I don’t know where the man went.”
The soldier seemed uncertain.
“Search her,” Clemens Fabius said. “I bet you’ll find gold.”
The soldier pulled roughly at my cloak until he heard the clink of my purse. He pulled it out. When he saw the solidi within, he glanced up at me with a scowl. “No decent woman would be out in the city on her own. You’ll have to come with us to the command post.”
I couldn’t breathe. Beads of sweat broke out on my forehead.
There was a commotion as soldiers dragged Talia, Luca, and the old woman out. The babies were crying in her arms. In the noise, Clemens Fabius stepped close to me and whispered, “I knew you’d have gold on you. Sebastianus is keeping his little prize in high style.”
“Why are you doing this? I don’t understand.”
His eyes narrowed. “You thought you could humiliate me without consequence? You deserve to be caught in the net the Imperatrix has cast over the city. These places might be all right up in the mountains, but they don’t belong here, so close to our families.” He squeezed my shoulder painfully. “Sebastianus should not flaunt such a decadent creature in front of innocent people like Georgios’s wife and daughters, friends of my own family. But I can hardly expect a murderous, depraved, half-blind man like him to understand that.”
A flame of understanding flickered to life in my mind. “You hypocrite. You don’t want your wife and daughters to know you’ve spent time in Corlivo.”
