Free House Of The Vestals by Steven Saylor

impressed and reached for his purse, but I stayed his hand. It occurred to me that our host was offering us his most expensive property, not the one which had necessarily been the favorite of young Asuvius.
    "No, no," I said, "I'm sure I would have remembered a name like Merula."
    "Ah, and she sings like a blackbird, as well," interjected out host.
    "Nevertheless, I think we were meant to fetch that one." I nodded at the honey blonde, who gazed back at me with apprehensive blue eyes.
     
    The tavern across the street was pleasantly cool and dark, and almost deserted. Columba sat within the cloak Lucius had thrown over her transparent gown, looking pensive.
    "The day before yesterday?" she frowned.
    "Yes, the day after the Ides of Maius," offered Lucius, certain at last that he had his chronology straight, and eager to help.
    "And you say that you saw Asuvius in his room, deathly ill?" She continued to frown.
    "So it appeared, when this man Oppianicus called me up to the room." Lucius leaned on one elbow, gazing at her raptly and ignoring his cup of wine. He was not used to being so near such a beautiful girl, I could tell.
    "And this was in the morning?" Columba asked.
    "Yes, quite early in the morning."
    "But Asuvius was with me!"
    "Can you be sure of that?"
    "Certainly, because he had slept the whole night with me, at my room at the Palace, and we didn't wake until quite late that morning. Even then, we didn't leave the room…"
    "Ah, youth!" I sighed.
    She blushed faintly. "And we stayed in my room to eat our midday meal. So you see, you must have the days mixed up, or else-"
    "Yes?"
    "Well, it's the oddest thing. Some of Asuvius's freedmen were by the Palace only yesterday, asking for him. They seemed not to know where he was. They seemed rather worried." She looked at me, suddenly suspicious. "What is your interest in Asuvius?"
    "I'm not really sure," I said truthfully. "Does it matter?" I took a coin from Lucius's purse and slid it across the table to her. She looked at it coolly, then slipped her tiny white hand over it.
    "I should hate it if anything has really happened to Asuvius," she said quietly. "He really is a sweet boy. Do you know, he told me it was his very first time, when he came to the Palace a month ago? I could believe it, too, with all the fumbling, and all the-" She broke off with a wistful sigh, laughed sadly, then sighed again. "I shall hate it if it's true that's he taken sick and died so suddenly."
    "Oh, but he hasn't," said Lucius. "That's why we're here; that's what we don't understand. I saw him alive and well with my own eyes, this very morning!"
    "But then, how can you say he was deathly ill two days ago, and that the landlord saw his body taken away in a cart?" Columba frowned. "I tell you, he was with me the whole morning. Asuvius was never sick at all; you must be confused."
    "Then you last saw him on the day before yesterday, the same day that Lucius Claudius was called up to witness the lad's will," I said. "Tell me, Columba, and this might be very important: was he wearing his seal ring?"
    "He was wearing very little at all," she said frankly.
    "Columba, that is not an answer."
    "Well, of course, he wears his ring always. Doesn't every citizen? I'm sure he was wearing it that morning."
    "You seem awfully certain. Surely he wasn't signing documents here in your room?"
    She looked at me coolly, then spoke very slowly. "Sometimes, when a man and woman are being intimate, there is cause to notice that one of them happens to be wearing a ring. Perhaps one feels a certain discomfort… or a bit of a snag. Yes, I'm sure he was wearing his ring."
    I nodded, satisfied. "When did he leave you?"
    "After we ate our midday meal. Of course, after we ate, we… shall we say it was two hours after noon? His friends from Larinum came to collect him."
    "Not his freedmen?"
    "No. Asuvius doesn't have much use for servants, he says they only get in his way. He's always sending them off on silly errands to