“Just family business… What has this to do with finding Gaia, please?”
Caecilia was more intelligent than first impressions implied. She was learning how to dodge the questions. I could handle that. Noting which ones she ducked could prove useful.
An unplanned question came to me helpfully: “Did you like Uncle Tiberius?”
“No.” It was swift and decisive.
I stared at her. “Why was that?” I used a neutral tone first. Then, when she did not answer, I asked more dryly, “Did he jump you?”
“He made advances, yes.” Her voice was tight. This was an unexpected development.
“Advances you rebuffed?”
“Of course I did!” She was angry now.
“Was this after he married?”
“Yes. He had been married to Aunt Terentia little more than a year. He was a loathsome man. He thought every woman was at his disposal-and unfortunately, he had the knack of persuading too many to believe it.”
When she fell silent, I saw she was trembling slightly. My thoughts were racing. Was the deceased just a regular sex pest fingering married women-or was he even worse? “Caecilia Paeta, please don’t distress yourself. I have to ask you a very unpleasant question. If that was the situation-is there any possibility the ghastly Tiberius ever tried to make advances to little Gaia?”
Caecilia took a long time answering, though she received the question more calmly than I had feared. She was a mother, fluttery in some ways, but she did not flinch from protecting her child. “I was nervous about that. I did consider it. But no,” she said slowly. “I know it happens, especially with young slaves. But when I thought about it, I was sure Uncle Tiberius had no interest in children.” She paused, then forced out with difficulty, “I was afraid, in my heart, that it might become awkward later, when Gaia grew up-but he is dead, so there is no need to worry any longer, is there?” she concluded with relief.
“So Gaia certainly has not had to run away because of Uncle Tiberius?”
“No. She knows he is dead, of course. Falco, is that all you want from me?”
I reckoned I had tried her far enough. I had made more progress than I had expected, even if I did not yet understand the full significance of some of her answers. I felt the conversation had been especially harrowing for Caecilia. She must be under great pressure from Numentinus to keep family issues from me. We had been skirting more secrets than the old man would like.
“Yes, thank you. May I make a suggestion: Scaurus deserves to hear about Gaia. Send word to him today. And regarding Uncle Tiberius groping you, don’t carry that alone either. Tell someone.”
She allowed herself to look grateful. As she fled the room, she gasped out, “That’s all right. I did.”
She was gone before I could ask her who her confidant was.
WHILE I WAS in the vicinity, I searched the rest of the bedrooms on that corridor. A slave was sponging a floor, and since my escort had been deliberately chosen by the old man to be useless, this woman left her bucket and told me who used each place; all were members of the family. It is always entertaining to explore other people’s closets and sleeping quarters, especially when they have been given little warning that you will be popping along to do it. Burglars must have quite a few laughs. But of course, my lips are sealed. I had promised the ex-Flamen confidentiality, and he was not a man to cross.
Caecilia and the couple had large, decently equipped rooms. Caecilia had set hers out extremely neatly, as if she spent a lot of time alone there. Hiding from the family? Well, maybe she just had a very well-organized lady’s maid. The Pomonalis and his wife owned more clutter; judging from the boxes piled along one wall, it looked as if they had still not finished unpacking fully after the family’s enforced house move. Ariminius used an unfortunate variety of hair pomade. I spread some on my hand and had great trouble removing the strong stink afterwards. It was crocus, but from its staying power could have been garlic.
I had to send for a crowbar to force open all the sealed boxes, if only to show I had been thorough. Since I had been told by Gaia that her family wanted to kill her, it was a nerve-racking task. I could be about to discover a hidden corpse.
So far, I hated the setup, yet found it hard to believe Gaia’s story. This was a family in constant turmoil-yet with no evidence of real malice. I asked the escorting slave to find me the child’s nurse. The man went off reluctantly.
“Not one to look for the joys in life.” I grinned at the fat woman with the sponge. “Have I finished here?”
“One more room around the corner.” Oh? Who could that belong to?
