Page 22 of Brother at Arms

“If you stay in Rome, I want you somewhere safe,” I stated.

“I’m not certain there is somewhere safe. I suppose on the Palatine I would be protected from anyone searching the streets, but the domus of the princeps is probably the most dangerous place in all of Rome. Nonus Marcianus might welcome me, but I’m not certain he could prevail against four toughs from Parthia.”

I had no idea where the men came from—I only knew they weren’t Roman. They hadn’t been bearded, as many from Gallia, Germanica, Dacia or lands farther north or east were, but they might have shaved to blend in. How Cassia concluded they were Parthian, I didn’t know, but it was plausible.

I could take Cassia to the ludus and persuade Aemil I needed to stash one more person there, but the others I’d brought to him had been male. Cassia would be vulnerable to the gladiators, who’d see no reason not to use a slave, especially a female one, as they saw fit.

Aemil would end up having to constantly guard her, and he’d be furious about that. Also, he’d wheedle some form of payment from me, likely in the form of me training others or fighting the exhibition bouts he was always trying to coax me into.

I sifted through all the people I’d had dealings with since I’d been freed from the games and could think of only one place where Cassia might be both welcome and safe.

“I will ask Sextus Livius to look after you,” I said.

Cassia blinked. “Sextus Livius …”

“Livius has plenty of guards around his house, and he likes you. You could organize his library or something in return.”

“I was in his house only a few hours ago explaining why we used his name to investigate another man,” Cassia protested. “I think Livius will soon have enough of us.”

It was a chance I was willing to take. “He can always say no.”

“I’d rather not. I would have to leave much of my research behind, and also, I’d have no way of knowing if you were well if you stay here. Who would make a note of your safe arrival home every day?”

I did not smile. “Cassia, these men could break you in two without thought. I’ll not have you die because you might fall behind on your note taking.”

I spoke in a hard voice, one that held steel. Cassia lifted her head once more and studied me.

I rarely was stern with Cassia, mostly because I’d learned she didn’t listen anyway, but also because she’d been terrified of me when we’d first been introduced. I’d decided I didn’t want her regarding me in abject fear and had tried to keep myself quiet for her.

But now I was afraid. The men who’d assailed me could easily discover our apartment and find Cassia inside it, alone and vulnerable. I couldn’t stay here every hour of every day, not if I was to clear Lucius and send him home.

I wanted to leap up and smash my stool to the floor, but I’d only end up having to repair the stool and fix any tiles I broke.

“Very well.” Cassia’s answer was so meek that my frustrated anger fled.

“You agree?” I asked in amazement.

Cassia nodded. “Livius will know something of the silk trade. I might be able to find out more in his house than shut in this apartment. And yes, his library might be worth exploring.” The longing in her eyes when she mentioned the library would amuse me any other time.

“Good.” I rose, relieved. “Then we will go.”

“Once I have packed a few things and sorted out which tablets I will need,” Cassia said with maddening calmness. “I’d hate for Herminius’s ruffians to destroy any I left behind. Perhaps you could take those to Marcianus? He’d look after them well.”

I approached the home of Sextus Livius on the top of the Oppian Hill with some trepidation. While Livius was a former slave, he was one now of the wealthiest men in the whole of Rome. He could banish the likes of Cassia and me forever and employed a dozen hard-faced guards to enforce his orders.

The door attendant dozed in the afternoon sunshine, but he sprang to his feet when he heard our step and recognized us. He admitted us into the massive house, quiet at this hour, and took us without question to Livius, who was in his tablinum, the office that opened from the atrium.

Livius rose from behind a desk as strewn with scrolls and tablets as Tatius’s had been, an expression of welcome on his face.

“An unlooked-for pleasure today,” Livius said with enthusiasm. “Thank you for saving me from the tedium of accounts. Though my scribes are trustworthy, I go over them every month to keep myself informed of what my businesses are bringing in or sending out. A necessary evil.”

“Perhaps Cassia can help,” I offered.

Cassia was already gazing at the cluttered desk with longing.

I quickly explained our visit and my worry of danger to Cassia, leaving out any mention of Lucius. I fully expected Livius to balk, but instead, he beamed another smile.

“Of course. Cassia may stay as long as she likes, and yes, I’d welcome her orderly thoughts. Be careful I don’t steal her from you, Leonidas.”