“Relatives.” Caecilia Paeta crossed the room and obsessively neatened the coverlet on the bed. She looked near to tears.

“Anyone special?”

“Everyone buys her things.” She gestured around, acknowledging that Gaia had had luxury lavished upon her. I could understand it: the only child in a moneyed family and, as I had seen, cute with it.

“You moved here when the Flaminica died. Does Gaia miss her grandmother?”

“A little. Statilia Paulla was fonder of my husband than anyone. She spoiled him, I’m afraid.”

“Even after he left home?”

Caecilia lowered her voice nervously. “Please don’t talk about him. His name is never mentioned now.”

“People do abscond,” I commented. Caecilia made no reply. “How did Statilia Paulla react to the fact that her own sister Terentia had encouraged Scaurus to go, and had facilitated the move?”

“How do you think? It caused more trouble.” I could have guessed that.

I sighed. “Does Gaia miss her father?”

“She sees him from time to time. As much as many children would.”

“If their parents were divorced, you mean? What about you? Do you miss him?”

“I have no choice.” She did not sound too upset.

“Had you any choice over marrying him in the first place?”

“I was content. Our families had old connections. He is a decent man.”

“But I take it you two were not passionately in love?”

Caecilia smiled faintly. It was not an affront, yet she appeared to regard the suggestion of passion as some odd quirk. Privately, I thanked the gods not all patrician girls had that upbringing. At least Caecilia did not seem to know what she was missing.

Plenty of Roman women of “good” family are bedded by men they hardly know. Most bear them children, since that is the point of it. Some are then left to their own devices. Many welcome the freedom. They need not feign deep affection for their husbands; they can avoid the men almost totally. They acquire status without emotional responsibility. So long as acceptable financial arrangements are made, all that is demanded of them is that they refrain from taking lovers. Any rate, they should not flaunt their lovers openly.

I did not believe Caecilia Paeta had a lover. But how can you tell?

Still pressing to find Gaia, I tried a different tack: “Does your husband’s aunt, Terentia Paulla, have much to do with Gaia?”

Caecilia’s expression became veiled again. I wondered if the subject might be even more tricky than I had already realized. “Only since she retired from being a Vestal, of course. That was about a year and a half ago. She is very fond of Gaia.” It reinforced my impression that Gaia Laelia had been used in the family’s endless emotional tugs of war.

“Yet she disapproves of Gaia becoming a Vestal?”

For once, Caecilia showed some natural acidity. “Maybe she wants all the honor for herself!”

“Have you told her that Gaia had gone missing?” Caecilia looked uneasy. I was crisp. “If Gaia felt close to her and has run away, she may turn up at Terentia’s house.”

“Oh, we would be told!”

“Where does Terentia live?”

“Her husband’s house is twenty miles outside Rome.” Too far for a child to make the journey alone easily-though runaways have been known to cover astonishing distances. “I shall need an address.”

Caecilia seemed flustered. “There’s no need for this-Gaia knew very well that Terentia is away from home at present.”

“Why? Is she in Rome?”

“She comes sometimes.”

I could not see why Caecilia was stalling. “Look, I’m just considering people Gaia might run to.”

She still looked distressed. She had picked up a model bull from Gaia’s farm and was twisting it in her fingers obsessively. I knew she must be lying about something, but I let her think I had swallowed it. “Have you informed your husband that Gaia is gone?”

“I am not allowed to contact him.”

“Oh, come! Not only is this rather important-but I do know you wrote to him only this week saying his aunt wished to see him.” Caecilia’s head spun towards me. “I have met your husband. He told me himself.”

“What did he say to you?” Caecilia gasped, rather too carefully. Was she afraid he might have criticized her conduct in their marriage?

“Nothing to alarm you. We talked mostly about a guardianship issue.”

She seemed horrified. “I cannot discuss that.”

Since I thought the ridiculous tale Scaurus spun me was all nonsense, I felt startled. Was there another guardianship issue, not involving the ex-Vestal? I started getting tough. “Laelius Scaurus came up to town this week to see his aunt and other members of the family. Now what’s the truth about this?”

Caecilia shook her head extremely vigorously. “It was just a family conference.”

“Something to do with Gaia?”

“Nothing to do with her.”

“Is Terentia Paulla causing trouble?”

“In fairness to her, no.”

“So what’s the problem?”

“Nothing.” She was lying again. Why?

“Did this ‘nothing’ make Gaia upset, do you think?”

“It was just something that had to be arranged, a legal matter,” said the mother, sighing. “Terentia wanted my husband to be consulted; his father thought Scaurus should not be involved.”

“What do you think?”

“Scaurus was useless!” she complained, quite violently. “He always is.” For a moment she sounded worn out by trying to cope. I could now understand why she might have accepted Scaurus’ departure from Rome with some relief. After this brief glimpse of her frustration with him, she made an attempt to deflect me by saying, “Many of Gaia’s things here were presents from Aunt Terentia and Uncle Tiberius.”

I went with it. “Uncle Tiberius? He would have been Terentia Paulla’s husband? The one who died? Was that very recently?”

Another troubled look crossed Caecilia’s pale face. “Quite recent, yes.”

“That was why you needed the family conference, was it?”

I seemed to have caught her off guard. “Well, yes. It arose from his death.”

“When my sister first came here to call on you, most of the family were at a funeral-were you cremating Terentia’s husband?” Caecilia’s face confirmed it, though she looked hunted; perhaps she was remembering how angry the ex-Flamen had been about Maia visiting. “ Excuse me asking, but is it not unusual for a retired Vestal to marry?”

“Yes.”

“That’s a bit terse! Was it another cause of conflict here?”

“Oh yes,” answered Caecilia, with a sudden release of emotion. “ Yes, Falco. It caused more conflict than you can ever realize!”

I waited for an explanation, but the drama had been enough for her. She wore a trace of defiance, as though she were glad she had spoken out-yet now she buttoned up. I thought of something that could explain a few things: “When Vestals retire, they are often awarded large dowries by the Emperor, are they not?”

With her composure restored, Caecilia agreed quietly. “Yes, Aunt Terentia was well endowed financially. But that was not the attraction for Uncle Tiberius. He was a very wealthy man himself.”

“So what was the attraction?” I ventured. Wrong move, Falco! Caecilia looked offended, and I backed off smartly. “Now he’s dead, does Terentia inherit?”

“Probably. I don’t think she has even considered it. She has been far too taken up with other concerns.”

“Everything I hear about Terentia suggests she will have her financial situation well in hand… What concerns?”

“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.