'And if the only possible thing happens, and Catilina loses the election?' I said, hating to be drawn into the argument.

'He's already begun planning his revolt. His supporters are as desperate as he is. His military support is concentrated among the veterans settled here in Etruria, farther north. Within the city he has a small but devoted coterie of powerful men who will stop at nothing. There is already evidence that he plans to murder Cicero before the election.'

'But why?'

'Chiefly because he blames Cicero for stealing the election from him last year, and longs to see him dead. How it fits into Catilina's overall scheme, I'm not sure; perhaps he simply wants to spread chaos and fear before the polling, or to cancel the election altogether.'

'How do you know all this, Marcus Caelius?'

"There was a meeting of the conspirators earlier this month—'

'How do you know this?' -

'I'm telling you: there was a meeting of the conspirators earlier this month, and I was there.’

I paused to absorb this. If only it could have been Aratus seated across from me, discussing how many oxen to buy at market this year, or Congrio telling me we would need more provisions for the month ahead. Instead I was confronted with one of Cicero's smoothest proteges, listening to him pronounce dire warnings of conspiracy and revolution.

"This is all too much, Caelius. You say that Catilina is hatching a conspiracy to murder Cicero, and that you yourself sat in on his secret proceedings?'

'I'm telling you too much, Gordianus, more than I intended to, but you're a difficult man to convince.'

'This is your way of convincing me to help you? I tell you I want no danger to this house and you tell me stories of assassination and civil war!'

'All of which can be prevented, if we work together.’ Why — in spite of all my protests, my clearly reasoned judgment, all the resolutions and promises I had made to myself the great daily satisfaction I took in turning my back on the madness of the city — why in that moment did I experience a shiver of excitement? Intrigue is an intoxicant more powerful than the headiest wine. Secrecy casts a spell over the workaday world and turns common, drab existence into the stuff of plays and epics. A man eats of such stuff and only feels hungry for more. Even so, such a diet makes a man feel alive. That shiver of excitement was something I had not felt since I left the city.

'Tell me more about the meeting you attended with Catilina,' I said slowly.

'It was at Catilina's house on the Palatine; a splendid, rambling mansion that his father built, and the only thing left of his inheritance, besides his name. It began as a dinner party, but after the meal we withdrew to a room deep within the house. The slaves were dismissed and the door was shut. If I told you the names of the senators and patricians who were there—'

'Don't'

Caelius nodded. "Then I'll only tell you that the gathering ranged from the respectable to the notorious—' ' "Taste every flavour." So Catilina says.'

'Exactly. He coins a memorable phrase, as you see. You flatter me by calling me an apt pupil of Cicero's, but I tell you Cicero has nothing on Catilina when it comes to passionate speeches. He dwelt upon the common distress of the men gathered there and pointed to the wealthy oligarchs as the cause of all their misery; he promised them a new state consecrated by the blood of the old; he spoke of cancelled debts and confiscations from the rich. When it was over he produced a bowl of wine and compelled every man to make a cut on his arm and squeeze a trickle of blood into the bowl'

'And you?'

Caelius held forth his arm and showed me the scar. "The bowl was passed around. Every man drank from it. We all took an oath of secrecy—'

'Which you're breaking right now.'

'An oath against Rome is no oath at all to a true Roman.' Even so, he lowered his eyes.

'Then Catilina accepted you as one of his own, despite your connection to Cicero?'

'Yes, because for a time I was truly under his spell. I convinced him of my loyalty because it was real, at the time. Until I suddenly saw through him, until I learned that he planned to murder Cicero. Then I went to Cicero with all I knew. He told me to remain in Catilina's confidence and said that I could be more valuable to him as a spy. I'm not the only one who watches Catilina for him.'

'And now he wants me to spy for him as well.'

'No, Gordianus. He merely wants you to play passive host to Catilina. Catilina's movements are watched, but he has ways of getting out of the city unobserved. His principal ally outside Rome is Gaius Manlius, a military man up in Faesulae; Catilina needs a secret place of refuge between Faesulae and Rome, not one of his known supporter's farms, but a place where his enemies would never think to look.'

'And that place is with me? If he doesn't know already, anyone could tell Catilina that I've done much work for Cicero in the past, and that Cicero helped me hold on to this farm.'

'Yes, but I've told Catilina that you've had a serious falling-out with Cicero — that's easy enough, to believe, isn't it? — and that you're disgusted with things as they are in Rome, and sympathize with him. That you know how to be discreet is accepted without question; you do have a reputation for that, Gordianus. Catilina doesn't believe that you're an ardent supporter, only that you're willing to offer him hospitality and to keep your mouth shut. That's all he'll expect from you — a safe retreat when he needs to get out of the city, and a way station on the road to Faesulae.'

'How do I know there won't be secret meetings in my house, with bowls of human blood passed around?'

Caelius shook his head. "That's not what he wants from you. He wants a refuge, not a meeting place.'

'And what does Cicero want?'

'An accounting of Catilina's movement, through me. Of course, if Catilina should happen to confide something of importance to you, Cicero trusts you to use your judgment in passing on vital information. They say you have a way of drawing out the truth from men, even when they hope to conceal it.'

I turned my back on him and looked out the west-facing windows, beyond the herb garden to the land sloping down towards the stream The treetops were gilded with moonlight. The night was quiet and peaceful, pleasantly warm. The air smelled rich and sweet, a mixture of animal dung and cut grass. Rome seemed very far away, and yet inescapable.

'I would deal only with you, then, and with Catilina? With no one else?'

'Yes. Cicero himself will be only a phantom, never seen. Any message you need to send you will send to me, in the city. Catilina will find nothing suspicious in that.'

'It can't be as simple as you claim. Is it because of your youth and inexperience that you can't see all the terrible things that could go wrong? Or are you intentionally trying to coddle me?'

He smiled. 'My teacher Cicero would say that one should never respond to a question of either or if both answers are damaging. One should change the subject instead.'

I begrudged him a smile in return. 'You're positively wicked, Marcus Caelius; too wicked for a man your age. Yes, I do believe you could fool Catilina himself into trusting you. If I agree to do as you ask, I must have some way of protecting myself; I can't be seen as an ally of Catilina's if he comes to ruin, as he probably will. A letter from Cicero would be useful, acknowledging my help ahead of time.'

Caelius grimaced. 'Cicero foresaw such a request. It's not possible. If suchacommunication were to be intercepted, it would spoil everything, and put you in immediate jeopardy, besides. Put your mind at ease. If a crisis comes, Cicero will not forget you.'