Caesar looked fondly at all the six vestals before him. He had hardly known most of them personally before he became pontifex maximus, but after working with them for a year he had learned somehing about them all.

Claudia Prima, his sister-in-law, after her illness had become something of a recluse because it was usually too painful for her to walk too far: she took care of the organization of the whole House and temple, which included keeping the last wills of all the citizens who bothered to write them.

Valeria could, if she wanted, have retired from the sisterhood, being well over thirty by now, but had decided that she had more freedom for her intelectual pursuits if she stayed on. She was a serious scholar and Caesar found it stimulating to talk wih her.

Sergia, on the other hand, might leave soon: she loved life, and if her family and she could agree on a husband, Caesar believed she would be quite happy in a lay life.

Livilla was inquisitive but sweet; she liked plants and flowers and was generally happy if out among people; tending the flame still bored her so she tried to have someone to talk with during those long hours.

That someone was never Cornelia Pola, because neither of them had managed to overcome their dislike for each other. Cornelia was a sad person, weighed down by her father's name and actions which she could never reclaim. Caesar was very sorry for her and after he had sat with her in the garden a couple of times just saying nothing, she had started blurting out astonishing, sometimes disturbing questions which he did his best to answer in a soothing and reasonable way.

As for little Curia, Hibernicus' daughter, she was the joy of the house, and having married off his daughter Julia years before, Caesar loved having a little girl running around, especially when she was also so responsible for her age.

"As you know, I am leaving the post at the end of this year", he told them. "It was a joy and an honour to know you all and to work with you. You have kept a low profile, tending to your duties and giving rise to no concerns from myself or from the world outside, and thus keeping Rome protected and healthy.
This is what I wish you to keep doing under the next pontifex maximus, whoever he turns out to be. If you need my help for anything, though, you know how to reach me, I don't live far, and my door is always open to you."