"...He also said that he had talked with Felix, and that Felix could be useful to them. I'm assuming that they mean to use Felix in their plot to incriminate the nameless Man Who Wouldn't Pay," said Ea and Drusilla nodded thoughtfully, turning a stylus over and over through her fingertips.

     "Yes, I agree that is a possibility. Felix is even more witless than I thought if he's getting mixed up in something like that. I'm sure Glaucus was more than persuasive though, and my husband has always had a bit of a greedy streak. He'd jump at the chance to make an easy sestercius or three by profiting from the sale of a condemned man's estate. You are sure you have no idea to whom they were referring?"

     Ea shook her head in the negative, regarding her employer with candid brown eyes.

     "Well, I think it would be useful to know that. You can add that to your list of things to do." Thin lips smirked. "Perhaps more information can be ferreted out from Glaucus' household. While you've been out and about, I've managed to learn some things myself. For example, I learned that his wife Claudia has been suffering from fits of fainting and sickness lately. She's probably pregnant, but I think she might need the services of a good herbalist, don't you?"

     "Of course," was Ea's reply. The clever dark girl was not one to waste energy speaking useless words. Everything she said was clear and to the point.

     "They will be expecting you in a few days." Drusilla rose and collected a small scroll, tied with cord and closed with the family's seal. "Claudia is tedious and a chatterbox. See what you can learn from her, and those who attend to her. I don't think they like her very much, and perhaps they might be a little more forthcoming, if you can earn their trust."

     "Naturally," was the dry reply.

     "I am pleased with your work so far," Drusilla continued. She busied herself for a few moments in the desk, her hands coming up with a small pouch, which she tucked into Ea's basket of herbs. "Payment for your services. More will come if I am pleased with the information that you deliver."

     Ea nodded and the Domina sent her on her way. As she was crossing the atrium, the porter was opening the door. He admitted a form that was very familiar to the dark girl. One that she had been stalking through the streets of Rome...

     Gaius Valerius Glaucus had come calling again, looking once more like a respectable Senator rather than the Subura ruffian that Ea had seen before. He moved to pass Ea, but instead of breezing by without sparing her a glance, as most would have done, he stopped and stared down at her. Always calculating, Glaucus was always interested in the goings on around him; like one of the goats that ran wild in he hills, he was forever searching for a toehold or an angle that would benefit his position. "Well now," he said, noticing the basket of herbs she was carrying. "You are here to attend to someone in the family? I trust no one here is seriously ill?"

     His green eyes were veiled as he waited for her to reply...