Fvlvia received with kindly indulgence just how suddenly her best friend, Claudia, had become so chatty and giddy.
First she rushed to the villa's kitchen to ask the cook what Malricus usually requested when he snacked alone while practicing his speeches. She learned, almost with disappointment, that apart from dried fruits and a jug of milk, he asked for nothing at all.
"This will be easy enough to arrange, but let's ask Bato as well about Malricus's favorite topics of debate," she chirped.
She did not wish to seek out Bato alone. She was accustomed to Kyra; Fvlvia always sent the ancilla ormatrix to him with her messages. This time, however, Aemilia accompanied Fvlvia to Bato.
To her regret, Malricus happened to be there. She could not question the servant about the young man's preferred subjects. Instead, she discussed with Fvlvia and Aemilia what topics might interest the young orator.
"It would have been better to speak with Bato, since Malricus rehearses his speeches with him before going to the Forum," the girl pouted.
She lingered and lurked near Bato's room until Malricus finally left. This was hardly behavior befitting a patrician girl—yet no one reproached Claudia for it.
At last, triumphant, she returned home to organize the evening, armed with the wealth of information she had gathered from the young orator's servant.
"Everything will be perfect," the two girls smiled at each other, after Claudia—electrified by the thought of the evening—hurried home at once.
Fvlvia was enthusiastic as well. Even after her friend's departure, she did not reproach Claudia's behavior. Instead, she teased herself with Malricus's decision.
"He's about to be introduced into patrician circles!"
Until now, the young man had resisted whenever Livius suggested taking him to dine among his own circles. Fvlvia rejoiced together with Claudia. Malricus would not be introduced into just any patrician society, but into her own—and that meant a great deal. Especially to Claudia. The more interesting her evenings were, the more attention her guests and invitees attracted, the more people would long to attend her gatherings.
Fvlvia knew that through Malricus, her friend would also try to ensnare Septimus. After all, Malricus would sooner or later return to his family's villa rustica or travel on to other cities, while Septimus would remain in Rome. Fvlvia did not mind this in the least. Whatever enhanced the brilliance of Claudia's evenings was good for her as well. She would enjoy herself even more with new guests who introduced intelligent topics of conversation.
Claudia had already made the finest of Rome's artistic world loyal, regular attendees of her evenings. She was capable of investigating for days the favorite foods and drinks of a popular actor. She sent several of her servants to question market women, cloth merchants, and the theater itself. But she reserved the most important task for herself: she visited the actor Fabius's parents in person. Who could possibly refuse an invitation from Claudia?
And during later evenings as well, she catered diligently to the comfort of her guests and invitees. They felt best in Claudia's villa, and after that, they returned there faithfully evening after evening.
Fvlvia and Aemilia also wanted to give their best. Arm in arm, laughing, they set out to find Kyra, so that she might prepare them with particular elegance and radiance for this special evening.
♡︎
Malricus, for his part, was not idle. He held patrician circles in little regard. He preferred those of his own kind, with whom he could engage in intelligent discourse. He esteemed Bato—the thoughtful slave—far more than the patrician youth Aulus, the arrogant and foolish, utterly mediocre orator.
Fvlvia would be there. That alone mattered to him.
And perhaps he would receive an invitation for tomorrow evening as well.
To spend evenings henceforth in Fvlvia's presence? That was more than he had hoped for this very morning.
In the hope of further invitations, he wanted to excel tonight. Of course, he was also pleased that this would spare him the snares of Rome's arrogant beauties. He would not have to coldly reject any overzealous, multiply married domina—nor even a single matron. These haughty women behaved as if Malricus were obliged to satisfy their every desire, including those of the bed. As if his kind owed them service with body and soul alike.
He knew well what sorts of offers respectable dominae made to young men like himself after an invitation—naturally after the banquet, and well drunk.
Malricus thought of women day and night, but not of that sort.
He was too free a spirit to be interested in circles where such unpleasant entanglements were inevitable. For there was perhaps only one being worse than a rejected patrician woman.
Thalvia—his former lover.
This evening mattered to Malricus as well.
First he went to Bato and questioned him about every patrician peculiarity that might be of use tonight. Then he went to the kitchen to take dried fruits and a jug of milk to his room, where he intended to think carefully about what to speak of and what topics of debate to introduce.
The cook immediately told him that Claudia had been there earlier. This spurred Malricus to perform even better.
He gently pinched the chubby cheek of the cook's little daughter perched on her arm; the child rewarded him with giggles and delighted squeals. Then he hastened to his room.
He had barely sat down to take notes when it occurred to him that he could be even more precise in launching his topics of debate.
And most importantly: what was the favorite subject of Fvlvia's circle of friends?
He did not believe Bato would know this.
He did not believe the ancilla ornatrix would know it either.
He would have to ask Aemilia and Fvlvia.
He might see Fvlvia again before the evening—that was hardly an objectionable idea.
He searched for Fvlvia everywhere except where she actually was: in her sister Aemilia's room, where preparations for the evening were already well underway.
The girls had gone to their mother, Tullia, for advice.
Tullia was glad to help. She explained in detail who might appear at Claudia's gathering that evening and offered practical advice on each of their styles and preferred topics.
"Love, ancient heroic battles, public life in Rome—but all the arts interest them as well," Tullia informed him.
Malricus thanked her gratefully for her patience.
He would have most liked to speak of love, gazing deeply into Fvlvia's eyes, stirring her senses—but he knew Fvlvia would not appreciate that. She might even complain to Livius, as she had with Aurelius. Thus he would lose Fvlvia forever.
He chose heroism as the theme of the evening. Diligently, he wrote and devised questions that would draw the participants into intelligent debates. With Tullia's advice, he could pose them in a targeted, personalized way.
During the introductions, he would only need to match faces to the names he had heard from Tullia. Just a list of names to associate with faces.
"Eh! I can manage this," he decided.
If he failed to excel, he would resort to his demonic abilities to ensure that the evening remained memorable for everyone.
He took notes, planned, rehearsed diligently—until Bato appeared and indicated that it was time for him to prepare his appearance as well.