Lucia gaped at me but subsided.
“If you need to hide from bad men, I know where you can do so,” Cassia said.“It is a distance from here, but you should be safe enough.”
“Leonidas can escort me.”
Cassia was already shaking her head.“Too many will recognize him and know you are his paramour.Also, you will have to change into a plainer dress.I have one you can wear.”
Cassia turned to a large wooden box that had not been in the apartment earlier this afternoon.She rummaged through it and emerged with a simple stolla which she shook out.The plain linen was a sharp contrast to Lucia’s worn but garish finery.This was a respectable woman’s garb.
Without a qualm, Lucia slid from her gown, her bare flesh covered only by a strip of cloth about her hips.Cassia averted her eyes from Lucia’s body but helped her put on the stolla, settling it on her shoulders.A brown cloak came next out of the box, also plain and a bit worn.
Cassia always dressed so neatly I was surprised she’d purchased a threadbare palla, but I saw that it disguised Lucia well.Cassia bound Lucia’s dyed red hair into a small knot, easily hidden when Cassia arranged the folds of the palla over Lucia’s head.
Cassia stood back to admire her work.Lucia now looked like any other lower-class woman heading out to fetch water or run an errand for her mistress.
“There is a house along the Via Appia, at the base of Mount Albanus, near the lake,” Cassia said.“It is called the Domus Ceres.They will take you in, give you sanctuary.Tell them I sent you.”
“What sort of house?”Lucia asked in suspicion.
“One that will protect you.You can stay there until it is safe to return to Rome.”
“How will I know when that will be?”
“Leonidas will send word.”Cassia pulled a few hard rolls from the basket plus a napkin folded around dried figs.She dropped them into a smaller basket and shoved it all at Lucia.“You should hurry.”
Lucia sent me an inquiring look, and I nodded in agreement.As much as I would miss being with Lucia, Floriana’s death alarmed me more than I’d admitted.Lucia was right to flee.
I walked Lucia down the stairs but did not open the door when we reached the bottom.The fewer people who associated the woman in drab clothing with me, the better.
“Godspeed,” I whispered, pressing a brief kiss to her lips.“I will burn an offering for you.”
Lucia returned my kiss without heat and glanced behind me up the stairs.“That colorless miss will not please you in bed, I think.”
“I won’t use her for bed,” I said patiently.“She’s not for that.”
Lucia’s expression held skepticism.“Do you trust her to lead me to a good place?”
“Yes.”So far, Cassia had not given me reason to doubt her.“If she says this house is safe, I believe her.”
“Hmm.”Lucia studied me for a time, then her gaze softened and she kissed me with more warmth.“Farewell, Leonidas.I hope to see you again this side of the Stygian.”
“I will send for you when it’s safe,” I promised.
She did not believe me, but that didn’t matter.Lucia touched my cheek, then she opened the door and slipped out into the stream of people pushing their way home for the night.I watched the brown cloak bob in the current, then she was gone.
When I reached the top of the stairs, Cassia was setting out our supper.I watched her neat, competent movements as she arranged bowls, spoons, and plates in straight lines, her stool in the exact center of her side of the table.
“You purchased extra clothes.”I plunked down on my stool and reached for the bread.
Cassia continued serving the food.She’d bought greens dressed with flecks of fruit, oil, and cheese, along with a stew of lentils and beans and a flask of wine.
“I thought the clothes might be handy.”Cassia seated herself and lifted a spoon.“I didn’t realize they’d find use so soon.”
“The cloak was frayed.”I wasn’t quite certain how to put my puzzlement into words.
“If I need to move through the streets without drawing attention, an old cloak is better than a fine garment.No one pays attention to a poor woman or a slave from a meager household.”
“It is true no one saw you following us in Ostia,” I conceded.“Except me.”
