Arminius smiled gravely at his audience. "The mood of the city is unsettled, which is only to be expected. Caesar's enemies have holed up on the Capitoline. There is presently no armed activity but Lepidus has the City surrounded and won't let them out." He paused dramatically. "Marcus Antonius got hold of Caesar's will somehow."

"Really?" queried Maria. "I thought the Vestals held such documents close until it is time for the formal reading."

Arminius shrugged. "Who knows what interests the Chief Vestal will choose to serve now. Caesar was Pontifex Maximus, you know. She might wish to honor his memory--but perhaps she secretly favored his enemies. Maybe she's decided that letting the information out early will shape events more to her liking."

"I see. That makes sense I suppose." Maria nodded. "Do you know who Caesar named as his heir?"

Marcus interrupted quickly before his father could reply to the question. "It's Gaius Octavius!"

"Gaius Octavius?" exclaimed Maria and Susannah simultaneously. The two women exchanged glances. "Do you mean Attia's boy?" asked Susannah.

"Yes." Arminius looked thoughtful. "Do you know him?"

Susannah looked troubled. "Only by reputation. He was raised mostly on his father's farm. It's near Velitrae I think. He was a very sickly child according to the marketplace gossip. Attia was forever quacking him with one remedy after another. She favored the same Gaulish herbalist I used when the twins were born. I must say, Attia never impressed me favorably, niece of Caesar though she was." Susannah's voice dropped. "She always seemed a bit common." Plainly this was the worst accusation Susannah could think of.

"Well, I can't say I'm sad to hear that Marcus Antonius was cut out of the expectation." Maria tapped her finger on the stone lintel of the fountain pool for emphasis. "He's nothing but a bully and a drunken womanizer who's far too handsome for his own good."

Arminius smiled. "Did he seduce another of your friends?"

"Yes," she replied. "He did. Worse, actually. Linnea's poor daughter. Linnea's very much is afraid that--" Maria stopped, looked at the avid faces of her children, and blushed.

"Is she going to have a baby, mama?" Luscinea clearly was shocked. "Her husband isn't even in Rome."

"It wouldn't make things any better if he were," replied Maria tartly.

"He's quite old though, isn't he? Over thirty I think." Luscinea's voice was troubled. "Perhaps he can't get a son of his own and will welcome this opportunity to obtain one?"

"Ho! It doesn't work that way," Rutilius objected. "No man wants to have somebody else's brat foisted onto him!"

"That is quite enough!" Susannah sniffed disdainfully. "This subject is not fit for your sister's ears, Rutilius. You and Marcus discuss it later if you must, but not in front of Luscinea."

Arminius suppressed a smile at the annoyance writ large on Maria's face. Susannah's comment patently was aimed at her more than at Rutilius. "Actually," Arminius began pacifically, "there's more. Caesar seems to have adopted Octavius in his will, as well as naming him chief heir. It remains to be seen, however, whether the boy can capitalize on the bequest. He's not in Rome just now but Antonius is."

"Should we leave the City, do you think?" Maria wrinkled her brow worriedly. "If there is to be civil war…" Her voice trailed off suggestively.

"What do you think, Marcus?" Arminius turned to his son. "What advice do you have for your family?"

Marcus opened his eyes wide. "M-me?" Arminius nodded encouragingly. "You took in the news just as I did. How do you assess what you saw and heard?"

"I-I'm not sure what to say," he temporized.

"Take your time, son. We'll wait."

Marcus looked from his father to his mother and back again. "Very well. I think we should stay here for now."

"Why is that?" Maria asked mildly.

"Well, General Lepidus has closed the gates of the city. If we try to leave, it might be taken as an indication of some sort of guilt." Arminius nodded encouragingly. "And there's no indication Antonius wants war." He looked into his mother's troubled eyes. "And nobody knows what has become of the Lady Calpurnia. Perhaps you and Luscinea and Susannah should go to see if she's all right? Maybe you can learn something useful from her."

Maria and Arminius exchanged glances. "These are good points, Marcus." Maria rose from her seat. "And that is an excellent suggestion." She gestured to her daughter. "Come, my dear. Let us change into something suitable for a visit to a house of mourning."

Arminius helped Luscinea to her feet. "The boys and I will go with you, but I don't think we should enter the house."

"No," Maria agreed. "That would not be seemly." She shook her head sadly. "That poor woman lived for Caesar. The gods only know what she'll do now that he's gone."

On that note, the family repaired to their respective chambers to prepare for their visit of condolence.