“Rich and well-born ones at that,” I said.
She surprised me by not denying it. “Such women have the greatest concerns, especially for their husbands and sons. Not all are well-born, though. Some of my clients are freedwomen, especially those whose men are risk-taking merchants and travelers. The well-being of such people is always precarious.”
“Servilia is one of your clients,” I said. “I assume she is concerned for the future of her son, Brutus. Does she want to know if he is to be Caesar’s heir?”
“Senator, you must understand that I cannot discuss the affairs of my clients. It would be unethical.”
I wondered of what the ethics of an astrologer might consist. “Ashthuva, I am here at the behest of the dictator. I am empowered to demand the cooperation of anyone I feel it necessary to question.” As long as they are not too powerful and influential, I failed to add.
“I assure you, Senator, that the dictator Caesar would not wish me to answer that question, nor any other about either himself or the Lady Servilia.” This was accompanied by a gesture of her whole body that put me in mind of several venomous serpents I had encountered in Egypt. This was one gesture, however unfamiliar, the meaning of which was unmistakable: It was pure threat.
I knew when to back off. “I’ll discuss it with him, then.”
“I regret that I can be of so little help to you.”
“Your presence alone is gratifying,” I assured her.
She beamed, all menace gone and the seductiveness back in full force. “And it is a great pleasure to me to meet one of the most interesting men in Rome. I have been hearing about you for some time, and meeting your wife made me even more intrigued with you.”
“The horoscope you cast for Julia predicts a rather dreary future for me,” I said.
“Only at the end. And, Senator, I have foreseen far worse futures than yours.”
Something occurred to me. “Is Queen Cleopatra among your clients?”
“I have met her,” she said, “but not in a professional capacity. I was invited to one of her parties shortly after her arrival in Rome.”
“Invited personally by the queen herself?”
She put her palms together and bowed over them. “I am far too lowly a person to merit the personal attention of a great queen. I attended as the guest of one of my clients, a lady of high position. It seems that, at Queen Cleopatra’s parties, it is customary for invited guests to bring along as many friends as they please. It is expected that such persons should be interesting and amusing.”
“This lady could hardly have chosen a more interesting person,” I assured her.
“You are too kind, Senator.”
“Not at all,” I said, rising, “and now I fear I must tear myself away from you. I have other calls to make.”
She rose, but far more sinuously than I. “Please call again. If you like, I can cast a far more detailed horoscope for you.”
“Please do not,” I urged. “The last thing I want is to know what is going to happen to me. Some forms of ignorance are a blessing, and that is one of them.”
She smiled again. Even her teeth were dazzling, the whitest I had ever seen, beautifully set off by her dark complexion and red-stained lips. “More people should possess your wisdom, though it would ruin my profession.”
Once outside, we walked a few paces from the house, then I stopped. “Wait a bit,” I told Hermes. “I have to get my breathing back to normal.”
“Maybe a plunge in the frigidarium would help,” he said.
“That woman could turn an Egyptian eunuch into a stallion.”
“She could inspire an erection from an Egyptian mummy,” Hermes said. “She may be wealthy from her fortune-telling, but if she ever turns professional whore she’ll be as rich as Cleopatra.”
We started down the hill. “Hermes, I would rather hold a bridge single-handed against an invading army than meddle in an affair as full of dangerous women as this one.”
“It doesn’t help that Caesar is withholding information from you.”
“That is the truth,” I said bitterly, “but then, just about everybody I’ve questioned so far is lying and holding back. Nothing new about that. Cleopatra has me shot in the nose when Servilia’s name comes up; Servilia gives me the viper treatment when I dare to question her about anything. Cassius drops dark hints about obtaining a horoscope for Caesar—” I threw up my hands in disgust. “So far, it seems only Brutus has been straight with me, not that he knows much. Even Callista—” Some fragments of memory clicked together.
“Callista?” Hermes said.