"Society gossip?" I scanned the items. "A's son engaged to B's daughter… C plays host to D at his country villa… E shares her famous family recipe for egg custard dating back to the days when Romulus suckled the she-wolf." I grunted. "All very interesting, but I don't see-"

Lucius leaned forward and tapped at the scroll. "Read that part.

Aloud."

" 'The bookworm pokes his head outside tomorrow.

Easy prey for the sparrow, but partridges go hungry.

Bright-eyed Sappho says: Be suspicious!

A dagger strikes faster than lightning.

Better yet: an arrow.

Let Venus conquer all!'"

Lucius sat back and crossed his fleshy arms. "What do you make of it?"

"I believe it's called a blind item; a bit of gossip conveyed in code. No proper names, only clues that are meaningless to the uninitiated. Given the mention of Venus, I imagine this particular item is about some illicit love affair. I doubt I'd know the names involved even if they were clearly spelled out. You'd be more likely than I to know what all this means, Lucius."

"Indeed. I'm afraid I do know, at least in part. That's why I called you here today, Gordianus. I have a dear friend who needs your help."

I raised an eyebrow. Lucius's rich and powerful connections had yielded me lucrative work before; they had also put me in great dan-ger. "What friend would that be, Lucius?"

He raised a finger. The slaves around us silently withdrew into the house. "Discretion, Gordianus. Discretion! Read the item again."

"The bookworm-'"

"And whom did I call a bookworm only a moment ago?" I blinked. "Decimus Brutus, the consul." Lucius nodded. "Read on."

" 'The bookworm pokes his head outside tomorrow…'" "Deci will venture to the Circus Maximus tomorrow, to watch the races from the consular box." " 'Easy prey for the sparrow…"'