Starling (37 page)

Flavia tucked a black ringlet behind her ear. “So instead I should
speak of poetry, as Octavia mentioned?”
“Poetry, or song, or perhaps an amusing story. Do you know any
amusing stories?”
Flavia started telling a story about a farmer, his daughter, and the
several men who came to call on her.
Cass struggled not to cover her ears as the vulgar ending approached. “Maybe something a bit less colorful,” she suggested. “Do
you know
The Odyssey
? Or
The Iliad
? Men like stories about great
journeys and battles.”
“I’ve heard of these books,” Flavia said. “But they are many pages
long, and to read them would take me weeks.”
Cass smiled. “You don’t have to read them all. Let’s see if Octavia
has a copy of either in her library. I can tell you the story, and then
I’ll mark a few passages for you to remember.”
After they finished eating, Flavia led the way to the library where
Cass found a printed copy of Homer’s
Odyssey.
Cass handed her the
book, and Flavia flounced down in a chair by the window.
“I think this might be the largest book I’ve ever held,” she said. “It
weighs as much as a full-grown chicken.”
“Read the beginning aloud to me,” Cass said.
Flavia licked her finger and turned past the title page. She struggled through the first few paragraphs, stumbling occasionally over an
unfamiliar word. Cass helped her along, and after Flavia had read
the first couple of pages, Cass instructed the courtesan to set the
book down on her lap.
Then she told Flavia about Odysseus and his journeys, about how
the entire time he was away, his wife, Penelope, fought off suitors and
waited faithfully for him to return. “Men like to hear stories like
that,” Cass said, even though she had no idea if it was true. “They
like to think of their women as sitting dutifully by the fire embroidering while they’re out journeying to Palazzo Dolce to visit you.”
Flavia giggled, her brown eyes lighting up. “And is he faithful to
her, as well?”
“Not exactly,” Cass said. “Though he never stopped loving her.”
She scooped the book from Flavia’s lap and skimmed through the
pages, folding back an occasional corner to mark the more exciting
passages. When she finished, she handed the book back to Flavia
and turned her attention to the shelves around them. “Let’s see what
else is in this library.”
Cass went from shelf to shelf, inhaling the scent of ink and parchment. Her fingers stroked the spines as she passed up stories that
were either too dark or too complicated for Flavia. It was difficult to
choose a book for someone else. Who could say what sort of characters or story would speak intimately to another person? Finally, Cass
selected the first quarto of
Romeo and Juliet
and a recent book of
essays by Michel de Montaigne. “These are both favorites of mine
you might try.”
Flavia gathered all three of the books on her lap. Cass was just
about to tell her the story of Romeo and Juliet when Octavia breezed
into the library.
“Capricia, lovely,” she started. “Just the girl I was looking for.”
“Yes?” Cass said.
“I would like to speak to you about the event tomorrow.”
Flavia perked up from beneath the stack of books. “The
Domacetti party, Signorina Octavia?” she asked. “Is Capricia going?