they stretched out side by side on two benches to be massaged with sweet oils.
“How are beautiful women your business, sir?” Cailin asked.
The two bath attendants giggled.
“This is Villa Maxima, Cailin,” Jovian explained. “It is the most elegant brothel in all of Constantinople. We serve both ladies and gentlemen seeking entertainment of a more exotic, exciting kind.”
“What is a brothel?” she asked him, annoyed to hear the two girls’ renewed amusement. They sounded so smug.
Jovian raised his head up in surprise and looked at Cailin, who lay comfortably next to him, enjoying her massage. “You do not know what a brothel is?” he said, amazed.
“I should not have asked you if I knew, sir,” Cailin replied.
“You say you come from Corinium,” he began, but she interrupted.
“My branch of the Drusus Corinium family came to Corinium in the time of the emperor Claudius,” Cailin told him, “but I was raised away from the town. I only visited it three times in my whole life, the last time being when I was six years of age. I am the only daughter of a good patrician family. I do not know what a brothel is. Should I?”
“Oh, dear,” Jovian said, almost to himself. “Finish your massage, Cailin, and then I will explain to you what you need to know.” Then he glared in an unusual show of irritation at the giggling bath attendants, who immediately fell silent. It was rare for Master Jovian to grow angry, but when he did, it was highly unpleasant.
When the bath attendants had finsihed their work, they escorted their charges into a warm dressing room, where Jovian donned a fresh dalmatica, this one of sky-blue silk. A fresh white silk tunica, belted with a gold cord, was supplied for Cailin.
“Come, my dear,” he said, taking her hand in his. “We will have honey cakes and wine in my private garden, and I will tell you everything you need to know.”
The garden was exquisite, small and surrounded by a wall covered in ivy. A little marble fountain was in its center, shaped like a shell, from which water dripped into a rounded basin. There were half a dozen damask rose bushes already coming into bloom, perfuming the air with their luxurious sweetness.
“Come, and sit by me,” Jovian said, settling himself upon a marble bench. “Ahh, the wine has been iced. Excellent!” he said with a smile at the slave serving them. “Now, Cailin, to answer your question. A brothel is a place where women sell their bodies for the amusement of men. You do understand what I mean by that, don’t you?”
She nodded, her eyes wide, and he noted their marvelous violet color. “I have never heard of such a thing,” she answered him. “I know that men lie with women other than their wives, but I never knew women got paid for such things.”
“Oh, there is nothing unusual in it,” he replied. “It is done all the time, and has been done since the beginning of time. There are, however, varying degrees of such an arrangement. Some women sell themselves in the streets. They are called whores, or prostitutes. They couple with their customers up against walls and in alleys. They cannot be discerning about the men with whom they involve themselves, either. Consequently they end up diseased, and often dead at an early age, which is probably a blessing. It is not easy being a woman of the streets. They can fall prey to a single man who steers other men their way, but takes most of their pitiful earnings for himself. It is a hard life.
“Women in brothels are usually better off, although there are different sorts of brothels. Those serving the lower classes tend to treat their women little better than those poor souls plying their trade in the streets of the city. These brothels exist because there is always an unending supply of poor girls willing to take their chances making their fortunes within their walls, but alas, few, if any, do escape to live to a grand old age in comfort.”
“Why do they do it, then?” Cailin asked him.
“Because they have no other choice,” he told her frankly. “Villa Maxima, however, is not like most other brothels. We cherish our women, and pamper them in luxury. They are not common whores, but courtesans, highly trained, and skilled in giving the men who come to patronize them the utmost in pleasure. We also have handsome young male courtesans who are much in demand among