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 certain wealthy women of the city and the court. There are men among our clients who enjoy—indeed they prefer—the company of other men, and women who would rather have a woman for a lover. We cater to every taste.”
“It is all very strange to me,” Cailin told him.
He nodded. “Yes, I imagine it would be, considering your former life in Britain. I know it will be difficult for you, but you will adjust to this new life if your mind is open. Are you perchance a Christian?”
Cailin shook her head. “No. Are you?”
He chuckled. “It is now the official religion of the empire,” he said. “Like a good citizen, I obey the emperor in all things.”
Cailin laughed for the first time in many months. “What a prevaricator you are, sir. I fear I do not believe you.”
Jovian shrugged. “I do what I must to avoid difficulty,” he said. “This new church fights among itself as to what is correct and proper doctrine, and what is not. When they have settled it among themselves, perhaps I shall find my faith. Until then.…”
“You will give lip service to it,” she told him. “I know very little about the Christians, sir. I think, however, that I prefer my own gods: Danu, the mother, and Lugh, our father. They are represented by the earth and the sun. Then there is Macha, Epona, Sulis, Cernunnos, Dagda, Taranis, and my favorite, Nodens, the Goddess of the Forest. My mother particularly loved Nodens. The Christians, I am told, have but one god. It seems a poor religion to me that only has one god.”
“You should learn about it, as you are to live in Constantinople,” Jovian told her. “I will have a priest tutor you in the intricacies of the religion. We have several rather important clerics as clients.”
“Am I to be a courtesan, then, sir?” Cailin asked him.
“Not immediately, my dear. You lack training, for one thing, and for another, I must be certain you are disease-free. The women who live in this house are healthy. I do not allow them to consort with men who are not. Some brothel owners are penurious when it comes to the health of their women. My brother and I are not. For a single solidus a good Greek physician can be purchased in the market. We own one who lives here and oversees to the health of all the residents of Villa Maxima.”
“Then once he has decided that I am healthy,” Cailin said, “you will have me trained to be a courtesan.”
“Eventually,” he answered. “Does it disturb you to know that you will be expected to entertain a variety of lovers, my dear?”
Cailin considered his words. In another time and another place, the mere thought of such a thing would have horrified her beyond anything, but this was not Britain. She was so far from home she could not even ascertain the distance. Her husband probably did believe her dead. Mayhap he had already taken another wife. Wulf. For a moment she saw his strong, handsome face before her, and tears sprang to her eyes. She quickly blinked them away. It would not be easy at first to take another man between her thighs, but she supposed in time she would grow used to it. “What future have I beyond my youth?” she asked Jovian.
For a moment surprise suffused his features, and then he said in admiring tones, “How wise you are, my dear, to consider the future. So many of them do not. They think they will be young and desirable forever. Of course, that is not the case. Well, I will tell you what that future can hold for you if you will trust me. Learn your lessons well, Cailin, and you will, I promise, attract the best lovers Constantinople has to offer to your bed.
“Learn more than just the sensuous arts, my dear. Many do not realize that to be truly fascinating a woman must be a clever and a knowledgeable conversationalist as well as a desirable female. Lovers will shower such a woman with expensive gifts, gold, jewelry, and other valuables. Eventually you will be able to purchase your freedom.
“At the beginning of each year we put a value upon each woman in our house. If during that year she decides she wishes to buy her freedom, there is no argument over price, for it is already set. Today I purchased you for four folles, but your value is already more now that your beauty is visible to all. You are worth at least ten solidi.”
“How many folles is that, sir?” Cailin queried him.
“There are one hundred and eighty copper folles to each gold solidus. Eighteen hundred copper folles equals ten gold solidi, my dear,” he said with a grin. “I am almost tempted to take you back now to that foolish slave merchant who allowed you to go so cheaply for want of a little water. No, I cannot. He will howl, and cry he’s been cheated, despite the fact that I warned him. They are all alike, those people.” He stood up. “Come, we will go and show my brother Phocas that I have not lost my ability to see a perfect gem beneath the mud in the road. Isis,” he called to an attending slave. “You will accompany us.” Then he turned back to Cailin. “You will address gentlemen who enter this house as ‘my lord.’ My brother, and myself, as well. ‘Sir’ is such a provincial mode of address, dear girl.”
“Yes, my lord,” Cailin answered him, following Jovian through the house to where Phocas sat awaiting them. When she was disrobed the elder of the Maxima brothers expressed his surprise at and his approval of her newly restored appearance. She stood silent as they spoke, until finally her garment was restored to her.
“Isis,” her new master instructed the slave girl, “take Cailin to the quarters I have ordered prepared for her.” When the two women had departed, Jovian turned to his brother, an excited look upon his face. “I have the most marvelous plans for that girl,” he said. “She is going to make us a fortune, Phocas, and our old age will be secure!”