“I can take the normal work of the shop, but the brooches on order will have to be put off. Mind you”—he rubbed his chin thoughtfully—“it might raise the price of the ones you’ve finished, which couldn’t hurt. We’ll have to hire bigger premises and a much larger forge. Let’s see . . .” He took another slate from the shelf and together the two of them wrote and talked in low voices for a long time while Julius watched in exasperation. Finally they reached agreement and Alexandria turned back to him, the gold in her hair still bright against her skin.

“I’ll take the work. The price will depend on how many failures we have to recast. I’ll have to discuss which scenes you want when you have a couple of hours free.”

“You know where I am,” he said. “You can always come out there if you need to see me.”

Alexandria fiddled idly with her stylus, suddenly uncomfortable. “I’d prefer it if you came to me,” she said, unwilling to explain how the old estate had tested her strength the last time she’d passed through the gate. Julius understood what she didn’t say.

“I’ll do that. I might even bring that boy in when I come. Tubruk says he’s always talking of you and, er . . . Tabbic.”

“You must. We both miss him around here. His mother goes when she can, but it must be hard on him to be away from her,” she replied.

“He’s a terror around the estate. Tubruk caught him riding my horse in the fields a few days ago.”

“He didn’t beat him?” Alexandria asked too quickly.

Julius shook his head, smiling. “He wouldn’t. Luckily Renius didn’t find the boy, though how he could thrash him with only one hand, I don’t know. Tell his mother not to worry about him. He’s my blood, I’ll look after him.”

“He never had a father, Julius. A boy needs one more than a girl.”

Julius hesitated, not wanting the responsibility. “Between Renius and Tubruk, I daresay he’ll grow straight.”

“They are not his blood, Julius,” she replied, holding his gaze until he looked away.

“All right! I’ll keep him with me, though I haven’t had a moment’s peace since coming back to the city. I’ll look after him.”

She grinned impishly at him. “‘There is no greater exercise to a man’s talents than the upbringing of his son,’ ” she quoted.

Julius sighed. “My father used to say that,” he said.

“I know. And he was right. There’s no future for that boy running on the streets of this city. None at all. Where would Brutus be if your family hadn’t taken him in?”

“I have agreed, Alexandria. You don’t need to beat it to death.”