“You remember then?” The way Rufus looks at her seems so guileless. She remembers how he used to charm her like that, how his innocence touched her, how he appeared so different from other men. The thought of what he is really like makes her sad rather than angry. After all, she is not his little bird either.

“I remember,” she says, meeting his eyes and smiling.

“Drusilla and Quintus were just over there.” He gestures at the best table in the corner, where some other wealthy young man and his courtesan are now seated under a fresco of Venus. “A bit much, the way she went off with that wine merchant or whoever he is. Did you know he’s a freedman? His former master adopted him as his heir, but he swans around referring to the man as his father.”

“I think he loves her though.” Amara knows this is a delicate topic, given Rufus’s friendship with Quintus and her own with Drusilla.

“I doubt that.” Rufus laughs. “I suppose she’s told you all about him. How rich he is. Dropping jewels in her lap. Poor Quintus.”

Amara feels oddly offended by his mockery, even though it is directed at Drusilla not her. “I think she truly loves him. She says he’s very kind.”

“You can be such an innocent sometimes.” Rufus looks at her indulgently. “It’s why I liked you. That first evening you came to my house, after the theater, you were so terrified.”

“I wasn’t terrified,” Amara says, annoyed by his inability to remember. “I was angry.”

“I know I’m an idiot,” Rufus replies, with the easy self-deprecation she used to like so much, but which now rings false. “But even I know when a girl is frightened. You were bluffing. And that absurd ultimatum you gave me! About winning your heart first. It was both the most outrageous and most adorable thing a woman has ever said to me.”

Amara knows he is not thinking of declarations made by respectable women of his own class, still less, the young girls he might marry one day. It’s the most adorable thing a whore has ever said to him. Rufus sees her expression and sighs. “There’s no need to sulk. I was paying you a compliment! Anyone would think you’re still a doctor’s daughter when you get huffy like that.”

Amara cares so little for Rufus now it amazes her that he has any ability to hurt her. “I will always be a doctor’s daughter,” she says quietly.

Rufus flushes, and she knows he is embarrassed. “I’m sorry, that was uncalled for. Forgive me.”