“I can swim. The water was rough, but I’d probably have been fine. Maecenas would have put the ship to, which would have wasted time, but we’re not in a life or death race.”

I was even more glad I hadn’t flown down off the mast and perhaps killed myself when she wasn’t in real danger.

“But my head might have hit the deck, or a rock,” she went on. “You can’t help thinking about that kind of thing. I’m glad the rope was there and I caught it.”

“Oh yes,” I said, wholeheartedly. Just then I caught sight of something over her shoulder, on the shore. “What’s that?”

It was a city, a proper city. We sailed closer and anchored near it, and a small shore group was sent in. It was a real city, which seemed homelike after the places we had seen. It had columns and broad streets and it was clean. There was even a colosseum, which we didn’t have at home, though of course I recognized it from paintings. There was an unpainted marble statue on the wharf, a goddess with a baby on her knee. The style was familiar, although of course I hadn’t seen that particular statue before. It made me feel welcome after the strange decorated heads on Paros and Mykonos. There hadn’t been any statues that I’d seen on Delos, only immense columns and future ghosts.

“Auge,” Maia said, coming up to us at the rail. I turned to her questioningly.

“Auge must have carved that,” she said. “I recognize her style.”

“I suppose that means that this is definitely the Goodness Group.” We were quite close to the statue, which was bigger than life-size so I could see it well. The goddess was looking down at the baby, who was looking out at us, with his hand stretched toward us.

Maia nodded. Erinna was also looking at the statue. “Who is she?” she asked.

“Auge was one of the Children,” Maia said. “She left with Kebes.”

“I meant, which goddess,” Erinna said.

“Hera—” Maia said, with much less certainty. “No, Demeter, or perhaps—”

I looked questioningly at Maia. Her voice sounded strange.

“Aphrodite with baby Eros?” Erinna suggested. “But he doesn’t have any wings.”

“Surely Kebes wouldn’t…? Where’s Ficino?” Maia turned to me. “Can you see if you can find him?”

Erinna and I went to look for him. He was asleep in a hammock, looking so old and tired that I hesitated to wake him. Erinna clapped her hands softly, and he woke at once, instantly alert. “What is it?” he asked.

“We’re at a city that might be the Goodness Group city, and Maia wanted you to look at a mysterious statue,” Erinna said.