Have Albina talk to Martina.

Still frowning, you nod to Albina. "Very well. Go speak with Martina. If you find anything out from her - if there's something she knows or is holding back - come speak to me at once."

Albina nods. "Of course, Gaius. I'll be back as soon as possible."

You return to the yard of the villa while Albina goes to speak to the ****. You pace anxiously for several minutes before finally sitting on a bench to await her return. Nearly half an hour later, Albina finally comes into view, one arm around a **** woman. The enslaved woman - Martina, you surmise - is a petite, slender woman about your age with shoulder-length chestnut hair. She barely comes up to your collarbone when you stand, and she seems even smaller because her head is bowed and she's got her shoulders hunched up in misery. Albina pulls her gently over to you.

"Martina, this is your dominus, Lord Gaius," she says gently. "Gaius, this is Martina. She's been on the estate for a couple of years now. She tells me that a couple of months ago, after a raid by the bandits, she was visited when she was out in the field by a man. At first she was afraid, but then she realized the man didn't want to harm her - he was merely, well, desirous of her." She glances at Martina who nods, dumbly. "They started an affair and she learned that the man was named Brutus, a lieutenant of the She-Wolf. They've seen each other numerous times since, and though he always comes to visit her, they use a password so that they can recognize each other when they meet on a dark night. He let slip once that it's the same password the bandits use to tell each other they're returning to their lair. Martina?"

The woman raises her tear stained face enough to speak to you, though she still doesn't meet your eyes. "The ch-challenge is, 'What are you bringing to the market?' dominus. And the answer is, 'A basket of rotten figs.'" She meets your eyes finally, her own pleading eyes large and filled with tears. "Please, dominus. I'm sorry that I dallied with Brutus - at first I didn't know who he was, and then he meant too much to me. He's not a bad man at all, though he's mixed up in bad business..."

Your head is spinning. {if Neighbors Complete = True}This must surely be the man that Artorius told you about - now you know why he's wandering the countryside alone sometimes. {endif}As you take in the information, growing slowly angry at Martina for the danger she's put you and the entire villa in, Albina takes her arm.

"I have no doubt you're angry, and she certainly did something very foolish," she whispers to you. "But you can't really blame her, Gaius...she's in love with the man, clearly. I urge you to let it pass."