From Amanda Mabillard,
Your Guide to Shakespeare.
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Act 2, Scene 1

Brutus, unable to sleep, walks through his orchard awaiting dawn. He replays his conversations with Cassius in his mind, divided between his love for Caesar the man and his fear that Caesar's unlimited power will destroy the Republic. Brutus orders his servant Lucius to light a taper in his office and, when Lucius returns he brings the false petition that Cinna has planted. Brutus reads the letter and, just as Cassius had hoped, it arouses Brutus' passions. The conspirators arrive at Brutus' house and Lucius leads them to the orchard. Not knowing if Brutus has decided to join them, the group exchanges pleasantries until Cassius takes Brutus aside. When the two rejoin the group, Brutus asks for the hands of the conspirators as he agrees to lead them in the assassination plot. As they begin to plan the murder, Brutus insists that they do not harm Antony:

Our course will seem too bloody, Caius Cassius,
To cut the head off and then hack the limbs,
Like wrath in death and envy afterwards;
For Antony is but a limb of Caesar:
Let us be sacrificers, but not butchers, Caius. (162-6)

Dawn is breaking, and the conspirators must depart. Before they leave Decius offers to ensure that Caesar will be in the Capitol the next day, the fifteenth of March. They will commit the murder by the eighth hour. Just as the men leave, Brutus' wife Portia comes to find her husband. She is perplexed by Brutus' strange behavior of late and begs him "Make me acquainted with your grief" (256). Brutus hears a knock at the door and promises Portia he will reveal the cause of his grief later. He delicately orders her to hurry back to bed. Lucius enters with Ligarius, another conspirator. Ligarius tells Brutus that he will do anything Brutus asks, and they leave together to commit the act that "will make sick men whole" (327).

Act 2, Scene 2

Like Portia, Calpurnia has trouble sleeping. She has heard of the beasts roaming the Capitol and other strange occurrences, and begs him not to go to the Capitol. After much reluctance Caesar agrees to stay home, but just as he does so, Decius arrives to escort Caesar to the senate-house. When Caesar informs Decius that he will not go because of Calpurnia's request, Decius chides him for yielding to his wife's whims. Decius adds that the senate has concluded that they will today give Caesar a crown, and Caesar gives into vanity, agreeing to accompany Decius to the Capitol.

Act 2, Scene 3

Meanwhile, on a street near the Capitol, a scholar named Artemidorus has discovered the plot to murder Caesar and has written the names of the conspirators on a paper which he plans to hand to Caesar as he passes by.

Act 2, Scene 4

Portia is standing on the street outside her house, frantically worried about Brutus. She orders Lucius to the senate-house to report on Brutus. Portia sees the soothsayer. He tells her that he has come to once again warn Caesar. He leaves to take his position along the procession route and Portia, weak with worry and fear, goes back inside.