Since we were not a literary circle, I kept to myself the delicious coincidence that Caecuban was Horace’s tipple of choice. Perhaps his scary witches came into being after he had swigged a chalice. Or several.

‘Absolutely ready to drink,’ Galla agreed, quaffing as if it were a religious duty. Apparently, when new, the wine had been a wedding present from her father-in-law. Maybe he read poetry. She admitted a quiet feeling of satisfaction that she was doing Valerius Aviola out of his cherished, laid-up treasure, when he had thought that by divorcing her he kept it from her. Fauna took that as a good reason to have more. Even Graecina smiled.

‘So did Myla do it?’ I wondered again.

‘No, Albia. She did not.’ Fauna seemed to have appointed herself the judge in our case. She was well able to hand out opinions while pouring at the same time. Hardly a wobble. Well, hardly any spilled. ‘That night the robbers came, she was three days from giving birth. I know there are plenty of people, men that is, who will say that pregnant women can get wild and out of control, but poor old Myla always swelled up as big as you can get so she was helpless. By the time she could have manoeuvred herself into position to strangle anybody—’

‘Two people at that,’ I reminded her.

‘Yes, and if there was a tussle, the row would have brought other people running and she would have been dragged off.’

‘You are right, my dear.’ I thought Fauna’s reasoning was good, though I wished she would calm down a little. Listening to her was a strain. I was preoccupied, trying to work out what I thought myself. (This was a reason why I did work alone; other people’s ideas were generally a pointless hindrance.) ‘I really doubt she attacked Aviola and Mucia – not even if she knew they were in bed making love, which had been her role. Nor can I see her picking up a plank of wood and battering the door porter.’

‘I’ve never seen the lazy slug pick up anything,’ scoffed Galla.

‘Quite. Polycarpus, poor man, is harder to rule out, because she had given birth by then, so she would have been more active physically. She may also have had a motive, if she blamed him for sending her to the slave market.’

Graecina roused herself. ‘He had no choice; the master ordered him.’

‘Was that the cause of your spat with Myla today?’ I asked, bringing her into the discussion now she seemed willing.

‘I knew she was difficult, so I wanted to avoid the subject. But she jumped out at me, demanding answers, because someone had at last convinced her she was now going to be sold.’