‘What if the Liberators have other men watching you?’

‘We doubled back and stopped a few times to check. We’re safe.’

‘Safe?’ Narcissus laughed humourlessly. ‘No one is safe at the moment. Not you, not me, and not the Emperor.’

Macro cocked his head to one side. ‘Somehow, I think vulnerability is more of an issue for those further up the chain of command.’

Narcissus stared at him. ‘If you really think that, then you are a fool, Centurion Macro. Your fate is tied to mine. If our enemies win the day, do you really think they will be satisfied by removing just the Emperor and his immediate circle? Look what happened when Sejanus fell. The streets were running with the blood of anyone who was even remotely associated with him. So spare me your delight in the greater misfortune of others.’ He paused, as a thought struck him. ‘There really ought to be a word for that quality since so many people seem to relish the misfortune of others.’

Cato cleared his throat. ‘You sent for us for a reason.’

‘I did. What did you make of the Emperor’s announcement?’

‘About the games? Or about the improvement of the supply of grain?’

Narcissus smiled. ‘Both.’

‘I don’t see how he can possibly stage his naval spectacle. Where is he going to get so many gladiators from? I doubt there are ten thousand in the whole of Italia.’

‘There aren’t. Calling them gladiators is stretching a point. Some of them will be. But the rest will be criminals and the scrapings of the chain gangs from the mines and imperial estates. As long as the people get a spectacle they’ll remember for as long as they live then they won’t pay too much attention to the quality of the individual combats. We’ll dress them up and place a weapon in their hands and let them get on with it, with freedom for the winners. That should provide sufficient incentive to get stuck in.’

‘What about the ships?’ asked Macro. ‘How are you going to get warships up to the lake?’

‘The engineers’ barges are going to be made to look like biremes. How many people in Rome do you think can tell one end of a boat from another? It’s all about appearances, Macro.’

‘Not all,’ said Cato. ‘A spectacle does not feed its audience. What of the grain the Emperor mentioned? Where’s that coming from?’

‘That we don’t yet know exactly,’ Narcissus admitted. ‘Septimus, you’d better fill them in.’