‘Because I did something wrong,’ answered Silvius. ‘I deserted my post. And I directly disobeyed Aeneas.’

‘I don’t think people should get whipped at all, ever,’ said Brutus, thoughtfully, pulling his thumb out of his mouth with a pop. ‘I’ll tell Father what I think!’

‘Hush, Brutus. You’re only a little child who’s not lost his first milk tooth yet.’

Brutus pouted, and then started pretending to be a wolf, howling with such a tiny noise that Silvius could not help but laugh.

Lavinia shushed his little brother, then carefully put a clean tunic on over Silvius’s thin white torso and gave him a wooden beaker of refreshing water from the well to drink, which she’d drawn herself.

She waited till he had finished, then said, ‘Well, you have borne your punishment with courage. But go now. Your father wants to speak to you.’

Aeneas was in the inner chamber of the house, a windowless room with only a small fire in the hearth to give light. There, in a recess, were the little carved wooden statues of the ancestors and the household gods that Aeneas had saved from his palace in Troy and brought over the seas to Italia.

He was kneeling before them. He didn’t hear Silvius approaching.

‘… for my sons, for my people, for their safety and their honour.’

Silvius only caught the last part, and then stood in silence. It was only when Silvius had been there for some time, and shifted his weight, that Aeneas looked up, his brow furrowed, his greying gingery hair seeming sparse, his cheeks hollow and wrinkling.

‘I wonder …’ said Aeneas, quietly; he seemed about to say something, and then he changed his mind. ‘Do you know why I brought you in here?’

Silvius looked around. He could see only the statues of the gods. There was nothing else there.

‘To remind me of my duty to my family,’ said Silvius, humbly.

Aeneas nodded, slowly. He shifted himself upright, still strong.

‘Always remember, Silvius.’ He caught his son’s arm, and Silvius saw the depths of sadness in his father’s eyes. ‘Always remember what the Achaeans did to us. They tore us from our lands, ruined our city, made us homeless. Troy was ancient and powerful. And yet they took everything from us, and now we are here, in this strange, barbarian land …’ He faltered. ‘Troy …’ he whispered, and let Silvius go, and, without looking back, he strode away.

Silvius went out into the town. He saw Elissa running around the forum, playing with a wolf cub. She beckoned to him, her dark face dancing with glee.

He did not want to talk to her now. His father’s words were echoing around his mind. Elissa did not know what it meant to have that burden. She would not understand. He shook his head, and trudged on, leaving her looking puzzled, stroking the top of the cub’s head.