Cato nodded. ‘And even if we could, I doubt very much whether the word of Caratacus would be enough to sway the hearts of the Silurians who follow him. After all the fine work that you have been doing in the valleys that surround Bruccium, they will be thirsting for revenge on you, your men, and the rest of us here in the fort. Whatever their commander says, they will not be satisfied unless every last Roman soldier is dead.’

‘What goes round, comes round,’ said Macro. He raised his cup to Quertus. ‘A fine mess you’ve dropped us into, my friend.’

The Thracian scowled and one of his officers made to stand, his hand reaching for his sword until Quertus swept out an arm and thrust him back on to the bench. There was a brief, tense silence before Centurion Severus spoke up.

‘What if we offered them Quertus, on the understanding the rest of us are permitted to leave the valley?’

Quertus glared at the legionary officer. ‘Coward.’

Severus shook his head and answered angrily, ‘It’s because of you, playing the barbarian, that we’re in this bloody situation. It’s you the enemy want. Like Macro says, you’re to blame and now you can reap what you sow.’

Macro turned to him. ‘Now hang on, Severus. I was joking. There’s no way we’re handing one of our own over to those Silurian dogs to tear apart. Not even him.’

Severus glanced round at the others, and then fixed his gaze on Cato. ‘Why should we give our lives for him, sir?’

‘Because we are Roman officers. If you sacrifice Quertus to the enemy, then that will be a stain on your honour that will never fade. And not just you. It would be a stain on the honour of the legion, forever. I will not let that happen. In any case, I have made my decision. We defend the fort. That is our duty. It also happens to be our only chance of survival, Centurion Severus.’

The legionary officer opened his mouth to protest and then saw the cold expression on his commander’s face and the mixed looks of contempt and anger on the faces of the other men and slumped back against the wall. ‘Then we’re all dead men,’ he muttered despairingly.

‘Not yet,’ said Cato. ‘First, Caratacus and his warriors have to get into the fort. It’s our job to see that we keep them out. Bruccium is finely positioned. There’s only one front they can attack us on easily and even though they greatly outnumber us, they’ll not be able to throw their full weight at us at any one time. As long as we have enough men to fully man the gate and the wall on either side, we can hold the fort.’

‘And how long do you think we can do that for, sir?’