Julius frowned at Clodia in response, knowing as Tubruk had that making Cornelia part of the secret would only increase her risk. Tubruk followed him in and shared a glance with the old nurse, nodding his head a fraction to confirm what she had guessed. Julius spoke urgently, relieved to find her safe. The run home had been an agony for him as he tormented himself with images of assassins creeping through the house to hurt her.

“I think you could be in danger from the friends of Sulla. Pompey lost his daughter and he was close to Marius. I should have thought of it before! It could be that those who seek to avenge the Dictator are striking at his enemies even now, hoping to catch the real assassin in their nets. I will have to send for some of Primigenia to guard you here and get messengers to Crassus. He could be another target. Gods, and Brutus even! Though he’s well protected, at least.”

He paced around the room, his bare chest still heaving from the sprint home.

“I will have to use guile against them, but I cannot leave those men alive. One way or another, I will have to break the back of their alliance in Sulla’s name. We cannot live expecting the assassin’s knife.” He turned suddenly and pointed at the estate manager, standing bathed in sweat by the door.

“Tubruk, I want you to keep my family safe until this is over. If I have to be in Rome, I need someone I can trust to look after my family here.”

The older man straightened with dignity. He would not mention the wild threats Julius had made on the run, but trying to guess the way Julius’s constantly spinning mind would change next was beyond him.

“You want me here?” he said, the words carrying a meaning that made Julius stop his pacing.

“Yes. I was wrong. My mother needs you. I need you more than ever. Who else can I trust?”

Tubruk nodded his understanding, knowing the conversation on the hill would not be mentioned again. The young man who paced like a leopard was not one to dwell on the mistakes of the past.

“Who is the threat?” Cornelia asked, holding her head high against the fear that had swelled in her.

“Cato leads them, with his followers. Antonidus perhaps. Even Suetonius’s father may be part of it. They will be behind it, or know of it,” Julius replied. Cornelia shuddered at the name of the general she remembered. Her husband swore as a thought struck him.

“I should have killed Sulla’s dog when I had the chance. He was just a few feet from me outside Marius’s gate. If he had a hand in the murder of Pompey’s daughter, he is more of a danger than I realized. Gods, I have been blind!”