‘No.’ Macro shook his head. ‘You’re not trained for it. You’d probably just give the game away. Besides, I need you close to me, to translate.’

Tincommius looked down and shrugged. ‘As you wish, sir.’

‘Right then, Cato,’ Macro slapped him on the shoulder, ‘back to your men. You know what to do. Just make sure we catch them both sides of the ford. See you later.’

Cato smiled, and then turned to jog down the track towards the ford, while the others climbed back up to their hiding place. Since he had begun to exercise again the pain in his side had become ever more pronounced, and the quick cross-country march of the last two days to intercept the Durotrigans had made it even worse.

Cato splashed down into the shallows at the edge of the ford and waded across the river. He emerged, dripping, on the far bank and ran up the track towards the brow of the low hill that followed the line of the river on each side. In the long grass on the reverse slope the centuries were already formed up in a line parallel to the river, in accordance with his orders.

‘Lie down!’ he shouted in Celtic, and the Atrebatans dropped out of sight into the grass.

‘Bedriacus! On me!’

The wolf’s head standard rose up from the ground, followed moments later by the grinning features of the hunter. He trotted over to the centurion and Cato indicated that they crouch down, before scurrying back up towards the crest of the ridge. As he reached the top, he moved to the side of the track and dropped on to his stomach. Bedriacus got down beside him, carefully laying the standard in the grass. Cato unstrapped his crested helmet and put it to one side as he propped himself up on his elbows and fixed his eyes on the track on the other side of the ford. For a moment his eyes wandered along the treeline where Macro’s cohort was concealed but Cato saw no sign of movement. Everything was set, and the scene looked peaceful enough to allay the suspicions of the Durotrigans when they appeared.

The sun was low in the sky, and already the grass was tinged with a faint orange hue as a light breeze stirred the slender blades of green. There would be plenty of daylight for a few hours yet, and the Durotrigans would be wiped out long before they could escape under cover of darkness.