Parmenion glared back at him and then smiled.’Sorry. It’s just that I’ve served here too long.And it’s always been the same.’ He gestured towards the village. ‘It’s a wonder they stick it. Anywhere else the people would be in open rebellion by now.’

‘They are,’ Cato replied.’I thought that was why we’re out here. To deal with Bannus.’

Parmenion pursed his lips.’Bannus? He’s just the latest in a long line of bandits. Soon as they get a large enough following they claim to be the mashiah, here to deliver the people of Judaea from our clutches.’ He laughed. ‘I’ve yet to see one who wasn’t the mashiah. And still they come . . . I tell you, I’m sick of it all. I hate this place. I hate these people and their poverty and I hate what it does to them. I’m counting the days to my discharge.Then I can leave this hole for good.’

‘Where will you go?’

‘As far from here as I can. Somewhere with good soil, and water, where a man can grow crops without breaking his back. I hear Britain’s the place to take up a land grant these days.’

Cato laughed. ‘I’m not so sure about that.’

‘You’ve been there?’

‘Yes. Two years in the Second Legion, with Macro.’

‘What’s it like?’

Cato thought for a moment. ‘In most ways it’s as different from Judaea as you can get. A good spot for that farm of yours, Parmenion, but the people are just as unwelcoming. They’ll not bend to our ways very soon, I imagine. It’s funny, here I am at the other end of the empire and it seems we’re making the same old mistakes.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘These Judaeans. They have a religion that will not bend, will not compromise. And one Roman procurator after another is doomed to resort to force to make sure the Judaeans accept Roman rule on our terms. It’s the same story in Britain, with the druids. As long as they hold to the old ways and we insist on the new, then there’s little chance of long-term peace in either province. Not a rosy outlook on both fronts, I’m afraid.’

‘You may be right.’ Parmenion shrugged his shoulders wearily. ‘Seems that the people who run the Empire are never going to learn. Anyway,’ he glanced up at the nearest houses, ‘here we are. Better get on with it.’