‘We already know. A rider came to the village this morning. We are to offer his men every assistance they require, or we will be deemed to be collaborators and treated accordingly.’

Cato stared at her. ‘What will you do?’

‘I don’t know.’ She shook her head sadly. ‘If we resist Bannus he will destroy us. If we go along with him, then you Romans will treat us as his accomplices.Where is the middle path, Cato?’

‘I don’t know. I don’t even know if there is one. I came here to offer you and your people shelter in our fort.’

Miriam smiled. ‘A kind offer, I’m sure. Tell me, what are your chances of surviving this attack by Bannus?’

‘I won’t lie to you, Miriam. We’re outnumbered, and there will be no outside help. We may well be overrun.’

‘In which case it would be as well for my people not to be discovered sheltering in your fort.’

‘I agree. If we are overrun. But if you stay here, you will surely fall foul of one side or another.’

Miriam looked down at her hands. ‘We came here to escape such conflicts. All we wanted was peace and a chance to live our lives as we wish.Yet it seems that there is no escape from the conflicts that afflict men. They will carry them even here, into the wilderness. Look about you, Centurion. What is there here that is worth having? What is there here to excite a man’s avarice? Nothing.That is why my people settled in this forsaken place. We removed ourselves from any land a man could covet. We disowned any possessions that might inspire envy or desire in others.We are all that we are, and nothing more.Yet still we are blighted by the attentions of others. Even though we mean them no harm, they would destroy us.’ She reached a hand up and clutched it to her chest. ‘That was the fate of my son. I will not let that be the fate of my grandson. Yusef is all that I have left now. That, and the fading memories of an old woman.’

Her head dipped forward and Miriam was silent. Cato could not offer any honest words of comfort and sat and waited. Her shoulders heaved once and a tear dropped on to the sand between her knees and left a dark stain. Cato cleared his throat.’Will you accept our protection, such as it is?’

Miriam wiped her eyes on the sleeve of her cloak and looked up.’With all my heart, no. This is our home.There is nowhere else for us to go. We will stay, and either we will be spared, or we will be obliterated. But I thank you for the offer.’