Cato was silent as he considered Macro’s argument, then he looked up and shrugged. ‘I suppose you may be right.’

‘Of course I’m bloody right.’ Macro sighed with exasperation. ‘Look here, Cato. The army’s your life now. It’s a hard life sometimes I grant you, but I love it. And I will not let anybody fuck it up, however well meaning they be, even if they are my best friend. Make sure you understand that.’

Cato pursed his lips. ‘All right. But it was still wrong to punish that woman.’

Macro groaned and cuffed his young friend on the shoulder. ‘That’s enough. We’ve got bigger problems to think about. We’re not here for the good of our health, Cato.’

‘Hardly.’

Macro smiled for a moment, and then looked thoughtful. ‘You know, there might be more to this than meets the eye.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Burning that house. Crucifying that brigand.’ Macro raised his eyebrows. ‘It’s just that, now I think about it, there’s little more he could have done to deliberately provoke the people of that village, and at the same time lose the chance to get some good intelligence from the prisoner.’

‘I see.’ Cato nodded.’In that light it certainly seems to back up Narcissus’ suspicions about what’s going on here.’

‘And if he’s right about Scrofa, and that adjutant of his, Postumus, then we’re going to have to tread carefully, and watch our backs all the time. I don’t fancy going the way of Scrofa’s predecessor.’

The next morning, at first light, the survivors of the cavalry escort set off on the return journey to Jerusalem. Scrofa had appointed one of his junior officers to temporary command of the squadron and ordered Symeon to guide them safely to Jerusalem by a different route from the one they had taken to reach the fort. The veteran carried a message from Macro for delivery to the procurator at Caesarea requesting urgent confirmation of his appointment as commander of the Second Illyrian. Given the distances involved it would take at least several days for a reply to reach them. Until then, the two centurions would be regarded as supernumeraries - free of duties and free to come and go around the fort. Macro and Cato, mindful of the true purpose behind their presence there, joined the other officers for the prefect’s morning briefing immediately after breakfast in the mess.