‘That is kind, lady, but…’

‘If the “but” is to say that I should have provided for all,’ she interrupted with mock severity, ‘then I am disappointed to face such doubts.’

Ferox heard low voices and the clink of metal on metal and realised that someone was walking along the rampart to his left, stopping at each man.

‘There is plenty for all,’ Lepidina went on, ‘and if you show surprise then I am disappointed that you have such a low opinion of a senator’s daughter. Supervising a meal for five hundred is straightforward compared to seating guests at a dinner.’ She laughed, not her wild bray when she let herself go, but a gentle chuckle.

‘Thank you, my lady,’ Ferox said and gestured at the others, ‘but an officer should always eat last.’

‘Of course,’ she said approvingly, before the laugh returned. ‘Dear Claudia has been saying that you are getting fat!’

Ferox could smell the hot soup as Lepidina removed the lid and each man went up and spooned out a few mouthfuls. He wondered why he had not thought of ordering food to be brought. That he expected there to have been a hard fight long before now was beside the point.

‘The children are well – all of them,’ Lepidina said, coming over to him now that the others had finished. They had all moved to the far side of the tower, grinning and bowing their heads to thank the lady for her kindness. Ferox had seen it before, how just a little hot food could lift a man’s spirits and breathe new life into him. ‘And she will be fine. She is a survivor that one, and has good folk with her. They will come back.’

In truth Ferox had not been worrying about the cavalry – or at least it was no more than one amid many worries. They ought to be able to handle themselves, although it would be much harder if the Dacians had bypassed the fort in the darkness and fog and pressed on down the valley. They must be mostly on foot, judging from what Maximus had said, for it was unlikely that too many horsemen would have travelled hidden through the woods at the side of the valley. Still, if some of the Roxolani were back and they had arranged to join forces… That was not a comforting thought, although quite a likely one. At least the Brigantes were well mounted and knew how to ride if they had to flee, and even the handful of auxiliaries sent with the column were the pick of the bunch as regards men and their mounts.

‘They have a good chance,’ he conceded.

Sulpicia Lepidina patted his hand where it held the parapet. ‘You will see us all through – as you always do.’

Ferox hoped that was true, then panicked in case saying something like that was bad luck. ‘Well, I seem to have given us all a sleepless night for nothing,’ he said. ‘And they didn’t like me much before!’