‘You may sit,’ Aurelius said graciously. Once Macro and Cato were back in place, the new commander looked over his officers once again and then nodded. ‘We have been set a great challenge, gentlemen. It has been a long time since the legion and the auxiliary cohorts of the province have been called upon to prove their mettle. There are some who doubtless say that we have grown soft, that the soldiers of this province compare poorly with those of the rest of the Empire.’ He paused to consult his waxed tablet briefly. ‘To them I say you are wrong. Our day has come and we will show the rest of the Empire what the soldiers of the province of Egypt can do. I have heard that the enemy outnumber us. So much the better. We shall win even greater glory.’ He had a quick glance at the wax tablet again and smiled. ‘The eyes of the Emperor are upon us, my friends. The Roman Empire looks to us with bated breath. When we have won our great victory, the Empire will never forget us and every man here will walk in honour until his dying day!’

Aurelius thrust his fist in the air. A handful of officers followed suit, then a few more, anxious to win the favour of their new commander. Some of the more experienced and professional officers merely nodded or applauded politely. Others, Cato noted, sat in stony silence. Once Aurelius realised that he had won all the acclaim that he was going to get, he raised his hands and gestured for quiet. ‘That’s all for now, gentlemen. You are dismissed.’

There was a low hubbub of conversation as the men rose and edged away around the pool and filtered out through the columns at the far end. Macro turned to Cato. ‘Quite the orator, our camp prefect,’ he said wryly. ‘There wasn’t a dry eye in the house, though for my part it was due to embarrassment. What a pillock.’

‘I think he meant it. Every word of it.’

‘You’re not serious?’

‘Oh yes. He knows he is never going to make his mark as a competent staff officer. This is his one chance to win some fame. This has potential to become a dangerous situation, Macro.’

‘Really? I thought the fact that we are outnumbered, the soldiers are of questionable quality and now it’s possible that Ajax has thrown in his lot with the Nubians meant that things were already dangerous.’

Cato frowned at him. ‘All right then, it could be even more dangerous. Happy now? Come on, we have to speak to Aurelius.’

‘What about?’