‘I’ll leave that to you then, sir,’ Macro replied. ‘It would be better that such advice came from his acting senior tribune than from his acting first spear centurion.’

Cato shot him a sour look. ‘Thanks.’

‘Goes with the rank.’ Macro shrugged. ‘Besides, you’re a smooth talker. I’d lay good money that you could talk an Aventine whore into giving you a free shag and then handing you a tip for the fine service.’

Cato frowned. ‘I’m not certain I have ambitions to be quite that rhetorically effective.’

‘It’s early days . . . However, we have work to do.’ Macro turned to a section of his men who had just finished cheering the legate. ‘You lot! Over here at the double!’

They trotted over and Macro gave them as detailed a description of Ajax as he could before sending them to search for his body. He promised a jar of wine to the man who found the gladiator and then dismissed them. As the men hurried away, suitably motivated to work through the growing stench of the bodies scattered through the temple, one of the orderlies from the headquarters staff approached Cato and saluted.

‘The legate sends his respects, sir, and requests that you and Centurion Macro attend him in the priest’s quarters at the front of the temple.’

Cato exchanged a brief look of surprise with Macro. ‘Did he say why?’

‘No, sir. Just that he wants all his senior officers summoned. As soon as possible,’ he added pointedly, then saluted and trotted off.

Macro lowered his head and kicked a small stone away. ‘What now?’

The accommodation built for the priests of the temple had once been a fairly elaborate affair but centuries of neglect had left only a faint reminder of its riches. The heavens painted on the ceiling still retained their lustre but the chambers built around the courtyard were bare and sand-blown. The shallow pool that stood in the centre had once reflected its surroundings but the water had long since drained away and a layer of silt almost covered the decorative tiles at the bottom. As Macro and Cato joined the other officers, the legate was standing at the far end of the pool, sketching a diagram in the silt with the point of his sword. His subordinates waited in silence until the legate had finished. Aurelius straightened up and sheathed his sword as he looked round at his officers with a broad smile.

‘There’s no time to waste on platitudes and niceties, gentlemen, so I will come straight to the point. The enemy is on the run. Today’s victory has given the legion heart, and will dismay our foes when they hear of it. Now is the time to press home our advantage, in a way that the enemy will least expect.’ He glanced at the nearest of his centurions and clicked his fingers. ‘Give me your vine cane.’