The boy was quite startled by this abrupt intrusion into his thoughts. ‘Sir?’

‘I asked you what the matter was.’

‘Matter sir? Nothing’s the matter.’

‘Exactly!’ Macro beamed. ‘So, smile and enjoy life. It’s not often you’ll get an independent duty. Even if,’ he lowered his voice, ‘even if all we’re told to do is nursemaid some staff officer to army headquarters.’

‘If you say so, sir.’

‘I do say so, lad. And believe me, I know what I’m talking about. Now be a good sort and try to enjoy things a bit more. You take life too seriously, young Cato.’

The optio fixed him with a bitter glare. ‘That’s because I find life rather too serious at the moment, sir.’

‘Still mooning about over that slip of a girl?’ Macro laughed, before giving him a sharp nudge in the side. ‘So how did last night go then?’

Cato was startled into breaking his stride for a moment, until a low curse from the front rank of the column made him skip forward again to his position at the centurion’s side.

‘Well?’ Macro winked. ‘Did you score?’

‘No, sir.’

‘Why on earth not? Don’t tell me you came over all poetic and romantic. You didn’t, did you? Please tell me you didn’t.’

‘No, sir.’ Cato looked down, not trusting himself to mislead Macro effectively. ‘We were interrupted before we could… get down to anything.’

‘Oh that’s too bad.’ Macro nodded sympathetically. ‘So what happened?’

‘We had arranged to meet in the wagons behind the legate’s tents. We were getting on rather well when all this shouting and commotion broke out. We would have ignored it and carried on with things but Lavinia heard her mistress calling for her.’

‘Should have gone for a quickie,’ Macro suggested.

‘Not even enough time for that, sir,’ Cato said regretfully. ‘She had to rush off, without even arranging our next meeting. And now I’m sent off on escort duty and she’s stuck back there.’

‘Never mind, lad, I’m sure she’ll keep it warm for you.’

‘Yes, sir.’

‘So you were there when that thief was discovered? Did you see anything?’

‘Nothing, sir. Nothing at all. Just got out of there and went straight back to my bed.’

‘Looks like you missed all the fun.’

‘Yes, sir,’ Cato replied, quietly enough that Macro mistook it for the boy’s continued pining for his first love. A degree of sensitivity was called for to distract young Cato from his woes. Macro grasped at the first idea that crept into his head.

‘Let’s see how my words are coming on. You say a word and I’ll spell it. All right?’

‘Whatever you want, sir.’

As Macro stumbled through such tests of his newfound skill as ‘rampart’, ’sentry’ and ‘javelin’, Cato was consumed by anxiety. If that sentry recovered from his head injury it would only be a matter of time before the investigation closed in around him. And then what? Torture, a confession extracted, and certain humiliating death. But if Lavinia was safe then she would be sure to back up his version of events. Unless — a rather nasty thought struck him — unless she feared that she might implicate herself. And what of Flavia? After all, she had arranged the meeting. She might deny Lavinia’s statement for precisely the same reasons. While the century was detached from the Legion he would not know how the situation developed.