Vindex looked into the room and whistled in dismay. He was fond of dogs. Ferox went past him, calm again, and gestured for the scout to follow. Most of the doors along the corridor were locked, and the few that were not opened on to rooms that held tidily stored sacks of grain, amphorae and barrels. When they turned the corner they came to the places where slaves and freedmen lived, and the floors were covered in a mat of heather and straw just like the barracks. There was another corpse, this one slashed across his stomach and then cut several times on the head. There were scratches in the white plaster on the wall beside the dead slave.

Further along was the underside of wooden stairs leading to the upper storey, and Ferox sensed that this was the way the attackers had gone because the heather around them looked scuffed up by running feet. Someone had also gone further along the corridor and that made him wonder whether he should follow them or even whether he and the Brigantian should split up. Then he remembered Sulpicia Lepidina saying how much she preferred the upper rooms for their sense of space. She would be there and so would the children, and whatever had happened he must see because it was his fault for failing them and not returning in time.

The centurion stepped quickly past the foot of the stairs and turned, so that he faced up the stairs, left arm ready to ward off a blow, but there was no one waiting at the top. He started to climb, each creak as he placed his weight on the next step sounding as loud as a slammed door. He wondered if someone was waiting, arm poised to throw a spear as soon as he appeared up the stairs. He wished that he had put on his helmet rather than kept on the felt hat as its broad brim made it harder to see up to the side where the ceiling opened to lead on to the upper floor.

Ferox took another step and the drums were pounding again unless that was just the beat of his own heart. For the first time the next step made no noise when he put his weight on it. He could not see anyone’s feet along the edge of the floor to the side of the stairs, but then the obvious place to wait was behind him. That was where he would be and it would be so easy to kill anyone climbing the stairs before he had any chance to fight back.