He clambered down, limbs stiff after a couple of damp hours spent in the saddle, and opened the door of the carriage. The repairs had been done well, and apart from one deep gouge made by an arrow he could see no sign of damage.

Sulpicia Lepidina smiled and then she and her maid dashed for the shelter of the carriage, each of them holding their hooded cloaks tight with one hand and using the other to lift their hems.

‘It appears I am in your debt once again,’ the lady said after clambering inside, followed by her servant. The curtain to the carriage window was clipped back so that she could see out.

Ferox bowed his head. ‘Happy to be of service, my lady.’

‘Are you well?’ She looked over him to Vindex.

‘Thank you, lady. I am much restored. Your treatment has worked wonders.’

The centurion pulled himself back into the saddle and they rode beside the carriage as it went back to the fort.

‘It is an indulgence to travel this way on so short a journey,’ Lepidina told him, ‘but on a day like this…’

‘Do you go there often?’ Ferox took pleasure in talking to her, seeing the life in her face, although he wondered whether he ought to suggest that she close the curtain and travel the rest of the way in more comfort.

‘I go most days. There is much to be said for silence and seclusion. Have I said something amusing?’

‘My apologies, it is just that someone else said something very similar to me earlier on.’ Ferox heard Vindex chuckle.

‘Today there was a greater reason. I made an offering for the recovery of young Flavius. He has a bad stomach and a fever and it has not improved after two days. I am not sure the camp seplasiarius is that skilled in preparing his potions. Apart from his back, he is a strong child, and may recover even without aid, but there is no harm in seeking help from the heavens.’

‘You should visit the Spring of Covventina, lady,’ he said automatically, without giving it sufficient thought, for the sacred spring and grove lay to the east, along the road past where she had been ambushed. ‘The waters have a potency, they say, against many evils, but then men say many things that are false.’

Sulpicia Lepidina gave a gentle laugh. ‘Yes, men do.’ Her deep blue eyes sparkled. She wore her hair simply, tied back in a bun by a deep blue ribbon. ‘But thank you for your concern.’

‘It is nothing. I can only imagine the dreadful worry of a mother for a sick child.’