All six men were Roman citizens, including Ferox of the Silures, and each wore a toga carefully draped over his left arm, except Crispinus, the most Roman of them all, who had a light Greek cloak instead. Three of the six were named Flavius, which meant no more than that they or their family had received citizenship from one of the Flavian dynasty, founded by Vespasian, victor in the civil war after Nero’s death thirty years before. Ferox guessed that, like him, Cerialis had become a Roman through a grant of the founder of the dynasty. During the civil war the Rhineland had erupted into rebellion led by Batavian aristocrats backed by Batavian and other auxiliary cohorts. The most important was Julius Civilis, an equestrian prefect just like Cerialis. Up until then he had had a distinguished record, and had been wounded several times and lost an eye fighting for Rome. At first Civilis and his men claimed to be fighting for Vespasian against his Roman rival, but then it all became messier and there was talk of an Empire of the Gauls. That made them rebels, not Romans, and Vespasian had to eradicate the revolt, but some Batavians stayed loyal and others surrendered quickly. In the end the rest were defeated by a cousin of the new emperor, a man named Petilius Cerialis. No doubt the prefect’s father had stayed loyal or switched sides at an opportune moment, and got citizenship and preferment as a reward, taking the emperor’s name and that of the victorious commander.

The ladies were waiting for them in the dining room, standing in front of the triclinia, the three couches surrounding the low table. The room was big, the ceiling above of carved beams, but the walls painted and painted quite well, for they had brought a man up from Corinium in the south. There were scenes of hunting and of stories. In one Hades in his chariot charged towards a mildly shocked – and blonde-haired – Persephone, who did not appear to be making much effort to escape. Others showed a half-naked Leda kneeling by the side of a lake as the swan approached, and Europa astride a great black bull.

‘It does make one wonder about everyday life for aristocratic young ladies in those far-off days,’ Sulpicia Lepidina said softly, having noticed him inspecting the paintings. ‘I have a pair of cats, but they are pets and no more.’

‘I am sure they know their place,’ Crispinus added. ‘Neither would your husband nor any of us wish you to be carried off.’

Cerialis was not paying attention, instead listening with pleasure as Claudius Super and the imperial freedman Vegetus praised the splendour of his house and this room in particular. Their comments were fulsome, but justified, and even Ferox was surprised to find that the floor consisted of well-laid and evenly cut flagstones.