The legate walked towards the gate, head down in silent contemplation as he thought through the awful implications of what he had discovered in the pouch. The general’s family were now in the hands of the Druids. The same Druids who were spreading such terror through the border villages and trading settlements of the Atrebates. How had they been taken? The Britons boasted no ships that could overwhelm those of the imperial navy. In any case, Maxentius and his passengers would have been making the crossing from Gesoriacum to Rutupiae, well over a hundred miles from the land of the Durotriges and their Druid allies. A storm must have blown the ship far off course. But why hadn’t the prefect made an attempt to reach the shores of the Atrebates, rather than let himself be swept so far down the coast to territory ruled by enemies of Rome? For an instant Vespasian cursed the prefect for his folly, before such unworthy feelings for a man who had died so terribly made him feel guilty. Perhaps Maxentius had tried to beach his ship on friendly soil after all, but had been prevented from doing so by the wildness of the storm.

The faint noises of pursuit from the forest abruptly took on a new note. Distant shouts and screams were accompanied by the sharp ring of clashing weapons. Vespasian, and the legionaries of the Sixth Century, turned towards the forest. The sounds of fighting quickly intensified and then died away.

‘Form square!’ Macro bellowed. ‘Close order.’ The men reacted at once, and hurried into formation around the body of the prefect. Vespasian pushed his way into the centre and drew his sword. He caught Macro’s eye and motioned towards the body and head still lying on the snow. The centurion turned to his men.

‘You two! Figulus and Sertorius! Over here.’ The selected men broke ranks and trotted over to their centurion.

‘Figulus, put him on your shield. The two of you’ll have to carry him back to the gate. I’ll carry the other shield.’

Figulus looked down at the prefect’s bloody body with a look of disgust on his face.

‘Don’t worry, lad, the blood will come out of the shield lining easily enough. It’ll just need a good scrub. Now get to it!’

While the two men bent to their grisly work, Macro turned to Cato. ‘You can carry the head.’

‘The head?’ Cato went pale. ‘Me?’

‘Yes, you. Pick it up,’ Macro snapped, then recalled the legate’s presence. ‘And, er, make sure you carry it with respect.’

He ignored Cato’s glare and hurried over to the legate who was now standing at the edge of the square to get a better look at the forest.