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My precious wife and child. And when I find the men who did this, I swear by all the gods . . .’
    He seized the lamp from Gwellia, who was still standing by, and deliberately dangled the piece of bark into the flame. We watched in silence as it curled and blackened in the heat, flaring up until at last he dropped it on the floor and ground it with his heel into the beaten earth – as if he was grinding the writer underfoot.
    I waited for another outburst, but he’d regained his self-control. His face was a masterpiece of calm. Only his hands betrayed his state of mind. He fingered the pouch that hung round his neck, stroking it as tenderly as though it was part of his missing family. When he spoke again his voice was harsh. ‘I’ve destroyed their cursed letter, and it’s what I’ll do to them, as well. And I have legal grounds. They’ve attempted to corrupt me! Me – an imperial magistrate, the outgoing governor’s chosen deputy! It’s an insult to the majesty of Rome – and that is a capital offence. Wait till I get these villains to the courts.’
    There was a startled hush. This was no idle threat. Marcus was famously an expert in the law. He prided himself on his reputation in the courts for being strictly fair and equally unmoved by tears or bribes, but he also knew what penalties he might exact. I have known him pass harsh sentence on a former friend. What he would do to the abductors of his family I did not dare to think.
    ‘Excellence . . .’ The doctor was still trying to interpose.
    Marcus rounded on him. ‘What is it, Philades? Surely you’re not about to warn me, yet again, that I might catch the plague? I tell you, it hardly matters to me now. Besides, I don’t believe a word of it. I have seen men who were struck down by the plague. Believe me, I’d know it soon enough.’
    Besides, I thought, you would face greater risks than plague if that would help to bring your family back. But even as I framed the thought, Philades was speaking, with a surprising dignity that belied his stained toga and dishevelled air.
    ‘Excellence, you pay me for advice, and I have given it. Now it is up to you. If you catch the sickness I shall do my best to treat you – but as you know, there is no certain cure. However, that wasn’t what I wished to say to you. It was about the family of this Lallius. It occurs to me that I might know who they are.’
    ‘Then why did you not mention it before?’ Marcus demanded snappishly. But he had taken heed. Having ignored all previous warnings from the medicus, he now perversely seemed to take the threat to heart. He moved away and went to stand beside the door, where he was at the greatest distance from the central hearth. Junio, who had been standing there, was now obliged to move.
    Marcus ostentatiously arranged himself in the place where the smoke curled up between us to form the thickest screen, and then he spoke again. ‘Very well, Philades, I’ve done as you command. Now what have you to say?’
    ‘With respect, Excellence, I did attempt to tell you, some little time ago – but you refused to let me speak. I fear it took me a while to make the association with the name. The point is, I don’t know the man himself, but I think I might have met the father once – he visited the house where I was formerly employed. Numidius Tiberius, the old man was called – if, indeed, it is the same Tiberius family.’
    Marcus was obviously startled by the name. ‘Numidius? But he’s a well-respected man. Even I have heard of him. He’s on every board and body in the town which does not actually require a man to be a citizen – and I’m sure he’ll get that status in the end. A few benefactions to the
civitas
– paying for some games or public works perhaps – and he would be certain to be recognised. No doubt he can afford it. Isn’t he some kind of weights and measures officer?’
    Philades was packing his herbs away again. He nodded. ‘Chief coin and weights to