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parrying it with his pugio, Vespasian launched a series of criss-crossing strokes,
forcing Magnus ever back as he struggled to counter them. Sensing victory he lunged for Magnus’ throat; Magnus ducked under the stroke and, thrusting his sword down onto Vespasian’s
dagger, blocking it, he pushed his right shoulder up under Vespasian’s extended sword arm, knocking him off-balance while curling his right leg behind his opponent’s left, sending him
crashing to the ground.
    ‘You were too anxious to win there, sir,’ Magnus said, pressing the blunted tip of his practice sword against Vespasian’s throat.
    ‘My mind was on other things,’ he responded as he pushed away the weapon.
    Magnus leant down to help him up. ‘Well, she spoilt your concentration. Anyway, if you don’t go she could make trouble for you back in Rome.’
    Vespasian scoffed and brushed some dirt from his arm. ‘No, she couldn’t; everyone would understand why I did nothing. Who’s going to sympathise with an idiot who goes off into
the desert with hardly any escort in search of a tribe of slavers?’
    Magnus looked disappointed. ‘So you ain’t going to go?’
    Vespasian walked over to the pomegranate tree and sat down on the bench beneath it. ‘I didn’t say that; I just said that I wouldn’t go just because Flavia was threatening me.
If I go it’ll be for different reasons.’
    ‘Because it might be fun?’
    ‘Did you see her?’ Vespasian asked, ignoring the question. He picked a jug up from the table and poured two cups of wine.
    Magnus joined him on the bench taking a proffered cup. ‘Yes, briefly; she looked expensive.’
    ‘That’s true, but it was a good look: pure woman. And she showed spirit and loyalty; imagine what sort of sons a feisty woman like that would bear.’
    Magnus looked at his friend, astonished. ‘You’re not serious, are you? What about Caenis?’
    The words of love in Caenis’ letter flashed though Vespasian’s mind and he shook his head regretfully. ‘As much as I’d want to, I could no more have children with Caenis
than I could do with you. You because, no matter how hard and often I tried, you’d be barren; and Caenis because the children wouldn’t be recognised as citizens, being the product of an
illegal union between a senator and a freedwoman.’
    ‘Yes, I suppose so; I’d never really thought about it like that before,’ Magnus said nodding and quaffing his drink. ‘So you’ll have to look elsewhere for your
brood-mare?’
    ‘And Flavia seems to be perfect and to cap it all she’s a Flavian.’
    ‘What difference does that make?’
    ‘It means that her dowry will be staying within the clan and therefore her father is likely to make a larger settlement on her.’
    ‘Well, you’ll need it if you’re going to keep her in all that finery; she ain’t going to be cheap. So I suppose it’s pointless going to try and rescue her lover;
much better to let him disappear out of the way.’
    ‘On the contrary, I’m going to take four
turmae
of cavalry and go and find him; if I don’t, then Flavia will never consider marrying me because she’s a loyal
woman.’
    ‘If you don’t find him that will be fine, but if you bring him back then she’ll stay with him.’
    ‘Not necessarily.’ Vespasian grinned slyly at his friend. ‘If I do find him, I’ll give him the option of staying out in the desert and not having to pay the costs for his
own rescue or returning with us to civilisation and a large invoice.’
    ‘What? The cost of keeping the cavalry supplied for however long it takes us to find him?’
    ‘Yes. Plus, of course, my own private expenses.’
    ‘Which will be how much?’
    ‘Oh, no more than Capella can afford to pay; say, one woman?’

CHAPTER II
    ‘H OW MUCH FURTHER , Aghilas?’ Marcus Valerius Messala Corvinus, the young, patrician prefect of the
province’s Libu light cavalry snapped, wiping away the sweat that flowed freely from beneath his