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excitement and dread. To see Vali again after all this time would be wonderful, but to travel in secret, away from the only home she had ever known. Away from her father. It seemed too extreme, to frightening to be considered.
    ‘Tonight. Soon. At midnight. You’ll leave the city under cover of darkness and be on the road south by dawn. You‘ll tell no one, not even Ninia. And you’ll take only your most basic personal items with you, travelling in-cognito, as a moderately well-off liberti. A friend recently prepared to free his childhood nanny, but she died before he could present her with the documents. He gave them to me, for a price. You will use them to get safely to Pompeii. Vali has that document and others to assure your safe conduct.’
    ‘But this is all so… sudden. Can’t I think about this? To marry anyone so quickly…’
    ‘There’s no time. When your mother makes her move it will be too late. And if you think that you’ll have a say in her machinations, you’re mistaken. She’ll sell you off to gain power as easily as she sells slaves that no longer suit her. Trust me, my lamb. I have tried to think of every contingency. I know what I’m doing. And I will send Ninia to you as soon as you’re settled. At least she’s my slave, and I can include her as part of your dowry. ’
    Anniana nodded silently, afraid that if sh e tried to speak in this moment she would end up crying. Her stomach’s butterflies had turned to ravens pecking at her gut, tearing it to shreds. Fingers that had entwined nervously at the beginning of this conversation now gouged at the fabric of the couch beneath her.
    Finally, knowing her father needed her to acknowledge him and all he had done for her, she said, ‘I trust you father. Of course I do. Your plan is clever and it will save me. But… will I see you again?’
    ‘Of course you will, my lamb. Once you’re married and things have settled down here, I’ll come for a visit. I haven’t been to Campania since I was a boy. I may retire from the Senate and buy a property there, if funds allow. But one way or another, I will enjoy seeing my daughter as the happy matron of her own villa rustica. The country scene will suit you much more than the cloying, insular life you have lived in Rome.’
    Anniana nodded. It was true. She had always hated the confined space of the city. Their month by the sea had always been her favourite time of year. Then she had walked along the shores, and let the sea breeze play with her hair and gown. In such a place she felt truly free.
    Some people condemned her attitude toward slavery and slaves. Her mother, for instance. But she had always identified with slaves. Her life had constantly felt as closed and limiting as any slave in their household experienced. And she was subjected to the same kinds of punishments and abuse that were meted out to slaves for infractions. Although, in the case of her mother and siblings, no infraction was deemed necessary, to justify punishment. Reason enough that they felt like it, and had the power to do it.
    ‘Now, no tears, little lamb. You must get yourself ready. Wear the most serviceable gown you can find. The oldest and meanest there is. I asked Ninia to leave you things she thought suitable. Everything else you must fit into this small shoulder-bag, which you can easily carry. I’ll return for you just before midnight. Be ready.’ He indicated the leather hold-all at the door.
    ‘Ninia knows?’
    ‘Yes. But don’t try to see her. She has her instructions.’
    Then he was gone, and the door to her room was closed carefully behind him. For several minutes, Anniana didn’t move. She couldn’t. There was too much going on in her head. It was enough to simply draw in one breath after another, keeping her spine straight, her feet planted firmly on the tiled floor. More than that was impossible.
    Then, as she studied the flickering shadows cast by her only candle on the mural covered wall, she finally