‘Good. Please sit. I fear we do not have another stool. Unless you are stiff and prefer to stand for a while?’ Ferox sat down on his haunches, after the manner of his tribe.
‘Like you,’ Crispinus said, ‘it seems I too am a prisoner.’
‘You may as well explain,’ the prince agreed, taking his seat again. ‘Are you hungry, centurion? I can send for food? No? In a moment then.’
‘No doubt the whole matter will soon be cleared up,’ the tribune said airily. ‘Indeed by the sound of it your innocence is well on its way to being established.’
‘One of Fuscus’ people produced documents implicating him in treasonous plots,’ Arviragus interrupted.
Crispinus smiled. ‘Indeed he did. Our old friend Vegetus, no less. Which would mean that even if you killed the little swine you were doing the res publica a favour.’
Arviragus interrupted once more. ‘Sadly, some of the letters could be interpreted by a malign judgement also to implicate the noble Crispinus. Obviously mistaken or deliberate fraud, of course, but I was sent to take him into custody.’
‘By whom, my lord?’ Ferox was sitting straight-backed, trying to be as formal as possible. ‘If you will forgive my curiosity.’
He was not sure whether there was a flicker of anger before the smile reasserted itself. ‘Of course. And I understand your meaning. No, the legate had not returned. This was early morning of the day after you left. In his absence my orders were given to me by the Lord Crassus. Most of the mounted soldiers in Londinium had gone with the legate or were needed, which meant my men were best suited for the task. I obeyed as was my duty.
‘However, since the legate had confided in me something of your mission and its importance, I judged it prudent to follow at a discreet distance. Only when you went into the mountains did I begin to worry that I might lose you. Prudence dictated that I catch up, and then decide how best to proceed. Unfortunately we came on each other rather more suddenly than I had anticipated, and suspicion led to blows. That German knocked down three of my men with his bare hands, and had to be restrained. At first I had to threaten the tribune until he ordered his soldiers to obey me. It was all deeply unfortunate, but thankfully no serious harm was done.
‘Now, since we have had time to consider the matter, the noble Crispinus has convinced me that we must do our best to accomplish his task on Mona. He has agreed to place himself in my charge until this is done, and then until I bring him to the legate and other matters can be investigated properly. Will you now give me your word to do the same?’
Crispinus nodded encouragingly.
‘What of my men?’
‘They will all be free, as long as you stand surety for them. Come, centurion, let us all serve the legate and our princeps. I have heard that you are a great warrior, and my sister tells me that you treated her with… what was it you said?’ He turned around to stare down at Enica.
‘Surly respect,’ she said.
Crispinus nodded. ‘Sounds about right.’
Arviragus laughed. ‘Well, knowing my sister, I dare say there was a good deal of patience as well.’
‘Indeed, my lord, that was the longest I have known the lady go without speaking.’
The laugh became a great roar.
‘Why is the lady here, my lord?’
‘My sister goes where she wills. If she has not explained her purpose, then I fear I cannot. No matter. We shall all go on this quest together.’
‘That is the will of the gods,’ she said flatly.
‘Of course it is, my dear,’ her brother said like an indulgent parent, ‘so let us not disappoint them. Do I have your word, Flavius Ferox?’
Crispinus leaned forward eagerly. Enica was staring at the floor, apparently paying no heed.
Ferox nodded. ‘Yes, my lord.’
XX
SEGONTIUM WAS MUCH like Vindolanda and the many forts dotted around the provinces, so familiar that any slight differences were oddly jarring. Built to house a cohors milliaria of some eight hundred men, there were barely half that number there at the moment, even though winter was approaching and many detachments had returned to barracks. They had missed the prefect by only a few days, for he had left to take up a post as narrow-stripe tribune with a legion in Syria, and his replacement had not yet arrived. The senior centurion in charge was welcoming, especially after he had read the letters Crispinus carried signed by the legate himself, although the news he passed on was bad. Neratius Marcellus had crushed a group of several hundred bandits near Verulamium, but had been wounded. The centurion did not know how badly. He had heard rumours of banditry and rebellion among several tribes, although so far the Ordovices and Deceangli were quiet enough.
The garrison maintained several boats, big enough to carry a dozen men and fitted with oars and a sail, and the centurion was willing to put one at their disposal if it would be useful. The main group would need to use the ferry or swim their horses across the straits.
‘It’s a little late in the year,’ the centurion conceded, ‘and there won’t be many more cattle coming across that way until next spring, but you should be all right. Batavians know what they’re doing on water, don’t they?’
Arviragus and Crispinus decided on the ferry and Ferox was glad. His own mount was tired after weeks of travel, and as he looked across at the far shore it seemed a long way. Yet to his surprise the island appeared innocuous enough from this distance, although he could not see a single house. Somehow he had expected mist and sinister shadows, and instead there was sunshine, which was warm as long as you were sheltered from the gusty wind.
The ferry was shallow-bottomed, rowed by four big sweeps on either side and steered by a rudder. Half a dozen men and horses could squeeze onto it, so the crossing would take a long time, especially as the current tended to take them over to the right, and it was hard work to bring it back to the jetty on the return trip. Yet the soldiers operating it were cheerful for this was a break from routine and the unit’s tradition meant that they would be given a pass to stay out in the vicus as long as they returned when the fort gates opened at dawn. Until then they were free to drink, gamble, whore, or do whatever they liked away from their officers. The same applied to the soldiers in the boat, who shadowed the ferry in case of accidents, although they would have to wait for their orders were to stay with the expedition until it returned. There were no other detachments on the island and no permanent outposts there.
‘We don’t have enough men,’ the centurion explained. ‘Wouldn’t really be worth it even if we had. There’s really not many people over there, and they don’t make trouble. Besides, no one ever really wants to stay there. Too many dark memories. I’ve seen things over there. Maybe they were lemures or other unquiet spirits and maybe they were just my mind playing tricks. This side of the island is the worst. Up north its bleaker and just empty. Here there are patches of scorched grass where the groves once stood. You’d think after forty years there would be no mark, but there is. They should send a legion and give it a year to burn everything, every tree, every bush, every blade of grass, and then in a hundred years the whole place might be clean.’ He smiled. ‘Sorry, been here too long and a man gets to brooding. You will be fine. Just don’t let your minds play tricks. Be careful with the current, sometimes the sea misbehaves. The boat will stay with you in case anything happens. If it does, then the horses will only make it if they swim, but maybe we can catch any of you before you drown.’