Julia and Claudia waited in a short queue to pay their quarter of an as and then went into the baths. The first thing Julia noticed was the absolute quiet of the courtyard after the noisy throng outside. The only sound was the splash of the fountain.

After changing into short exercise tunics, Claudia led the way towards the gymnasium. Julia looked at the men dressed in short tunics or loin cloths who were engaged in a variety of games and exercises and tried not to compare their physical attributes to Valens's. Two or three might have better legs, but none had his stature. She doubted if she could feel safe in any of these men's arms.

'You see why everyone is talking about it,' Claudia gushed, pointing to the marble bathing complex. 'It is a splendid addition to Rome. A true mark of civilisation. And, as promised, enough men to satisfy your eyes for days.'

'When you said the Aventine baths, I thought you meant the one Sabina and her friends often use. It is luxurious, but nothing on this scale.'

'I knew you would like it. It opened on the last Ides.' Claudia started to signal to another woman. 'Look, there's our third for trignon—Poppea Scipia.'

Julia winced as the small woman whose hair was piled high in a Greek fashion hurried towards them. Poppea and Claudia attended gladiatorial matches together. She was even more dedicated to the games than Claudia and made it a point to compete against men whenever possible. The whisper in the Forum was that her husband had requested a posting in Cyrene to escape her.

'Claudia as I live and breathe and Julia Antonia as well. What a surprise,' Poppea said, racing up to them. 'I was about to start exercising with a dumb-bell, but if you are here we must have a ball game.' She paused and eyed Julia up and down. 'That is, if Julia knows the rules. I know how she hates all things to due with any form of physical activity.'

'I know the rules to trignon,' Julia said through clenched teeth and stared at Poppea. 'There are three players. Each takes a corner of the triangle. You catch the balls with one hand and throw with the other. The person who drops the green ball gains a point. At the end of the game, the person with the least points wins.'

'Very good, Julia.' Poppea clapped her hands together briefly. 'And now let's see if you can actually play it. Or will it be like the time you tried to play harpastum and were unable to snatch the ball from anyone?'

At the sound of Poppea's loud voice, several men dressed in short tunics turned round. Julia wished the ground would open up and swallow her.

She hesitated, about to withdraw from the contest. Then she saw the small smirk on Poppea's face.

'Poppea, an active spectator in the gladiatorial arena does not necessarily mean you are good at trignon. I look forward to beating you.'

The game went better than Julia dared hope. After ten rounds she and Poppea were tied with Claudia only a point behind. A trickle of sweat snaked down her forehead, Julia wiped it away and reflected that perhaps Claudia had had a point after all. It was a relief to get her frustrations out by throwing the ball as hard as she could at Poppea and seeing her wince as she caught it.

She deftly caught Claudia's underarm pass of the green ball and pivoted to throw it at Poppea. Standing directly behind Poppea was Valens.

Julia froze. She blinked, hoping he might be a figment of her over-active imagination. When she opened her eyes, he was still there, feet planted, hands on hips, watching her. She swallowed hard and tried not to concentrate on the way his mouth looked or the shadows in his eyes.

'Come on, Julia, throw the ball,' Poppea called.

Julia tossed the ball wildly. It hit the ground and then rolled to within a few feet of Valens.

"There was no way I could have caught that,' Poppea complained with her hands on her hips. 'That's Julia's point. Don't you agree, Claudia?'

'I'll get the ball,' Julia said with a faltering voice.

She wiped her palms on the skirt of her tunic and started forward. She kept her eyes on the ground, hoping against hope he had decided to ignore her.

As she reached the ball, his long fingers closed around it and lifted it up. Her eyes followed the progress of the ball,from the ground past his calves to the bottom of his crimson tunic and up to his face.

'Are you searching for this?' he asked, tossing the ball in one hand.

Julia's mouth went dry. This was not how she had planned on meeting Valens again—hot and sweaty from exercise, her hair held back by a simple tie. If she met him at all, she had intended to be perfectly turned out, dressed in her most fetching clothes.

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and tried to look unperturbed. But her breath came in short sharp gasps that had nothing to do with the ball game she had been playing.

'We need the ball to continue the game,' she said after what felt like for ever and held out her hand.

He made no move to give the ball back. Instead, it seemed his eyes roamed her features, pinning her. Julia swallowed hard and tried to think of something witty to say. The only thing she could think of was how much she had missed him, how much she had missed hearing his voice and how frightened she had been of never having a chance to speak to him again.

She wanted to apologise and to ask if they could begin again. But she found it impossible to utter any words.

'Julia—' he said thickly.

'Valens, there you are.' A cool, impeccably coiffured blonde appeared and tucked her arm in Valens's. 'I searched everywhere for you. Give the woman her ball back or we'll be late.'

Julia felt a knife stab her heart. He had found another. But she refused to hide her face like some misbehaving child. She held out her hand.

'My ball, please, Valens. My friends are waiting.'

He tossed the ball and Julia caught it, closing her fingers around its faint warmth.

'Enjoy playing your game, Julia,' he said and allowed the woman to drag him away.

She watched them go, heard the woman's trilling laughter and her heart sank. She kicked the ground in disgust.

'Is something the matter, Julia?' Claudia's voice pierced through a haze of misery. 'What did he say to you?'

'Probably realised that she has no hope of winning the game,' Poppea said. 'Hurry up. Time is wasting.'

Julia shook herself. She had to accept and to carry on. Valens was an interlude, nothing more. She had been foolish in the extreme to want more than what she had. She should be going down on her knees and thanking Venus that their affair was mercifully short.

Gladiators were for one night, she reminded herself of Claudia's words. The trouble was that her heart refused to believe it.

'I am perfectly fine,' she lied as Claudia continued to look at her with a strange concerned expression. 'It is hotter today than I thought it would be. But it looks like the baths proper are now open. What I would really like is a nice spell in the dry bath, sweating out everything, and a plunge in the cold pool.'

Claudia came over and patted her shoulder. 'Poppea doesn't mean to be so forthright, Julia. It is just her way. When you're ready, we can talk.'

Julia offered a silent prayer up to Venus. Claudia was not pressing for more details about Valens.

'The last few days have taken more out of me than I thought,' she said with a faint rueful grin, wiping her hands on her tunic. 'Hopefully these baths will be the last word in luxury as the sign over the portico said.'

* * *

When Julia finished her bath and started putting on her make-up, she had stopped trembling. The bath suite with its marble columns, and mosaic-covered floors and walls, had lived up to its promise, but it had also been a bit more crowded than she would have liked. Also, the price for being dried off and massaged was far steeper than at any of the baths she had been to.

Still, the massage had made her muscles tingle and she had to agree with Claudia's assessment that a bit of pampering never hurt. The warm glow from the exercise, bath and rub down made her feel like she was floating on clouds. As she tried to decide if her cheeks needed wine dregs or not, she allowed Claudia and Poppea's conversation to flow over her.

"They are harder to come by than Tyrean purple unless you know the right people, but I have two extra tickets,' Poppea said. 'Would either of you two like one? Claudia? Julia?'

Julia stopped gazing at the mirror and turned towards Poppea, brush in hand.

'Tickets to where?'

'To the Gladiatorial Last-Night Feast,' Poppea replied as she fastened up a disc on her gown. 'Not that you will be interested, Julia, but it is when the gladiators say goodbye to their supporters and their families. It can be quite moving. For many of them it might be their last night on earth. It is something no true supporter wants to miss, but Lucia has a cold and Serena's husband has just come back from North Africa. Claudia, are you interested?'

'I already have mine, thanks, and I am sure Julia has better things to do.'

Julia's stomach dropped as the brush slipped out of her grasp and hit the counter with a small crash. She had completely forgotten about what day the games started. A queasy feeling washed over her. Tomorrow Valens would be out there, fighting for his life, and, if his prediction was to be believed, against Aquila.

She looked at the large statue of Fortunata that dominated the changing room. Tomorrow the goddess would reveal which one she favoured. She stared at the statue's bland features and knew she needed to see Valens once more, if only to wish him good luck. She had been so wrapped up in her own misery and problems that she had forgotten he faced probably the toughest challenge of his career. She should have said something, something that resembled an apology, instead of merely asking for her ball.