'I think I should know my ex-husband.' Julia said between clenched teeth. 'I know what he did, what he is capable of doing.'

'Lucius was here earlier, master,' Clodius said, plucking at Antonius's sleeve. 'He and his servants brought an amphora for me to apologise for his behaviour the other day. He said you knew all about it. Right chatty he was. He wanted to know all about what the family had planned. Whether or not Julia was going to the Gladiatorial Feast, whom I thought would do well in the games. That sort of thing.'

'Did he, indeed? And where is this amphora, Clodius?'

Clodius hung his head.' Julia's dog came bounding up and pushed it over, shattering it before I had a chance to drink a drop. I thought there was no harm in it.'

'Next time, you will tell me about it.' Her father's voice was full of ice-cold fury, 'You know what they say about Greeks bearing gifts. Lucius is no friend of this family.'

Clodius hung his head and scuffed his sandal. 'I didn't think a broken amphora was worth mentioning, not straight away like.'

Julia heard Valens groan again and saw him struggle to raise his head from her lap.

'You're hurt,' she cried. 'Don't move. Lie still, and we'll get help.'

'I knew you had the makings of a gladiatrix,' he whispered with more than a hint of pride in his voice. His hand caught hers and giving it a brief squeeze before he rolled over onto his side, taking his head off her lap. "The way you faced Lucius down with that cudgel. I owe you my life.'

'Pure fear and stupidity, I am afraid,' she said, but her heart glowed. She smoothed her gown out, touching the spot where Valens's head had lain.

'Fear and courage are closely linked, Julia. Not many men would have done that' He started to stand up, but sank back down to the ground and placed his head on his knees, groaning.

'It will be fine,' she said soothingly, touching his shoulder with her hand.

Valens gave a groan in reply and waved his hand above his head as if to say he understood.

'Who do you have with you, Julia?' Antonius asked, lifting the oil lamp again and sending shadows across Julia's face.

'Valens,' she said. 'He saw me home from the Gladiatorial Feast. Lucius attacked us without any provocation.'

'Why should your ex-husband do that? Tell me the truth, Julia. What are you trying to hide from me?'

She wondered how much she should tell her father. She ought to explain about what Lucius had done, but she also knew Valens wanted to keep his past, a secret. She had promised him. She knew what she wanted. She had to let Valens do it his way.

The world started to tilt and her legs grew weak. Suddenly she sat down on the cold ground and drank in gulps of cold air.

'Her experience has overwhelmed her,' she heard Valens say from a long way away. He took her wrist in his hand, his fingers curling around, probing. Julia gave a small tug and they released.

'If we can give her some air,' Valens said with a perplexed look in his eyes, 'she will recover. It is the aftershock of the fight. You should have seen the way she wielded the dagger. Without her bravery, you would have had two corpses by your door.'

Julia pressed her hands together in an effort to keep from speaking. She wanted to protest and say that it had nothing to with that and everything to do with her fear about what would happen now that her father was bound to guess something had occurred between her and Valens.

'Are you telling me that my daughter fended off Lucius's friends on her own?'

'She saved my life. Lucius was intent on killing us both. Only the gods know the true reason.' Valens rubbed the back of his neck. 'It is lucky I have a hard head.'

Julia felt her whole body begin to shake. He had made his choice. She ran her hands up and down her arms.

'It's so very cold,' she said, 'Funny, I thought it was warm before but now the night air has turned bitter.'

Antonius snapped his fingers and Clodius disappeared briefly, only to reappear with a coarse woollen blanket that he handed to Antonius. Antonius draped the blanket over Julia's shoulders.

'We need to get you both inside the compound. The night air is not good for anyone,' Antonius said. 'We can talk about your exploits later, Julia. But inside first, out of this night air. I'll take Julia; Clodius, you support Valens.'

The few hundred yards to the porter's lodge seemed like climbing Mount Vesuvius to Julia. Without her father's hand under her elbow, she was certain she would have stumbled and fallen. She carefully kept her eyes from Valens, but found it impossible not to wonder if this completely drained feeling was what he felt after a bout in the arena.

At the sight of Clodius's small stool, she sank down. Her feet refused to move any further.

She held her hands over the tiny brazier and tried to get them warm. When she thought she had control of her emotions, she turned towards Valens. He was sitting on the floor. Legs sprawled out in front of him, eyes trained directly on her. At her glance, he gave a small smile and raised his thumb upwards. Julia found her face breaking into a wide smile.

'How are you feeling?' she asked and her hands gripped the edges of the stool to prevent her from hurrying over and exploring his injuries.

'My head feels like it has been hit by a cudgel but other than that I'll live.'

'Good,' Julia breathed. Her eyes met his and she allowed herself to be swallowed up in his deepening pools of brown. The world seemed to narrow down to the two of them. Nobody or nothing else mattered. She half-rose and swayed towards him.

'Clodius, I want you to get me a runner.' Her father's brusque voice cut across Julia's thoughts, making her start. She had forgotten he was there.

Julia felt her cheeks begin to burn. She abruptly sat down and covered her face with her thin mantle, pretending to be overcome once more. She clenched her fist, hoping that her father had not noticed what had just passed between Valens and her.

She risked a glance upwards. Her father's impassive face gave no clues.

'I want that runner now, Clodius,' her father's voice commanded. Grumbling, Clodius left the room. He continued in the same tone of voice. 'And now I would like to know what I am supposed to do about all this?'

'What do you mean all this, Father?' Julia asked, holding her palms upwards. 'Surely it is obvious that you must file suit against Lucius and prevent him from attacking me again.'

Her father waved an impatient hand. 'That is immaterial to what I am talking about, Julia. I want to know what I am supposed to do about you two and your affair. There will be no hushing up the scandal this time. All Rome will know and they will realise that it has been going on for a while.'

Julia's heart stopped. He knew! She glanced up into her father's hard, grizzled face. There was no merriment or sentiment in his countenance.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Valens stand and move closer to her. She only had to reach out her hand to brush his. She tightened her grip until her knuckles shone white against each other.

'Father, you are jumping to conclusions.'

Her father's face contorted. 'I am no fool, Julia, please refrain from treating me like one. If I had not known before to-night, Lucius's actions make it abundantly clear what is going on.'

'Julius Antonius—' Valens started to say.

Her father's face grew beet-red before the words exploded from his mouth.

'You be quiet! Look at the trouble you have caused. Sabina was correct. We should never have had an infamis in the house.'

Julia buried her head in her hands. Her father was treating Valens as if he were some object, as if he were a slave. She felt Valens's reassuring touch on her shoulder.

'How long?' she whispered and raised her head to look at her father. "How long have you known?'

'Long enough.' Her father's face softened and he touched Julia's hand. 'I am neither blind nor an imbecile. You have blossomed ever since this gladiator arrived. When he abruptly left, you wilted like a flower starved of sunshine and water.'

Julia tilted her head and looked at her father. The explosive anger appeared to have vanished.

'Blossomed?' she questioned.

'Became more like the way you were as a child. Not jumping at every noise. Back to being my little Julia.'

'I hadn't realised you noticed.' Julia stared at her father in disbelief. She had thought her father never bothered, that she was an encumbrance, a pawn to be used by Sabina; now she discovered he did care.

'I am your father, Julia,' he said quietly and patted her hand. 'I notice you.'

'Then you approve?'

'Approve?' her father roared, his face growing red again. All tenderness vanished as if it had never been. 'No, I most certainly do not approve. How could I approve? He is a gladiator. I could never approve of such a relationship. While you were discreet, I had no reason to interfere.'

Julia stared at her father's forbidding face. He had to understand. She offered up prayers to Venus to intervene. 'But you like him. You said you liked him. You said you liked the way I have been blossoming.'

'If I did not like him, I would have stopped this much sooner, but, like a sentimental fool, I allowed you to keep seeing him. I thought it had all ended when he left the other day, but now I see it has not. And the incident tonight means I shall have to take action.'

Julia tried to ignore the growing pit in her stomach. 'Why has it changed?'

'Lucius obviously came upon you two and reacted with the appropriate rage. He was well within his rights, Julia. A Roman matron consorting in a public street with an infamis. No jury will convict on such evidence. The story will be all over Rome within hours. Our family and our standing in the community will be ruined!'