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‘The attacker will be investigated. I suspect, by the denarii he had on his person, that he was paid for the attempt. We will not rest until his master is found. The finest soldiers in Rome will track him down, I assure you,’ said Damocles.

‘We should inform the people at once,’ said Hieronymus.

Marcellus. Hieronymus. Damocles. It could have been any one of them. She didn’t know who to trust, not even within her own house.

‘No,’ said Claudia, firmly shaking her head.

‘No?’ parroted Hieronymus.

‘It’s a praetorian who is responsible. I can’t be sure the organization hasn’t been infiltrated but I doubt he was working alone. Let us not pretend that the other praetorians cannot be bribed too. We must handle the situation carefully, gather evidence before making accusations.’

‘You don’t want retribution?’ asked Hieronymus.

‘Vengeance isn’t more important than peace,’ she said. ‘This incident was intended to shake faith in my reign, to make me look weak. One assassination attempt can breed another. We must not advertise this.’

Hieronymus and Damocles looked to each other.

‘For now, I will launch an internal investigation,’ Claudia said. ‘I do not trust the praetorian guard to do it justice. Gia and Cassius will look into the matter, if they are willing?’

Gia glanced at Cassius, who gave no response.

‘I’m afraid I must once again question your logic, Empress,’ said Damocles. ‘Your friends are not qualified for this.’

‘Why not? Gia has saved my life before, and Cassius has fought at war overseas. They are perfectly capable of making enquiries.’

‘You don’t want to make enemies of the guard.’

‘And I don’t aim to. We will handle this ourselves, lest we point the finger in their direction without good cause. For now, let no one speak of what happened here today. If one of you lets slip your tongue, I shall find out and I shall remove you from service. Is that understood?’

‘As you wish, Empress,’ said Damocles.

‘Whatever you say, Empress,’ said Hieronymus.

Claudia’s handmaids worked busily to readjust her robes, to tidy up her hair and make sure she showed no sign of distress.

‘We should cut the parade short,’ said Damocles. ‘Cancel the acrobats… and…’ He lowered his voice. ‘The menagerie.’

‘I said no menagerie, Damocles,’ said Claudia.

They filed out of the Pantheon, into the cleansing brightness of daylight as the crowd roared and drums rolled, unaware of how close she’d just come to death, while guards discreetly disposed of the attacker.

The incident already felt faraway and strange, like a dream.

Gia stayed close, her face taut with guilt and worry, as they returned to the armoured chariot. Cassius stayed on guard beside them, while the missing praetorian was replaced by another man.

‘I shall ride with you, to be safe,’ said Marcellus, climbing in behind them.

Claudia didn’t have the energy to argue with him.

Gia scowled and untied the partition curtain. It closed upon Marcellus before he could speak.

‘It was planned,’ Gia whispered into her ear, as they set off. ‘Your enemies have infiltrated palace security. There must be a conspiracy against you. How else would they have corrupted your guard and gained entry to the Pantheon on a day like today, with all eyes on you?’

‘I agree, which is why I said we would investigate ourselves. We must learn all we can about the dead man,’ said Claudia.

‘Do you think he is involved?’ whispered Gia, cocking her head in the direction of the privacy curtain.

Marcellus.