like spring hail. Between rainstorms the sky was a scrubbed blue, clouds towering overhead like ruins of white marble. Squalls swept across gray horizons, rainbows signaling a breakthrough of sun. Twice the travelers came upon small groups of deer that bounded away into thick forest. The presence of these wild beasts exemplified the difference the travelers were experiencing as they journeyed north. There were woodlots still, the trees young and orderly, but also large brooding tracts of arboreal wilderness, peasant woodmen chopping at the periphery like ants against a tangled garden.
And still there was no sign of the Wall.
"How much time would we save if we didn't accompany Galba and went straight to my Marcus?" she finally asked Clodius a day later.
He looked at her with new confidence. "At least two days."
They came the second afternoon to a small tollhouse and watch-post on a broad hill called Bravoniacum. A grassy track branched north from the main road and disappeared into forest. It pointed in the direction the Wall must lie.
As they watered the horses, Clodius announced to Galba, "We part here."
The tribune squinted. "What? Who parts?"
"I and the women. There's no need to drag Valeria a hundred miles out of her way. I've studied the maps. Petrianis is but a day's ride north of here, through that wood. My orders, from the signet ring of Marcus himself, were to escort her, not horses. I'll take her there myself"
Galba smirked. "You don't know the way."
"I'll find it."
"You couldn't find your ass by yourself."
Clodius remained cool. "This cart slows you down. Ride ahead for your horses, and you'll reach the fort of the Petriana when we do. We'll both sleep in proper beds a night or two earlier." He tried to give his voice authority. While Galba had the higher rank, Clodius had the surety of birth.
"The lady requires protection," the senior man said.
"Which she has from Cassius and me. Lend me a guide, if you wish, but leave me to finish my task while you finish yours."
Valeria's heart was hammering. She longed for a swifter end! "Yes," she spoke up. "I want to go with Clodius."
Galba looked at her impassively. So: she'd chosen the boy. The other cavalrymen were giving their own imperceptible nods. All were tired of this slow escort. This was a chance to save everybody time.
"If you take her down that track," Galba warned, "it's your decision, not mine, junior tribune."
Clodius nodded. "A decision I'm comfortable making."
"It's my choice as well," Valeria said.
Galba considered them. Then he spoke carefully. "So be it. I'll give you Titus as guide."
Clodius nodded. "This makes the most sense, I think."
"Prove to me that it does." Galba conferred a moment with the soldier he was to loan, clapped him on the shoulder, and then mounted. "We meet in Petrianis!" The decision made, he seemed newly energized. His men sprang on their horses as well, as if released from a dull lesson. Free of the trundling cart, the cavalry galloped. In moments, they were gone.
"Good riddance," Clodius whispered as the rumbling faded.
The women turned to look at the lane they would follow into the forest. Suddenly their group seemed much smaller and the wood much bigger, its canopy shimmering with spring's green. Valeria hoped the Wall was truly nearby.
Clodius pointed. "We go that way, Titus?"
"Aye, tribune," said the soldier. "A bit of woods, and we're home."
They set off down the track at dawn the next morning. A few rude Briton farmsteads gave way to rough pasture, dotted with sheep, and then pasture devolved into unkempt moor and boggy marsh. Birch, aspen, and willow grew along a meandering stream thick with rushes, their road following its course. There was a wall of new leaf, a hole like a tunnel where the lane led, and then they were swallowed by the forest. It was dimmer and cooler inside the wood.
Valeria leaned out from her cart's canopy to look up into the trees. They seemed as old as time, and after the
And still there was no sign of the Wall.
"How much time would we save if we didn't accompany Galba and went straight to my Marcus?" she finally asked Clodius a day later.
He looked at her with new confidence. "At least two days."
They came the second afternoon to a small tollhouse and watch-post on a broad hill called Bravoniacum. A grassy track branched north from the main road and disappeared into forest. It pointed in the direction the Wall must lie.
As they watered the horses, Clodius announced to Galba, "We part here."
The tribune squinted. "What? Who parts?"
"I and the women. There's no need to drag Valeria a hundred miles out of her way. I've studied the maps. Petrianis is but a day's ride north of here, through that wood. My orders, from the signet ring of Marcus himself, were to escort her, not horses. I'll take her there myself"
Galba smirked. "You don't know the way."
"I'll find it."
"You couldn't find your ass by yourself."
Clodius remained cool. "This cart slows you down. Ride ahead for your horses, and you'll reach the fort of the Petriana when we do. We'll both sleep in proper beds a night or two earlier." He tried to give his voice authority. While Galba had the higher rank, Clodius had the surety of birth.
"The lady requires protection," the senior man said.
"Which she has from Cassius and me. Lend me a guide, if you wish, but leave me to finish my task while you finish yours."
Valeria's heart was hammering. She longed for a swifter end! "Yes," she spoke up. "I want to go with Clodius."
Galba looked at her impassively. So: she'd chosen the boy. The other cavalrymen were giving their own imperceptible nods. All were tired of this slow escort. This was a chance to save everybody time.
"If you take her down that track," Galba warned, "it's your decision, not mine, junior tribune."
Clodius nodded. "A decision I'm comfortable making."
"It's my choice as well," Valeria said.
Galba considered them. Then he spoke carefully. "So be it. I'll give you Titus as guide."
Clodius nodded. "This makes the most sense, I think."
"Prove to me that it does." Galba conferred a moment with the soldier he was to loan, clapped him on the shoulder, and then mounted. "We meet in Petrianis!" The decision made, he seemed newly energized. His men sprang on their horses as well, as if released from a dull lesson. Free of the trundling cart, the cavalry galloped. In moments, they were gone.
"Good riddance," Clodius whispered as the rumbling faded.
The women turned to look at the lane they would follow into the forest. Suddenly their group seemed much smaller and the wood much bigger, its canopy shimmering with spring's green. Valeria hoped the Wall was truly nearby.
Clodius pointed. "We go that way, Titus?"
"Aye, tribune," said the soldier. "A bit of woods, and we're home."
They set off down the track at dawn the next morning. A few rude Briton farmsteads gave way to rough pasture, dotted with sheep, and then pasture devolved into unkempt moor and boggy marsh. Birch, aspen, and willow grew along a meandering stream thick with rushes, their road following its course. There was a wall of new leaf, a hole like a tunnel where the lane led, and then they were swallowed by the forest. It was dimmer and cooler inside the wood.
Valeria leaned out from her cart's canopy to look up into the trees. They seemed as old as time, and after the
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