'I had to.' That had been far from easy. Verovolcus had been the King's close confidant. 'It was tense. The King is virtually independent, and we were in his tribal centre. Imposing a Roman solution was not easy. Fortunately Togi wants amicable relations, so in the end he agreed that his man had to disappear. Murder's a capital crime but that seemed the best I could ask for. From our angle, I felt I could sanction exile rather than a public trial and an execution. Sending Verovolcus to Gaul was my bargain for us all keeping the affair quiet.'

'Neat,' Hilaris agreed, ever pragmatic. Britain was a sensitive province since the Rebellion. Tribal feeling might not tolerate a respected king's henchman being punished for murdering a Roman official. Verovolcus did it (I was confident of that) but the governor would have hated having to dole out a death sentence to the King's right-hand man, and if Frontinus was publicly lenient he would look weak, both here and back in Rome.

'Verovolcus agreed on Gaul?'

'He wasn't keen.'

'Londinium was not allowed as an alternative?'

'Nowhere in Britain. I would have made Londinium formally off-limits if I had ever thought Verovolcus would turn up here.'

'And the King?'

'He knew Gaul was better than the standard desert island.'

'But with Verovolcus killed in a Londinium bar instead, the King may well turn rough,' Hilaris observed glumly.

'Bound to,' I said.

He cleared his throat, as if diffident. 'Will he suspect that you arranged this death?'

I shrugged.

No stranger to the ways of undercover agents, Flavius Hilaris turned to stare at me. He was blunt: 'Did you?'

'No.'

He did not ask whether I would have done so, if I had thought of it. I chewed a fingernail, wondering that myself.

'You said Verovolcus killed someone,' suggestedHilaris. 'Could his drowning be some form of retribution, Marcus?'