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‘Fighting in the amphitheatre is very different to fighting a war. The women might find that they aren’t inclined to it.’

‘Women are not a monolith. The life of a soldier can be an unpleasant one, but they are entitled to certain privileges. They are paid well. They travel and see the world. I’m sure there are slaves and brothel girls who would prefer it to their current circumstances. We should at least give women the option, to fight as men do and earn their freedom.’

‘The Senate will never allow it,’ said Hieronymus.

Claudia’s eye twitched. She clenched her hands, resting on the arms on the golden eagle throne.

‘Then I will not give them the chance to object,’ said Claudia. ‘As empress, it is my right to overrule them, if I think it best.’

‘You can’t just upend the very structure that the stability of our society rests on,’ said Hieronymus.

‘I think you’ll find I can, actually,’ she snapped. ‘Or did you think the former emperor was merely decorative?’

‘Perhaps we should revisit this later,’ said Damocles.

‘You act as if every emperor is wise, every senator is just and every soldier brave, just by virtue of being male,’ Claudia said.

‘Men are made for such things,’ said Hieronymus. ‘They have the necessary constitution.’

‘If that was true, you wouldn’t be so threatened by the prospect of women taking rank alongside you,’ she said.

She felt that heat rising inside her again, her insides churning.

‘And that’s not all,’ she said. ‘If women can fight and rule, then they should also stand in the Senate.’

They gaped at her.

‘Spare me from this insanity, I beg you,’ said Hieronymus.

‘What does Marcellus think of this?’ asked Damocles.

‘I have not consulted him. Why would I?’

The two men exchanged glances.

‘And your fiancé, the prince?’ said Damocles. ‘What if he objects and it threatens your union?’

‘It has nothing to do with him,’ said Claudia. ‘I am the ruler, and not them. I do not need a man’s approval. I will hear their objections after I have made the announcement, but not before.’

‘Perhaps now is not the time for such bold moves, Empress,’ said Damocles. ‘There has already been an attempt on your life. Your grip on Rome is tenuous, at best. We must move slowly, carefully, like a cunning predator in pursuit. It’s important to keep the Senate pacified, and not risk enraging them, like kicking a hornet’s nest.’

‘History is made by people being brave.’

‘You don’t know what you’re talking about,’ spat Hieronymus, shaking his wrinkly jowls. ‘You will offend the gods themselves, with your modernist nonsense. You know nothing about the Senate or the army.’

‘And my dear brother did?’ said Claudia. ‘You were happy to serve him, weren’t you? What about him did you find most convincing? His long military service, or his astute understanding of geopolitics?’

Hieronymus merely grumbled under his breath.

‘I don’t remember you objecting when Decimus declared that only Jupiter would be worshipped, or that Vulcan’s festival would be replaced with one honouring him. Where were you then?’

‘I was arranging your father’s funeral,’ he said darkly. ‘You didn’t seem to take much interest in it.’

‘Hold your tongue,’ said Gia, ‘or I shall cut it out.’

‘You will not speak to me like that, street rat,’ said Hieronymus. ‘The empress may tolerate your vulgarity, but I cannot.’

‘We are getting off-track,’ said Damocles nervously.