‘This is heavy infantry. I need other types of troops if I am to succeed. The barbarians will use hit and run tactics, I think, if the legends of the Amazon wars are anything to go by. I will need to train some of your new… slaves… as light troops — archers and slingers, and…’ She trailed off.
‘And?’ Balbus thought the demand reasonable. After all, he did not care how Lysandra trained the women, only that they performed on the day, and she was proving her mettle as a gifted ‘commander’.
‘Cavalry,’ she said quickly. ‘Heavy and light.’
‘Cavalry?’ the lanista sputtered. ‘Horses! But the cost… No, Lysandra, it could ruin me!’
‘ Lanista, I have seen a squadron of Thessalian women that are used in the execution of criminals at the Games of Aeschylus.
And I have heard of an Egyptian troupe that wear heavy armour and perform ‘tricks’. I am sure that more such women could be found. If you want things to be authentic — and you want us to win — I must have this support.’
Balbus decided to be reasonable. ‘Lysandra,’ he said, ‘I appre-ciate that you are trying to make things true to the myth and you should be commended for your thoroughness, but…’
‘Spartans are always through, lanista,’ she interrupted. ‘I must have these horses.’
Balbus pursed his lips at her impertinence but realised that such a change in attitude was inevitable given the freedoms he had invested upon Lysandra. On the other hand, he knew that she was the only woman in his entire ludus that could be trusted to maintain discipline given such latitude, so he tolerated it. ‘The cost of keeping horses is too prohibitive, Spartan,’ he said, knowing that referring to her in such a manner would be flattering. ‘I am already constructing a new wing at the ludus and purchasing a huge amount of… troops for your army.’
Lysandra pressed her lips into a thin line. ‘You are but one man, Lucius Balbus. The forces arrayed against us are the product of many schools banding together. On aggregate, they can raise more cash than you, and as such they can buy horsewomen. The barbarians you say will comprise the enemy are famed for their skill on horseback, even their women. If we face such on the field of battle without adequate support we will be cut to pieces.
There will be no way that I can make use of the terrain — we are to fight on an open field, I presume.’
‘Well, that is so,’ Balbus was forced to admit. ‘What would be the point otherwise? People will need to see what’s going on, and we cannot transport the whole mob to a battleground of your choosing, Lysandra.’
‘Precisely, lanista. If I were to choose a battle ground for an infantry against cavalry action, I would ensure that I had higher ground at least, and my flanks unassailable at best. In our scenario, this will not be the case. I do not know the disposition of the enemy, and if they are heavy in their use of horse soldiers, I could be out-flanked by these faster-moving troops. I cannot predict how the enemy will array herself, so I will have to array myself in accordance to correct military practice. This could result in a defensive action, or worse, a complete exposure of my force if the enemy arrays non-conventionally. For instance, a refusal of flank could be disastrous unless I have my own fast-moving troops to engage theirs. After that the phalanx can do its work. But the phalanx can be exposed…’
Balbus held up his hand; it was getting far too technical for him. He glanced at Titus and could tell by his expression that Lysandra evidently knew what she was talking about. He sighed.
‘This is dependent on the ‘enemy’ having horses.’
Lysandra nodded.
‘I will make an investigation. If I find that the other schools are preparing cavalry, I will seek extra funding and you will have your horses. If they are not, then there is no need for any of this.’
‘Thank you.’ Balbus thought that she was about to salute him, but evidently she thought better of it and turned away without another word.
‘This could ruin me,’ he said again, this time to Titus.
‘Aye, it could.’ The grizzled trainer laughed. ‘But it would be a show like no other before it, Balbus. You have to admire her spirit.’
Balbus’s answering grin was a little forced but he concurred with the trainer. ‘I’ll get Falco to look into it,’ he said. ‘Whatever happens, Titus, with this much investment going into this spectacle, I want very much to win.’
‘I was a soldier before I came to this,’ Titus said, and Balbus braced himself for a lengthy anecdotal story from an old legionary sweat. ‘She will win, lanista, I can guarantee it. If she is given the materiel she needs. She reminds me of a young tribune I knew when I was serving in Germania…’
‘I will have Falco look into it,’ Balbus cut in quickly.
Titus looked crestfallen and turned his attention back to the training.
XLIV
‘He’s coming? Here?’ Sextus Julius Frontinus was as close as he ever got to panic.
‘Yes, my lord.’ Diocles, a Greek freedman, regarded his former owner calmly.
‘When?’ Frontinus clambered from his couch.
‘Perhaps three months.’ Diocles ran a hand through his thin-ning hair. ‘Perhaps sooner. The letter is dated July and we are close to September now.’
Frontinus began to pace. ‘But this is unscheduled,’ he accused, as if there were something the secretary could do to alter the matter.
‘Rome feels no need to observe protocol, Governor,’ the slender freedman commented, slightly disdainful. ‘She makes protocol.’
Frontinus glowered at him. ‘Shall I tell you what this is, Diocles?’
Diocles nodded, a man who had no choice in the answer to the question.
‘This is a spying mission. There’s no other explanation. He’s coming here to make sure I don’t botch the preparations for Domitian’s birthday celebration. These new men think we of the old guard can’t take a shit without their help.’
‘Yes, my lord.’ Diocles said, keeping his expression neutral.
‘Well, I’ll show this Trajanus how we do things in Halicarnassus.
Not by half measures, eh, Diocles?’
‘No, my lord.’
‘Three months, Diocles. Not long to put an extravaganza together for his elucidation. But, this is something we must do.
Can’t have Rome saying my province wasn’t up to scratch!’
‘My thoughts exactly, sir.’ Diocles injected enough boredom into his voice to let Frontinus know that he was rambling and that decisions should be made — and quickly at that.
The governor bristled for a moment and then laughed. ‘Well, no sense in panicking over something we can’t change.’
‘No, my lord.’
‘Well, let’s start to call in the debts and the favours, my boy.
Get me Balbus. Get me that Syrian whoremaster — you know the one. Get me…’
‘I am sure that I can find what you are looking for. Catering, entertainments, both visual and sensual — and, of course, a games.
Accommodation for him and his retinue — et cetera, et cetera. ’
‘Yes, Diocles, that’s it.’ Frontinus sat back on the couch and mopped his brow. ‘The buggers thought they had the General outflanked! Well, not this old soldier.’
‘Of course, my lord. I shall make sure all is in order.’ Diocles smiled slightly, inclining his head, and turned away. There was much work to be done.
‘It’s going to be huge,’ Balbus told his retinue of trainers. ‘Bigger even than the Games of Aeschylus. In fact, the perfect prelude to the grand battle we plan next year. I want the women in top shape,’ he added, stabbing a finger.
Stick lounged on a couch. ‘What about the growing army?’ he said. ‘ General Lysandra will be most displeased if her training regimen is interrupted.’
‘I think all will be well with that,’ Titus broke in. ‘She has her daily routine off to a fine art.’ He turned his
