Peter Tremayne - A Prayer for the Damned

‘You know that is impossible, Colgú.’

‘Ninnid tells me that he is ready to prosecute and the Chief Brehon says he is prepared to sit in judgement. They simply await your word.’

‘Well, I am not ready. There is more to this than Ninnid will argue.’

‘Ninnid seems a pompous ass,’ muttered Eadulf.

Colgú glanced at him. ‘Pompous he may be, my friend, but I am told that he has an astute legal mind.’

‘Even with this pressure, we need more time,’ insisted Fidelma.

‘If you delay beyond a reasonable period, Ninnid is within his rights to prosecute without further loss of time.’ Colgú reminded her of the law she knew well. ‘Barrán waits only because of who Muirchertach is and out of courtesy to you. If it had been any lesser person than the king of Connacht accused of this crime, then the trial would have been over by now.’

‘Trial?’ Fidelma retorted. ‘And what sort of trial would that be? Is it unreasonable to allow sufficient time for truth to emerge before a person is rushed to judgement.’

Her brother gave an eloquent shrug.

‘Verbum sat sapienti,’ he said simply. ‘A word to the wise. Barrán and the High King will not wait for ever.’

‘I will not take for ever, brother. But I will not be rushed to trial before I have discovered the truth.’

Colgú sighed softly. ‘Anyway, I presume that you have no objection to my distracting our guests?’

‘None,’ she replied, ‘if the guests want to be distracted. Do they include Blathmac, the king of Ulaidh? I would have thought that he at least, among the nobles, would want to mourn one of his kingdom’s abbots.’

‘I do not think Ultán had any friends to mourn him outside his entourage who came here with him. Even Blathmac seemed to share the common dislike of the abbot. And Muirchertach has offered to extend his parole, his gell , so that he may accompany the hunt. I see no objection to that. I shall go ahead with it. The thought of the sport will at least occupy our guests for another day.’

‘Muirchertach wants to join the hunt?’ Fidelma was astonished. ‘He seems very confident in my ability to exonerate him. Ah well, entertain the guests by all means, brother, but in spite of Muirchertach’s parole, I would advise that you keep a close watch on him.’

‘So you do suspect Muirchertach?’ Colgú said quickly.

‘Not at all. But there may be some who do and wish him harm. It would be foolish to let our guests wander too freely.’

Colgú grinned. ‘We can hardly make the High King a suspect.’

‘I would just prefer that a sharp eye was kept on this hunt. .’ She glanced suddenly at Eadulf, who jerked his head up in dismay. ‘I need to remain here to continue the investigation. .’

‘I would prefer. .’ he began to protest.

Colgú caught her thought and clapped Eadulf on the shoulder with a chuckle.

‘An excellent idea. I do not think that you have taken part in one of our boar hunts, have you, Eadulf? You will find it an excellent education.’

Eadulf’s expression was positively woebegone. ‘I am not a good horseman. .’

‘Nonsense,’ interrupted Colgú. ‘Anyway, the huntsmen lead the way on foot with their dogs. Only the nobles, who are the spearmen, follow on horse. Then behind them come the ladies on horseback. So you have a choice. You can go on foot with the huntsmen, of course.’

Fidelma took pity on Eadulf’s alarmed expression.

‘Let young Gormán ride with you to assist you in the task. He can also explain what is happening during the hunt. But keep close to Muirchertach.’

Eadulf was resigned. ‘What will you be doing?’ he asked moodily.

‘We will not be able to speak to everyone today. There are several people that I still need to question, such as the two young religious who accompanied Ultán. They might be able to give more details of the man and his enemies. I also want to speak with Fergus Fanat of Ulaidh and Dúnchad Muirisci before the end of today.’

Colgú was surprised. ‘What is their involvement?’ he demanded.

‘Perhaps none, but their word is needed as witnesses in clarifying some matters.’

‘Then be as diplomatic as you can, sister,’ Colgú advised her. ‘These are nobles with much power.’

‘And you are not?’ she asked mockingly.

Colgú shook his head. ‘The art of kingship is to maintain the peace but not to stir up antagonisms.’

‘Do not fear, my brother. My intention is merely to search for the truth.’

Colgú grimaced wryly. ‘There was a line in that play by Terence that was performed here last year — The Girl from Andros — what was it now?’

‘Veritas odium parit’ muttered Eadulf.

‘Exactly. Truth breeds hate. Be careful when you search for truth that you do not stir up hate.’

‘While I am asked to function as a dálaigh , I cannot be stopped from that search,’ Fidelma said firmly.

Colgú turned for the door, saying over his shoulder: ‘I will go to draw up the list of those who will attend the hunt tomorrow. I’ll let you have it later.’

Fidelma had decided that they should first follow up the intriguing reference that Abbot Augaire had made to Fergus Fanat of Ulaidh but, by chance, they encountered Dúnchad Muirisci, the tánaiste to the king of Connacht, as they were crossing one of the courtyards. He was young, sandy-haired and handsome, with a ready smile and large blue eyes. He carried himself with the bearing of a warrior.

‘Abbot Augaire? Indeed he was with me last evening for some time. He left late. We were playing brandubh . He is a very determined player. Eventually I had to accept the loss of the High King.’

Brandubh , black raven, was one of the most popular board games in the five kingdoms. The board was divided into forty-nine squares, the centre square symbolising Tara, the centre of the cosmos, and the four squares round it the capitals of the provincial kings. Here the four defending kings had to keep the invading force at bay without leaving the High King on the centre square unprotected. Eadulf found it too slow and cerebral for his taste.

‘So Abbot Augaire won the game?’ he said. ‘Do you know, roughly, when the abbot came to your chambers?’

‘Not long after the evening meal. Many of the nobles continued to drink and listen to the bards and storytellers. But Augaire and I had agreed to match our minds across the gaming board. Indeed, we had a wager on it, and’ — he shrugged ruefully — ‘I confess I lost and he has my silver piece to prove it.’

‘When did he leave?’ asked Fidelma.

‘Towards midnight, I think. I know that I had retired to bed sometime after he left but was disturbed by shouting in the corridor. I had already been disturbed once that evening so I ignored it. It was only this morning that I realised that it must have been when the body of Ultán was discovered.’

‘What did you think when your king, Muirchertach, was accused?’

‘Shall I be honest?’

Fidelma gazed at him with steely eyes.

‘That is the purpose of my questioning,’ she said sharply.

‘I was excited. I am his heir apparent and if he were to be guilty of this murder, then I would automatically succeed and be king of Connacht.’

‘That is being honest indeed,’ muttered Eadulf.

Dúnchad Muirisci laughed as if it were a joke.

‘You cannot make emotions illegal,’ he said.

Fidelma’s lips thinned for a moment. ‘So long as they remain emotions and hidden rather than being given physical substance.’

Dúnchad Muirisci continued to smile. ‘Come, lady, you do not suspect that I slunk into Abbot Ultán’s chamber to kill him, then put the blame on Muirchertach in order that I could succeed as king?’