Peter Tremayne - Penance of the Damned

‘It would fit,’ Marban agreed slowly. ‘Gorman was certainly reluctant to believe the story that you would abandon him, but Aibell was convinced. There was a necessity to move quickly and no time to debate the matter. So Gorman accepted it as the truth.’

‘It might also explain the reason why Ciarnat was killed,’ Eadulf pointed out.

Marban looked shocked. ‘What? You say that Ciarnat has been killed?’

‘Murdered,’ Eadulf said heavily. Then, warming to an idea, he went on. ‘What if the person who told Ciarnat that we intended to abandon Gorman had done so knowing that an escape would be made? Once the plan had gone as expected, what if that person then killed the girl to prevent her being a witness against him?’

Enda leaned forward. ‘Why make it look as if Brother Mael Anfaid killed her?’

Eadulf was terse. ‘We know the killer had tried to implicate him, hanging the girl with his loman after he had killed Brother Mael Anfaid. Perhaps it was simply to lead a false trail? If Brother Mael Anfaid had fed her the lie about Gorman’s warning having been dismissed by Donennach, it is likely that he also told her that we had betrayed Gorman.’

‘Did Aibell amplify on what Ciarnat told her?’ Fidelma’s question was aimed at Marban.

‘She only said that Ciarnat had told her that you had accepted that Gorman’s cause was lost and had given up on saving him. But … I am sorry, lady. I am trying to remember what Aibell said. Ciarnat mentioned that it was someone of influence. Anyway, it was felt that the only thing they could do in the circumstances was to flee the fortress and go into exile. Ciarnat arranged everything, having bribed a guard who showed them a gate in the fortress through which they could escape without being observed.’

‘Brother Mael Anfaid was a part of all this?’ queried Eadulf.

‘It is hard to believe that Ciarnat would describe him as someone of influence,’ Fidelma said thoughtfully.

‘Many things are hard to believe,’ Marban volunteered. ‘Even the evidence against Gorman.’

‘Ciarnat was given the wrong information on purpose, knowing she would pass it on. Afterwards, the poor girl was murdered to silence her. Mael Anfaid enters into the chain of information somewhere. It is my intention to find out the truth from Gorman and Aibell.’

Marban was unhappy about this. ‘It is a heavy responsibility you are placing on me, lady. Can I be assured that you are still determined to defend Gorman? Aibell my niece has found happiness with him. I would not want to rob her of it as she has been robbed of her mother and most of her young life. You must promise me that you do not intend to simply drag him back to Dun Eochair Mhaigh and give him over to the mercy of Abbot Nannid.’

Enda gave a low chuckle. ‘The idea of anyone trying to drag Gorman anywhere he did not want to go …’

‘You have my promise that I believe Gorman to be innocent of the murder of Abbot Segdae. I knew it almost from the first moment I arrived at Prince Donennach’s fortress.’

Marban hesitated only a moment more. ‘I trust you, Fidelma. I trust you all,’ he added, including Eadulf and Enda. He was silent awhile and then he made up his mind. ‘I know where Aibell and Gorman have gone and will direct you there.’

‘It is for the sake of truth and justice, Marban,’ Fidelma assured him. ‘When did they leave here?’

‘They left yesterday because they reasoned that it was well known that I was Aibell’s uncle and eventually someone would come here looking for them.’

‘Where did they intend to go?’

‘They had not decided on their final destination. The first place they intended going was to a cousin of mine. His homestead is north-west of here. He and his son have a farmstead but my cousin is a worker in wood and prefers to isolate himself in a woodman’s hut in a dense forest on a nearby hill. That is where they will be, not at the farmstead. You can’t miss the hill because of its length and it rises no more than three hundred metres. It is mostly hazelwood that covers the slopes.’

‘To the north-west?’ Fidelma was thoughtful. ‘Would that take us towards the coast?’

‘Not as far as that,’ said Marban. ‘It is no more than ten kilometres from here. Just a short ride. I will show you the track that will take you across the marshlands. Follow it, and then, keeping to the track through the forests, you will come to the hill that I speak of.’

‘Will it also help if we know its name?’ suggested Eadulf.

‘I don’t think I’ve ever heard it,’ Marban said with a grin. ‘Anyway, my cousin is named Corradain and he is an erscraidhe .’

It was Enda who explained: ‘That means a carver of wood.’

‘Like I said, it is my cousin’s profession,’ Marban agreed.

‘Is there any special reason why they should be going to stay with your cousin?’ Fidelma asked.

‘Only that Corradain is an honourable person. He will hide them until they make up their mind where they should eventually go.’

‘Before we leave I would like to know a little about what happened when Aibell first came here. I mean before Gorman turned up.’

‘That was some weeks ago, when she arrived here with a man from Sliabh Luachra. He was called Deogaire and apparently had helped Aibell escape from the bondage of Fidaig. He did not stay long. Aibell wanted to meet me and talk about her parentage. I told her the story of how I helped her mother escape from her father Escmug to Rath Menma, and how I finally had to kill him to protect her mother. I kept nothing back from her.’

‘That was good,’ Fidelma said.

‘It was not long afterwards that the warrior, Gorman arrived. At first they had a big row shouting at each other. Then the next thing they were in each other’s arms.’ The miller threw back his head and gave a loud shout of laughter. ‘Young love!’

‘So,’ prompted Fidelma, ‘they decided to go to Rath Menma …?’

‘Yes. I went with them.’

‘And they were married there?’

‘And there they were married,’ confirmed the miller. ‘The old couple Cadan and Flannair, who farmed there, knew a local Brehon who came to ensure all was done according to law.’

‘Then you all returned here?’

‘It was while we were returning that we encountered a band of merchants who told us the news about Glaed. He had killed his brother Artgal and escaped, and was now leading the Luachair Deaghaid out of their burrows from Sliabh Luachra.’

‘This is the point where I become confused,’ Eadulf admitted. ‘Why did that fact become of such concern to Gorman? Admittedly, he knew that Glaed was an outlaw, who had killed his own father among others and now his own brother. We all knew that. But all those who dwell in the valleys of Sliabh Luachra are thieves and robbers if not killers.’

The miller spread his hands. ‘Gorman and Aibell had decided to return to Cashel. But one of the merchants said that he had overheard that Glaed had agreed to serve as a mercenary to some powerful person who was going to overthrow the Prince of the Ui Fidgente.’

‘What?’ Fidelma straightened with a startled look.

‘We had heard about Glaed and his declaration to have revenge on those who had wronged him. But we did not know this particular detail,’ Eadulf explained.

‘But it is logical, now I give it thought,’ Fidelma reflected. ‘He was involved with the previous conspiracy to murder Prince Donennach, so why should he not be involved in another one?’

‘I suppose the merchants did not tell Gorman the identity of this powerful person?’ Eadulf asked.

They were not surprised when Marban gave a shake of his head. ‘No names were mentioned.’