Peter Tremayne - Penance of the Damned

‘Then we will deal with them first and I will inform friend Eadulf once it is safe to show us where Gorman is.’ Conri raised his hand in acknowledgement and called to some warriors to attend him before setting off to the Abbey of Nechta.

‘Do you really know what happened?’ Eadulf asked Fidelma as they headed back to the great hall.

‘I can show that Gorman is innocent,’ she replied confidently.

‘Although Nannid is no longer Abbot of Mungairit, can you prove he is behind this conspiracy?’

‘On the contrary,’ Fidelma replied with a slight smile. ‘Nannid is not at the centre of this web of intrigue.’

‘What? You mean there is someone else?’

‘Of that, I was never more certain,’ she replied with emphasis.

The great hall of Prince Donennach was not exactly crowded, but those who attended made up for the numbers with vociferous excitement. Ceit the commander of the household guard had placed ten of his men in strategic places throughout the hall. He and two of his men were stationed behind the official carved oak chairs of office on the dais. The right-hand one was for the prince, and the left-hand one for Airmid, his sister in her role as tanaise .

Just below the dais, Brehon Faolchair sat as usual. He would formally conduct the business of the gathering as it was now a court of law.

The long table reserved for the feasting had been removed to one side and benches had been placed to the left of the hall. On these were gathered the potential witnesses and behind them, observers. The elderly Etromma had taken her seat alongside an anxious-looking Aibell. In the same group of seats sat Prior Cuan, his steward Brother Tuaman, the scribe Brother Mac Raith, a scowling Abbot Nannid, his steward Brother Cuineain and Brother Eladach, the doorkeeper of the Abbey of Nechta. Next to him was the young Brother Feradach of Mungairit and the warrior, Lachtna. On the right hand of the hall, Fidelma and Eadulf were seated at a small table alongside a scribe appointed by Brehon Faolchair to record the hearing.

Gorman, looking pale and strained, had been escorted from his hiding place. His appointed seat was directly opposite Brehon Faolchair. Conri and Enda stood on either side of him, with Socht behind. Aibell kept looking towards him with a desperate combination of love and fear. Apart from an initial reassuring glance to her when he had entered, Gorman now stood with his gaze fixed on Brehon Faolchair.

Brehon Faolchair scrutinised the occupants of the hall before he had a whispered exchange with Prince Donennach. The latter, looking tense, raised a hand in signal and a trumpeter at the far end of the hall put his instrument to his lips and gave three resounding blasts. The clamour of the gathering died almost immediately. Brehon Faolchair then rose to his feet.

‘May I remind all present that this is a legal hearing which has been called according to the law of the Five Kingdoms. The first business of the court is to hear the charge against Gorman of Cashel as to his guilt or otherwise of the murder of Abbot Segdae of Imleach and any other matters arising from that death such as the deaths of Ciarnat of this place and Brother Mael Anfaid of Imleach. This court has admitted that its preliminary hearing of Gorman for the murder of Abbot Segdae was not constituted in the proper manner and hence we have accepted Fidelma of Cashel’s plea for this retrial. All legal niceties have now been made and agreed upon.’

At once Abbot Nannid rose in protest. ‘If we must go through this farce again, there are two other deaths connected with this matter that need to be considered. The accused killed two guards when he escaped from the custody of my abbey last night.’

Brehon Faolchair was not sympathetic.

‘Since Gorman was being held illegally under the law of the Five Kingdoms, it has been rightfully argued that the killing of the two brigands from Sliabh Luachra who held him was an act of self-defence. Should Gorman be judged guilty, there may be a possibility of appealing this matter later. Are you ready to state your case, Fidelma?’

Faces turned expectantly as Fidelma rose to her feet and bowed her head towards the Brehon.

‘My mentor, the renowned Brehon Morann of Tara, often used the maxim: truth is great and will prevail,’ she began slowly. ‘In this matter, the truth has taken a while to prevail. What was the basis of the charge against Gorman? Let me remind you. Gorman was found in a chamber claimed to have been locked from the inside because the key of the chamber was found still inside. There was a dagger by his hand and before him was the bloody body of Abbot Segdae of Imleach. Gorman says he was knocked out from a blow that came from behind him. There is evidence by bruising on his head that he did receive such a blow. This was discounted, according to witnesses, because there was no way another person could have entered the room. The blow was explained away as having been made by Abbot Segdae as he tried to defend himself with his staff of office. Even mortally wounded, it is said that he gave Gorman that blow. No logical motive for the killing was presented – except that it was claimed that Gorman had arrived for that fatal meeting in an angry state.’

She paused and looked thoughtfully at the witness benches. Eadulf was aware that, in presenting her cases, Fidelma liked to make dramatic pauses.

‘Within a short time of my arriving here I found there was another way in which Abbot Segdae could have been slain in that room which was supposedly locked from the inside.’

Loud murmurs of surprise rose from the onlookers.

‘If Gorman was innocent then it became fairly obvious as to the identity of the killer – the one person who had the opportunity to do the deed. But I had to question whether it was a deed done by a single person? If so, what was their motive? If several people were involved, then the motive grew even more dark and ominous. Instead of simply clearing Gorman, the purpose of my investigation had to be to pursue the questions that then arose. It is often easy to find out “how”, but harder to find out “why” – and it was the “why” that became essential to revealing the complete truth. Without answering the “why” it would not have been possible to clear Gorman to everyone’s satisfaction.’

She paused again as if to consider her arguments before resuming. ‘It is easy to see the purpose of implicating Gorman in this crime. It was to create dissension between the Ui Fidgente and Cashel once more. If Abbot Nannid had had his way and had Gorman executed under these alien Penitentials, it would certainly have provoked a demand for retribution from Cashel. If Gorman was released, it could provoke internal conflict among the Ui Fidgente and perhaps the overthrow of Prince Donennach, who would be presented as someone afraid of incurring Cashel’s displeasure. That was at the basis of a curious conspiracy.’

Abbot Nannid had been sitting rigidly, staring at her. Now he rose, his stance threatening. ‘Are you accusing me of Segdae’s murder?’ he thundered. ‘If so …’

Brehon Faolchair interrupted sharply. ‘You will be silent while the dalaigh is stating her case. That is her right under law. You will have plenty of opportunity for rebuttal later.’

Ignoring the outburst, Fidelma went on: ‘Let us go through matters carefully. Gorman and his wife Aibell while visiting her uncle heard some disturbing news from travelling merchants. The news was that Glaed, by killing his brother, had made himself chief of the brigands of Sliabh Luachra and was preparing to raid the Ui Fidgente territory. More importantly the merchants told Gorman that Glaed was involved in serving some Ui Fidgente noble in a plot to depose Prince Donennach.