‘Do you object to your companions’ quest?’ Fidelma asked.
Brother Tola toyed with the food that was still on his plate.
‘I would have thought that much was obvious. Brothers Dathal and Adamrae have no right pretending to go on a religious pilgrimage merely in order to indulge their interest in secular matters.’
Brother Dathal’s face whitened and his voice rose considerably.
‘Nothing is more sacred than the pursuit of knowledge, Brother Tola.’
‘Nothing, except God and His saints,’ snapped Brother Tola, suddenly rising from the table. ‘Ever since we left Bangor, I have heard only of your precious search for historical truth. I am sick of it. We are here on a pilgrimage to the Holy Shrine of a great saint; one who knew and walked with Christ. That is more important than human vanity.’
‘What of Ith, the son of Bregon, who fell in battle in Ireland?’ retorted the mournful Brother Adamrae. ‘What of Golamh and his sons who were our forefathers? Isn’t that of great importance? Without them, you would not even exist to go on your pilgrimage.’
‘For one who bears the name of the first man created by God, you care little for your religion,’ berated Tola.
Brother Adamrae sat back and began to chuckle. Brother Tola looked shocked at what he mistook for profanity. Even Fidelma hid a smile behind a raised hand. She was surprised by Tola’s lack of knowledge.
Brother Dathal was not so diplomatic.
‘Your ignorance proves the need for what you describe as our human vanity,’ he told Brother Tola bluntly. ‘The name Adamrae has nothing to do with the Biblical name of Adam. It is an ancient name of our people, meaning “wonderful”. See how much you lack in knowledge if you concentrate on one subject?’
Brother Tola turned with an expression of disgust and left the table.
Sister Ainder who, Fidelma judged from her severity of countenance, was the female counterpart of Brother Tola, made a disapproving noise with her tongue.
‘One should not be disrespectful to Brother Tola. He is a man of great learning and piety.’
‘Learning?’ sneered Brother Dathal.
‘He is learned in scripture and philosophy,’ replied Sister Ainder.
‘He is not learned in our field and he was disrespectful to us,’ replied Brother Adamrae defensively. ‘We do not disguise our purpose in this voyage. It is our mission to bring back knowledge to our Abbey, already famed for its scholarship. Brother Tola seems to be against scholarship.’
‘He is not against that scholarship which we should all be keen to advance — religious scholarship,’ replied Sister Ainder.
Brother Adamrae was disparaging not only of Brother Tola but his defender, Sister Ainder.
‘The pursuit of religious knowledge does not mean that all other arts and sciences have to be ignored. I swear, since this pilgrimage began, there has been nothing but strife in our party. If not from the intolerance of Brother Tola then from the lust of-’
‘Enough!’
Sister Crella’s voice cut the air like a whip. There was an uncomfortable silence.
‘Enough, Brother Adamrae.’ Her voice assumed a more gentle tone of rebuke. ‘You would not wish our southern companion to think that we northerners are always quarrelling among ourselves, would you?’ She turned to Fidelma with a smile. ‘I noticed that our captain introduced you as Fidelma of Cashel. Are you from the Abbey there?’
Fidelma thought it better to be noncommittal. In fact, she could make such a claim, and did so.
‘But you knew Brother Cian in Tara?’ This question came from the young girl, Gorman.
‘I was acquainted with him many years ago,’ Fidelma replied distantly. She felt their eyes on her but she bent to her meal. She had no desire to get too close to her companion and certainly did not want to be ensnared into whatever friction existed between the various members of the party. There would be enough problems in dealing with Cian.
Brother Dathal broke the awkward silence by quoting from some epic poet:
‘The leaders of those oversea ships,
In which the sons of Mile of Spain came to Eireann,
I shall remember all my life -
Their names and their individual fates.’
He punctuated the verse with a loud sniff and rose from the table. He was followed a moment later by his dour red-haired companion.
‘I hope you will forgive the sharpness of their tempers this morning, Sister … Sister Fidelma, is it?’ Fidelma realised that Sister Ainder had turned a patronising smile on her. There was no warmth or feeling in it. ‘Scholars are notoriously possessed of short tempers, especially when they speak of their own disciplines, which they do loudly and frequently. We have not really had much peace since we set out from Bangor.’
Fidelma inclined her head in acknowledgement.
‘I am afraid that it was my question which sparked off their argument.’
Across the table, the broad-faced young Sister Crella grimaced in disagreement.
‘If it was not your question, Sister Fidelma, then the clash of temperaments would have been made for some other reason. It is true that Brother Tola has been criticising Dathal and Adamrae ever since we set out.’
Sister Ainder sprang at once to Tola’s defence.
‘There is no cause to lay the blame on Brother Tola. He is a spiritual man and concerned that this is a pilgrimage in search of spiritual truth.’
‘Brother Tola should not have joined this party if he wanted to go in search of some esoteric ideal,’ Crella retorted.
If one could flounce on the gently rocking deck of the cabin, Sister Ainder contrived to flounce out. Sister Gorman, the youngest of the party, also rose, mumbled something indistinct and left the table.
Wenbrit, smiling brightly, began clearing up. He seemed to enjoy the conflict between the adult religieux at the table.
Sister Crella picked at her meal in silence for a while, then she raised her eyes to Fidelma.
‘I can hear old Ainder saying that the young have no respect these days,’ she smirked.
Fidelma did not know whether the comment was a general one or addressed to her. She decided that she should make some reply.
‘My mentor, the Brehon Morann, was wont to say that the young always regard their elders as senile. So it is now, but so it was in all our youthful ages.’
‘Respect is something that one has to earn, Sister, and not demand because one has survived a few years.’
Wenbrit, standing behind Sister Crella, contrived to wink at Fidelma as he bent to gather the plate.
Chapter Six
Fidelma rose quietly from the table and began to move towards the companionway.
‘If you are going on deck, Fidelma, I will join you,’ Cian called after her, rising to follow.
‘I am going to my cabin,’ Fidelma replied shortly, making it clear that she had no wish to speak with him. She knew that it was a silly attitude to take, for sooner or later she would have to confront the situation.
‘Then I will walk with you,’ Cian responded, unabashed by her obvious rebuke.
Fidelma moved on hurriedly to the companionway and climbed up to the main deck. Cian caught up with her and laid a hand on her arm. She automatically snatched it away, glancing round to ensure that they were unobserved.
Cian let out a low, derisive chuckle.
‘You cannot escape me for ever, Fidelma,’ he said in the cynical tone she remembered so well.
Fidelma met his eyes a moment and then dropped her gaze. She was still unsure of herself.
‘Escape?’ she countered defensively. ‘I have no idea what you are talking about.’
‘Perhaps you are still nursing a resentment at the way our affair ended?’
Fidelma knew that a high colour had come to her cheeks. His mocking barb stung deeply.
‘I put the matter out of my mind years ago,’ she lied.