Eadulf sighed deeply. ‘I feel sorry for Brother Donnán. I think he was caught up in Lady Eithne’s web of murder and intrigue without realising where it was leading.’
‘Brother Donnán has agreed to make reparation and spend it rebuilding the destroyed library at Fhear Maighe. However, when a book that has no copies is destroyed, it is like the destruction of a human life. The book is no more and will never be again. It is just like murder. But the real person to feel sorry for is Brother Gáeth. He has lost most in this terrible affair. He lost his only friend, Donnchad.’
‘But he is no longer condemned to be a daer-fudir, for Uallachán made his views known and Abbot Iarnla no longer has to obey the constrictions of Lady Eithne.’
‘You are right. He is a freeman in law. But Fate has been harsh to him. He will continue his life as a field hand, working at the abbey. He is not prepared for anything else in life. At least he will have nothing to fear there but had things been otherwise …’
‘What will happen to Donnchad’s account of why he lost his Faith that he asked Brother Gáeth to keep?’
‘Brehon Aillín has seen it and accepted it as proof of Donnchad’s state of mind. But it can neither be destroyed nor proclaimed. For the time being, it will remain undisturbed in the Mound of the Dead.’
Eadulf rose to his feet and threw his piece of quaking grass into the stream, watching it swirl away in the eddies for a moment. Then he shook his head and looked up at the sky. There were some feathery-looking clouds high in the sky, the wisps almost blending together to form high ripples.
‘A mackerel sky,’ he remarked. ‘There might be somechangeable weather ahead. It has been warm for so long. We might have rain soon.’
Fidelma rose to join him. ‘Let us hope that there will be no storms before we reach Cashel.’
‘And when we reach Cashel?’
She regarded him sadly. ‘I have made my decision, Eadulf. You must now make your choice.’