The boy was staring at him, wide-eyed.
‘Tell him,’ insisted Cenn Faelad.
Verbas was also staring as the boy translated and it was a sullen, almost malignant stare. Through his slave, he replied slowly.
‘Majesty, I am an honest merchant and visitor to your land. I do not know your customs. I will try not to cause you anger by keeping to mine. I come to trade and not impose myself. As soon as my business is conducted, I shall return to my ship with my property intact and leave your shores.’
The High King elected nodded absently. He turned to the boy, asking, ‘How do you speak our tongue so well, eh? What is your name?’
‘Assíd, lord.’
‘Assíd? But that is a name of Éireann,’ replied Cenn Faelad in astonishment. ‘Where are you from and how came you in this state?’
‘I do not remember where I am from, lord. I recall being on a boat with those I was later told were probably followers of the god Christ. Then there was fighting. I was taken from the ship and many of those on it were killed. I remember another ship. Then I was taken to a land where I was put in a cage. I think that was when this was placed on me.’ He raised a hand to touch his iron collar. ‘And I was given to this man, Verbas.’
Verbas interrupted sharply and was obviously asking Assíd what he was saying.
‘Tell him,’ Cenn Faelad instructed quickly, ‘that I am asking about the goods you have.’
The boy did so and this seemed to appease the merchant.
‘You remember nothing else before being on the ship?’
The boy shook his head.
‘But was this the language you spoke? Are you of this country?’
‘I seemed to know the language, lord,’ the boy said hesitantly. ‘There was a woman who was in Verbas’s house. She was older than me and spoke it as her native tongue. I learned more from her. She said she had been a pilgrim on her way to the holy land of Christ when her ship was seized and she was sold to Verbas, our master.’
Cenn Faelad sighed deeply. ‘It is a sad tale, Assid. I will consult the Brehons and see what they advise. But it is true that if you are able to get away and seek sanctuary, it will be given you. But this man is becoming suspicious. Now show me the goods.’
Assid muttered something to Verbas and he stood aside from the tent entrance and motioned them in.
Cenn Faelad entered, followed by Eadulf and Irél, and looked round. There were many amphorae in one corner and cloths of various bright colours, shimmering, were hanging up.
‘There is red wine from Gaul,’ Verbas said through Assid.
Cenn Faelad barely glanced at the amphorae.
‘If the wine tastes good, I’ll get Brother Rogallach to select a few of the amphorae for the kitchens,’ he observed. ‘But first, let me look at these garments.’
‘These are the finest of their kind from the East, lord,’ Verbas said through the boy. ‘You have a discerning eye, Majesty.’
Cenn Faelad let his hand slide lightly over the material. ‘It is beautiful, is it not, Eadulf my friend?’
Eadulf joined him and examined the cloth. ‘It is what you call sídna or siriac,’ he said, feeling it.
‘Indeed, it is silk, and good for cloaks or undershirts,’ agreed Cenn Faelad. ‘The other is sróll, satin. It is usually expensive.’ He addressed the boy. ‘I shall want to buy enough for some cloaks and other garments. Later this day, I will send my bollscari to make the purchases — sell them to no other. He will also come to taste some of the wine and purchase several amphorae. Sell that to no other.’
Surprisingly, the merchant did not look happy.
‘I was hoping to make the deal quickly, Majesty, and be on my way back to my ship.’
‘Tell him,’ Cenn Faelad said to the boy Assid, ‘we cannot let you depart so quickly as your journey has brought you such a long way. As soon as my steward has conducted my purchases with you, you may open your stall to others, but not before. Then you must remain and feast with us before returning to your ship.’
Eadulf understood what Cenn Faelad was about. He was giving the opportunity for the boy to escape and seek sanctuary from his slave master.
‘Assíd, I hope you understand what has been said here,’ Cenn Faelad stated, looking with a smile directly at Verbas as if he were addressing him. ‘Assure your master, Verbas, that he will get a fair price. And if you escape, you will be treated fairly too.’
The boy translated the necessary part of the sentence to the man, whoraised a hand again to his forehead and bowed — but his features bore a sullen look.
Cenn Faelad turned to Irél. ‘Let your man stay here and keep an eye on Verbas just in case he intends to remove himself back to his ship before I am ready.’
‘It shall be done,’ Irél said.
To Assid, Cenn Faelad said: ‘Explain to Verbas that I am leaving a warrior here for his own protection to make sure that others do not try to get his goods unfairly. Now,’ the young man grinned at Eadulf, ‘enough of these intrigues. I shall return to the royal enclosure.’
‘In that case, with your indulgence,’ Eadulf said, ‘I’ll look round the market for a while before I return.’
‘As you will,’ Cenn Faelad replied, turning away with Irél at his side.
Eadulf stood a moment, gazing after him. One thing worried him about Cenn Faelad. The heir apparent had shown himself capable of some duplicitous dealings and Eadulf was unsure whether to approve of his intentions or be suspicious of what this behaviour said about his character.
For a while Eadulf wandered through the noisy market, looking at the bright stalls and boisterous side-shows. All of a sudden, he came upon a smithy’s forge. It was situated at the end of the market stalls but was clearly not a temporary affair. A burly man was beating metal on an anvil; with tongs in one hand and his hammer in the other, he was striking at it with ringing tones. Eadulf was about to pass on when he noticed some of the smith’s work hanging up for passers-by to admire and purchase.
Among the items was a collection of keys.
An idea suddenly occurred to Eadulf.
‘Are you the only blacksmith in Tara?’ he asked the man.
The smith paused and put down his hammer.
‘I am not, Brother Saxon,’ he replied, showing his recognition of Eadulf’s clothes and accent. ‘But this is my forge. Why do you ask?’
‘How many smiths would there be here?’
The man laughed uproariously. ‘In the royal enclosure alone there may be half a dozen serving not only the nobles but the Fianna as well. Outside,’ he waved his arm around, ‘well, my friend, Tara is a large settlement.’
Eadulf nodded, slightly disappointed. Then: ‘But you are nearest the main gates of the royal enclosure,’ he observed.
‘I’ll not deny it and that, I grant, does help with my business. I get agood trade. Now, why are you asking such questions? You don’t want to set up as a smith, surely?’
Eadulf grinned and shook his head. ‘If I wanted a key made, would I come to you?’
‘A key, is it? I do make keys, but not often. Only the nobles want them. What sort of key do you want made?’
‘I do not want a key made myself, but within the last few weeks someone from the royal enclosure did — and probably they did not want anyone to know.’
The smith looked surprised and then he frowned in recollection. After a moment’s thought he asked: ‘Would the man have been a member of the Fianna?’
A thrill of excitement went through Eadulf. ‘You know of such a person?’
‘A matter of fact, not so many weeks ago, a warrior from the Fianna did ask me to copy a key for him. He said it was a key to a lady’s chamber — a lady who was jealously guarded by a husband …’ He smiled and winked. ‘You know how these things go, my friend, for you look like a man of the world.’