‘I did not know this either,’ Conri. protested. ‘I did not know they were stone polishers. The abbot never told me.’
Eadulf had turned to the girl. ‘And this was what you were made to do on the island?’
‘Even worse, we were made to use, as tables, three of the rectangular burial platforms, quartz-covered leachts, under which the old leaders of the community were buried.’ Sister Easdan shivered and crossed herself. ‘They made us work on their graves as if they had been nothing but slabs of wood.’
‘Why not deny that you were workers in precious stones?’ asked Eadulf.
‘They had obviously found out who we were and what we did,’ Sister
Esumaro leant towards Fidelma.
‘I have been captain of a merchant vessel for many years. I know the trade between here and Gaul. I can tell you that the stones I saw on the island — what do you call them, lec-logmar? — were valuable beyond anything I have seen elsewhere. Amethyst, topaz, emerald and sapphire… never have I seen such riches before.’
Eadulf looked doubtful.
‘Where would such precious stones come from?’ he demanded. Gaeth the smith, who had been listening intently to the questioning, smiled gently.
‘Do not be surprised, Brother Saxon. Such stones as these are to be found, often in abundance, in these mountains and the coastal areas. They are extracted from clefts between the great rock surfaces, tiny shining crystals in the sandstone cliffs. They are difficult to find but now and again a rich seam of them comes to light. They are very expensive for artisans to use. I know that Ard Fhearta has its own craftsmen who use the stones that these sisters cut and polish to embellish crucifixes and chalices and other icons for your Christian church.’
‘But emeralds, sapphires…’ began Eadulf sceptically.
‘Believe me, Brother,’ Esumaro said earnestly, ‘I tell you I have seen several boxes of those glittering gems. The unworked crystal was brought to the sisters and when they had done with it the stones were stored in boxes in the chapel. The man, Olcan, and his master are amassing a fortune.’
‘So these stones are local? Do you know where exactly they came from?’ asked Fidelma in curiosity.
‘They would not tell us,’ Sister Easdan said, ‘but we found out that some of the hermits had been made to work on the far side of the island. We believe that there was a seam there where the crystal was plentiful. It was clear purple stone, amethyst. I am not sure where they brought the other in from. But as Esumaro says, there were some sapphires and emeralds and a few topazes.’
Eadulf glanced at Esumaro.
‘You did not possess the cutting and polishing skill of the sisters, so what did you do?’
‘I simply acted as a general handyman,’ the sailor replied. ‘I lifted and
‘Why was that?’ Fidelma asked.
‘Well, when I was first taken captive Sister Easdan intervened after they recognised me as a Gaul. She explained that I was a noted scholar, and I gave them the name of Brother Maros. When our captors pointed out that I wore no tonsure, Sister Easdan’ — he smiled quickly at her — ‘claimed that I was a follower of the Blessed Budoc of Laurea, and his followers did not wear tonsures. She said I had been with them some time at the abbey of Ard Fhearta.’
He paused.
‘Very well, go on,’ Eadulf said encouragingly.
‘At first they seemed content enough with that explanation. Truly, I had never heard of Budoc of Laurea. Sister Easdan quickly instructed me on the march through the mountains. Budoc had apparently become Bishop of Dol over a hundred years ago. That is in Armorica — which we are now calling Little Britain because of the countless refugees from Britain who have come to live in there since they were driven out by you Saxons.’
A colour sprang to Eadulf’s cheeks.
‘I am not responsible for what my ancestors did,’ he protested.
Esumaro chuckled. ‘Is there not a saying about the sins of the fathers?’
Fidelma laid a hand on Eadulf’s arm.
‘We are in Muman, not Britain, Esumaro. Let us concentrate our minds on the immediate matter. You said that your captors were initially content with the explanation that you were a member of the religieux. This implies that they were not content later. What happened?’
‘I had the feeling that this strange person, the one called the master, was watching me for some time after we were captured. It is hard to explain. Several times I glanced in his direction but it was difficult to see anything with the hood of the robe drawn down. There was nothing to show which way his eyes were turned. But I had this feeling…’ He paused and shuddered. Then he continued: ‘I saw this Olcan talking to him and soon after, when we had paused on our march, Olcan came over to me and started asking me questions.’
‘Such as?’ prompted Fidelma.
‘Such as how long did I claim I had been at Ard Fhearta. Whom did I know there and so on. I presumed that one of the sisters had slipped up and told them that I had not been at Ard Fhearta. I said that there must have
‘And did that satisfy this Olcan?’
Esumaro shook his head.
‘He questioned me further on where I had come from, what sort of scholar I was. Who Budoc was and so on. I did my best. But the only scholarship that I knew anything about was how to navigate the oceans by the stars. So I pretended that I was an astronomer and talked of this star and that. Of course, Olcan knew a little but not as much as I did. Do you not have a saying that the blind of one eye is a king among the blind of both eyes?’
‘So they accepted you?’
‘Not entirely. I think they continued to be suspicious. However, they did not bother me any more, although I was aware, all the time, that I was being watched.’
‘So when you reached the island, Seanach’s Island, the religieuse were put to work cleaning the stones and you did fetching and carrying while the original inhabitants of the community were actually cutting the crystals from the rocks on the far side of the island,’ Fidelma summed up. ‘What prompted you to escape?’
Esumaro continued their story.
‘It was an old man who inspired us. I do not know his name, but I think he was the head of the community there. He was a sprightly man in spite of his age. I was taking a box of the polished rocks to the chapel when I heard shouting. I turned and saw that he had evaded his captors and was pushing out one of those canoes into the surf from the beach on the east side.
‘The guards had seen him, of course, but the old man could handle that canoe. I admired him. He paddled with the tide so that he had slipped past their advantage points and was heading away out to the sea in the direction of the mainland before they spotted him. Olcan was on the warship when it happened and I heard him shouting in his fury. Then — I think it was at his order — his men began shooting at the old man who was now rowing for all he was worth. Arrows fell on his craft but never seemed to touch him. I thought for a few moments that he might make it. I was rooted to the spot, box still in my hand, and wanting to shout and cheer. But an arrow must have struck him in the back and he gave a scream. I could hear it over the waves. He slumped on to his side.
‘Then I was knocked to the ground by one of the guards. I saw no more of the old man and could hear nothing except the guard rebuking me for my idleness because I had stopped to watch. I had to pick up the polished stones that had spilt from the box. When I had done that, I was given to understand, by the coarse laughter and jesting of the guards, that the old man was dead.’
‘Which was not true,’ intervened Conri. ‘Somehow that old man, whose name we discovered was Brother Martan, managed to struggle with the naomhog and reach the shore on the mainland where, by coincidence, we were. Alas, he died in our arms, having warned us about the island.’
Esumaro looked impressed.
‘So how did you make your escape?’ prompted Eadulf.
‘That same evening. I realised from the way the old man had been shot that we could expect no mercy. As soon as they had finished with our labour, they would kill us. I had noticed that there was a second canoe — a naomhog you call it? Well, there was a second canoe alongside the one that the old man took. If I attempted to run in daylight, I would not get far so I decided to make the attempt at night.’