‘I know – that is precisely why we are on the road to the fortress. What has this to do with Aibell?’
The girl gave a loud, sobbing gasp.
‘Have they not told you? Do you not know who has been judged guilty of the abbot’s murder?’
‘No, I have not been told,’ Fidelma responded quietly. A thought suddenly came to her. ‘Are you saying that it was Aibell who killed Abbot Segdae?’
‘Of course it was not Aibell!’ Had the girl not been on horseback, she would have doubtless stamped her foot. As it was she made an expressive movement with her arm. ‘It is Gorman who has been found guilty,’ she snapped. ‘Gorman, the warrior who accompanied you to Dun Eochair Mhaigh when we first met. It is Gorman who has been charged with the murder of Abbot Segdae. Gorman whom they are going to execute.’
CHAPTER TWO
They found a small spring by which to rest and water their horses, within the shelter of some woodland not far from the main track. Fidelma, after fighting to control her flood of questions following the shock of the girl Ciarnat’s announcement, had managed to also calm the reactions of her companions and the near hysteria in which Ciarnat had given them the news. No more should be said, Fidelma insisted, until they had found a spot to relax and could hear the whole story from start to finish.
It did not take Enda long to find the rock pool, fed by a spring and protected on one side by a clump of hazels with their wide green leaves forming a natural windbreak. Most of the nuts had vanished, probably removed by mice, birds or perhaps even passing people, for the nuts had long been regarded as a delicacy as well as the ancient and mystical source of knowledge. This was a good spot because it also gave the travellers a view through the trees of the track across the valley towards their destination.
Their horses had to be attended to first; given water and something to graze upon. Only when that was done did they turn to their own needs. Fidelma handed the container of strong liquor that Enda carried to the still-shaking young girl. She took a long draught and it seemed to steady her nerves. They sat by the spring on convenient boulders and, by common consent, allowed Fidelma to start the questions that needed to be asked.
‘Firstly, where is Gorman now and in what condition?’ Fidelma tried to make her voice devoid of emotion but it shook slightly. Gorman was the only son of her friend Della, as well as having served in her brother’s bodyguard for many years. The warrior had faced danger and hardship on many of her travels with Eadulf.
‘He is imprisoned in Prince Donennach’s fortress.’ Ciarnat spoke with some hesitation as if first gathering her thoughts. Her mouth quivered but she was able to hold her feelings in check and to answer clearly. ‘He is physically well and has not been ill-treated … well, perhaps a little when he was handled roughly on being taken a prisoner by the prince’s guards. But the prince’s judge, Brehon Faolchair, is a scrupulous man and I think it was he who advised the prince to send to Cashel to report matters before uttering sentence.’
Enda said angrily, ‘Whoever he sent failed to tell us that the commander of the King’s bodyguard was being held for murder.’
Ciarnat turned to the young warrior: ‘He is innocent! He did not do it.’
‘I could have told you that without knowing the details,’ growled Enda, who had long admired his comrade and commander. ‘We are warriors of the Golden Collar, sworn to the warrior’s code, not murderers!’
Fidelma interrupted with a quick gesture of her hand. ‘Ciarnat, I think we had better start from the beginning. You say that you were instructed by Aibell to come and greet us. What has Aibell to do with this matter? A few months ago, just after the feast day of Brigid, Aibell departed from Cashel. She did so at the same time as a young man called Deogaire – the nephew of old Brother Conchobhar, whose sister had married a man from Sliabh Luachra. Deogaire decided to return to the west, and Aibell left Gorman, who was in love with her. Perhaps it is at that point you should commence your story?’
The girl sat with bowed shoulders and gave a deep sigh. ‘There is little in the telling,’ she said quietly.
‘Such as there is, let it be told,’ advised Fidelma.
‘As you know, my friend Aibell had reason to be grateful to Deogaire. He helped her escape from the evils of Sliabh Luachra where she had been sold into bondage by her own father. Perhaps because of that, she felt that she owed him something. Perhaps, for a while, she even thought that she was in love with him. But that was a false love, merely gratitude. She did not mean to harm Gorman.’
‘What is meant and that which results are often opposite matters,’ Eadulf observed dryly.
Fidelma stirred uncomfortably, remembering something of her own past relationship. Then she said: ‘Go on.’
‘What Aibell told me was that when you came back from the Land of the Ui Fidgente, bringing a resolution to her story, she was never happier. She was living at the farmstead of Gorman’s mother, Della. Gorman and she grew close. Then Deogaire appeared at Cashel. She remembered what she owed him; that she would not be free and happy, had it not been for him. She also had a longing to visit her mother’s home on the banks of the River Maigh. I think she wanted to see where she had been raised, to pay her respects to the shades of her mother. She also wanted to see me again as we had been the closest of friends when we were young. It was wonderful to renew that friendship. In addition, she planned to visit her uncle Marban.’ Ciarnat paused, adding, ‘It is hard to grow up with only distant memories and without truly knowing any members of one’s own family. When Deogaire said he was going back to Sliabh Luachra – since Fidaig, the evil chieftain in whose house she had been in bondage, was dead – Aibell told me that she felt the urge to travel back with him.’
‘Do you know if she had explained all this to Gorman?’
‘She said tried, but, he was too angry to listen. He did not understand. He thought that she was going with Deogaire because she was in love with him.’
‘And she was not?’
‘No, she was not. She simply travelled in his company. When they arrived, they came to find me. As you know, I serve as an attendant in the fortress of Prince Donennach. I was so happy to see Aibell again. They then journeyed to the mill of her father’s brother, Marban. She knew, from you, that Marban had killed her father. But she also knew that it was her father who was responsible for the ills suffered by her poor mother, Liamuin – that it was her own father who had sold her as a bondservant to the tyrant Fidaig of Sliabh Luachra. Aibell wanted to know something of her real history. It was only natural. Most of all, she wanted to see where her beloved mother was killed near Rath Menma.’
‘Surely Gorman would have understood this if she had explained it to him?’ Eadulf said, puzzled.
‘She told me that she did not get beyond the fact that she intended to travel with Deogaire to Sliabh Luachra. Gorman refused to listen to the rest. He had made up his mind that she preferred Deogaire over him and closed his ears to her true reasons for leaving Cashel. She, in turn, became so angry that she did not bother to challenge him. So she left feeling furious and thought that she would take pleasure in punishing him for his arrogance.’
‘Did you know that he was desperately unhappy when she left? He could not bear her absence, to the point that he asked permission from the king to set out after her?’ Fidelma said.
The girl shook her head. ‘She did not know then, but found out later. But I suppose that she had her pride, as did Gorman.’
‘So are we saying that pride on both their parts caused his lack of communication between them? That it was all a misunderstanding?’
‘Put like that, it sounds silly now, but-’
‘It is not uncommon,’ Eadulf observed. ‘Many of the disputes between men and women begin the same way. Misunderstanding followed by pride. Lacking the ability to climb down and admit to one’s own faults. Each one seeking to hurt the other in retaliation for his or her own hurt.’