A figure loomed large before him.
‘Brother Eadulf!’
Eadulf took a step backward and stifled his cry of surprise.
‘What are you doing here?’ demanded the voice.
The figure held up a lantern and Eadulf recognised the steward of the abbey, Brother Chilperic.
He recovered himself quickly. ‘A curious question, Brother,’ he replied in a dignified tone. ‘What would anyone be doing in a necessarium?’
‘At this hour? But there is a latrina in the hospitia.’
‘We are not all blessed with bodily control and when drink is taken…’ Eadulf shrugged. ‘I had no wish to disturb Sister Fidelma. That is why, having seen the brethren coming here, I crept out of the chamber to emulate them without waking her. Actually, I had forgotten it was such a long way down here.’ He grinned. ‘Your wine is potent on the system.’
Brother Chilperic looked unconvinced.
Eadulf decided to take a chance on the spur of the moment and added: ‘What is beyond the wall, Brother Chilperic? As I was sitting there, I thought I heard someone crying.’
The steward looked sceptical. ‘Nothing is beyond there except the work-rooms of the Domus Femini. No one would be there at this time, unless it was some animal you heard. A cat, perhaps?’
‘Of course, that would be it. Well, it is chilly here. Let me pass and return to my interrupted sleep.’
The young man hesitated and then stood aside.
‘May your sleep not be troubled further, Brother.’
Eadulf could not help but wonder if the steward was being sarcastic.
‘And may you also have some rest this night,’ he replied stiffly. Hurrying back to the hospitia, he found Fidelma awaiting his return with some impatience.
‘Did you discover anything?’ she demanded.
‘I did not, but I was myself discovered,’ he replied, throwing off his robe and collapsing on the bed. He told her of his encounter with Brother Chilperic before describing what he had seen.
She was thoughtful for a while but not concerned about the steward of the abbey.
‘If Brother Gillucán heard anything untoward while he was sitting in the necessarium, it most likely came from the water channel that takes the effluence from the necessarium out to wherever it flows.’
Eadulf had his eyes shut. ‘I suppose so,’ he muttered sleepily.
‘It is possible that sounds echo along the water channel,’ went on Fidelma.
‘Possible,’ yawned Eadulf again.
‘And the wall there…you say that it borders on to the women’s house of the abbey?’
Eadulf let out a faint snore. He was asleep.
Fidelma frowned in annoyance. Then she smiled softly at his sleeping form and, reaching over, blew out the candle.
Eadulf felt he had barely fallen asleep when the sunlight streaming in through the window caught his face and caused him to blink. Fidelma had already washed and was sitting breaking her fast with some fruit.
‘Come, get ready. I let you sleep through morning prayers and there is much to be done today,’ she called, seeing he was awake.
He rolled out of bed still feeling exhausted.
‘Can’t we do it later?’ he protested.
‘We cannot.’
They were walking down the stairs to the anticum of the abbey when Brother Chilperic appeared, hurrying up the stairs, his forehead wrinkled into a frown. He came to an abrupt halt and gave Eadulf a close scrutiny.
‘I am looking for Abbot Ségdae,’ he said. ‘Is he still in the hospitia? Have you seen him?’
‘We have not,’ replied Fidelma. ‘You look agitated, Brother. Is something wrong?’
The steward shrugged. ‘I simply needed to report a matter to him now that he is the senior delegate from your country.’
Fidelma was intrigued. ‘Is there anything I can help with?’
‘Alas, no. You probably knew Brother Gillucán, who was the companion of Abbot Dabhóc. He intended to set out to return to his home this morning.’
Fidelma nearly made the mistake of admitting knowledge but, remembering what Brother Gillucán had asked, that she should say nothing, she simply asked, ‘Does he need some assistance, then?’
‘No longer.’
A cold feeling suddenly seized Fidelma. ‘No longer? Please explain,’ she asked.
‘It seems that he set out alone in the early hours without informing anyone. He was found floating in the Aturavos…that’s the river that runs to the north side of the city. It looks as though he was attacked by robbers, for they stripped him naked. He should have waited to return with a group of pilgrims who were setting out later today.’
‘Are you sure he left the abbey on his homeward journey?’ Fidelma could not help asking the question.
‘What else would he be doing, outside the abbey at that time? Also, when I heard, I went to his chamber to check. All his belongings were gone. The conclusion is obvious.’
‘And you say he was travelling alone?’ asked Fidelma, remembering that Brother Gillucán had told her that he was going to travel in company that day.
Brother Chilperic nodded moodily. ‘His body was found alone. No one else was with him. Again, the conclusion is obvious. To travel alone is unwise in these troubled times,’ he commented. ‘They left him with nothing and cut his throat.’
‘No one saw anything?’ queried Eadulf.
‘The river is, as you must have seen, outside the city walls,’ the man said. ‘It is wrong to leave the city at night. Indeed, wrong to leave the abbey at night.’
‘Are you certain that is what happened?’ Fidelma pressed. ‘That he left the abbey at night to set off on his homeward journey? You have guards at the city gates. Did they see him go?’
‘He left the abbey before dawn. No one saw him,’ Brother Chilperic replied impatiently. ‘The body was discovered by a fisherman a little down-river not long after sun-up.’
‘If we see Abbot Ségdae, we will inform him of this tragedy and say that you are looking for him,’ Fidelma said, realising they were showing too much interest. ‘In the meantime, can you tell us which of the rooms Abbot Dabhóc occupied?’
‘It is empty,’ replied the steward, his mind clearly elsewhere. ‘There is nothing there now.’
‘But where is it located?’
‘It is back in the hospitia, in the same corridor as Bishop Ordgar’s chamber-the third along from where he is.’
She thanked him but Brother Chilperic was already on his way. Once out of the steward’s earshot Fidelma spoke her thoughts.
‘Brother Gillucán feared for his life and now he is dead,’ she said quietly.
‘Do you think there is some connection with the death of Abbot Dabhóc?’ Eadulf asked.
‘Let’s keep an open mind. You noticed the look that Brother Chilperic cast in your direction?’
‘He is probably still suspicious at finding me in the necessarium, especially as it was probably near the hour when this Brother Gillucán was making his way out of the abbey. But I thought Gillucán said he was joining a group of pilgrims for the journey?’
‘He did. We’d best keep our own counsel on this, Eadulf,’ Fidelma replied, keeping her voice low, ‘until we find out whether it is in some way connected with the matter here or just a coincidence, There is no use putting ourselves in harm’s way. If Gillucán felt fearful enough to leave the abbey before dawn on his own, then the very thing he feared befell him.’
‘But why? I cannot see any logic in this matter.’
‘Perhaps there is something more to the killing of Abbot Dabhóc, and now his steward, than merely the argument between Ordgar and Cadfan. What was it that those who ransacked Dabhóc’s chamber were looking for-the reliquary box? If so, why didn’t they find it? Who has it? And was this what Gillucán was being asked about when his room was searched? There are too many questions, Eadulf. Too many questions and not enough facts.’