‘For once, I agree,’ Eadulf said. ‘So where do we turn next? Should we see what else we can find out about Brother Gillucán’s death?’
‘Not at the moment. If it is connected with Dabhóc’s death then we do not want to alert our adversary that we suspect anything.’
‘So what now?’
‘Let us have a brief glance at the chamber occupied by Abbot Dabhóc before we return to our initial plan to speak with Abbess Audofleda. Now we know that Dabhóc did not have far to go to meet his death. His room was in the same corridor as Ordgar’s room.’
The chamber that had been occupied by Abbot Dabhóc was empty and had been cleaned thoroughly. There was certainly nowhere to hide such an object as a reliquary box. Fidelma gazed around.
‘Well, this room is not going to tell us anything,’ she sighed.
There was a hollow cough behind them at the doorway. The saturnine figure of Brother Benevolentia stood regarding them,
‘Were you looking for me?’ he asked. ‘My chamber is just along here.’
Fidelma turned to greet him. ‘As a matter of fact, no. We were looking at the chamber Abbot Dabhóc occupied.’
‘Is there anything I can help with?’
‘We were told that this chamber was ransacked on that same night as he was killed. I don’t suppose you heard anything?’
‘As I mentioned before, I did not hear even what was happening in poor Bishop Ordgar’s chamber, since I sleep so very soundly. I knew nothing until Bishop Leodegar and his steward roused me,’ Brother Benevolentia said.
‘Do you know Abbot Dabhóc’s steward?’ asked Fidelma.
Brother Benevolentia shook his head.
‘So you have no idea where his chamber is located?’
‘I do not know him but his chamber is on the left, down that corridor,’ he indicated. ‘The first door you come to. I don’t think he is there right now, although I saw Brother Chilperic leave it earlier. Have you knocked upon his door?’
‘No, he is-’ began Eadulf, then fell silent with a glance from Fidelma.
‘No, you are right. He is not there,’ she added. ‘But if his chamber was there, then you must surely have known him?’
‘Ah, I see what you mean. The word you used implied that he was a person I knew well. He was familiar to me only as one of the foreign delegation, and I certainly did not know him, other than to exchange a courteous greeting when passing.’
‘Then thank you for your help, Brother Benevolentia.’
The religieux nodded to them and retired into his own chamber.
Fidelma moved to the chamber that he had indicated and opened the door. It had been left tidy, the blanket folded on the bed. As Brother Chilperic had said, it was empty but with no sign of a hurried departure. It would reveal nothing more than the abbot’s chamber had revealed.
Behind her, Eadulf remarked: ‘A bit of a pedantic character.’
Fidelma shrugged absently. ‘Who-Benevolentia? Perhaps he is right. Language should be used precisely, especially in legal matters.’ She gestured to the tiny room before her. ‘This won’t tell us much, either.’ She turned and left, closing the door behind her.
‘At least we now know the location of these chambers,’ she observed, as she led the way back down to the main hall of the abbey.
‘Is that important?’ asked Eadulf.
‘It is always good to know the precise layout of where the crime is committed and the surrounding area. Have you noticed that Abbot Cadfan’s chamber was the furthest away from Ordgar’s chamber and along another corridor? Everyone else was in the same corridor or adjacent, like Gillucán.’
Eadulf supposed that he had registered the fact but could not see that there was any relevance.
‘As I say, it is good to know the layout,’ she repeated.
They were crossing the anticum, having ascertained that the only way to gain entrance to the Domus Femini was to leave the main door and walk along the north side of the square, then go up the wagonway into the central courtyard. The main door to the women’s community was on the far side of this courtyard.
A voice suddenly called Fidelma’s name and they saw a figure hurrying towards them across the marble flagged hallway. It was a tall, dark man with a pale olive complexion, wearing the robes and tonsure of Rome, and his attire was not of some poor cleric but someone of rank.
‘Sister Fidelma! I thought I recognised you. It is good to see you again.’ He was holding his hand out in greeting to her.
Fidelma took it, her brow furrowed as she tried to place the man from distant memory.
‘You do not recognise me? No matter. It has been a few years since you were in Rome.’
Memory suddenly came to her. ‘You were a scribe in the Lateran Palace…’
‘I was scribe to the Venerable Gelasius, nomenclator to His Holiness. I saw you several times in his office when you were investigating the death of the Archbishop Wighard. The Venerable Gelasius has frequently wondered how life was treating you since you left Rome. We have heard many things about you and of Brother Eadulf.’ He turned to Eadulf and smiled, reaching out to take his hand. ‘And you, I believe, are Brother Eadulf? I cannot recall meeting with you, though I know you were assisting Sister Fidelma in Rome.’
Eadulf’s greeting was restrained, as he could not place the man at all.
‘You are Brother Peregrinus,’ Fidelma suddenly said.
The man chuckled. ‘I am honoured to be remembered. I am Nuntius Peregrinus now.’
‘And you are the emissary from Rome?’
‘I am indeed envoy to the council. I brought the instructions from His Holiness, Vitalian, to Bishop Leodegar, concerning the council and giving it blessing and authority. I have to await the outcome of the debates and take those decisions back to Rome again. I am sure the Venerable Gelasius will be delighted to hear the news. It was only yesterday that the bishop told me of your presence here. I have been visiting some of the outlying churches near this city. But I am glad that matters have entered safe hands. What has transpired here is sad. It was a wise decision of Bishop Leodegar, to seek out your talents to resolve the matter.’
Fidelma was deprecating.
‘We can only do what we are able, Nuntius. I trust that the Venerable Gelasius is well and presumably still in his position in Rome?’
‘He is, indeed, and thinks of you with kindly thoughts. You performed a great service for Rome, which he does not forget.’
‘He flatters me.’
‘Not so. Since Vitalian was elected to the throne of the Blessed Peter, the Church has been taking great strides forward. The schisms that Christendom has suffered are slowly mending, thanks to His Holiness. He has sought to repair the connection between Constantinople and Rome by friendly advances, and sent envoys and gifts to Patriach Peter of Constantinople. In that he has been successful, and now his name, as a Bishop of Rome, has been entered in the diptychs of those eastern churches for the first time in many a generation.’
‘Diptychs?’ frowned Eadulf.
‘The lists of those regarded as worthy and in communion with the teachings of the Faith and elevation to high office,’ explained Fidelma in a swift aside.
‘Exactly so,’ Nuntius Peregrinus confirmed. ‘Vitalian has also tried to heal the rift between the Saxons and the Britons, as you know, by sending Theodore to minister to them. And he is trying to deal with the heresy of monothelitism and bring all the churches into a one-ness with Rome. Hence the importance of this council.’
Fidelma sighed softly. ‘He is obviously ambitious for Rome.’
‘Ambitious for the furtherance of the Faith.’
‘As I say, we will do our best to resolve the matters that have created a postponement to the coming together of that council. Tell me, Nuntius, did you inform Bishop Leodegar that you knew me?’
‘No. I wanted to see you first, to make sure that you were the same Fidelma whom I saw in Rome. Would you prefer I did mention you?’